A Hot Time at Cline's Antiques

I thought I would beat the heat so I struck out for Cline's Antiques in Mount Pleasant, NC at 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning. There was no way to get ahead of the 90+ degree temperature, so I just let the sweat run through my hair and made the best of it. For a couple of minutes, I thought they had put in air conditioning, but it was only a rusty old fan sitting in the middle of field of stuff.

My goal for the day was to find things of a rustic nature for lamp parts and, as usual, Clines didn't disappoint. I asked Don Cline if he had any glass door knobs and he pulled out a rusty can, dug through it and came up with a number of vintage door knobs that I plan to use as finials on large lamps.

While looking in the various buildings, I spied a large glass container that was once used as a liquid battery. Don and his assistant Tim were quite surprised when I lugged it up to Don's air conditioned hideaway. I told them I found it partially hidden under one of the barns. It is a wonderful chipped square glass piece which is somewhat rough but hopefully can be reclaimed and turned into an interesting lamp base.

Out in the middle of a field, while looking at a couple of metal table frames, I managed to step into a fire ant hill and was stung a couple of times on the ankle. This is my second run in with these tiny terrors, and I hope my last.

I discovered a mid century chrome and vinyl chair that will look great with the pair of chartreuse lamps with the molded plastic shades. Also found an old metal walker that will make a really unusual table or bar, topped with a piece of rustic wood.

All in all it was a great day and I can't wait to go back. Becky joined her daughter and granddaughter for a short beach trip to Wilmington, NC. Can't wait to see what she finds for our booth at the Depot.

Fridays Fantastic Finds and a Saturday Auction

Drove from our cabin near Todd, NC to Hickory for an estate sale. It started at 10:00 a.m.  and I was only 10 minutes late but the place was so crowded you could barely move. Who said the economy is in the toilet! Found a great old red box that once held an ammonia mask (kinda wish the mask was still in the box..never know when you might need it), a tiny little vise that clamps on a table and a couple of more items. To make it worth the trip down the mountain to Hickory, I checked out the Antique Mall on Hwy. 70 and Great Finds where I found a few items for my lamp making, a cute coffee table with frenchy looking legs, a nice Italian bottle and a set of 3 handmade nesting pine tables.

On the way back, I stopped at the antique mall in Blowing Rock and got info about renting a booth, then went across the street to the Windwood Antiques annex and discovered a collection of imported bottles. Picked out a beauty for a lamp then headed toward the Appalachian Antique Mall in downtown Boone.

Met up with Becky S at the antique mall in Trade for a bit more shopping and purchased a nice square amber bottle, before we headed to Mountain City for the weekly Friday night auction of antiques and oddities. Where else could you go and find a 1883 metal tobacco plug cutter being auctioned off one minute and a Troybilt lawnmower the next. I won the tobacco plug cutter with the Imp astride it, a $5 wooden tray full of small toys and a couple of old-looking iron horse drawn cart toys.

One thing I have learned from going to auctions...look hard before you raise your hand to bid and watch out for fakes pretending to be the real thing. Like they say, buyer beware.

After an exhausting and rewarding Friday, I rested up for the Great States Auction in downtown Wilkesboro on Saturday.  Becky S joined me and we had a good time people watching and trying to win a few bids. Prices were either extremely high or low. There was a lot of furniture and it was going for fantastically low prices. Since I had no room for any large pieces of furniture, I kept my hand down. Gold and silver coins were going for big prices .Better than investing in the stock market these days.

Bid and won a one-of-a-kind Arts & Crafts mantle clock and a Victorian gilded bronze candelabra.

All in all, a great weekend of hunting!!

Lamps and More Lamps

It's been a great summer for hunting and gathering. Becky and I have scoured the shops and antique malls in Boone, Blowing Rock, Trade and Mountain City, as well as estate sales in Charlotte. Becky attended the giant July antique event in Abingdon, VA and my husband and I traveled up Highway 11 / 81 in Virginia, stopping at several malls and shops on our way to Fairfax, VA. We each discovered some fantastic finds for our booths at the Depot in Concord, NC. If you haven't been, be sure to check out the Depot soon.

I have been looking for a way to satisfy my creative spirit and I hit upon the idea to make lamps. First came linen and burlap shades, then came beautiful glass bottles. A natural combination for some great looking lamps to take to the Depot. My first effort was two matching turquoise glass bottles with natural burlap shades and the combination looked fantastic. I placed them on top of two wacky looking metal side tables found during a very, very hot visit to Cline's Antiques.

Next, I found a collection of heavy handmade glass bottles from Spain, with raffia wrapped necks and they metamorphosized into four more lamps. I especially like the squatty round one with the golden look to the glass. More to come!