Monday, May 12, 2014

Panoply Summertime Booth Displays 2014

It's always fun creating new displays for the shop booths, and getting ready for summertime puts us in  patriotic and vacation kinds of moods.  To that end, we set a picnic table, ready for cookouts, parades and summertime frolics.
The vintage 1950's picnic tabletop is set with a 36" galvanized chicken feeder (spinner removed, sits below the feeder).  We've placed vintage 1970's "Swampwater" logo glass drinking jars in the feeder, ready for serving, with straws in place. An original postcard with the glass jars reads, "Swampwater (a delicious drink made with 110 proof "GREEN FIRE" - that's what people in the know call Chartreuse French Liquor".  I had never heard of the drink before spotting these jars almost a year ago, in their original box, unused, but I love the graphics.
There's an iconic red-checked cotton tablecloth and napkins, along with Startex vintage linen kitchen towels. A ceramic pie plate with cherry motif lid rounds out the picnic tabletop. Beneath the table are two matching, folding benches, stowed but ready for a quick set up.
Speaking of beneath, we're under the table and dreaming of road trips.  We've got our bags packed with a 'mod' handbag for mom, altered art "ROAD TRIP" license plate sign for dad (or glampers or tweens, for that matter!), and vintage skates and tennis rackets for the athletic-minded.  A picnic basket assures no one goes hungry on the road.
Veterans and Memorial Day parades prompted us to want to honor our heroes from the past.
We've set a few items, including a 48-star (circa 1912-1959), silk banner flag, along with a vintage linen and cotton 48-star Annin brand flag for waving proudly.  The galvanized metal box is a WWII Army-issue food storage container.  The shovel is WWI era.  The flag on the right is a West Virginia flag, celebrating 151 years of statehood in June.

The boots, although not military, have a local provenance attached.  These were picked from a terrific, local estate we assisted in sorting through three generations of personal contents several years ago.  We also found a picture postcard of the owner (a man, looking very androgynous, I might add) wearing the boots. Both are in great condition for being a century old - both found in an attic trunk!
From that same local estate, we picked a number of ephemeral items, including eight postcards received during WWI (1918 George Washington 2¢ canceled stamp on backs).  You can see the cards in a fan display (below), and they're from a C.O. Buckingham 1917 comic series.  The one visible in the photo is "Inspection of Arms", where the gal is feeling the soldier's flexed bicep. :)  In front of the postcards are more militaria goodies - two strings of WWI military buttons and dog tags - from another estate pick.
Other summertime changes in the booth spaces were more subtle, including garden items.
We also set a little garden refreshment stand - because who wants to sweat in the garden without a little refreshment nearby?!
We're keeping the casual linens stacked and stocked, with plenty of the great cotton prints to choose from for lazy summer outings.
May is the month honoring the Virgin Mary in Catholic tradition, and our Madonna is in the limelight in one of our booth displays (literally, it would appear, based on the exposure of the photo below).  
Lastly, keeping in mind that May-June are typically the months to showcase little dancers having recitals everywhere, we're spotlighting a sweet, vintage tiny dancer in chalkware, who happens to be in a good, technical, balletic pose.
With that, I'll take a bow, and invite you to visit our mall if you'll be traveling through West Virginia's I-64, I-77 or I-79 anytime this summer, where all three interstates intersect in our city.  We're easy to find at the South Charleston Antique Mall, Exit 56 on I-64.  Just ask for Panoply, or the three sisters (as we're best known in the mall).

We're heading for the Springfield Extravaganza this weekend at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Springfield, OH.  I'll be sure to fill you in on the excitement when we return.  Safe travels, y'all!

I link and party with any given number of these fine hosts:

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