I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this old work table!  We bought it for the house to use as a kitchen island, but it's just too big to fit through ANY door in our house, so we put it in the shop.... for someone else to fall in love with!  It's huge!  It's 6' long, 33 1/2" tall and 34 3/4" wide.  Has a nice shelf on the bottom for baskets or pots and pans.  It has two VERY long drawers.  It's really just a wonderful piece!

To see more of what we have to offer, pop over to our facebook page! 

Uptown Antiques on Facebook

Prim Uses for Unsual Finds!

In our quest for unusual antiques, sometimes we come across things that are unique, but we're not always sure how best to use them.  That's how it was with the 3 humongous boxes of old ceramic insulators I bought a while back.  I loved the rich colors and unusual shapes, but wasn't sure what to do with them.

Then one day, someone set one of them on the counter at the shop and as I stood there looking at it, I picked up one of my battery operated candles and plunked it inside and finished it off with a berry pip candle ring and VOILA!  I absolutely love this idea!!  And since I've been displaying them like this, people are finally buying the insulators.

I had a very large one that we suggested to a customer could be used as a mini bird bath in the garden.  She bought two!

Christmas visitors....

I love the Nutcracker Ballet.  I've only been once, with my Mom, but wow, what a show!!  So I went to an auction this weekend and found this awesome treasure.  A giant Nutcracker!  He's even taller than me.  I'm 5'4", so he might be close to 6' tall.  He's standing in the window of the shop right now, greeting shoppers as they come in the store.

And a lovely lady came into the shop this morning with these adorable little elves for sale.  She said they once hung in an old grocery store at Christmas time.  They stand about 39" tall and I thought they were absolutely charming!!

Now to take pictures of all the wonderful furniture finds we brought home Saturday night....

I love finding treasure in barns!

I went to a wonderful old farm auction in Thornville last weekend.  The property was incredible.  It was surrounded on three sides by Dawes Arboretum.  It was nestled on gently rolling hills with a wooded background.  Beautiful!

I wasn't able to get much furniture because prices were pretty strong.  However, almost no one seemed interested in the fun stuff hidden in the barns!  There was an awesome wooden truck gate hidden away and a pair of barn panel gates and I was the only one that wanted them!!

Here's a pic of my gates set up at the shop.  I'm waiting for a handmade Mary and Joseph to arrive so I can set up a manger.

The gates are taller than me and they're about eight feet long.  They take up a LOT of space, but I love them!   I want to wrap lights and garland around them.

I also got this old barn door hanger.  When I first saw it, it was just sitting there (upside down) like this, and I thought it had so many possibilities...

So I decided to fill it up with Christmas Goodies!!  Candy canes, poinsettias and a pair of vintage baby mittens!

I also managed to get the winning bid on one of my favorite items at the auction... an old wheel barrow (missing its sides) in original blue paint!!

My sister met me at the auction and I know she thought I was a nut, buying the most primitive pieces there!  But we had a great time together and she got some fun stuff too.

One thing that bothered me though.  There was a wonderful old buggy seat advertised to be at the sale, but when I got there, no one could find it.  They determined that it must have been stolen before the sale started.  How sad!

Lovin' old painted pieces!!

It's not always easy to find unique items for the shop, especially old painted, primitive pieces.  So when someone stopped in the shop and told me he had just purchased an old house filled with things that hadn't seen the light of day for years, I jumped at the chance!

The house was in really bad shape, but just like the gentleman suggested, there were several old pieces that would be perfect for the shop!  Here are just two of them:

I just love this old dresser!  Just the right amount of wear... 

And this little jelly cupboard is so sweet!  Not too big and not too deep.  Perfect for a small space!

Some of our handmade goodies!

I absolutely love having something in the shop that not everyone else has.

These adorable lollipop ornaments were made by a stay-at-home Mom, trying to make some extra Christmas money.  I love them!

And these little peppermints are something I made myself this year.  They were fun!

I just love Christmas!

Open House Today!

Shop is all decorated and ready for Christmas!  Not sure if I'm ready yet though!  :-)

Hmmm... do I keep or sell this wonderful old red cupboard?

I found this wonderful old red pie safe/jelly cupboard at an auction a few weeks ago and immediately stuck it in the window of my shop.  But, the more I look at it, the more I think it needs to come home with me.  I guess that's one of the good things about having a shop, I can trade things in and out.   However, my dear husband doesn't seem to enjoy it when I can't quite make up my mind.  Imagine that!!  :-)

Christmas Open House!

Yes, it's been an awfully long time since I've posted.... hopefully I'll be better!  :-)

I'm so ready for Spring!

