This is one of my favorite places on Earth! No kidding! I've been going to this since I was a child and ended up living just minutes away as an adult.
The "Rogers Sale" or "The Sale" as it is referred to in Columbiana County, Ohio is located in Rogers, Ohio and was started in 1948 as a produce auction and has grown since then into a huge...and I mean, HUGE...outdoor flea market. There is no admission and parking (70 acres worth) is all free! You just pay to shop.
I will never do The Sale justice on this blog but let it suffice to say that I have found the best deals of my life at this place. In fact, I have joked for year that I furnished my first apartment in 'Early Rogers Sale' style. Besides the farm auction which includes lots of farm equipment, live animals and other junk, there are multiple buildings holding vendors who sell everything from bulk candy to car tires which they will put on while you wait. Pavilions cover other vendors whose wares would be damaged by a rain storm but many vendors just set up their tables and tents along the graveled / dirt walkways through the trees and along the stream.
Amish citizens sell the best baked goods you can buy. I HIGHLY recommend the glazed doughnuts that they hand dip for you. There is no better taste in the world in my opinion. Other folks sell antiques, vintage, specialty collections, handmade goods, handicrafts, farm equipment, yard sale fodder and food vendors are scattered throughout. An afternoon of sale shopping followed by a hot sausage sandwich and some Amish pie is what its all about for me! People come from all over Ohio and neighboring states to go to 'The Sale'.
The Sale is only open on FRIDAYS! Check out their website at http://www.rogersohio.com/open-air-market/ and is open from 7:30 a.m. until about 10:00 p.m. However, I will warn you that the mentality of the vendors has changed over the 40 years I have been visiting The Sale! You need to get their early as many vendors will call it a day and leave if the traffic flow is light and many leave before 5:oo p.m. I don't know why this is since The Sale is held on a workday and most people do not get off of work before 5:00 p.m.
Be prepared to haggle over prices. Ask for the lowest price or a discount of just about everything. Larger produce vendors will not negotiate on prices but most others will "make you a deal" if you ask. Propose a price and ask if they will honor it. I rarely pay the asking price on anything other than produce! Don't be shy, this is a business transaction and everybody wants to work out the best price.
This gets me to the point of this blog: This is a great place for vintage shopping. Many of the vendors are mid west folks who still have attics and garages full of vintage / collectible items. I have found vintage 1960's organs (musical equipment), holiday decorations (boxes of Christmas lights with original bulbs), kitchen equipment (mixers, blenders, etc.). Among my favorite all time finds were an inflatable mushroom lamp (1960's or 1970's maybe) and a 1950's 'Atomic' styled wall clock with a sun burst design and of course, my 1960's Farfisa organ!
The Sale is open ALL YEAR long but nice weather (up until late October) is the best time to make the trip and find your own treasures. Make the trip and let me know what you think and what your new favorite finds are and I will feature you in my blog.
Allan
Showing posts with label antiques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label antiques. Show all posts
Monday, October 10, 2011
Vintage Holiday
Vintage holiday is hot this time of year. Halloween items from your childhood and your parents childhoods are going quickly. These items are few and far between this year for some reason and are being sold very quickly once they are displayed.
Blow mold items (those hard plastic ghosts, pumpkins, etc. that you place a light bulb in the back of) are literally on display one day and sold the next at several of the Cleveland shops that I have visited this past week. According to one informed source, blow mold items are not being made anymore due to the environmentally unfriendly processes that are needed to produce them. However, I was at the world's biggest retailer the other night and found a 2 1/2 feet tall ghost blow mold with light for $19.99. That was styled like the vintage ones that we have come to love. Evidently, some company is still producing these items.
Die cuts are also few and far between. If you have any of these items from years ago, hang on to them or get them to your local vintage store and get them on the market. Do your homework to figure their worth and then ask for the best price you can get.
I found a giant zip locked bag of Halloween die cut including a jointed skeleton and some embellished cut outs a couple of years ago at a flea market. The person selling them sold them to me for $1.00. Yes, one dollar! What a great find. I've never used them yet, they are still in flat storage but I will drag them out someday and enjoy them.
