Come with me to the Big Flea!

Let's see what there was to see yesterday at the Big Flea!  Wheeeeeee!

Here we are at the Kentucky Fairgrounds, getting ready to go into the West Wing.  Whenever they have the Antique Wing added on to the Big Flea, it moves back to the West Wing.   In the days before the South Wing was constructed, all the Big Fleas were held in the West Wing.  For some reason, the show always seems bigger when it's in the West Wing.

During the fair, the West Wing is where the livestock is judged and displayed.  The room where the Antique Wing is held is used for the small animals, like rabbits and such.  The fair just ended last week, so I hope they got everything cleaned out.

This is a pretty big deal.  The Fairgrounds raised the parking to 8 bucks a few years ago, and that has impacted the attendance at the Big Flea ever since.  That's just outrageous and I go to all kind of lengths to avoid paying it.  The half off deal is new.  They experimented at first with only making purchases from certain vendors eligible for the rebate.  It always seemed like it was vendors that Were of no interest to me, so I never did it.  Now, any purchase at all qualifies you.  And can make some purchases!

And, we have arrived at our destination!  Please remain seated with seat belts fastened until the pilot has finished pulling into the gate.

Whoa!  I just got here.  How did all this get into my cart? I think Gran just attracts the stuff to her like a magnet!

Look Melissa!  (Definitely not in your price range.)

I tried to take a bunch of pics of cool stuff, but this is the only one that turned out at all.  The lighting in there sucks.  As a result, this is kind of a boring photo essay.  Sorry about that.  i did have good intentions.

He shoots!  HE SCORES!  See tomorrow for the story on this one.

Rearranging the cart.  Mavis the tote bag is  photo bombing in the upper right corner, along with my knee in the lower right. I'm keeping the finds under wraps until tomorrow, because I'm a tease like that.

Overall, it was a good show for finds.  I had to make an unloading trip to Mazda about halfway through, which is always a god sign.  It could have been even better for me, but I lost my mind and did something stupid.  More on that tomorrow too.

I heard from several vendors that it was a slow weekend.  Some were already starting to pack up at noon.  Several of my regulars weren't there, especially in the Antique Wing, which was only about 60% full.
 

And so we leave our day at the Big Flea.  Come back for the finds tomorrow.  They're adding a Halloween show this year, which I am really psyched about.  There won't be an Antique Wing, but it will still be worth attending.  They haven't done a Big Flea in October in several years.  I always liked this show, because it is right before my birthday!

Come with me!

Come with me

and we will see

what there might be

at the Big Flea!

Wheeeeeee!

First off, we need the proper equipment.

Granny Carts Are Go!

I've had that Granny Cart for almost six years now.  I bought it at a yard sale right after I got my first booth.  It's indispensable for the Big Flea.  I'm not one to be lugging loads out of the big-ass building across the big-ass parking lot to dump them in the van.  With the cart, I don't usually have to (although there have been a couple of times that became necessary).  

I love this cart because the front wheels rotate.  A lot of carts have their front wheels on a fixed axle, which makes them harder to turn when loaded.  I can wheel and spin on a dime with this baby!   The liner is about trashed, but still has a little life left in it.  I got this one cheap, so I'm not going to replace it until I find another cheap one.  If this one totally goes, I'll go back to using a trash bag like I did before.  I had a Spider-Man liner one time, but it wasn't very sturdy.  It didn't even make it through two Big Fleas.  A liner is a necessity, because it keeps stuff from falling through the gaps in the cart bottom.

By the way, that's not the only Granny Cart I own.  I actually have three.  Yes, I know what that means.  Make of it what you will.

 We've arrived at our starting point!  Even though there are antique sellers all over the whole Big Flea, they get their own special section at Labor Day and New Year's.  Many of the sellers that come for the Antiques Section only come for those shows.  

I've been doing this long enough now that I know who I'm going to hit here as I'm going in.  Many of them are in the same spot show after show.  I've also learned that if I wait until the last day, there are lots of bargains.  Several dealers have tables of great stuff cheap, usually to get rid of it.  They may start out as $5 tables on the first day, but by the last day, they're $1 tables.  My kind of tables.

One of all time favorite sellers only comes for the New Year's Antique Section.  They take out a dozen or more tables that all end up as dollar tables by the end.

I got a little worried as I was going in this section yesterday, because it was early in the day and sellers were already tearing down.  That's usually a sign that it's been a bad sow for them, and they're cutting their losses and heading out.  It turned out that there were still plenty of bargains to browse.

