Miss Luna C's Autumn Joy

For the background on this series of related posts, you can read all about the makings of the Traveling Totes Tribe here. Since we last traveled, my tote (Miss Luna C) and I have immersed ourselves in autumn joy!

Farmers' Market Selection for the Garden's Last Days

Several trips to the local farmers' market yielded some fun times (and finds) that would assure my home and garden of keeping some fall color long after the perennials faded.

Miss Luna C at the Farmers' Market

I always trek to the market for mums and gourds, as well as seasonal fresh food choices. Our Capitol Market has thrived for nearly 20 years as part of our Urban Renewal Authority's efforts to help sustain our local agrarian efforts and to revive an old rail yard that was once part of our city's original growth. The outdoor market is open year round, and the inside of the former rail station is home to local eateries and shops, and is also the site of our city's visitor's center.

On one of my trips to the market, I met my oldest daughter who works in town, and we had lunch at the Capitol Market. Afterward, she shopped with me to make selections for my outdoor fall decor. Of course, Miss Luna C was right beside me on the excursion.

Throughout October, Miss Luna C was accompanied my husband (Mr. P.) and I on a couple of day trips throughout our home state of West Virginia, to take in more autumn joy.

My home state of West Virginia is all about the hills. Besides hiking and biking, there are many things to do for the more adventurous at heart, some of which we've enjoyed (you can type adventure in the search block above my profile picture on the sidebar and a few of those posts will come up for your viewing).

Stonewall Resort and Lake, WV

One thing neither of us had ever tried before, though, was driving a boat, even though we live alongside a river in the capital city. Well, that all changed with a fun trip to one of our state parks, Stonewall Jackson Resort. This area is, in fact, where the Civil War's Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was born and raised (when previously a part of the state of Virginia).

With a quick briefing on the lake's conditions (low water, wake zones) and how to operate the boat, off we went along the lake, pretty much having the beautiful day and lake to ourselves.

Miss Luna C on the lake

We each took turns at the helm, and I was up first (so if we wrecked out of the dock, it was to be my fault).

Then, once on the open waters, Mr. P. took the helm. We had a blast!

One thing we both decided afterward was a confirmation of what we thought going into the adventure - the best boat to have at one's disposal is someone else's. :) When we arrived back at the dock, all we had to do was turn over the keys. We didn't even have to fill up the tank.

One last, very important role Miss Luna C played in October was to be part of the drama on Trick-or-Treat eve, as the vessel for the ingredients that would inevitably cast spells on all the other little witches, goblins and ghouls that dared to stop by.....

As October comes to a close, it is with a certain melancholy to see the trees go bare, the garden be tucked in for a long nap, and the little goblins all scamper away until next year. It is, however, also a time to look forward to yet another episode of the Tales of the Traveling Totes. Be sure to come back on December 15th and see what the girls have been up to by then. I'm sure we'll all be busy preparing for the holidays. ;)

Also, to have a chance for winning her giveaway as part of the Tales of the Traveling Totes series, be sure to stop by Sarah's blog @ Hyacinths for the Soul  It's a gift card to Starbucks - no trick, only treats! All you have to do is visit her blog, and leave a comment, letting her know you were there. You can go straight there with the link I've provided - it's that simple!

Sarah's Giveaway @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Where have all the other Traveling Tote tribe members been of late?  By all means, go check them out at the links below. I tell ya, these girls get around!

Sarah and Miss CC @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Patti with Miss Kenzie and Taylor @ Pandora's Box

Linda with Miss Rosie @ More Fun Less Laundry

Debbie and Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Samantha with Christabel @ Samantha Stone
and our non-blogger friends:

Colleen and Miss MacKenzie Joy
Tami and Miss MC la Mer

If you'd like to revisit Miss Luna C's previous travels, here are the links to my previous posts:

Miss Luna C and the Traveling Totes Tribe

Miss Luna C Goes to the Park!

Until our next adventure, thank you for traveling along. It's a pleasure to have your company and visit! 

Rita C. at Panoply

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Dealer Friend's Living Estate Picks

Remember last Spring when I wrote a post about expansion of our space in March 2015? The space we then occupied was the last of spaces previously rented by a fellow dealer, Emily, who specialized in primitives - the real kind - of very nice quality. Emily has since moved into a retirement home in an old mansion (apropos) in the northern part of the state, near one of her children. A living estate sale was conducted on her behalf in early October. Of course, Panoply attended, and the following are just some of the finds selected.

