canton - april / may 2010

yesterday was gorgeous here in canton .. excuse the pics .. i am trying to upload them with a very poor connection .. at&t .. anyway, the crowds were out .. the sun was shining .. and the people were buying .. i meant to take better pics first off .. but we got here late in the day wednesday to set up and unloaded the trailer and van and then slept and got up early and set up the booth .. up early again this morning .. anyway, the people hit us hard buying and by the time i grabbed the camera, a lot of stuff was gone .. you know, you are just going to have to make it out here one day .. saw theresa of garden antiques .. she is doing a show herself this weekend and was out making last minute purchases .. the show she is doing is in montgomery .. check out her blog for details .. i would link to her here,but my fat stubby fingers and tiny keys on a tiny netbook are not cooperating this morning .. so enjoy the pics of our booth .. i am going to try and get out - if it doesn't rain all day - and take some pics of other vendors ..

laterz,
troy

muddling through ..

it isn't always easy to remember where we are going, and why we are here .. sometimes it seems life is just an aimless walk with one foot in front of the other .. and sometimes that is enough .. enough to get us through .. trust .. believe that where we are going is where we are meant to be .. allow the Grace that has been bestowed upon us to shine through .. and put one foot in front of the other and keep moving .. movement .. and trust ...

rods brother in law - steve - married to rods sister, lori - father to 3 incredible young men - passed away in the early morning hours of last sunday - sudden - shocking - gut wrenching - those moments in life when you would trade every possession to instantly transport yourself from one place to another .. so you get there as fast as you can .. though i didn't make the journey with rod .. my mind and heart were there, embracing .. God Bless you, steve - and watch over lori and the boys ..

today is the anniversary of my momma passing .. she died april 24, 2001.

sherry and i have been here at the warehouse working, keeping things going .. getting ready for canton .. we leave on wednesday ..

we have some new signs .. and we will have a lot of the new pillows we designed .. then yesterday we designed a new slipcover for some little footstools we have that haven't been selling .. but we think the new slipcover will make the stools sell .. what do you think?


this one got a pressed treatment .. the cover is burlap with a ruffle of muslin ..

these little stools are only 12" square and 8" tall. .. they each have a vintage style floral fabric covering .. we will be listing these on our etsy shop .. but will also be carrying this design to a larger 12" by 16" footstool size ..

off to try and get some listings on etsy ..

laterz,
and reach out and hug someone today - tell them you love them ..
i love you all .. esp you, rod ..
troy

your preference requested .. please .. thank you

here is one of the new signs we are making .. it's part of a series of vacation spots we are working on .. it is painted on 3/8" plywood .. it measures approximately 10" by 16"..

my question is .. which do you like? .. i finished one out with an oil based polyurethane and the other i finished out in wax, applied and polished by hand..

the one on the left is finished out in polyurethane .. the one on the right is finished out in hand applied wax ..



finished out in oil based polyurethane .. we may change to a water based polyurethane ..


finished out in hand applied and hand rubbed or polished wax .. in my opinion it has a darker more aged appearance .. and i personally prefer it .. rod likes the clearer finish of the polyurethane .. sherry prefers the one with wax also ..

just curious ..

laterz,
troy

new sign & dumpster rescue

back from canton - so much going on - getting adjusted to new meds .. yuck .. body rebeling .. garden type show this sunday at the local arboretum .. sherry and her granddaughter are doing the show ..
she and rod have been working hard on items for that show .. i have been back and forth to doctors and dentists .. and working on a new sign design .. also getting ready to start a slipcover order for the lovely janis .. and then a custom lampshade for mindys' mom ..

so here is a sneak peak at the sign i have been working on .. i am so pleased with it ..

i will post a better picture of it over the weekend .. i think you will like it ..

also, this was a piece we found in the dumpster here at the warehouse this morning ..
too cool .. love the hardware .. it is solid wood .. no veneer .. rod says he is going to build a base for it and an open shelving cabinet for the top .. and then we will paint it out ..



not much else going on .. finally got everything unloaded .. now to get busy on stuff for canton .. the next canton begins on thursday the 29th of april ..

laterz,
troy

this, that is canton ....

the people were out in full force today in canton .. i have seen the crowds thicker, but it was such a beautiful day and even though it was the last weekend of warrenton / round top .. the crowds here were wonderful .. everyone seemed in good spirits .. i took a lot of pictures to give you an idea of the crowds and merchandise available .. honestly, it seemed like the old days .. there was some wonderful stuff out here ..