When shopping remember how you decorated when you were a kid. Outdoor and window lighting was not popular for Halloween and lights weren't really made specifically for this holiday until this past decade or so. Prior to that, sometime people would put Christmas lights up with Halloween displays so don't go pay vintage prices for what you can buy at your neighborhood retailer.
I've also found a lot of children's toys or candy dispensers (no, I'm not referring to PEZ as this has it's own following) being sold with Halloween decorations. Unless you are into vintage candy wrappers or toys, I would fore go these items as they really haven't changed much over the years. Buy only if they have some nostalgic value to you.
Anything old and made of paper or similar materials are getting harder and harder to find. Mostly in the shape of pumpkins and skulls with an open top, these are highly desirable and can be costly. Anything that is made of such fragile material and that has survived decades (1930's or 1940's) is worth every penny in my opinion.
If you are buying new, for goodness sake, save the boxes and store well because one day (in about 25 years) these items will likely be sought after and the value will be higher with original packaging.
Happy Shopping!
Allan
Blow mold items (those hard plastic ghosts, pumpkins, etc. that you place a light bulb in the back of) are literally on display one day and sold the next at several of the Cleveland shops that I have visited this past week. According to one informed source, blow mold items are not being made anymore due to the environmentally unfriendly processes that are needed to produce them. However, I was at the world's biggest retailer the other night and found a 2 1/2 feet tall ghost blow mold with light for $19.99. That was styled like the vintage ones that we have come to love. Evidently, some company is still producing these items.
Die cuts are also few and far between. If you have any of these items from years ago, hang on to them or get them to your local vintage store and get them on the market. Do your homework to figure their worth and then ask for the best price you can get.
I found a giant zip locked bag of Halloween die cut including a jointed skeleton and some embellished cut outs a couple of years ago at a flea market. The person selling them sold them to me for $1.00. Yes, one dollar! What a great find. I've never used them yet, they are still in flat storage but I will drag them out someday and enjoy them.
When shopping remember how you decorated when you were a kid. Outdoor and window lighting was not popular for Halloween and lights weren't really made specifically for this holiday until this past decade or so. Prior to that, sometime people would put Christmas lights up with Halloween displays so don't go pay vintage prices for what you can buy at your neighborhood retailer.
I've also found a lot of children's toys or candy dispensers (no, I'm not referring to PEZ as this has it's own following) being sold with Halloween decorations. Unless you are into vintage candy wrappers or toys, I would fore go these items as they really haven't changed much over the years. Buy only if they have some nostalgic value to you.
Anything old and made of paper or similar materials are getting harder and harder to find. Mostly in the shape of pumpkins and skulls with an open top, these are highly desirable and can be costly. Anything that is made of such fragile material and that has survived decades (1930's or 1940's) is worth every penny in my opinion.
If you are buying new, for goodness sake, save the boxes and store well because one day (in about 25 years) these items will likely be sought after and the value will be higher with original packaging.
Happy Shopping!
Allan
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Vintage Halloween Decorations
Halloween is my favorite holiday by far. A holiday based around nonsense with no pressure is right up my alley! What a shame it is only one night. Decorating can be a blast and the parties are ALWAYS the best.
Vintage decorations are always the best way to go, in my book. I suggest hitting late season yard sales for "blow form" decorations "die cut" cut outs from the 1940's, 50's, 60's and even 70's. Blow form is the term used for those plastic stand-up pumpkins, ghosts, etc that are made of hard plastic, are usually limited to two colors (the color of the plastic and the color of the painted parts; usually black), many times have a place for a light in the back and were often used as window decorations. The most popular I have found are the orange and black pumpkin sitting on the back of a cat. Die cuts are the heavy paper or carboard "cut outs" that are often times embellished with raised details, have traditional characters (cats, witches, pumpkins, moons, scarecrows, etc), sometimes have only a couple of colors and other times feature several colors. They definately have that "antique" look.
