Friday, September 7, 2012

Brimfield - Mecca for Antiques and Oddities

I've heard about Brimfield's antique show for years, but never got to check it out.  They claim it's the biggest outdoor show in the US - 5000 dealers in tents, spread on either side of Rt 20 for a mile.  It brings in rock stars, collectors and regular folks like us.  So this year we were thrilled to take a day off and experience it for ourselves (okay, so I was thrilled, Richard a little less so).  Our daughter Katie wanted to tag along as well, so it was a family event.


What were we shopping for?  A full size headboard for one of the bedrooms in the house.   But since this is just for staging, we were hoping to get a huge bargain.  That's one of the cool things about Brimfield - they have everything from fine antiques to flea market finds.

So what did we learn?

1)  Dress down.  My friend Marc recommended we wear our usual home renovation work clothes.  And while I couldn't bring myself to go out in public in my paint splattered cut offs, we did find that you don't want to look too well off when you're trying to get a huge bargain.

2) Traffic can be awful, so it's good to get there early.  And you'll pay $5-7 for parking.

3)  They have some really funky stuff there!  We saw everything from  5' Beyonce chickens (and if you haven't read the the Bloggess account of Beyonce the chicken, you should read it now.  It's probably the funniest blog I've ever read!), to a metal indian to a giant Pillsbury Dough Boy.  And then there was the mountain of wooden lobster buoys that the couple from Nova Scotia brought in.
Mountain of Wooden Lobster Buoys from Nova Scotia
Hmm...where would you put this?









4)  The food choices are a lot like a state fair - fried everything.   Including Oreos, which our daughter Katie actually tried and liked! My advice, pack your lunch.









5)  You can find your bargain.  I got this old bed for $40.  I just love the carved circles up at the top.  It's missing a few pieces and needs a little TLC, but wait till you see it in the front bedroom.  We'll clean and paint it and it will look great!!!  The only downside, we had to schlepp it about half a mile to get it back to the car.

He's not quite as excited about the bed as I am!






All in all, it was a great experience.  It was worth the crowds, the traffic and the fried food.  Can't wait to go again next year!

Have you found any great bargains at Brimfield or a similar antiques show? Pin It

5 comments:

  1. So I take it you didn't get any Beyonce chickens for the house?

    - Monique (Formally of Small Town 20 Something)

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    1. Monique - so nice to hear from you! Ha, I keep trying to figure out where I could squeeze a 5' chicken into our tiny yard. But just can't figure it out. Although it would make me giggle every time I saw it! Hope you're enjoying our sudden burst of summer weather.

      Laurel

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  2. No, I guess I'm too cheap. Never found any bargains, but I don't have the patience for power shopping like some folks. It's a lot of fun, though. It's fairly close to me, but I haven't been in a while. Last time I went my sister talked me out of buying every thing I picked out!

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    Replies
    1. You should give it another try. It is quite an interesting event!! But you'd probably like it better if you came home with at least one bargain!

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  3. so fun...i hope to go someday!! love the bed!

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