I'd have to say that my favorite item I chose was probably a German marked pudding mold of ironstone, in the shape of a sunflower.

German Ironstone Pudding Mold, Sunflower Motif

The mold was one of five, and I eventually made an offer on the other four. Below is a photo of all five of the pudding molds. Only the two oval ones are unmarked (the pineapple and wheat stalks). The top middle one is Minton, and the one to its left (grapes with leaf) is marked London.

Ironstone Pudding Molds

With her own collections and love of primitives, my sister J was particularly fond of Emily's inventory, and had purchased several of her items at the antique mall through the years. Sister M and I shopped one day prior to sister J's arrival in town, but let her have first refusal on items we thought she'd want. Among her choices were the rag rug and candle mats in the collage pictured below. I kept the cross-stitched hearts and Irish crochet handbag. In my post, Crossover Collectible - Purse Ephemera, I have photos of women and children holding similarly styled bags from the early 20th century.

Rag Rug, Crochet Bag & Cross-Stitched Hearts, Silk Candle Mats

Emily had many a doll quilt, of which M bought three and J bought one (sorry, no photograph). Sister J also selected a couple of the items in the photo below. Can you guess which ones?

Spools, Easels, Mirror & Scale, Chopper, Broom

If you guessed the broom and chopper (nice patina!), you were correct. I kept the spools (thinking Christmas display), the forks-turned-easels (I have two already and they're so handy!). The top right frame of the photo is actually 3 items - a very cool, tiny mirror on one of the fork easels, both perched on an old postage scale. That mirror is an advertising piece for a hat shop in NY.

A few more items I chose of Emily's with a little less primitive style are  pictured below.

Needlepoint Rug, Ruby Glasses, Wheeling Tiles, Children's Utensils, Napkin Rings

Clockwise, starting at the top: the needlepoint rug is approximately 2' x 4', clean and beautiful; the ruby thumbprint glasses are juice-size (5 oz), by Anchor Hocking (Georgian); the two hand-painted tiles are signed and back stamped with Wheeling [WV] Cushion (late 19thC). Finally, the forks are child-size, and that's a set of 4, sterling silver napkins rings. No bigger than a dime each, the relief motif  on the rings is the cow jumping over the moon - sweet!

Children's Sterling Napkins Rings

I know I have said repeatedly that I do not have blue decor, and that I don't collect blue transferware, but I absolutely couldn't resist the handless cup with the aged to perfection brown tone below (no markings). My transferware collections are primarily brown, so it fits, right?? I also picked up the two little red transferware open salts. They are Enoch Woods and Sons' "English Scenery" (England).

Antique Transferware

Yes, there's more. In the form of advertising, I brought home all of the items in the collage below, most of which are tins.

Advertising Items

Starting from the top left corner and going clockwise are: an assortment of remedies in sample sizes - face powder (with the powder inside!) and salves for freckles, sweat, hemorrhoids and corns (oh my!); tins for typewriter and/or addressograph ribbons, all of which satisfy my inherent Flapper girl with their Art Deco designs; Esso advertising plastic tag holders (originally for service station stock displays, perhaps? Regardless, one of my SIL's grandfather owned as Esso station, so those are for him.); advertising pinbacks for Budd's baby and Red Goose shoes, and Brotherhood of Railroad; and lastly, photo pinbacks with photographer advertising on the backs.

Sister J also bought a few more primitives, as seen below, excluding the crocks, which Emily had directed with "firm" pricing (read, she paid a lot for them, they are desireable, and family would divide if not sold).

Crocks, Irons, Bennington Pottery, Basket

Mind you, we did show a bit of restraint with the collections of irons seen in the photo above. Those are all irons for laces (diminutively sized) and/or salesman samples. M and J bought just a few of the more unusually styled ones. The basket (large, nearly 2' in diameter) and Bennington milk pan both came home with J.

One last item sister J brought home from Emily's estate, along with a little backstory. The item (pictured below) is an authentic, antique bench seat for a horse-drawn buggy, circa 1800s.