I always work this section three times.  Once when I get there to get the must haves and case the joint.  A second time right after that to pick up stuff that wasn't quite a must have.  And a third time before I leave to get the stuff I earmarked to get after I finished the other section, if I had money left.

On my last trip, I scooped up some prizes from one table and the dealer looked at me and said, "I guess it pays to wait until the end."  I could only grin at him.  It's all about strategy, sometimes.

There are always so many interesting things to see in this section, as well.  I learn a lot from checking things out here.

I think the expression on her face would indicate that the stockings are not particularly effective.  She certainly doesn't look as if her legs are being eased.

Uhm, I have no words for that one.

I've got no clue that this thing is, but I loved it!  Sadly, it was $150.  It probably would have been too much for the Granny Cart anyway.

There were lots of lovely (and pricey) icons all over the place.  One of my favorite things to do at the Big Flea is look at icons.

Naked Dennis the Menace doll!  I love his little molded on undies.

Sweet, sweet handmade doll furniture.  ($395 worth of it!)

Uh oh!

 I think I may be in trouble....

Now that we're done in the Antique Wing for the moment, it's time to head out and check the rest of the Big Flea.  But first we've got to do something about this cart.

Even more so than Mazda, the Granny Cart requires lots of packing and repacking to effectively use all the space.  I got some odd-shaped items this time (also some heavier items), which made careful packing both tricky and essential.

There's a little eating area outside the Antique Section, and I like to wheel the cart in there, get some fries, and unpack the whole thing.

 Then it all gets carefully repacked in the cart.

Keith has pointed out that this little exercise usually brings some stares and pointing (and sometimes laughter) from other people in the area.  Haters gonna hate, I guess.  My shopping and packing skills have been known to reduce other mortals to piques of jealousy.

With everything all squared away, we head out into the regular part of the flea market, which is always a wonderous smorgasbord of banana boxes, socks, sheets, Avon, Hallmark ornaments, fudge, music, movies, antiques, vintage, toys, junk, comic books, and anything else you can imagine.  I cruise every aisle and check everyone out, looking for last day deals the whole time.  There are also several regular stops I make in this section too, but they are not always in the same locations each time.

Picture taking is a lot harder in this part.  The aisles are narrower and the crowds are larger, so I kind of gave it up for the most part.  

 I stood by this sign for the longest time, but no one gave me any money.

Finally, all the booths have been seen, wonderful finds have been purchased, and the Granny Cart is full (and then some).

And from the back.

Anyone can fill the cart.  It takes true gusto to start tying stuff on the cart!

It's time to have the end of the Big Flea ice cream cone.

MMMMMM!

 

It's also time to look at my feet.

WHEEEEE!

I love the Big Flea.  I've grown up with the Big Flea.  Booth or not, I don't see myself ever giving up the Big Flea.  When I'm 97 and in my wheelchair, my niece and nephew (or their kids) will be pushing me through the Big Flea.

So, that's the story.  What do you see in the Granny Cart?  I'll have the finds tomorrow or Thursday.

EXTRA CREDIT:

What's in the tub of stuff from the Sidewalk Sale?

Monday Rambles

Thanks so much for all the kind words about the new booth set up in yesterday's post.  Believe it or not, much has already changed since I took those pics last week.  The black media rack in the back has sold, along with the MCM coffee table, and one of the bookshelves.  I stopped by on Saturday and dropped off a table and a loveseat, did a little shuffling, and tweaked it all a bit.  It's keeping me hopping, but it's also keeping the space fresh and different.

I have been having killer awesome sales since the beginning of month.  I'm back at the level I was operating on at Dixie, and am starting to surpass it.  In fact, I was telling Keith the other day that I'm not sure my stock of large items in storage is going to last all that long.  He just laughed at me, but he doesn't have the same long view on things that I do.  We'll see I guess.

The real test is coming up as the basketball finals come up.  With UK doing as well as they are, the ball games are going to take a hit on business.  It's inevitable here in that land of the basketball religion.  Right after that comes spring break in these parts, with the Kentucky Derby Festival activities starting up right after that.  Pretty much, the last week of March through the first week of May is a resale desert around here.  I'm waiting to see what happens.

