StephanieLloyd.com

Thursday is always a good day, not just because we bring new stuff to our space in

the Hudson Supermarket, but because we eat!  There is a cafe right in the back of

the store and Chris, the chef, is incredible.

This time, blue and silver run throughout our space.

And, as always, grain sacks.

The metal shelving unit in the window (mixed with reflections of buildings and

cars) has perfect proportions and patina.

Blue is popular right now.  Nice for me, since it has always been my favorite

color.

More perfection, at least to my eye, in the finish on this Philadelphia workbench.

Sometimes, a table in natural wood is ok, especially if the legs are so beautiful !

This is the third blue cupboard with glass doors I have had here this month.

People must like glass doors right now as much as they like blue. Great food

and the blues. I can’t think of anything better…

(Hungry? Check it out at Hudson Supermarket or www.hudsonsupermarket.com).

Not now.

Lady Madonna  

Children at your feet…

Oh, wait!  You haven’t got  feet.  Or hands.  Or much of a head.

But, damaged though you may be, I loved you enough to bring you

home in my truck.  And, not just because you’re Italian, either. 

Although I admit it…that is part of your charm.

I can see from the light radiating from what’s left of your head and from

your heart and that place where your hands used to be that you love me

back!

So, moving on, musically, from the Beatles to the Turtles…

The only one for me is you, and you for me

So happy together !

Even though they are standing almost knee deep in clover,  are the prettiest shade of 

white and are still looking at me with only curiousity,  I am glad to be safely behind a

fence and about a football field away from these hunky good ole boys.

I have a fresh batch of grain sacks.  This load includes a number of sacks from

one farm that are examples of how interesting and, sometimes, confounding

are the graphics on these old textiles.

The first grain sack, above, with  inventory No 2, was owned and used by

Martin Holzinger who lived in Oberdachstetten (Germany).  The boot

could have something to do with the kind of work that was done at this

farm or business ( boot making, something to do with horses or feed for

horses) or, less likely,  just be a stock image that the owner liked.

The date, 1900, would have been either the date of inception of the farm

or business or the date that new sacks were made to replace older,

unrepairable ones.

This sack, above, made in 1905, adds some new and very useful pieces

of information :  Martin Holzinger is a master shoemaker

(Schuhmachermeister)!  Also, he lives or works at No 306.  This time,

his boot is a different style and contains a stretcher.

Now look!  In 1934, Georg Holzinger, possibly Martin’s son, who lives or

works at No 18, is making shoes, as well.  Why did Georg leave the master

shoemaker’s designation off of his sacks? And don’t his boots need stretchers?

I guess that as some questions are answered, others appear.

One of the things that I love about Brimfield is seeing old friends, many of whom started out

as, and remain, favorite dealers. A Wednesday treat is seeing Jackie Lantry of Bliss Farm

Antiques who sets up in the third pavilion in the New England Motel field. Although mainly

a purveyor of wonderful French antiques, which she shops for right at the source, it was the

German grain sacks that pulled me into her booth the very first time.

This time, she brought a fabulous collection of diminutive straw baskets (above), each

containing a glass to hold the health-giving Vichy water that, since 50BC has been luring

those seeking to “take the cure” to Vichy, France.  The backdrop in these photos is of old

French linen-bound books and French linen cloches, more of the treasures that went

straight from Jackie’s booth to my truck. Not shown here is the lovely daybed, one of many

special pieces of furniture I have been lucky enough to snag from this friendly and fun

dealer over the years. 

I had a few little straw things of my own (above), the Vichy basket on the right a previous

purchase from Jackie.

Because she loves history and loves what she sells, Jackie is among that vanishing breed

of dealers who really knows what she sells and, even better, has the gift of telling the

stories in such a compelling manner that, in spite of heat and other many distractions, I

remember them later!  The baskets (above) in the photo on the left, with the tops that 

slide open on their leather straps, are better, have more value, than the ones on the right

with the hooks.  But,  in the photo on the right, the cork lining in the open basket on the

left, makes it the best of that bunch.

Blown glasses are best. Colored glass is better than clear.  An etched Vichy label (above)

is better than one painted on (below).  The numbers on the back side (photo above, on

the left) would allow just the right amount of water to be consumed according to a

Victorian doctor’s orders.

I am certainly willing to overlook this clear, painted-labelled glasses’ lesser value in favor

of the charm of its cute little handle!

My collection is beginning to be quite abundant, thanks to Jackie’s French sojourns.  But,

maybe just sitting here looking isn’t enough. Maybe I should be asking Jackie to bring back

a case of that Vichy Water on her next trip to France.  Taking the cure might be just the

thing for breezing through the crazy  heat and humidity of Brimfield in July.

–If you feel the need to take the cure, the antique cure that is, it won’t be necessary to

go all the way to France.  Take a quick, easy trip to www.blissfarmantiques.com  instead.

In all my years of selling antiques, I have only known one dealer who didn’t have

a house full of favorite things. She is a smart woman who knows her product.  And

that is all it is to her…a product.  She  can admire it and place it in her inventory,

but keep it?   Not  her!

Me, on the other hand? I love everything way too much to sell!  The grain sack

(above) is my oldest. I certainly can’t be expected to sell that!

This grain sack (above) ?  Please!  It’s one of my favorites.  I can’t sell that one

either.  I loved the one (below) so much that I hid it so no customer would see

it in the grain sack room.  I have some large piles of  “Private Stock” (all too

wonderful to sell) which I occasionally delve into when someone needs

something special,  like a ram or a bee skep.  I got so anxious about this sack,

that I made it into a purse so no one could talk me out of it!  Not that I ever carry

a purse.  But, still.

All antique dealers have their lists of the things they should have bought and

the things they wish they had not sold.  Most have houses full of their favorites. 

Many keep only the best of the best.  I only keep what makes my heart sing.

That makes it the best of the best for me.

Driving through Vermont, we passed what looked like just a wetland, pretty with the

Green Mountains majestic behind it.  However,  many of the marsh’s  trees were topped

with weird  blobs, looking like fantastical tall,  skinny cartoon people with funky big hair.

Of course, we had to go back to check  this situation out.  In spite of being on a highway

with not much of a shoulder for leisurely parking and photo-taking.

Nests full of herons.  And babies!  The parents took turns guarding, flying off to eat and

returning with a meal for a baby.

The tiny black question mark-shaped thing in the nest is a baby’s neck and head. Even with

my stabilized telephoto lens, the distance and the shake of the truck make these birds hard

to see. I wish the photos were better. But, the thrill of this siting made me want to have them

here anyway. I’ll try to do better next time.

Happy 4th of July.

From all 29 of us.

There are three new babies down the road from us, one for each of the

beautiful buff-colored mothers to whom they stick so closely. 

When I went to the fence to take pictures, the mothers came to investigate,

hoping for treats that I did not bring…not knowing the rules about such things.

Quickly, the babies ran to catch up and their spirited gait made me think that,

had Elton John seen babies like these, “Tiny Prancer” would have been his

song.

I love knowing that I don’t have to go very far for excitement.  Whether in the

city or the country, nature- or handmade, excitement really is all around us.

 And, wherever it is, there is no place like home.