The best places to find vintage halloween are:
yard sales: don't hesitate to ask the person conducting the yard sale if they have old holiday decorations that they will part with even if you don't see them in their yard sale junk! Just ask!
flea markets: don't forget to haggle the price down
vintage shops: my favorites!! A wacky/tacky friend of mine in New York collects vintage halloween as well and we have a blast tracking down, buying and even exchanging "finds". My favorite place to find vintage anything is "Flower Child" (flowerchildvintage.com) vintage shops in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Joe, the owner, is always a great help and always finds the best stuff! Floors of tacky furniture, other-worldly decorations, time-warp clothing, baubles, books, vinyl (records), jewelry...you name it! Joe is a pro!
antique shops: these places have great items usually in very good condition but be warned, these people know how much vintage holiday decorations are going for these days so be prepared to pay. however, ask if the particular seller is working or available and try to negotiate a better price. Holidays are short lived and the seller may be eager to get rid of an item than pack it back up and keep it for another year. Yes, antiques shops do display seasonally sometimes.
on-line auctions: another favorite! I havesearched places like "E-Bay" (my personal favorite) and found GREAT deals on halloween and Christmas decorations. I suggest checking out several similar listings before bidding so that you know what similar items are going for.
Suggestions:
If Halloween is your thing, then check out my "Recipes That Work" blog. I will include some great Halloween recipes that I make over and over.
Happy Halloween!
Vintage decorations are always the best way to go, in my book. I suggest hitting late season yard sales for "blow form" decorations "die cut" cut outs from the 1940's, 50's, 60's and even 70's. Blow form is the term used for those plastic stand-up pumpkins, ghosts, etc that are made of hard plastic, are usually limited to two colors (the color of the plastic and the color of the painted parts; usually black), many times have a place for a light in the back and were often used as window decorations. The most popular I have found are the orange and black pumpkin sitting on the back of a cat. Die cuts are the heavy paper or carboard "cut outs" that are often times embellished with raised details, have traditional characters (cats, witches, pumpkins, moons, scarecrows, etc), sometimes have only a couple of colors and other times feature several colors. They definately have that "antique" look.
The best places to find vintage halloween are:
yard sales: don't hesitate to ask the person conducting the yard sale if they have old holiday decorations that they will part with even if you don't see them in their yard sale junk! Just ask!
flea markets: don't forget to haggle the price down
vintage shops: my favorites!! A wacky/tacky friend of mine in New York collects vintage halloween as well and we have a blast tracking down, buying and even exchanging "finds". My favorite place to find vintage anything is "Flower Child" (flowerchildvintage.com) vintage shops in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Joe, the owner, is always a great help and always finds the best stuff! Floors of tacky furniture, other-worldly decorations, time-warp clothing, baubles, books, vinyl (records), jewelry...you name it! Joe is a pro!
antique shops: these places have great items usually in very good condition but be warned, these people know how much vintage holiday decorations are going for these days so be prepared to pay. however, ask if the particular seller is working or available and try to negotiate a better price. Holidays are short lived and the seller may be eager to get rid of an item than pack it back up and keep it for another year. Yes, antiques shops do display seasonally sometimes.
on-line auctions: another favorite! I havesearched places like "E-Bay" (my personal favorite) and found GREAT deals on halloween and Christmas decorations. I suggest checking out several similar listings before bidding so that you know what similar items are going for.
Suggestions:
- NEVER use tape on paper decorations (die cuts), instead, use the pin hole that is usually already positioned for ideal hanging balance. Otherwise, you can use some of the newer "easyily removed or remove clean" hanging products that peel off of the wall without leaving marks and will usually also remove from the cut-out without damage. You can also just sit them around propped up by a book or something behind them to protect their delicate state.
- Think creatively and use items in different ways. An antique papier machet pumpkin can act as a guest marker around the table or a bowl to draw names from for a game. Vintage glass items and candles are delicate and can be used as dining table decorations (where, if dropped by adorers, will be less likely to be damaged). Old "treat bags/loot bags" can be used as a take home gift bag to party goers.
If Halloween is your thing, then check out my "Recipes That Work" blog. I will include some great Halloween recipes that I make over and over.
Happy Halloween!
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