I'll confess, I'm usually a huge fan of winter.  I love the crisp, thinner air and I love snow.  I get so excited when I see the first flakes gently falling to the ground.  But this year, winter came early and never gave us a break.  I'm SO done with winter.  I don't want to be teased with spring, where the temps warm up and then plunge back to frigid bleakness.  I need spring and I need it now!

I want to see crocuses popping their sweet heads through the ground, I want to smell the intoxicating scent of lilacs in the air.  I want spring.   So please month of March, that came in like a lamb, please don't go out like a lion.  No early April snow storms either.  I just want spring and I want it now!

 

This feels like spring!

For the next week, I'm offering FREE Room Spray with every purchase!  So, stop in and tell me how you're longing for spring too!!

Back to BlogLand!

Well, I certainly didn't do a very good job of keeping up with my blog over the Holidays!  But I did spend a lot of time reading everyone else's blogs!  Everyone's so creative and I get lost reading for (many) hours!

I never know what to do with the shop in January.  Sometimes I do Valentines stuff, but it always comes on me so quickly, that I'm usually too late with any ideas.  It's too early for spring stuff (isn't it?), so I usually just try to be neutral.  Yeah, I know, neutral can be really boring.  But I've been selling lots of stuff and bringing in new things, and I've been having a good time rearranging the shop... so I thought I'd share some pics.

I found some beautiful Belleek heart shaped bowls that helped me put a little "Valentine's" spin on the glass showcase.

I think anything Victorian is always romantic!

I love this little chair.  It's been beautifully covered and has such nice legs! 

Beautiful bench made from an old bed.  It has wonderful old chippy blue paint!  I love the little cupboard sitting in the corner too.

A nice little plantation style desk, red and white coverlet, sled and a wonderful old 20 gallon crock!

I love winter and I love snow, even when it makes it hard to get around.  But I have to say I can't wait for spring this year and all the awesome sales that will be springing up.

Hope you're all keeping your spirits up and staying warm!

Some special Christmas Friends

I've been so busy lately, I barely have time to breathe!  However, I did make it to a sale today and found some pretty awesome Christmas friends.  I took them straight to the shop, and made them feel right at home.  I always have so much fun addiing "just one more thing" at Christmas!

I found these awesome, handmade Folk Art people and Angel!

And there's a story behind these wonderful, hand carved belsnickles and animals...  When I saw these at the sale today, my heart stopped because I knew who made these.  I knew because the couple was very dear to me and I had one of these precious hand carved Santas sitting in my kitchen at home.  It stays there all year long!   Clark and Ronnie Pearson carved all these beauties years and years ago.  Clark would carve and Ronnie would paint.  They were this awesome folksy couple from New England and they sold their pieces to a few "worthy" vendors, at select shows and to special friends.   Clark always had a pipe in his mouth and could talk antiques and primitives all day long.  Dear Ronnie passed away a few years ago, and Clark moved back East to be closer to his kids, which to me, makes these hand carved treasures more precious than ever and I found them today!  Of course, some of them will go straight home with me, as a fond reminder of my dear friends.

I hope you all remember to treasure those around you.  Make your memories today because who knows what tomorrow will bring.  God Bless you and I hope you have an incredible Christmas!

Not your Average Barn Sale!!

When most of us think of a barn sale, we think of old dusty barns filled with dusty, rusty treasure.  That's certainly NOT a bad thing.... but I have a friend who has a Barn Sale that is unlike anything you've ever seen!  The barn is light and bright, filled with beautiful chandeliers, some for sale, some not.  But when the doors to this barn are opened for her sale, you'll know you've found something very, very special.  The barn doesn't look like a barn at all.  It looks like the shop of your dreams, bursting with wonderful treasure nestled into every little nook and cranny.

This is her very first Christmas Sale and I absolutely can't wait to see the Holiday Magic waiting for us at the Barn!!

Be sure to visit www.frenchhenfarm.blogspot.com.  Oh yeah, and after the sale, you can come visit me!  

Finding More Goodies for the Shop!

We had a great Christmas Open House!  But one of the downsides is when all  your furniture starts selling and you have to come up with some new pieces rather quickly.  However, I happen to love shopping for new stuff, so I set off in search of a good auction!  Lucky for me I found one and here are some of the treasures I brought home.

This piece just kinda tugged at me.  It's an old shop display piece and it has Aunt Betty's Products printed across the top.  Not sure what's marked on the second shelf, but the bottom says Bakery.  I love it!

This wonderful old cupboard has green paint over old mustard paint.  I believe the cupboard itself is Walnut.  It is SO heavy, I have to say I'm tempted to  just take it home.

