I’m home! After spending a week on the road (and away from my blog) I’m back!
On Monday of last week, the 9th of November, I left my home in South Florida and began my journey to the hillbilly infested mountains of East Tennessee. Did I say “hillbilly”? I meant “bear”! J/K
I had hoped to find scores of treasures along the way but my efforts proved futile. Awhile back, Josh and I happened upon a shop in St. Augustine which was run by a British ex-pat. Well, now that I write that, I’m not so sure she is actually British. But anyways, Antique Warehouse of St. Augustine was a really cool and inspiring showcase of American, English and French antiques. I had signed up to receive their newsletters and in their past e-mail blast, I learned of the impending retirement of the darling owner, and the subsequent closing of the fascinating shop. Knowing the inventory was gonna be marked down, I made a point of popping in on my way to Edisto Beach (where I was staying overnight to split up the drive) but the prices were still a little rich for my blood as both a consumer and a retailer. I also tried huntin for gems at a few thrifts store but kept comin up empty handed.
I liked these antique keyhole escutcheons!
I enjoyed my brief stay in Edisto before making my way up and over to Knoxville Tuesday. The drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains at this time of year can’t be beat! The thick forest was bursting with reds and yellows creating a welcoming, warm arrival into East Tennessee.
Low Country - Edisto Island
Somewhere along I-26 in North Carolina.
On Wednesday, my brother was off work thanks to Veteran’s Day. And thanks also be to the veterans who gave everything (including their time away from their families) so that we get to enjoy our freedom and liberty to spend time with our families. May God bless you all! Tim (my brother) took me into downtown Knoxville to show me around. We drove through the old city before parking and walking up to the parade in progress. Although we didn’t stay for the whole thing, as we were meeting my sister-in-law, Faith, for lunch, it was great to see the people of Knoxville applauding and revering the men and women of the hour.
Downtown Knoxville.
JROTC drill team.
My heart melted when I saw this woman passing out flags.
Old Glory waving in the wind.
Following our lunch in Oak Ridge, TN, Tim took me into historic Clinton to do a little antiquin. Although I didn’t buy anything for the shop, it was fun to see what other dealers were offering. I definitely recommend exploring the Clinton Antique Trail if you’re ever in East Tennessee.
Stars and Stripes forever!
From my "View" these smiles are all demented.
"Vaseline Glass" displayed with a black light.
Thursday morning I got up early and made my way over to West Knox for an estate sale. I was running a little late, but was still 11th in line for the sale. Picked up some really fun things including a set of Pabst Blue Ribbon goblets and a “Trucker’s Companion” pocket knife.
"Truckers Companion" pocket knife.
The next sale was a bust, but I did manage to find a few keepers at the thrift stores I ran into before my last sale of the day. The sale in Sequoya Hills was by appointment only and I was given a 1pm call time. First off, I gotta say, the neighborhood was amazing! And the house was no exception, either. From the pink metal cabinets in the kitchen to the hand painted murals on the dining room walls and all the furnishings in-between, the home was a perfect 1950’s showcase. Or time capsule. Whatever you wanna call it, it was awesome!
Just one of the many murals.
I grabbed a couple little things, but my score was a pair of lounge chairs designed by Michael Taylor from the “Far East” collection for Baker Furniture. They’re just ridiculous. And the (now previous) owner of the chairs had kept the catalogue cutouts from when she ordered the chairs in 1959. Kind of neat to see her notes for the order.
Lounge chairs designed by Michael Taylor for Baker Furniture.
Tim and Faith each took a vacation day to hang out with me on Friday. We hit up one flea market before spending the day in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. It was nice to take a break from junkin’ to enjoy the great outdoors. We even saw 5 bears in the park!!
Saturday morning I got up and routed out our day. Hoping to take advantage of last day sales, we returned to the first estate sale I went to on Thursday and did indeed get some deals! Faith pointed out a pair of Abe Lincoln bookends that seriously weighed 800 pounds that I hadn’t seen before. Snagged those babies to keep for myself. Ha! I also picked up a beautiful tilt ball jug by Hall. Our next sale was a mess. Literally. It felt like an episode of Hoarders, but I did find a retro Viko side chair that I stole for five bucks! And I also picked up 4 Mid Century metal folding chairs from KARM (Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries thrift store).
The hideous upholstery has to go, and the walnut arms need to be refinished, but this chair oozes character.
Vintage Cosco folding chairs from the late 50's.
It’s funny because I initially thought I’d bring home a few antique side tables, maybe an armoire, pie safe or credenza, but I ended up with 7 Mid Century Modern chairs! Seven. Ha! But the trip was amazing. I really enjoyed visiting a region of this amazing county that I’d never spent much time in and it was equally as great to spend time with my family.
