A Few of My Favorites at the Marburger Farm Antique Show

As I have mentioned before, here, it is antique season in Texas.

 One of my favorites, and one of the largest venues for finding just about any vintage or antique treasure you might imagine, is the
  Marburger Farm Antique show.



Several of my absolute favorite dealers anywhere will be here again and promise not to disappoint.

Janet, from
  Talk Sweet Talk,

 will be set up in the old farm house at the show.

I first met Janet when she was set up at Cole's several years ago. I have not seen her in a while, but I follow her most creative and inspiring blog. She has the best eye and I was smitten immediately with her knack for display, her collections, and her sense of design in setting up her booth at the show.

 Like so many of the people I have met in the antique business, she is just the nicest person and a delight to visit with.

 Talented and clever,  and you will love what Janet does with
WORDS!

Another favorite, whose booth I fell in love with before I ever met her, belongs to Nance.

Nance writes a blog, My Favorite French Antiques, and her booth at the show
promises to tempt me, again, with antique paintings like this one of two dogs......

Gorgeous, yes?

Nance also has tons of beautiful French furniture and accessories.

Paintings, architectural fragments, tapestries, mirrors............

Nance's booth will not disappoint you!!


Setting up at Marburger for the first time,

but a long time vendor at the square in Round Top,

 is Richard Schmidt.

I have only met Richard and his wife Janet a few times, but they are guaranteed to be a hit at Marburger.

Ohmygosh, I'll take one of each please!

As life would have it, and not surprisingly, Richard and his wife are
friends with another longtime favorite of mine,

Vintage Sculpture creators,

Brad and Sundie Ruppert.

I have several of their charming and oh so clever sculptures and it has been fun watching them grow in recognition and popularity over the past years.

"Let Your Love Shine Thru"
I bought this fabulous piece quite a while ago and love it more every day.
 It has moved around my house and sits in my bedroom now. Like any piece of good art, it intrigues me every time I look at it, noticing different details Brad and Sundie created.

Sculptures range from folky angels, horses, hearts and arrows and fabulous mirrors.

Every size and color imaginable and the most clever combination of materials you will ever see!

I have longed for this piece ever since I saw it.
Full of personality and color, it is a prize example of their work. I case you can't find room for a cupboard, they make tons of smaller pieces of folk art that are just delightful.

Old friends, Alan and Lindra of Parkhouse Antiques  set up at Marburger and always have the most beautiful booth.

These photos were taken last year.  I can't wait to see what they do next week!

I have shared with you just a smidge of what you will see at this show.

From the most elegant to the most quirky, and everything in between, this show gets better every year. Be sure to visit the website and try to get here any time next week between Tuesday, March 29 and Saturday, April 2.

If you have favorite dealers at Marburger, or you are a dealer at Marburger and would like to be featured here at Hill Country House, please leave me a comment and I will be happy to post about you!

All photos used in this post either my own or were taken from the site referenced.

San Francisco in "Full Bloom"

 I had the most wonderful request a few months ago.

My daughter, (soon to be college graduate daughter, I might add!) called and asked me if I might like to spend spring break with her "someplace really cool, and just look at tons of art in galleries and museums?" 

You can imagine how flattered and excited I was by this request, and of course I got right on the planning of our trip!

Source

 I chose San Francisco for several reasons, not the least of which had to do with airline miles and hotel points, making the trip affordable.

I also wanted to visit some place my daughter had not been, a city where we could walk a lot and use public transportation and not have to have a rental car.

Source

Of course, great architecture, design and lots of art were a given requirement!!

 The first afternoon, both of us bleary eyed from getting up at 4:00a.m. and long flights, we began to wander around the city.

Wander and stumble along we did, having no real plan for that afternoon. 

We were not sure how long we would last before heading back to the hotel for an early dinner and sleep.

As luck would have it, we came across Gump's and of course, wandered inside to poke around.

We were thrilled with what we found.

  An installation called "Full Bloom",  mixing the wonderfully colorful paintings of David LeBatard, also known as Lebo, with all of the gorgeous home furnishings of Gump's, was taking place in the store.


 We were enthralled with the show, and had the pleasure of meeting a most helpful and friendly Gump's associate, Mark Murphy, who was happy to answer our questions and show us around the exhibit.

"David "LEBO" Le Batard is a Cuban-American Postmodern Cartoon Expressionist celebrated for both his fine art & civic works projects. Lebo is recognized for his murals, sculptures and paintings, but has gained notoriety through his live painting performances alongside music industry veterans such as Willie Nelson and The Indigo Girls."
Source 


Clearly super talented in a totally new realm for me, I absolutely appreciate his work.
However, on a personal level, the paintings at Gump's appeal to me a lot more than his cartoon style.

Gump's, Painting by Lebo

 Gorgeous glassware , linens, pottery and flowers just popped in front of this large canvas. 

 

  

 

Window displays were whimsical and art filled. Love the large green pepper and giant blue egg, and am so sorry I didn't learn more about them!

                      

                            

                                                                                   

 Brilliant colors and large bold strokes make for strong, happy paintings. I still am not sure which one is my favorite.

I love the dark background and the full, vibrant flowers with the title "After the Rain".
                                                                               
                                                                                

Check out this video to see the Full Bloom opening night.

Wish we had been there!