Antique Bench Seat for Horse-Drawn Buggy

The backstory that goes with it was told to the estate sale hosts by family present at the sale. It seems Emily, several years prior, had painstakingly restored the buggy seat. She had, apparently, left the rags she used in the basement, which later caught fire. Emily was still trying to put the fire out when the firemen arrived. Needless to say, all turned out well, and the bench seat survived. :)

Even up until the end of 2014, Emily was still on the hunt, and even visited us at the barn sale we participated that fall. I actually worked with Emily's husband years ago (who is now deceased) when I was in Finance with a local natural gas production company and he was a Geologist. They were a team, and he would often stop by and speak of their weekend hunts and treasures found.

Emily and sister J

Emily and her husband were wonderful, old school collectors before the days of internet and popularized TV programming (even Antiques Roadshow) - now gone from the collecting world. They will be very much missed, yet long remembered for their discerning taste in their primitive collections. Friendships struck in the antiques business are real, and grow deeper with each year. Fellow collectors are like family (or are, as in my case, blood relatives!).

Who's your family when it comes to vintage treasure hunting?

As always, I appreciate your visit! 

Rita C. at Panoply

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Flapper Flea Finds

Panoply sisters are always on the lookout for each other when shopping vintage finds. We know each other's style, and sometimes things just speak to us and we pick them for each other. Such was the case when my sisters M & J shopped a flea market over Labor Day without me. They brought me home a few prizes, as we like to call them, and gave them to me when we were together in early October. :)

Flapper Flea Prizes

They know my love of all things Flapper! The oil cloth Flapper doll head pictured on the left (above) was probably just some sort of boudoir pillow, common of the era and the 'look' made famous by the likes of actresses Clara Bow and Louise Brooks. Her skin's a little wrinkled and dried out now, but yours will be too, if you live to be 95 or so.

The sterling silver clothes or hat brush is yet another addition to my collection, the last one most recently seen in my post on September Vintage Acquisitions. This one is unique in that it is monogrammed with a simple "C".

The HAT. I have loved cloche style hats for the longest time, the consummate Flapper style, and this one is super cute in its material. Do you recognize how it's made? It's a crocheted doily, starched and shaped over a stiff, tulle band, with a velvet ribbon trim on the outside. In other words, it's a make-do cloche!

Sterling clothes / hat brush, Flapper cloche

Of course, I had to try it on for size. (Check out that baby head on the shelf admiring my Flapper flair). I have a hard time getting hats to fit {my big head} and, like most everything from the past, heads seemed to have been smaller too, so it was a surprise that this one actually fit.

Flapper cloche on moi

Thanks, seesters! I love my Flapper flea prizes! Don't you love it when you get surprised with a find that is just your style, new or old?

As always, I appreciate your visit! 

Rita C. at Panoply

(A special thanks to Dagmar at Dagmar's Home Thrifty & Vintage Finds , to Jill at Bella Rosa Antiques' Lets Talk Vintage!, and to Linda at Coastal Charm's Show and Share No. 286 for featuring this post!)


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Panoply Buys Junky Chic Boutique

Do all y'all (that's plural) know Amber from Junkaholics Unaminous? Well, she's a fellow blogger, and happens to practically be my neighbor, just about 65 miles west of me in Kentucky. Amber has maintained a vintage and antique booth space for about the last five years, most recently called Junky Chic Boutique. Amber contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if Panoply would be interested in purchasing her inventory - lock, stock and barrel - for one price.

By week's end, in a total of eight hours, 145 miles (round trip), two SUVs full, and one check later, it was a done deal! Here is what Amber's booth space looked like, for the most part (minus that cool mirror on the right), in the photo below.

Junky Chic Booth in KY

My sister, M, and I were prepared to knock out the work at hand quickly. Amber met us at the shop, which was our first real life encounter other than virtual interactions via blogging and Facebook friendships. She showed us the boundaries of her things (we exchanged emails the week leading up to the move), and then off Amber went.

Panoply Meets Junky Chic - Rita and Amber

My sister and I work very well together. In just about two hours, we had everything packed up. Following are a couple collage shots of Amber's stock which we acquired, pictured in her signature Junky Chic styling.