Another big thank you goes to all of you who identified my odd little bookshelf as an encyclopedia shelf.  I appreciate your sharing your knowledge and experience.  I was familiar with the encyclopedia shelves with the little legs, but not the ones with the atlas slot on top.  Now I've got an extra bit of knowledge for my arsenal.  Every day that I can learn something new is a good day!  By the way, that shelf sold pretty quickly.  I'll be keeping my eyes out for more.

I had a hankering to buy lots of comic books this weekend, and that can only mean two things:  Comic Shop Sale and the Big Flea!  There was a HUGE fifty cent comic sale at the comic shop this weekend.  Instead of being a sidewalk sale, like they usually do, this one was indoors, which means that there were a lot more boxes of comics for sale.  Did I find some things to buy?

Judge for yourself.  (Pardon the less than perfect pics.  The lighting in my junk room stinks.  It's warm enough now that I need to move my picture taking operations outside again.)

That's a lot of Crying Freeman!

Both these boxes are full!

Just the kind of oddball stuff I like to read!

While I was getting ready to check out, I noticed a whole box full of trade paperbacks and graphic novels, which are usually marked down, but never to the fifty cent level.  I asked the cashier if they were part of the fifty cent sale and he said they were.  I just scooped up the whole box!

I did manage to find some things for me, in addition to the bulk I bought to resell.

Evil Eye by Richard Sala

This is a series I've been wanting to try.  I like the work of this artist.  He's got a kooky-horror vibe like a lot of others whose work I like.

The Spirit from DC Comics

This is another series I wanted to try.  They had most of the issues at the sale.  Honestly, new comics are way too expensive for me.  They have been for years.  I'm content to wait and scoop up cheap copies at overstock sales like this.  It does kind of limit my ability to make choices about what I want to read, but there is always lots of fun, interesting stuff to be found on the cheap, if you know where to look and how to hunt (which I do).

Superman Family by DC Comics

I also got a nice stash of these cheesy late 70's-early 80's Superman Family dollar comics.  I've got an inordinate fondness for these things.  My inner thirteen year old is kind of tickled.

Looks like Wonder Woman needs a new conditioner.

Speaking of my inner thirteen year old.  This is kind of a tribute to the stories he and I grew up reading.  They've nailed the retro style of the cover perfectly.  Can't wait to read it.  Look at that price!  Told you comics are too expensive these days.

I was determined to hit the big flea this weekend, because this is the first show they've had that wasn't on a holiday weekend in years.  They used to have a flea market just about every month, but in recent years have dwindled down to four major dates:  Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and New Year's.  I was so excited to see them expand a little bit that I wanted to go and show my support for the move, even if I didn't buy anything.  This particular flea market holds a lot of memories and significance for me.  I've attended these shows with Keith, my high school best friend, my college and seminary roommate, my dad, my brother, and my mother, after all.

Well, of course I bought some things.  I'll do another post about these in a few days.

What's in the granny cart?

I'm sticking close to home this week to try and get some projects done.  I'm planning to have a book sale in a couple of weeks, so I need to start getting ready for that.  I will venture out to go junking with my uncle tomorrow.  He has to stick close to home in the winter, due to his own health issues.  We've not seen each other since my birthday in November, so I am looking forward to that.

Speaking of health issues, my own follow up scans are coming up in a couple of weeks.  By the end of the month, I'll know what's going on and what the next steps are.  I'll let you all know something when I do.

Take care and have a good week!

Happy Labor Day!

I'm on  blog break due to the holiday.  Monday Rambles will appear on Tuesday this week.  No yard sales to speak of this weekend, so instead of a Mazda shot, here's my granny cart shot from the big flea today.  More on the contents tomorrow.

Keith saw this when he came to pick me up and said, "What?  No rocking chair on top?"

In other news, Kosh started helping with the laundry.

The Big Flea!

Tuesday's trip to the Big Flea was fraught with complications.  To begin with, the alarm I thought I  had set did not go off, so we overslept, making it impossible to get there when the gates opened.  Since we were already running late, we decided to go to a breakfast buffet first, only to find we arrived there right before the buffet closed.

Further complicating matters, I could not get to my Granny Cart without taking a bunch of stuff (and I mean a bunch of stuff) out of the shed to get to it.  Every time I shift things in there, the carts get moved around, even thought I try to leave them close to the door.  Organization will forever be my elusive quest.

Without a cart, I was forced to use a substitute.

Now, a wheeled backpack cannot begin to equal the capacity of my Granny Cart, so I had to make unloading trips to the car at intervals.