the crowds at canton begin arriving fairly early in the day ..

the are many places in canton to get something to eat.. perhaps the most popular place is the food court at the end of arbor 2 .. it is in the arbors and so it is covered from the weather and there are a variety of places to get anything you want from good old texas bar-b-que to gourmet sandwiches and pizzas ..

a lot of canton is under cover or shelter of some sort .. however, there are still places that are out in the open .. this area is in front of the canton civic center .. a popular place for shoppers looking for antiques and junk ..

i don't know who this guy is, but he always has the most awesome spread of antiques and junk ..

this painted primitive fireplace surround was even more wonderful in person ..

i just love old brass water hose nozzles .. and this dealer had a wonderful display of them .. i liked the visual of this grouping ..

china, china, china .. blue willow to haviland to homer laughlin ..

junk jewelry, costume jewelry .. pieces and sets ..


when rod and i started out selling antiques and collectibles back in the 80s .. one of our specialties was advertising ..

some dealers don't bother with a tent set-up when selling at canton .. they just roll up in their vans, set up tables and start selling ..

if you are in to tin ceiling panels .. dave is your guy .. he has been in the same location for years and years .. selling the same item ..


i couldn't tell if it was an advertising gimic or this was where some couple actually planned to spend their honeymoon .. i am guessing a gimic ..

the wonderfulness that is canton allows you to witness people from all walks of life .. this tireless soldier is here every month delivering her message from sunrise to sunset .. some skirt her .. some confront her .. and yet she continues .. i do admire her commitment, while we may differ on method of delivery ..

enjoy the pics .. have a beautiful Easter with your family and next time you are near canton during first monday - stop in and say hi! ..

laterz,
troy

friday - canton - april 2nd - 2010

friday was a good day at canton - rod and i got up at 5am and reworked the booth .. we sold some of the bigger pieces on thursday and wanted to give the booth a fresh look - so we got up, showered and reworked the booth, then had breakfast and by that time the crowds were starting to come out .. it was a little overcast here and there .. had a small amount of rain mid afternoon, then around 3:30 or so the skies opened up and there was a downpour .. and it kind of drizzled the rest of the day with more downpours around 6:00 last night just as the crowds were thinning and heading home .. highway 19 was bumper to bumper .. the crowds were thick, the thickest i have seen in months and it seemed everyone brought their four legged friends .. saw some beautiful dogs.. the booth stayed crowded most of the day and it felt sooo good to hear all the positive comments .. i think we only have 2 'seriously' signs left .. lol! that one went over real big .. oddly mostly to people who said they were teachers .. go figure ..i didn't know who he was but late in the day some dallas basketball player - dallas mavericks - showed up and created some excitement .. well, here are some pics of the reworked booth ..


since we sold the little round table i ended up putting 2 of the chairs up on a display table and creating a little setting .. the slipcover on the left is light blue linen accented with creamy white pom pom fringe and the slipcover on the right is light lavender cotton accented with a black and white check ribbon ..







there are more pics but the connection out here is really the pits .. so i am trying to limit myself .. today i am going to venture out and get some shots of the crowds and other vendors and share them with you - so look for them tomorrow morning or later tonight .. ya'll all have a good day and enjoy the weekend with family and friends .. if you are in canton stop in and see us - Arbor 2, booth 217 & 218 ...

laterz,
troy

thursday -canton - april 1st 2010

today would have been my dads 81st birthday - happy birthday, daddy ..he loved that his birthday was on april fools day and he loved playing tricks on people on his birthday, esp if you were a youngster ..

today was opening day at canton - sherry, rod & i came down yesterday and rod & i spent the night and got up early and finished setting the booth up .. sherry has an ear infection, so wish her a speedy recovery .. we have a new space - actually 2 spaces and that seemed to make a difference .. it was a beautiful day and the crowds were out in full force ..

here are some pics i took of the booth before the crowds ..

i dressed the chairs in a different color slipcover for each ... love it!

some of the new pillows i am making - they went over real well ...


slipcovers! i did some in almost every Easter color i could find ..


some of the signs rod has made ..

i love the moroccan flavor of this lamp ..it has the sweetest little nightlight style glow ..

bunnies, baskets and tulips .. does anything else say Easter Greetings in quite the same way?


like most everyone i run across - i too love wasp nests - just something about the construction ..

i just love my slipcovered chair .. this is only the second time i have shown it since i completed it .. so hopefully someone will love it this weekend ..

if you are in canton - stop in and see us - arbors 2, spaces 217 & 218 ..

laters,
troy