THE Wedding, Kane County, Vote for Sherman!

If I were not already a Francophile, I would definitely be an Anglophile. I'm not sure you can be both, as least not in one lifetime. But that isn't going to stop me from getting up early tomorrow to watch part of the royal wedding. I've got my crumpets, tea and strawberries with cream all ready to go! How 'bout you?
But I'll only be watching 'til it's time to head down to the studio. We have a GREAT load going for this weekend's Kane County Flea Market. Since the first Sunday of May falls on the 1st, the market is extra early this time. Click on the show sidebar for details.

We are working on lots of fun stuff -- garden, industrial, smalls, furniture, graphics and more. We will be featuring these wonderful journals, all made from vintage books by our awesome friend and customer, Tina Mullins, Coach House Drygoods. The journals make excellent gifts for graduation, Mother's Day, you name it. Plus you're sure to need one or two for yourself! And we've restocked our limited-addition posters, like the lovely French hot air balloon pictured below. They sold out early last month, so be sure to take a peek before they all gone!

Last thing. Many of you know our great show neighbor and friend, Mark McKee, of Gold Key Antiques. Well, Mark's partner, Mark (Sherman) Trombley, is one of 12 semi-finalists in the National Culinary Competition. He needs every one's vote to go on to the finals in New York. To view Sherman's short video, click here. To vote for Sherman, click here. Sherman's category is "Hospitals 2;" (you can ask him to explain!) and his recipe is Asparagus and Edamane Sformato with Wild Forest Mushrooms and Hazelnuts in a Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Demi-Glace. Fancy! You can vote only once per platform (phone, computer, laptop, etc.) -- so please pass the word! Best of luck, Sherman!

See you at the show! xo

SoBo's Other Side and Easter Greetings

Generally our photos from the fabulous SoBo Style in Columbus, Ohio, are mostly of creamy white furniture, because, well, that's what we bring her! But Katie's shop is also full of wonderful jewelry:

Great original paint, primitives and gifts:

Plus a well-edited collection of industrial pieces, bags made from vintage feed sack, cool housewares and more. Right now the store is strung with adorable paper pompoms in sherbet hues, like those shown in the first picture, setting the stage for Katie's TENTH ANNIVERSARY open house, coming up May 7. It's going to be a great party -- make sure you stop by!

EASTER GREETINGS

We are off this weekend for Easter. Been working on a load for Midland, which Joe and his son, Matt, will deliver tomorrow. My folks are helping finish up today, as I have a family commitment. Hope your holiday is full of Jesus, ham or lamb, vintage Easter baskets and spring flowers. But also some time for reflection.

Our pastor had a great illustration the other day. Everyone was given a small chalkboard and asked to draw a point on the left side and then a line to the middle. Put an X there. Everything to the left of the X represents the past. It is what has brought us to the present moment, but it is over. Everything to the right of the X is what's still to come. His question was this: when your line extends all the way to the right side of your board, what do you want to see when you look back? It has really had me thinking. I find that it is way too easy for me to get so distracted with work and daily tasks that that is ALL that I think about. But that is NOT what I want to see when I look back. Problem is, seeing something else requires some thought and planning. That's what I'm thinking about this Easter. What about you? What do you want to see? Let me know what you come up with. xo

Gettin' Lucky: Shopping Chicago

The May issue of Lucky Magazine has a four-page spread about Chicago shoppin'! Some of my old favorites are there-- Merz Apothecary, P.O.S.H., Robin Richmond -- but there are lots of new places that look amazing! Asrai Gardens, Renegade Handmade and Roslyn among them.

Sigh. I can't believe I've been gone for 10 years. I do miss the shopping. Maybe it's time to organize a field trip. (: Glad to see customer Julie Fernstrom's Brimfield mentioned, too. Check the issue out!

