antiquing in berlin, maryland

Emma & Nana at the Hotel Atlantic

While on vacation this summer near Ocean City, Maryland we found a new place of interest to throw into our mix of days lounging on the beach and nights overeating the most unhealthy food imaginable: Berlin, Maryland. The quaint little town is quite close to Ocean City Maryland, just 9 miles from the Route 50 Bridge, near the intersection of Route 113.

It has a traditional main street (and it is even called Main Street) lined with Victorian brick buildings, and just beyond, has white clapboard homes that scream "small town America!". So much so, that the town has been the location for two Hollywood movies requiring a small town America backdrop: Runaway Bride (1999), with Julia Roberts & Richard Gere, and Tuck Everlasting (2002). And believe me, the town hasn't forgotten it. Posters and mentions are allover the local deli, Rayne's Reef. I just glanced at the Tuck Everlasting trailer since I wasn't familiar with it, and it takes place in the 1800's with horses and carriages, so they must've had to bring in dirt to put on the streets to make it look old. That would've been fun.

Fun for me, though, really means rummaging through old stuff, and there was plenty of it on Main street. There are two antique malls: Town Center Antiques and I think the other one is called Stuart's Antiques, but I'm not positive. I even bought something there, if only I could find the receipt. There is also Culver's Antiques specializing in Victorian light fixtures, if you're into that kind of thing, and Toy Town specializing in vintage toys. There are probably more that I missed because I had limited time. Darn kids wanted to go to the beach, but I did manage to get some pictures.

I was looking everywhere for a life size doll before I found Penelope, my vintage department store baby mannequin, on Etsy. (I'll take a picture of her in my booth when I go to Crafty Bastards next month).

Perfect for my imaginary beach cottage!

Happy travels!

vintage embroidery love

The family's been enjoying another quilt from Mom's stash of Grandma's handiwork. Someone in the family needs to do an official count of how many quilts she's made- starting with at least one for each of her 25 grandchildren.

Mom & I are a lot like Grandma in that we always like to have a project to keep the hands busy. I feel restless if I sit down to watch a movie and don't have any hand sewing to work on.

This quilt was probably made in the 1970's with Grandma's 1940's sensibility.

The charming naiveté of the motifs makes me think of the 1940's.

How busy farm women like her found time to do quilting & needlework is a mystery to me.

She also made day-of-the-week dish towels for everyone, but I'm afraid mine are in bad shape from use.

I've been snapping up embroidered dresser scarves and hobby embroidery with a similar feel whenever I see fun ones at the vintage store. I think they will make great pillows. Who uses dresser scarves anymore, right?

I was procrastinating doing the backs because I don't love doing buttonholes. Then Mom had the idea of using the plackets of dress shirts (of which I have plenty). SHAZAM! It works perfectly and adds an element of surprise.

And while I'm on this recycling kick, why not repurpose my serger scraps for pillow stuffing?

I'll get some listed in the shop soon hopefully. I think they'll go over well at my upcoming craft shows too!

clover market, june 2011

After the disappointment of a rainy Art Star show, I lucked out and was able to nab a spot in a lovely local show in Ardmore, PA this weekend called the Clover Market.

It's a smaller 60-vendor event that has shows one Sunday a month during spring and fall.

freshvintage

Unlike a lot of local shows, this one has a definite point of view: vintage! If you know me at all, you know I'm a sucker for vintage.

freshvintage

My neighbors down the aisle, freshvintage, showed up in a Tastycake truck and unloaded a perfect little 1940's homestead.

Poppy & Bean

Just the sweetest mismatched china & silverware ever from Poppy & Bean. Colleen's vignettes remind me so much of my cousin's wedding in Vermont and her selection of vintage clothing looks like it's right out of Brooklyn.

Brandywine View Antiques

Some awesome salvage from Brandywine View Antiques. They had so many great corbels and accent pieces with patina. I was sorely tempted...

Cherry Acres

At first I thought this large trough-like piece from Cherry Acres was some kind of African artifact, but turns out it's a dough bowl for makin' lots of bread. Totally American.

Circa Dee

I was actually too busy to venture beyond my aisle, but my husband is very good with the camera and went sight-seeing for me. What a cool scale from Circa Dee! I feel like I'm back in Lucketts, VA.

Salvation Nation

And some fun vintage broaches from Salvation Nation.

a lovely, little shop

Even sellers of new items, like this quirky jewelry from a lovely, little shop, displayed their products with vintage flair.

Kristen Solecki

All the vintage was rounded out by a sprinkling of modern, but handmade things like these original prints from Kristen Solecki which definitely have that indie feel.

Real Fruit Jewelry

My kids were enthralled by this jewelry made from dehydrated fruit coated in resin by Real Fruit Jewelry.

Marie's Soap Co.

Enticing handmade soaps tied up with string by Marie's Soap Co.

Cool belt buckles from joeyfivecents displayed in old narrow drawers of some kind- from a sewing table, maybe?

Not sure who's bucket this was, but my husband sure knows what I like. He ought to by now, I guess. It's our 13th wedding anniversary today!

And here he is minding the booth for me. Would you buy a onesie from this character?

The next Clover Market will be on Sunday, September 18th. See you then!

antiquing in lucketts, va

Mom & Brenda

This weekend was spent visiting with family back in Virginia, where I am from. My brother & his wife were in from Chicago and in the mood to see sights. Mom & I decided it was time to take Brenda antiquing in the town of Lucketts, VA since she is a Luckett now. (Yes, that's my maiden name). We like to think ancestors of ours founded the town, but we haven't researched it enough to be sure if we are related. My Dad's family is out of Kentucky, so who knows...

stately home in Leesburg

Lucketts is located 6 miles north of Leesburg on Rt 15. Leesburg is a gem of a town in itself. It has retained it's colonial flavor with its brick sidewalks and historic row houses and homes lining King Street & Market Street, the main drags. It's become fashionable with the younger crowd and nicely curated antique shops, cafes, and restaurants have sprung up lately.

click to enlarge map

The store we like to go to in our namesake town is The Old Lucketts Store. It's a one-stop-shop for antiques, vintage, and architectural salvage with a few new items thrown in. It's a mall set-up with many different vendors inhabiting what was once the general store and post office run by the Lucketts, who have since left the area.

The family lived upstairs in the rambling building.

There are so many vendors now, that they've spilled out into the yard into free-standing sheds, each with it's own personality.

Some salvage.

So me I can hardly stand it!

On the porch.

New upholstery.

New accessories, nicely displayed.

A vintage cast iron soap dish that I bought for holding business cards at craft shows.

Salvaged knobs.

Lots of great light fixtures...

More salvage.

Can't ignore the linens of course!

There are other antique stores nearby, but we were experiencing sensory overload and opted to head back to Leesburg for lunch. We found parking on King Street directly in front of a charming cafe called  Shoes Cup and Cork Club which inhabits a former shoe repair shop.

Inside, it's chalkboard menus, rustic finishes, & mismatched tables & chairs reminded me of a cozy cafe tucked away in the West Village of New York City.

It'll definitely be worth a trip back to check out all the antique stores we skipped and have more chai tea lattes.