From Bats to Ballgowns: Brimfield Delivers Once Again!

Each May I make my annual pilgrimage to the largest flea market in the WORLD--Brimfield Antiques Show and Flea Market.  Brimfield is actually the small, rural town in Massachusetts that hosts this thrice-yearly event ( May, July and September).  The show,which began in 1959, consists of multiple fields on both sides of a mile-long stretch of Route 20.  Each field opens on a different day.  Some open for one day, others the full week and every combination in between. 
Perhaps the most famous field is May's.  May's opens on Wednesday and draws a loyal crowd due to the fact that dealers are forbidden to unpack before the gates open.  This allows equal-opportunity for all buyers.  (The dirty, little secret being that most real bargains are bought up by other dealers before the gates even open.) 
I never worry about that.  I believe that if you are meant to find something, it will be there.  I went to Brimfield on Tuesday just chat with the other dealers and enjoy the show and I ended up leaving with some great finds!

Here are just a few of the sights from Brimfield:

All seasoned flea-marketers bring a wheeled cart to haul their finds in:

As stated in the title, here are the ball gowns:

In the Vintage Textiles Tent you'll find these ladies (Linda LeBissoniere and Hillary Boris) selling everything Shabby Chic, pink, and floral.  I love how they got into the spirit and dressed head-to-toe in lace, flowers, and pink, pink, pink!
Linda owns Little M's Posies in Meriden, CT (203-237-8312).  Hillary is the owner of Tickled Pink in Seymour, CT (203-888-8898).

My friend Mary sells her fabulous art here.  She has quite a following, especially with B&B owners on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.  http://www.marymaguireart.com/

Cocoa, I found out, is a seasoned flea-marketer and she certainly knows how to travel!

Barry and I had such a good time hamming it up, he gave me my vintage horse ribbons for free!  How's that for a bargain?

Check out this array of vintage buttons--and only 25cents a piece!

These sculptural objects were all sold out by 10am, and at hundreds of dollars a piece, I'd say this dealer was a happy camper!

The sets from the Brady Bunch & The Partridge Family found a home here:

 

As promised, here are the bats:

For my next post, I'll share my Brimfield Finds!

For more info on Brimfield, visit http://www.brimfieldshow.com/