Junky Chic Booth Displays, Prior to Sale

Junky Chic Booth Vignettes, Prior to Sale

She had some really cool stuff, including two great folding screens (the one with four panels has burlap on one side, tole painting on the reverse; the other folding screen is cane and wood, in a whitewash finish. She also had three mannequins, each unique and each styled differently. There were several small furniture and display items, and many, many smalls.

Our cars were filled to the max, expertly and efficiently packed, with nothing left behind. My car (left frames in collage photo below) carried mostly the smalls, and sister M's car (right frames in collage photo below) carried the bigger display pieces and small furniture.

Junky Chic Stock, Packed and Ready to Roll

Our job wouldn't be finished until we separated all stock among the three Panoply sisters and, because sister J was coming to town the following weekend, we prepared for that. We set all the stock up at home (M's home, where her Mr. is okay with stuff). Photos were sent to J before, during and after the transaction so she could be pretty well versed with the inventory. Below is a collage of how we arranged items for what Mr. P. refers to as incestuous shopping (per Google, meaning "...excessively close and resistant to outside influence"). Essentially, it's where one person pays for a bulk purchase, and then we, one by one, 'buy' (select) what we want, until it's all separated. We do this because we each manage and sell our own items under separate dealer numbers in the antique mall, but style it together.

Junky Chic Stock, at Home

In Amber's photos of her booth space in the photo above, you saw the half mannequin styled. The photo below is a fairly good recreation of how she had the other two mannequins styled. Cute, aren't they? If all goes well in the next couple of weeks, we'll be placing at least the half mannequin in one of our booth spaces, styled differently for a new theme we're creating. Stay tuned for that in an upcoming post.

Junky Chic Mannequins, Recreated at Home

It took another eight hours once sister J was in town to do our incestuous round robin shopping, but we got it done, just in time to call it a day and participate in our community yard sale the next morning.

It may be sometime after the new year before we really rock our booth spaces with much of Amber's inventory, as we're about to tackle the holiday decor next. In the meantime, here's a look of a mannequin we already had in our booth spaces (not from Amber), dressed for Halloween.

Panoply: October 2015 Mannequin Display

Just like I said in the last post I published, Buy / Sell / Find / Keep / Binge / Purge, Repeat. We've purchased in large lots previously, and even hosted a living estate sale, but never transacted anything like this before - have you?

I simply can't thank Amber enough for contacting me for this transaction. It was a good fit for us, and worked well for Amber, too. Amber, be well, my friend, and thank you for being a friend! I sure hope some sucker(s) person(s) will be as interested in buying our stuff in similar fashion from our booth spaces when we decide to throw in the towel. What a way to do it! Wham, bam thank you, ma'am!

If you'd like to see how Panoply's booths are currently styled, my most recent post is here. For more posts, you can type the words, "booth spaces", "booths" (or any other keywords) in the search block above my profile on the right sidebar of my blog, and related posts should appear for your viewing.

As always, I appreciate your visit! 

Rita C. at Panoply

(A special thanks to Christine at Rustic & Refined at her Table It! Link Party #67 and Brooke at Creative Country Mom's Flea Market Friday for featuring this post ).

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September Vintage Acquisitions

September's vintage acquisitions for my Panoply booth and / or home use came mostly from a single, prominent family estate sale that spanned two weekends. I was interested in one piece of furniture, particularly: an Asian, campaign-styled cabinet. I have been on the hunt for years for good furniture pieces to store and / or display my dish collections upstairs versus in my basement. Being of solid wood construction, this one seemed a good fit for at least one or two sets of china.

The piece (pictured above) is nice - solid wood with heavy brass trim - and has one, adjustable, interior shelf. It's a versatile 30"H x 28"W x 18"D size. I really wanted it for home use (probably my living room), but figured if it got nixed by you know who, then it could go into the booth space. More on that in a minute.

While I was at the sale the second weekend, the host made an offer I couldn't refuse on the French Provincial style buffet you see pictured below. Also solid wood, it could hold even more dishes than the Asian piece, I thought, and could go in my dining room (with a bit of rearranging).

Both of these pieces were hauled around in my car for a week, as Mr. P. (aka Mr. Doesn't Like Stuff) had no inclination whatsoever to even look at them, and was dead set against either one coming into our home.

