This past weekend I slipped on some comfortable walking shoes, popped in a David Sedaris CD, put the top down, and cruised on up to my home state of Massachusetts to spend the weekend exploring the inspirational, overwhelming, wild, and often weird world of the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show.
I’m originally from nearby Western Mass, where we refer to the triannual event as “the flea market” or, simply, “Brimfield.” The largest antique show in the US, Brimfield is a treasure trove of fabulous finds, oddities, and is a feast for all of the senses (they even had a Jamaican food tent with an entire vegan menu! Yay!).
Wandering for two days straight with my fabulous shopping partner, Mom, eyeing all of the different vendors and their goodies from eras gone by was a fantastic creative refresher—so much colorful, graphic, musty-smelling inspiration to absorb. In addition to the eye-candy I gobbled up, I came home with a decent haul: a vintage Loewe Amazona bag I scored for the very shocking price of $17, a 1960s faux-leopard belted swing coat, a rough marble ashtray, an out-of-commission life-preserver marked ‘Panama’ that had been converted into a mirror (for The Beau’s office), and a couple of silver and lapis cuffs. Of course I’m still haunted by the items I didn’t carry home, but that’s the beauty of this place: there’s always next season!
Until then, we’ll always have Brimfield: