Last Saturday I spent hours weaving around the colourful tents that dotted a field in Aberfoyle, Ontario. These are the things that caught my eye.
The Aberfoyle Antique Market, about half an hour from my house, is Canada's oldest antique market, opening in 1961. It's open every Sunday until the end of October but twice a year they hold what they call the Saturday Special.
Guest vendors fill the parking lots and fields surrounding the regular show and it's become the place to go for junkers who are still mourning the demise of the exceptional Christie Antique Sale.
It was an immensely popular, world class, outdoor antique show that took place twice a year for the past 30 years with 10,000 people showing up every time.
The city cancelled it.
If you work for the City of Hamilton and know exactly who I should send my most respectful comments on this decision to - please let me know.
SO that leaves us with Aberfoyle and a perfectly pleasant fall day.
These are the things that caught my eye. ONE of which came home with me so get ready to guess what I bought.
The Thing I Regret *Not* Buying
I'd never seen anything like this table runner before. A penny rug that you could never, ever duplicate. That's the thing about antiques. The aged fabric, wood or metal just can't be convincingly faked or reproduced.
You could make a copy of this penny rug sure. But it wouldn't have the softness that a century of wear gives it. Or the subtle beautiful fading of the fabric.
That's what I love so much about antiques. They have a depth that new things just don't.
See what I did there?
Steiff hand puppet. This is the kind of thing you find at an antique show and think ... holy crap ... who knew I'd like a tiger hand puppet so much.
I was just having a conversation with one of my sisters a couple of weeks ago about these old cardboard Humpty Dumpty potato chip containers. They were like hat boxes for your chips.
Add a trip to the Pop Shop before Saturday night's Love Boat and ... you had a seriously good night ahead of you.
One of the most unique fines at the show was this bar cart.
The porcelain dolls in the cart are called Piano Babies. Draping a shawl across the drawing room piano was once in fashion. These dolls are made and marketed as a way to keep the piano's shawl from falling off.
They were weird times indeed.
It was a rough day for Superman.
FUN FACT:
Superman was in fact Made in Canada. The artist who created him was from Toronto. You can learn more about how very Canadian Superman is in this article from the CBC.
If you like the kissing dogs photo you'll love tomorrow's post which is going to be a tribute to The Dogs of Aberfoyle.
They f&*ked with my FRIES. The importance of french fries to an antique show trip can't be overstated.
They're the reason for going. The reason for walking. The reason for everything.
And then some rogue lunatic cook randomly decides to serve french fries dusted with a flavourful spice mix on them as if this were some kind of Michelin starred antique show and ruin my day.
Luckily my mood lifted as soon as I saw the 10 cent pen dispenser. I want to live in a house that's large enough to accommodate important household items like retractable pen vending machines.
Tomorrow's post will reveal what, out of all these curiosities, came home with me. Take your guess now in the comment section ...
You must have brought home one of those weird piano babies??? Though they probably go with the bar cart. So it must have been the lady in blue painting.
However if it was the piano baby, what kind of piano are you going to get? I can't wait to see all the shawls you will surely buy for to complete the accent and see the various ways you'll rearrange them on the piano with the piano baby.
I have a full sized Stieff tiger (with a ripped tummy and a broken tail) from my childhood. A friend's young daughter came over and it scared her so much I had to hide it away. I haven't been to the Aberfoyle Market in quite a few years. It's always a fun day out!
That quillies rug reminds me of this really lovely 1930s yo-yo quilt that Smash Salvage posted on Instagram in their quilt sale this past Thursday...looks like it's still available...for some reason it's itching my brain that it didn't sell instantly like all the others. So much work in that beauty! (And I'm guessing you got those signs!)
I’m guessing the runner,the signs or the puppet and crying baby
“The Lady In The Blue Dress” painting .. a selfie pic of you
The bar cart.
The angry baby and the painting of the lady.
I hope you bought that bar cart. If I had seen it and not bought it, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.
Hi Karen, What a wonderful post as usual. I was drooling all over my iPad!! I hope you bought those signs for your garden and the bar cart! And the tiger hand puppet!!
The table runner
As a strong Hamilton Tiger Cat fan I am hoping for the tiger puppet
It would look so cute on a stand under a glass dome. Everything looks good under a glass dome. ~ karen!
Guessing the signs and what Barb said. I enjoy reading from wordsmiths such as yourself - hard to come by and fun. Thanks.
Oh that looked like fun. I liked the two metal chairs . A little shocked to notice price on the pots though maybe I shouldn’t be so shocked .
Oh. no don't be shocked. ALUMINUM FOIL IS $9 A ROLL NOW! Everything is an insane price. ~ karen!
The bar cart! Too sweet!
I pick the garden row marker signs for you and 11 other things but what got me is the Steiff tiger puppet for me! Why? It’s a heartbreaking tale of lost love, travel and crushed hopes. When I was about 5 I had its twin. In fact that very tiger could have once belonged to me. I took him everywhere with me. He was my wingman. One day my mother, stepdad and I boarded a jet in Los Angeles, LAX for those soul sisters who speak my airport lingo headed to Sky Harbor, PHX. My travel companion puppet was alive to me. He wasn’t stuffed with cotton wadding, my hand stuffed him and I figured that this indeed meant he was a for-real, living and kinda maybe breathing tiger. I was the original optimist and had a wild imagination. We buckled up and the thrill of rushing down the runway was magical and exhilarating. My tiger hand looked out the window with me. His shiny carbuncle button eyes took in the vast LA landscape and we watched the city disappear far below. I fell asleep as the engines sang a travelers lullaby and before you could say Clutch Cargo we touched down in the desert of Arizona. My mother’s cousin picked us up in her giant station wagon and we wheeled to their home where many childhood memories were instilled in my psyche. It wasn’t until I was going through my belongings that the sharp realization came into laser like focus. Tiger (that was his name, don’t hate me, I was busy and 5) was not anywhere to be found. MISSING! I cried and snot ran into Louise’s carpet and her children got a good laugh out of my obvious distress. Scott was the meanest. He teased me and told me horror stories about my best friend’s disappearance. My stepdad called his friends who worked in the maintenance department for American Airlines in every airport that jet was scheduled to land. He was an aircraft mechanic and I had solid hope he would find Tiger. The flight crew didn’t find him - ( I was positive that a conspiracy of massive proportions had evolved and Tiger was heading to Japan or Canada!
I never forgot him. He was as real to me as my own right hand.
That’s what I’d have bought if I had such good fortune to reunite with him.
I have a giant collection of Le Creuset that has become the least useful cookware I own due to its weight. I keep it because it’s like a chain tied to a million memories of following the recipes of Julia Child’s Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. I 100% skipped escargot. No. Anything can be made edible when saturated in butter and garlic but that doesn’t mean I want to pretend to like it.
I love antique malls and thrift stores. My favorite way to waste a day is to head South towards the Las Vegas Strip and hit my route of special places that visitors never see. I have no business bringing anything home since, like you Karen, only my roof is left to adorn.
What a fabulous post this one is Karen. I promise I didn’t even shed a tear over my lost Tiger even though 60 or 61 years have rolled under the bridge and that image brought that memory into my reality.
Lots of love to you up there in Canada. If you elected to buy Tiger, give him a kiss from me.
I wish I could buy you the Steiff tiger!!!!!
Thank you Hanneke! I don't know what it was about it. I guess those people at Steiff really do know what they're doing, lol. Because I knew it was really nice before I knew it was really expensive. I had the same experience with a pair of used boots at a show like this a few years ago. Tried them, they fit like they were made for me. That's when I noticed they were Hermes. My mother ended up buying them for me. I got one boot for my birthday and one for Christams. ~ karen!
I hope you write books! You have such a way with words and I'd buy them.
Maybe 15-20 years ago I decided to clean out my large collection of stuffed animals. Acquired throughout my life into adulthood there were many whose appeal had faded and I was in need of a purging. The handmade, childhood favorites, gifts and unique ones were the keepers. I filled a couple of large contractor bags. Inside the keepers bag went my original Raggedy Ann with stained face and peeling off hair and my original 1960's Winnie the Pooh family. The whole set. Not the Disney version. Roo had no feet because he lived inside Kanga's pouch, Eeyore had a button on tail, Pooh had a missing eye replaced with a button, Piglet had a new cover sewn on his foot where our dog chewed on him and Christopher Robin's plastic face had black marker lines like scars because...well...it was the 60's and we watched a lot of cowboy, war and cop movies in my house( my Dad was a police officer) and my brother and I played "guns" out in the yard. Shortly after bagging stuff up I asked my then boyfriend to take the give away bag to the local mission. I think it was a year before I opened the remaining bag to look over my treasures and found that he had grabbed the wrong bag. Emotional devastation ensued. I still think of them from time to time hoping that someone had a soft spot and they didn't end up in a dumpster. Maybe reading about Tiger and telling all of you will lay my last bits of sadness to rest. Note to self: use clear trash bags next time.
Love your blog Karen. It's the only one I follow. It gives me courage, validation and a distraction from the insanity of the world.
Thanks!
PS I liked Superman pulling the cart but I'm a little whacked. Love from Vermont. Can we secede and come live in Canada???
Sure thing. But we've ascertained that my personal living space is cramped so you'll have to hang a hammock from my ceiling for sleeping. Or, you know, buy your own house here. ~ karen!
Hi Nancy! I actually gasped when I realized you were accidentally left with the wrong bag. I have a similar regret, having thrown out large garbage bags of ribbons I won riding. I thought for sure I kept a bag with the "special" ones in it. The ribbons that were from higher level shows, or what have you. At some point I must have accidentally thrown that bag out too because they're gone. I still think about them. You have my empathy. ~ karen!
Oh Pamela…… what a sad but great story. I feel your little kid pain. I hope Scott grew up to be a bette human bean!
The red barn rug .
I am thinking you brought home the penny rug table runner even though it was shown under the "the thing I regret not buying" section (but there were two things there)...you always have such nice tablescapes, I think this would look wonderful at your house. I also considered picking that little grumpy puss baby, only because it was so different in it's expression and would certainly be a conversation piece.
And by the way, in all my years of living and my many world travels, how on earth can I not have seen a penny rug or known what a wool quillie is. OH MY GOODNESS. Thanks for the introduction!
That was my thought! I may have seen a penny rug before, but never noticed it. This one was so remarkable there was no missing it. You will find out tomorrow if I did indeed buy it. ;) ~ karen!
For one tenth of a second you had me with the mirror pic. lol
And in fact I had the bunny rabbit puppet in that Steiff series when I was but an innocent 'yoot' back in the 50's. I'll guess one of those glass vases.
The corn and/or beans signs
The black horse head. I really really hope it is not the girl on the bidet… it is positively creepy to think of some man painting her while she’s sitting on the bidet!
It took at least 4 runs through the photos for me to spot the horse head. It does seem to call Karen’s name. But she’s a desperado and who knows? She could figure a way to rearrange the furniture to squeeze in that folding bar cart. A new thing to surprise her head measuring family this coming Canadian Thanksgiving. BUT-
She has some garden space for those signs and the one that says “Wreaths” is like a dare for her to hang a row of Karen-Crafted Christmas Wreathes on, the long way, on her fabulous Christmas porch extravaganza!
The post closed before I could fix my moniker - Damn
Try as I have, I cannot see a girl on a bidet anywhere!
Unless you mean the blue & white painting? In which case I have no idea how you see a bidet! Lol!