Got distracted yesterday and forgot to take photos of this week's finds; will do for next week. Tomorrow, we are off to Ohio. For those in Chicago, check out Zurko's Civil War Collectors show and sale Saturday at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the war; would be an awesome way to show kids who are studying the war era in school some actual artifacts. Talk to you next week -- check us out on Facebook in the meantime; will post some new photos of our weekend adventures there. xo

Grayslake: WOW!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the Grayslake Antique Market this weekend -- there was a record crowd and lots of excitement in the air! I always want to take pictures before the show opens, but there never seems to be enough time. We were pleasantly surprise, though, to find that by Sunday afternoon, we were somewhat unintentionally color-coordinated in what was still available to be photographed! Serendipity for sure!

We really enjoyed catching up on every one's news and were especially excited to learn that our client Larry Vodak, of Chicago's Scout, had just finished the design house exhibit for the Museum of Science and Industry. Way to go, Larry! We're actually headed over there later this month, so I'll be sure to get photos to share.

Team rhubarb is headed to Ohio this weekend, and I'm out the door as we speak to shop. Check back later this week for information on Zurko's Civil War show, a peek at what we've found, and some Chicago shopping news. xo

Grayslake: HALF-OFF ADMISSION, Great Stuff, Vintage Clothing Show and Special Guest

There is so much to LOVE about this weekend's Grayslake Antique Market! First of all, Zurko's have extended the HALF-OFF General Admission Discount indefinitely, due to its amazing popularity and their general awesomeness. As always, just print this page and bring it along, making as many copies for friends as you'd like. Or call it up on your phone at the door -- that works too! Next, this month features the return of the popular Show-within-a-Show, with Vintage Clothing and Accessories featured. There will be lots of extra dealers showcasing their lovely merchandise. And speaking of lovely, we have some great new furniture, tons of smalls, garden and primitives, industrial, graphics, you name it! We are super stocked for the weekend.

And Sunday, nationally known antiques expert Harry Rinker will be interviewing Bob Zurko for his radio show, "Whatcha Got." Rinker, a syndicated writer and appraiser, will then be available to greet shoppers and dealers and perhaps answer a question or two.

Wow! Make plans now to join us for the show. So much to see and do. Can't wait. xo

Paper Roses

We've had a love affair with handmade paper flowers for the last several years. They started appearing in catalogs, such as Garnet Hill and Anthropologie, in magazines like Somerset Life, and in the booths of talented flea market-istas, such as JoAn Babb and CJ Zondervan. So pretty! Kits are available from retailers, like as the PaperSource, or you can make yourself a batch from scratch. CJ taught me to make the ones pictured above. Make a square template of desired size, then trace and cut tissue paper. Stack 6 sheets per flower and accordion-fold. Wrap the center with thin wire and unfold toward the middle. Voila! Finis. We attached ours to twigs, but you can use pipe cleaners or whatever else inspires you.

To make these guys, we used a vintage metal flower to create a template. Next we traced the pattern on to ledger paper. Cut out and place a dot of glue in the center -- three sheets of paper to one flower. Large glass bubbles were used to create the centers. Pick a graphic you like, trace bubble and glue to back using ModPodge. Attach to flower center using Tacky Glue and allow to dry. We used vintage wires for the stems this time, but again you can use your imagination. Fill a vase today!

The paper flowers were just one of our offerings last weekend at the Kane County Flea Market. Thanks to everyone who came out and made it such a great show. Check out our show photos on Facebook (just search Rhubarb Reign Inc and LIKE us while you're there!) and then check back later in the week for a sneak peek of what's coming to Grayslake! See you then. xo

Kane County: Pretty as a Picture

Last year, Joe and I contracted with a Chicago company to produce limited-edition, archival enlargements from our collection of vintage prints and graphics. We've been so pleased with the quality of the resulting images, which we then mount in vintage frames. Come see our newest ones this weekend at the Kane County Flea Market! We've got a great load -- lovely new furniture; tons of containers, smalls, graphics and garden; spring handmades; and the most awesome set of bowling pins you've ever seen! Sounds like our fellow dealers have also been busy getting ready, so it should be a great market. Just click on the show sidebar for details and plan to join us! See you there. xo