It has become a tradition (cue the Fiddler on the Roof theme!) for my mother and I to hit Brimfield twice a year- once in spring, and once in the fall. Brimfield is a town in Massachusetts that becomes the antique mecca of the US three times a year. The town is overtaken by a baffling quantity of antiques dealers from all over the country, selling every possible thing ever made. That is what I like most about it. While I may be seeking certain things for my various collections, mostly I like to take pictures of the oddities that I never expected to see. And so, I share them with you! I hope you appreciate the old and odd, too!
Who you lookin’ at, punk?
I didn’t expect to see Harrison Ford, for example.
Harrison and Mom, together at last!
Early Christmas!
Are they live, or are they cooked?
Here you can see a set of the original, deadly steel-tipped Jarts, along with a painting of…questionable content.
What is going on in that painting?
I can’t buy everything, but IF I could, this would be amongst the purchases:
You can never have too many wooden bunny carts, I always say.
Here’s another one of those “Wha???” kind of items. They are plaster wall hangings depicting… human peas?
OH, the humanity!
These make me want to be a chocolatier, so I would have an excuse to own them all!
I adore anything mini-kitchen related.
Some folks are very good at displaying stuff.
Brushes with destiny!
Filling old tins with herbs is a great idea!
More of my favorite things… little building and houses and vintage Disney!
More well-thought displays.
A rug that’s WAY too nice to put on a floor!
What better way to organize your household! Stick everything in THIS!
Slovenly Peter! This is a great old English edition of the famously odd German book, Der Struwwelpeter.
What’s going on in that suitcase, Willie?
Willie’s not talking.
Huh… a weird sign.
Hmmm. There are so many places one could put this sign!
If I had a free 8-foot long wall in my house, it would have this on it now:
It opened up to reveal tons of skinny shelves. Perfect for a spice rack with 1000 jars!
Yes, take my picture with it, Mom!
They know when you are sleeping…
They KNOW when you’re awake… gah!!
My favorite era for ceramics… 40s-50s.
Sew cute!
Not your type? Try one of these-
These are to die for! So are these antique puns! hehehe
How did anyone ever write anything on one of these?
Here you have the original molds used to make those plastic banks from the 70s:
A study in contrasts:
More Steiff than you can shake a stick at!
I didn’t know Steiff made an Okapi… and every other animal known to mankind. The dealer said he was on the lookout for the elusive Steiff cockroach. Yep, they really made one!
Heads up!
Radar Search? So, at one point, that would have been a fun game, I guess. hard to imagine!
There you have it! Brimfield in a day! Of course, you can’t even see 10% of what’s there in a day, you just have to see what you can!
So, here are a few things I bought:
A few bits for my Five and Dime “store”.
Some fabulous old hand-painted wooden stuff.
Dancing Dutch, courtesy of my eagle-eyed uncle!
Various mini kitchenware. Perfect for going into various mini kitchens!
Part of a toy tea set… gotta find me the teapot, now!
A great set of WW2 wooden souvenir shoes to go with my “little” collection!
The next Brimfield shows are July 10-15, and Sept. 4-9. Don’t miss it!
I LOVE all this stuff!! I want that brush collection–I think that is my next collection! Your comments made me laugh out loud!!
thanks for the tour!! I keep missing it-but have you been to stormville, ny? Good but no where near as big. We collect some of the same stuff-how much was the tin stove? I have one…
Barb- then this post was YOUR brush with destiny! 🙂
Sharon- I’ve never been to Stormville, but I’ve never met an antiques show I didn’t like! Not sure how much the little stoves were- I have a bunch of them myself!
I wish I had been there…I am going in JULY…I want the dice…I already have a steiff bear. This looks like too much fun!!