Flea Market Adventures

Last weekend my mother, sister, niece, and I went to the DC Big Flea at the Dulles Expo Center in Centreville, Virginia. It’s the largest antique show in the mid-atlantic region, and we all found some treasures. Antiquing is one of my favorite past-times. I love browsing the booths in search of majolica pottery, enamel teapots, and other treasures. Here’s a sampling of some of the items that caught my eye.

I absolutely fell in love with this antique nail bin. It has so many potential uses. Put it in your closet to store shoes, handbags, socks, or belts. Place it in your office to hold office supplies or in your studio to store art supplies. You could place it in an empty corner of your garage to hold odds and ends like baseball gloves, softballs, tools, roller skates, nuts and bolts, you name it. Or, place it in your potting shed to hold pots, seeds, seedlings, and gardening tools. The possibilities are endless with this gem. Love the idea, but don’t have room for a huge nail bin like this? No problem–you can purchase a new one online in a variety of sizes–including a one- or two-tiered rotating nail bin that would fit right on your desk.

My mother had a record player just like this one when she was a child. This would look great as an art object in a bookcase.

So would this vintage toy truck.

These purple hurricanes probably rocked someone’s world in the 1980s. They still rock my world today.

These fiestaware plates would be a great find for food bloggers who are always looking for interesting ways to display their culinary creations. You could match–or contrast–the plates to each particular dish. Yeah, baby!

And these colorful fiestaware pitchers could serve up a bevy of refreshing beverages, like my mom’s homemade lemonade. Hey mom, you haven’t made homemade lemonade in a long time. Hint, hint….

This vintage children’s clothing would look fabulous hung on a hanger as art in a child’s room. Add a straw hat and a vintage tea set on a child-sized table, and you’re set.  I love the black and white polka dress with pink trim.

And these vintage children’s gladiator shoes prove that everything old is truly new again. How awesome are these?

There was a good selection of antique majolica pottery. These waterlily and asparagus plates were so pretty. But I was looking for something specific–a large corn pitcher to add to my collection.

After browsing all the aisles I found several majolica corn pitchers of roughly the same size and quality but the prices varied drastically from a high of $400 to a real deal like the one pictured above at just $70.00. I did a happy dance when I stumbled upon this one and it came home with me. It’s always a good idea to view everything at the show before you make a purchase and then go back for the items (if they’re still available) that were the best price. Avoiding the urge to jump on the first item that rocked my world saved me over $300.00. Another way to get a good price is to wait until the end of the show to make a dealer an offer. Dealers are more likely to reduce their asking price at the end of the show because they don’t want to pack up all their items and lug them back home.

My sister snapped up this complete set of melmac dinnerware for just under $80.00. This set will be put to good use in her new home. I can’t wait for her to serve me up some of her awesome brownie cupcakes or pumpkin spice muffins on these babies. Hint, hint, sissy! I’ll have coffee with mine….

I fell in love with this vintage enamel teapot but walked away without buying it. Now, I wish I had snapped it up. It would look great on my kitchen table or on my fireplace mantel filled with fresh daisies. Drat, drat, and double drat!

My mom bought a vintage pitcher but threw her money on the table so fast that I couldn’t snap a photo! She asked my niece to stop her if she attempted to buy anything, and poor Karen did her best to intervene, but mom was determined to make her purchase. How’s that pitcher werk’in for you, mom? Karen was captivated with the vintage jewelry and picked up an adorable ring made out of a spoon.

We had a great time at the show. It was a fun family outing. The DC Big Flea is held at the Dulles Expo Center four times a year. The next show will be held on November 2-3, just in time for holiday shopping. Yeah, baby!