So, one week after the sale, I literally hauled these two pieces of furniture out of my car, by MYSELF, to clean each piece up, in preparation of taking them to the booth space (sister M agreed to help me haul them back into the car). Somewhere along the line, Mr. P. warmed up to the Asian piece. I didn't press the matter any further, and took the French Provincial piece to the booth space, which you can see styled in our formal living area at the antique mall, below. Compromise is good for a marriage. It's definitely a two-way street.

The rest of my acquisitions from this same estate were smalls. I scored some great vintage linens for really good pricing (read: nasty shelf and drink stains from age and use). After a good soaking and pressing, they turned out nearly pristine: 1 pair of embroidered pillowcases, and 4 cotton tablecloths (one with six matching napkins). The photo below is the 'after', glamour shot. (Postscript:  A couple readers asked what I used for the linens, and the words above - "great vintage linens" is a hyperlink to a post I wrote on tips and success with vintage linens).

I picked a few smalls that were Asian-themed (photo below): a celadon vase with different floral reliefs on each side; jade colored, alabaster grapes; and a handpainted, handless cup and saucer. The cup and saucer are actually Dutch faience (Hoyrup).

I chose some metals, including a stepstool, cricket bootjack and a doorstop replica of Columbus' ship (Albany Foundry). All of those are already in the booth space at the antique mall. The metals you see below were selected the second weekend of the sale at half-price: a 1926 family Chevrolet dealer sales division trophy, and a solid brass fire hose nozzle.

Another addition to my religious relic collection, the madonna and child medallion pictured below also came home with me. It's only about 5" across, but very old, with a gesso frame. The family traveled, you could tell, and had several beautiful, international religious icons I would've loved having, but they were already scooped up when I arrived thirty minutes into the sale.

Another, different estate sale yielded just a few finds, including the Currier & Ives fabric fronts in the American Homestead series for Spring and Winter (pictured below). I'm not sure if I'll make pillows, frame them or what, but I liked the images. Unfinished, they're each 16" x 14" (and very wrinkled).

Then, there was this little concrete guy, below, sitting on the street curb during a morning walk with Mr. P. The owner had died, and the family put the bunny out to pasture. Even the trash men didn't want him. Thank goodness he couldn't hear them talking about how heavy he was. :'(

Bunny No Gogh

I went back with my car and rescued him after he was passed over by the weekly trash pickup. With a little cement glue and a new name, meet Bunny Van Gogh. He'll stay in foster care in my garage through winter, and then I'll see if he goes on to his forever home elsewhere - or in my garden.

Bunny Van Gogh

The community yard sale we Panoply sisters participate in was postponed for rain from September 26 to October 3rd (and again until yesterday, October 10th). We were oh, so ready that first weekend, so what'd we do? Instead of making money, we spent more money, shopping for treasures, of course! It was a fun day, spent in a small town in eastern WV. Sister J scored the most and best (primitives), none of which I photographed, but sister M and I did pretty well for ourselves, too. My picks from that day follow (below).

In the collage below, it's mostly industrial items I chose. Starting on the right, top frame: a 1931 Cincinnati Post baby beauty contest trophy (5.5"), a pint jar of pea-size marbles (and a few clay ones); a surveyor's leather pouch (belt loops on back). The middle frame shows both sides of a 1951 Boone Supply Company $5 coal mining scrip, which was a token exchanged for company store merchandise (classic, "I owe my soul to the company store" era). The bottom frame is two brass coal miner's tags, historically used for personalizing a miner's belongings on his shower basket at the coal mine. Similar tags were also used for loads of coal, mined and shipped out. Lastly, the stool in the left frame is a heavy oak plank on steel frame.

On the more feminine side, I purchased a crocheted pair of ladies' gloves, and a personal clothing brush, sized for traveling at just 3.5". The brush complements my whisk broom collection and the gloves coordinate with my vintage mesh and beaded purse collection.

Buy / Sell / Find / Keep / Binge / Purge, Repeat. It's our idea of fun. What's yours? Leave a comment and spill on your favorite hobbies or finds. I'm all ears, unlike Bunny Van Gogh! ;)

As always, I appreciate your visit! 

Rita C. at Panoply

(A special thanks to Kathy for featuring this post on her Home and Garden Thursday party at A Delightsome Life ).

Sharing with any given number of these fine hosts:

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