(No, Gracie did not accompany us. She would have ooh-ed and aah-ed for the first half hour, then begged to go home and watch Peter Pan. Or something. But we had to include her in the picture of the girls. :)
When we arrived, the line stretched the entire length of the Fairgrounds parking lot, around the corner, and probably 20 yards down the street. But the wait was much shorter than we expected, due to two ticket buildings that provided four lines at the entrance.
I'm still swooningly in love with the fabric-wrapped tree from 2008, but this old Carnation Milk truck definitely made my heart skip a beat. And check out those clouds, handmade by Serena.
How ingenious is this junk CAKE, the designated book-signing spot and symbol of the soon-to-open bakery with the same name.
I was so disappointed to find that I only took two pictures of actual merchandise. I was apparently too busy wiping the drool from my chin. It's an embarrassing but inevitable side effect of The Farm Chicks Show. If you'd like more eye candy, check out the links here.
I laughed when I looked through my photos and found that I captured Serena walking out of Bay 1, dialing her phone. I think I saw her diminutive figure no fewer than six times while we were there, amidst thousands of people. She was all over the place.
I'm not sure what the overall attendance estimate is, but apparently there were about 4,300 people just on Saturday. One of the vendors told my mom around 3:00 that the truck they brought was almost empty--and there was still the remainder of Saturday and all of Sunday to go!
I mostly left with a whole lot of inspiration, but I did buy a few fun things. (Vendors are in parentheses.) My "biggest" purchase was this old milk can (The Red Quail). I'm not quite sure yet what its use will be. Planter? Base for an end table? Stool? Kindling holder next to the fireplace? What to do, what to do...
I also found this checkerboard (Sophia's)--that I may end up permanently attaching to the top our family room coffee table but which for now is being used as decor--and this sweet enamel bowl (Big Ship Salvage). It looks blue in the photo, but it's actually a yummy shade of light turquoise, very much like what I'm leaning toward painting our kitchen.
I've been looking for BINGO markers, and I couldn't resist these letters that look like dominoes (both Lisa Souers). I also have plans for the sweet little tin molds (JohnBob Cool Junk) which I haven't been able to find while thrifting. I actually waited for several minutes while a group of women finalized which ones they wanted and eventually put these three back!
Thank you, Serena, for the heart and vision and time you put into this event. It feeds my girly, creative, vintage-beauty-loving, inspiration-seeking self more than I could express. :)
It will be a long twelve months until next year's show, but in the meantime we locals can look forward to these upcoming events:
The Vintage Barn Antique Show (July 10 | Rathdrum, ID)
Latah Creek Variety Market (July 10-11 | Spokane, WA)
Junk-in-the-Country Sale (July 31 | Coeur d'Alene, ID)
Funky Junk Antique Show & Crafts Market (September 4-5 | Sandpoint, ID)
Two Women Barn Bazaar (September 11-12 | Spangle, WA)
Angel's Attic Sale (September 25 | Spokane, WA)
The Mad Hatter Vintage Flea Market (October 1-2 | Spokane, WA)
