StephanieLloyd.com

This 10′ work table (below) is among my top ten favorite factory pieces of all time.  It once

had straight legs.  Someone didn’t like it that way and cut them off.   I love the odd 

arangement of criss-cross legs and supports and the curved drawer fronts.

Mountains of old string-tied book remnants grace an otherwise-empty spot.

An 1800s French horse stall window hangs (crookedly, I see) over a counry store counter. 

As usual, grain sacks and grain sack upholstered furniture take pride of place. The old

rippled glass of the display case is so pretty that anything looks good inside it.

Jennifer Lanne’s paintings make everything look better, too!  See more of her paintings at

www.jenniferlanne.com .

Is it a cupboard or a big easel ?

So much stuff, so little room.

Walking sideways is always a must.

Visit Bournebrook  in Troy, New York or at www.bournebrook.com .

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.

–If I were the betting kind, and someone asked what one word described July  Brimfield

to most people, I would have to put my money on “hot.”  Or maybe “humid.”  

–But, I am going to take the high road.  I won’t complain, at least not now that I am

luxuriating in my air-conditioned house.  Besides, I came home with two truck and trailer

loads of  exceptionally fabulous stuff, saw old friends, made some new ones and was so

impressed, once again, with the good humor and kind hospitality of the dealers. 

–In addition to the things that they brought to sell, bottles of water, sandwiches, ice-

soaked towels, a chair in front of the fan were proffered.  These offerings, many times made

by dealers I had never before met, were gratefully accepted… and not only refreshed my

body and spirit but added to my store of experiences that reinforce my belief that

people are good.

–As I sit here now, thinking and writing , I realize that I’ve changed my mind.  The only

word that I could put my money on to describe Brimfield would be “gracious.”

I can’t count the number of times, when we’ve parked in some little town,

that someone, after checking out our truck and trailer full of wood and metal,

 has asked  if we’re heading to the dump. They are always surprised and, I am

sure, appalled to learn that we are, in fact, heading home to repurpose our

otherwise junk-worthy load into furniture.

This 8′ cart (above) turned into a cool daybed (below) and only lasted a few hours in

our space in Hudson.

The grain sack cushion cover featured lovely hand-drawn graphics and, of course,

wonderful hand-worked patches and darnings.

I wonder if the customer who purchased my factory cart daybed will be asked if

he is heading to the dump on his trip home with this piece. It is a good possibility!

Remember that old John Denver song that went “sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy” ?

That is just what came to mind yesterday when we plunked this wonderful early sofa down in

our space in Hudson. The sun would have been right on my shoulder if I had had the time to sit.

Meanwhile, the sun on this stuff was in my eyes and just plain annoyed me, even after I

rolled down the awning outside.

It is always so interesting to me how much light affects our moods. I watched myself go

from pleased to pissed in under a minute. Sometimes, sunglasses are the only way to go.

Nothing makes a French daybed as pretty as a cushy French-hand-rolled mattress.

The addition of some grain sack pillows makes it just perfect. 

The daybed below is newly dressed in a vintage French sheet of fabulous

heavy linen with embroidered initials.

Both daybeds are in the Hudson Supermarket, Hudson, NY if a catnap

is needed.

–It only took 6 hours (2 hours of in-person training last week in Burlington, Vt….

not to mention the 6 hours of driving time, a 1 hour DimDim…or, as I call it, Dumb

Dumb…session this morning and 3 hours of trial, error and tears this afternoon) for

me to enter this one photo, here in this spot.

–Now that it’s in, I wonder if I can do it again.  And, if not, why did I choose this

particular picture when I have so many others that I like, probably way more than

this one? Even so, it’s a good-looking daybed with its grain sack pillow (even though

it is so unfortunately placed across the center of the picture), very few weeds appear

in the spaces where I mean to have moss or creeping-something growing, the road

hardly shows.  And, after all, it IS a country road. But what’s that spot on the stone? 

Does it exist or is it some camera concoction?  It was starting to rain as I set up the

shot and I had to think fast: save the daybed or save the camera? Oh, go ahead, one

quick click won’t hurt….

–But wait! Why am I obsessing over imperfections, both real and imagined, when,

finally, after weeks of wishing, success is mine?  Look what I did!  Who cares what it

looks like!  In fact, it is fabulous.