Once we got into the building, it was obvious that we had one final challenge to face, lots of dealers were closing up to leave, even though the flea market didn't close until 5.  Instead of ending on New Year's Day, like it usually does, the Big Flea closed this year on New Year's Eve.  I think it had to do with January 1 falling on a Wednesday.  They run the show for four days and always try to include the weekend after Christmas, so that meant that this year they ended on December 31.  Dealers were excited about the possibility of getting to celebrate new Year's at home, so many of them were closing early, even though the organizers strongly discourage that.

On the plus side, that meant that sellers were willing to deal.  On the minus side, it meant that there were fewer of them there and the number kept shrinking throughout the day.

I only took one picture, because I got busy shopping right away, but it was one of the best things I saw.

It's an antique Last Rites cabinet.  I fell in love with it, but the seller wanted a bit more than I was willing to pay, based on the condition.  I debated making an offer, but what I wanted to pay was enough lower than his price, that I knew he would not deal with me.  This guy is at every Big Flea and he can be really grumpy and irritable when people try to haggle.  I wasn't in the mood to deal with him, so I went on.

New Years and Labor Day are always special at the Big Flea, because they have the special antiques wing.  There are sellers with antique and vintage in the regular section, but the antique wing brings in 400 more and they always have special stuff.  Lots of them have markdown tables where they try to move out their backstock, estate sale buyouts, box lot leftovers, and anything else they aren't interesting in selling in their stores.  I spend my time looking at the more expensive things and admiring them and learning about them, but my shopping happens on the bargain tables.  On the last day of the show, which Tuesday was, most of the bargain tables turn into dollar tables.

You have to dig through some crap and you have to check stuff carefully for damage, etc, but you can find some great stuff for a buck if you're willing, which I more than am.  For example:

Stuffed toy with Eat-It-All ice cream cone.

Sexy aftershave bottle

Vintage Knott's Berry Farm souvenir jar

Gorgeous vintage postcard books from Italy

Please pardon my total lack of staging and presentation in my pics.  Laying aside the fact that I totally suck at staging pictures, I was trying to price all this stuff and get it ready to go, so you get my messy desk.  If I let things sit until I have time to stage and arrange, then they'll never get to the booth, which means I never get any money.

I also got a bag of vintage Christmas stuff (for a dollar) that included some gems:

 A bizarre little dog thing.  I can't decide if this was made and sold that way or if someone got crafty with a satin ornament.  I also can't decide whether it's too sweet or tacky as hell.  What do you think?

Best of the bag:  vintage wooden angel ornament, sweet Japan wood Nativity, and a vintage snowman.

Sweet wooden Japan mouse.  It's laying on top of a basket that I picked up at on dollar booth to carry stuff in while I shopped.  I decided I liked it, so I bought it too. 

Sweet felt horse head

Tiny vintage elf head cup.  I know it's really a child in a sleeping cap, but I'm calling it an elf anyway.

Pair of ornaments with school pics trimmed and attached.  I think they were part of some school art project.  Every so often, you get a reminder of the history of the objects you find.  I wonder if these hung on Grandma's tree for years?

I did get more than that off the dollar tables, but I thought those were the most interesting finds.

I got some other stuff too.  There's always a couple of people there who have yard sale stuff at yard sale prices.  I picked up some things from them, since yard sales are few and far between right now.  I got some price tags from a vendor supplies booth.  They have about the best prices around, and I'm getting ready to do some markdowns, so I need some extras.  I'm going to be marking a lot of stuff down.

I also did find some comic books, which was one of my goals for this trip.  One of my favorite comic sellers was at this show.  I hadn't seen him there in a while.  He always has 50 cent, one dollar and two dollar boxes with good stuff in them.  He also has Golden and Silver Age stuff for good prices.  I've gotten some decent shape, low grade Golden Age books from him for 3-4 buck before. 

Interestingly enough, I usually cannot tell the difference between the stuff in his 50 cent, dollar and two dollar boxes in terms of era, content, or condition.  There are a few really ratty books in the 50 cent box, but a lot of the stuff I see could be in any of the three, so their placement seems totally arbitrary.  Unfortunately, a bunch of what I bought was actually for me, although I did pick up a few things for the booth.  You do what you can right?  (I didn't get any pics of my comics haul when I was taking the others.  I might add some later.)

All in all, roadblocks notwithstanding, it wasn't too bad for the first junking trip off the New Year!  I had fun anyway, and that has to count for something.