                                                                                    
                                                                                

We also had the serendipitous pleasure of seeing some of Lebo's work on the side of a hotel - appropriately name Hotel des Artes, a charming boutique hotel in the city.

                                                                                  

       To see how this mural came about, check out this video~

So, to say we had a fabulous trip is an understatement. We saw great art, great fashion and of course, ate great food!

Hope you have enjoyed this little fragment of our adventure! 

Happy Spring!

Snippets

Nashville Antique Show Review

 A number of years ago I bought this old furniture store sign at the Heart of Country Antique Show in Nashville. It was in the booth of Missouri Plain Folk, and stopped me in my tracks. It just spoke to me and if you are reading this blog, it probably speaks to you too!

It has hung in various spots in two houses since I bought it, and I still love it. I think it must have hung outside as it looks like it used to have a light in it. Maybe one day I will have it rewired to light up - that would be fun!
Currently it hangs in a window of the bar area off of my entry hall. You can see the porch outside and the door leading to another part of the house.

I had the pleasure of visiting my daughter in Nashville this past weekend, and a little time to run through several of the shows going on. Of course, I hit the Heart of Country show again, and it never disappoints.  I want to share a few of my favorite booths from this year's show.

While my post is general in nature and is only meant to highlight some of my favorites, click on the links to learn more about some of the fine, authentic antiques I saw. 

By far one of the prettiest booths was that of Raccoon Creek from Oley, Pennsylvania. My photo does not begin to do it justice, so here are some detailed shots.....

 Again, my photo does not do it justice, but this bentwood folk art basket on the wall looked to be in mint condition and the red, white and blue paint on it was wonderful!  I think it goes beyond it's original function as a basket and is a true piece of folk art.

                                                   Photo from Racoon Creek Antiques

 A charming  hooked rug of a dog with a triangular colorful border,  with good age on it, and the wagon box below it, were the most tempting for me in this shot, although each piece is fabulous. 

The blanket chest from Berks County, Pennsylvania, is about as charming as it gets. The paint is classic Americana. While this is called a country show, any of these pieces would be stand outs in a contemporary house. The detail, the craftsmanship and the colors are outstanding examples of hand made, history at it's best.

This hooked rug of the flowers is so fun and almost could be a contemporary painting. The Vermont Mule chest from the late 1700s has been painted in a style called "vinegar grain" and is spectacular. The simple lines of the chest make it a piece that would fit any style home. 

I love the gallery settings in which these antiques are shown. The hooked rugs mounted and hanging on the walls raises them to the level they should be, as true pieces of art. Can you even imagine working by hand to create a rug, only to toss it on the floor and have people walk on it!?

The pictorial hooked rug of a Cape Cod house is folk art at it's best! I love the oversized chickens and the large flower. Scale, or rather lack of realistic scale, is something in folk art that I find utterly charming.

The tinned sheet iron sconces with oak leaf crests are fabulous! They are American and were handmade in Pennsylvania by a tinsmith during the mid to late 1800s.  To me these are an example of good design is good design, regardless of when it is created.

Next on my favorites list was the booth of Dennis Raleigh from Wiscassett, Maine. OH!! I could take everything in this booth home with me!! Seriously, I could not wipe the grin off of my face as I strolled through this space, taking in each and every fine and quirky antique. What can I say - this stuff just makes me happy!

 Where to start - I love the hooked rug with it's happy bunch of flowers, I love the large glass canisters which I wish I had gotten the info on, I love the cat andirons, I love the old game board, I love the cat portraits...................

This little piece is exquisite.
It is a folk art carving from the 1920s, depicting Jesus and the two thieves.

 This apothecary chest was in the booth of American Spirit Antiques from Murphy, North Carolina. I had the nicest visit with Jay, who owns the shop with his wife, Carole. This piece was so, so wonderful and I wish I could have afforded it. The yellow paint covers the blue, but the person who was stripping it back to the original blue stopped after she finished the bottom row of drawers because she liked it this way. I do too!  It is very, very old and just a treasure!

Jay and Carole also had this lovely corner cabinet with old paint. I guess you can tell I like color, and especially original paint!

 Speaking of fabulous apothecary pieces, this one with the gorgeous blue paint really caught my eye! The shape is highly unusual and the detailing is fabulous.

I took two photos so you could see the beautiful booth set up and then also see the blue piece straight on. Sorry about the glare of the lights.

Loved this funky little bird house in the booth of Douglas R. Wyant, from Cassopolis, Michigan. I don't think it is really very old, but it has great color and great graphic style.

I also loved this funky hooked rug in Douglas' booth. If you know anyone named "Damon" you should tell them about this rug - so quirky and great colors!

 This was a very cool booth with lots of industrial pieces. Great  form and color, too!

Very clever and good looking table made out of old metal something!


 Here are some random shots taken as I walked the show on my way out - love the mix of industrial, folk art , garden statuary and fountains.

Love the old scrolly iron pieces and LOVE the blue grain painted trunk - gorgeous blue!

 

Kitties and hitchin' posts.....

 Old, wonderfully old, signs and such.....
what a treat to see so many good things under one roof.

Hope you have enjoyed your tour of the "heart show".

Sadly, I did not get to take photos of the Tailgate and Music Valley shows. I walked through them  but was pressed for time. They were great too, and maybe next fall I will get to take photos.

Coming up this weekend, The Boerne Optimist Antique Show and I am setting up there! Gotta get to work pronto - come see me!!