This little jelly cupboard is a nice size.  It's not very deep at all.  It has white paint over old green paint.  I think it could use a little TLC.  I like the red knobs!

This little table has so much charm.  It has layers of old paint and it's kinda sad that someone started to scrap the paint off the drawer and just quit.  It has old green and red paint under the black.

That's all for right now, but I'll share pics of more of the treasures later this week.  Thanks for looking!

Have you ever seen one of THESE?!

I had one of these in my shop last year for the Holidays and was hoping I'd get one this year... but couldn't be sure.  So, when I got the phone call that another was coming, I was happy beyond words!  What got me excited?  This wonderful piece of musical magic, known as a Banjo Orchestra!!  This one is a reproduction built by the D. C. Ramey Piano Company, located right here in my own town, Marysville, OH!

Here's a little bio:  The Ramey Banjo-Orchestra is a totally new orchestrion based on a similar instrument, the Banjorchestra, first introduced in 1914.   The instrument consists of piano, banjo, snare drum, tambourine, triangle, wood block, castanets, bass drum and cymbal.

Right now it's set up to play Christmas music and when it kicks in, the whole store is rockin'!  :-)

If you'd like more information on this amazing piece, go to http://www.dcramey.com/

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the Open House.  The past two days were amazing and we really enjoyed visiting with everyone!

Almost ready for Christmas Pics

I think the shops that close down a few days before open house are smart!  You can take your time decorating and you don't have to worry about someone coming in and buying your display pieces before the open house.  However, I don't think it's fair to close down when there's no way for me to let EVERYONE know that I won't be open.  So, I'm trying to decorate while operating the shop.  It's a little slow going, but we're getting there.  Less than 12 hours to go before the OPEN HOUSE!

Redecorated the Harvest Table!

Nice old mantle with German Twig and Berry Garland

Adorable Little Blue Cupboard with snowmen and candles.

The Cottage

GoodieS!

Wonderful Early wood & iron sled on old mantle.  Also old Model T tool box w/snowmen and more!

I love, love, love this cupboard.  I've never seen anything like it.  I have the door off to the side, but when it's on, it overlaps the drawers.  I was told the door sort of locks the drawers and then there's a latch above the door to hold it in place too.  This is one of the display pieces that sold today.

Busy, busy....

I spent most of yesterday and part of today decorating the shop for Christmas.  Thank goodness I had my trusty sidekick and dear friend Marlyn helping out!  I'll try to get some pictures posted tomorrow!

The last remnants of October....

I can (and probably will) say it over and over and over again, fall is my favorite time of year.  So when the end of October comes around, it makes me a little sad.   In the shop, it's time to put away the Halloween and some of the fall stuff, to prepare for the Christmas decorations. 

I'll still have a corner or two decorated for fall and Thanksgiving, but the bittersweet beauty of all things associated with fall will soon be taken over by the more vibrant colors of Christmas, which I also love.

So, I thought I'd post just a couple more pics of the fall decorations....  Oh yeah, this wonderful early 1900's dry sink was in the window for just a day or two, but is now on lay-away, waiting to be taken home by it's new owner!

Dry sink with wooden bowls and handmade pumpkins.  The box with 8 cubbies is also gone.  I love boxes!

I love this little stool.  It's sides are covered in leather.

My little handmade pumpkin with witch's hat!

I love this table, purchased from Linda and Becky at French Hen Farm!!!  I filled up a few large canning jars with oranted putkas and I love them so much, I may need to just take a jar home.  :-)  Next time we see this table, it should be all decorated for Christmas... uh oh, there's already 2 snowmen in the pic!

Christmas Open House!

Our Christmas Open House will be Friday, November 5th and Saturday, November 6th!    I'm working hard to get the shop decorated for Christmas.  I just hate to put away my fall decorations and put out Christmas stuff before Halloween.  I think it's sad that Thanksgiving is usually just passed over as a Holiday.  I guess it's because it's harder to commercialize, so most retailers just don't bother.  Anyway, I promise to still have some Thanksgiving decorations and vignettes even after Halloween.

For the Open House we'll definitely be serving refreshments, have some door prizes, 15% discount on ALL candles, even battery operated!

I'll try to get some pictures posted as I get the shop decorated.

Amazing Primitive Artist

Well, I was just spending a few minutes browsing around "blogger" land when I happened onto someones site that was offering free goodies.  So I thought I'd sign up.  But first I poked around the site a little bit and realized that I had 'discovered' someone with a incredible talent!  You'll have to stop by Michelle Palmer's Blog and take the grand tour.  You won't be disappointed!