Rain, Rain, Go Away

Yesterday marked the final Elkhorn flea market of the season. I have been pretty excited about it all week...until I saw the weather forecast. 50% chance of rain all day. No!!!!! Flea market season is quickly coming to an end and I need lots of vintage pieces to go me through the winter (especially with our first baby arriving in late November...I know it will be a lot more difficult for me to run around hunting for vintage goodies). When it is a rainy day, a lot of vendors don't show up, a lot of vendors that do show up have all their items covered with tarps, and the vendors inside the buildings are so crowded that it can be difficult to get a peek at what they have to offer.

Despite all this, I knew I really needed to go, so my hubby and I were on the road by 6:30. Once we arrived, we started off outside (as the rain was barely a drizzle). We didn't get too far before the rain started coming down hard and all the vendors outside started covering up their items. We headed towards the buildings (like everyone else). As we made our way through them, I was getting increasingly frustrated. In addition to being completely frustrated with the weather (that I could do absolutely nothing about) all the vendors that did have jewelry seemed to be very high priced. If I wanted to pay those prices, I could just go to an antique mall. As we passed booth after booth, I was beginning to think this could be a total bust of a day. Finally, I bought one so-so pair of earrings just to make me feel like I "broke the ice."

While still in the buildings, we visited one vendor I've bought from a couple of times. I wouldn't say his prices are cheap, but if I can talk him down a bit, they are well within my range. I picked out a several pieces that caught my eye. None of them were priced, but I thought I would give it a shot. Usually the more you grab, the better deal they'll give you, but he didn't seem to want to play that game today. He started naming prices (ouch...ouch...ouch) and I quickly eliminated several. I got it down to 4 that I was most interested in. Once we added it up, he knocked a couple of dollars off the price, but it was still more than I would normally pay. I was torn because they were some great pieces and again, I knew I really need to stock up on things. I swallowed hard and got my wallet out. I didn't want to be kicking myself in February for not having items to work with. This guy also had big glass jars full of random stuff that he was selling. I am not usually a big fan of these grab bag type things, but he (and my husband) talked me into getting one of those too. Sometimes when I am making my "assemblage" necklaces, these "junk jars" give me a lot of little pieces to work with. After I paid for my items and left his booth, I was having a slight bit of buyers remorse. I mean, I should have no problem getting my money back on the items I bought, but I am just so cheap! I needed a good deal to make me feel like I balanced out the splurge.

My "Junk Jar"

Our next stop was a booth that had a bunch of furniture and garden items, and then a small area of jewelry thrown on a table. Looked super promising. Those are the vendors whose prices are reasonable. I picked out a handful and was really happy with the price the vendor gave me on it. Done! I love it when I don't have to think about it, and now I felt better about buying the more expensive pieces from the last guy.

As the day continued, I got a lot more things...some I paid more than normal on, but some I got deals on, so it evened itself out. The rain held off long enough for us to make it though the rest of the outside vendors, but it really came down hard when we were going through the last of the buildings. On a good weather day with all the normal vendors there, I could easily spend all day there. On yesterday's adventure, we were in the car before 11:00 (my husband was pumped that we would make the kickoffs of the 12:00 football games).

After we got home and I was going over my purchases from the day, I would say it was a successful trip. I purchased enough things to keep me busy for awhile. And my junk jar that I bought? Junk...but I should be able to make my money back on it. There are a few things I can use and experiment with, I just don't have much use for bunny pins and Betty Boop earrings. :)




A few of my purchases from the day



And a few more...


I have the last Cedarburg Maxwell Street days next Sunday. Cross your fingers that the weather is nice! I need it to be!

Also, on a quick final note, last week I went to Junk Bonanza flea market in Shakopee, MN, and had Cedarburg's Harvest Fest last weekend. Sorry, for no blog post (I was SO SO tired and it took me all week to recover) but I will summarize. Junk Bonanza = totally worth all the driving. So much fun and so inspiring! Harvest Fest = awesome Saturday (best single day of sales ever) and a rainy slow Sunday (can't really complain though)

Cedarburg Maxwell Street Days 9/4/2011

I love flea market season. Flea markets are where I find most of my vintage jewelry. Sure, I could probably get things cheaper at auctions or estate sales, but you don't get the volume and variety of things you see at a flea market. Both estate sales and auctions can be quite time consuming (at estate sales, you usually need to be there pretty early to sign up so that you can be one of the first ones in, and then you never know what you'll find inside).



Me and my (decaf) coffee this morning

My hubby and I make a great team too. He is 6'4", so he can see over the heads of a lot of other people and scan booths for jewelry. He's my partner in crime. He's gotten really good at knowing what I like and what I'm willing to pay for it (and I think he secretly enjoys it too).

This morning, we headed out early for Maxwell Street Days in Cedarburg. This is a pretty big flea market with a good mix of vendors. You have those people who have all the locked cases of exquisite jewelry (pricey!), but then you also get the people who have a bunch of random items with a small area of jewelry (I usually have the best luck with them). We are starting to recognize the vendors at these things, so we kind of know which ones to stop at and which ones to just keep walking past. 

I got some really great deals today on some beautiful pieces. The timing is perfect too, because I have another big show in a couple weeks, and I can quickly whip up some things using the pieces I found today. New inspiration is always a good thing.



Goodies galore!



I hope to take some pictures of the things I have been creating, but honestly, I am not sure I will have time. I have to work work work these next couple of weeks, and next Wednesday, I will be headed to Minnesota for the Junk Bonanza flea market. I went last year, and it was so much fun. I don't think I'll find many rhinestones there, but I like going there for inspiration and for stuff for my house (last year I scored an awesome baroque style mirror for $45.00 that now hangs in my bathroom)

Okay, so this is not my most exciting or detailed blog post, but like I said, I am really busy trying to make stuff for my next show. So I will just leave you with this photo from today that I texted to my younger sister. See, when she was little, she used to say, "I'm so hungry, I could eat a buffalo!" It has been an inside joke in our family for years.



Sam, did you eat the rest of this
 because you were so hungry??