It’s hard to believe: I was just in England three weeks ago.
And already my container full of European finds has arrived on our shores and been unloaded. For a first-ever container buy, this has been a dream.
We left early in October to attend the Lincolnshire Antiques Fair and shop some nearby towns and hidden spots.
The spectacularly changeable weather at the Lincolnshire Antiques Fair
The fair was set up very much like fairs here, but look how charming their tents are. And, of course, all the stuff is British and European! I was in vintage-lovin’ heaven.
Annie, a fellow-dealerss and veteran of such adventures, introduced me to a hardworking, knowledgeable family who’ve been in the antiques business for generations. Here’s Johnny, who graciously walked the fair with me, and then followed up with his truck, packing as he went.
Johnny plotting his strategy for loading his truck as we finish our shopping at the Lincolnshire Fair.
Linda kept Annie’s records in great shape, and was a delightful travel companion.
After the fair we headed to Johnny’s home base and storage units.
The Sheds, where we found wonderful things to bring home to you.
These sheds don’t look like much, but they held some treasures! Our empty container was waiting on this property for us when we arrived. So we shopped the sheds, and then loaded all our finds onto the container.
Love the funky little crown burned into this English table
I love English flatwear – its proportions and weight are the best in the world. And I found a huge cache of it!
A genuine, leather, French club chair. Its a perfect specimen.
Johnny and his brother, Steven, load up our container
With the serious shopping portion of our trip complete, the container was filled and ready to head to America.
With our container ready for the high seas, we parted ways with Johnny’s family, Annie, and Linda, and went exploring on our own.
Our intrepid little car. With the steering wheel on the right-hand side. And the shifter on the driver’s left. But it got us where we wanted to go.
We ‘let’ a cottage in the Cotswolds. With a delightful home-base awaiting us every evening, we drove off in a different direction every day in our little Ford Fiesta.
The view from the front windows of our cottage in Wick Rissington. This was my first airbnb adventure. If they’re all this great, I’ll never travel any other way if I can help it!
We headed west toward Wales, stopping at Puzzlewood Forest, an ancient forest which is said to have inspired Tolkien as he wrote his opus, Lord of the Rings. My daughter (and assistant), Katherine, and my niece, Caroline, joined me, and we had a wonderful time. (Don’t they look happy?)
I’ll post more about our travels, but thought I’d just include a few images here to give you an idea of what we were up to.
My travel companions: Katherine and Caroline. Here they are at the entrance to the Puzzlewood Forest, said to be and inspiration for Tolkien and more recently a location for the upcoming Star Wars film.
England is full of views like this. And I never get tired of them.
The absolute best part of living in a castle has to be the views. (Let’s face it – they didn’t have plumbing, central heat, or electricity)
One of my favorite things about the British landscape: castles. Here are the girls on the walls of Warwick Castle, with the town and church in the background.
Leaving England mid-October, just in time to get ready for our October Tag Sale, we came home and got right back into our monthly routine, hoping our container and its precious cargo wouldn’t take too long to arrive.
We weren’t disappointed. Annie had told me to expect it within a month, and Tuesday we got the word that it would arrive at her place in Virginia on Thursday. We quickly ordered our UHaul for pick up in Virginia, and headed down to Annie’s place. You’d think having returned from England and all our buying, that the fun part of the adventure was over, and that all we had left was hard work. That would be true if Annie weren’t involved.
But Annie was involved, so it became a party. At her spectacularly beautiful riverfront home in Virginia. It was a reunion of our traveling friends, Linda, her husband and Annie’s husband. And we added to that, Chip, my dear husband who missed the transatlantic trip, but joined me on the excursion to pick up our loot.
Annie’s riverfront home is spectacular. I really have no idea why she ever leaves! This 200-year-old tree is just one example of it’s rare beauty.
When we arrived Wednesday night, it was dark, we’d been driving for hours, and were exhausted. When Annie showed us into the ‘guest cottage’ it was an inspiration (even in our weary state)! It was a smaller version of our own barn, but completely renovated and made livable. That fabulous chimney you see there is completely made of copper.
This charming, vintage set is positioned perfectly for its view down to the river, and nestled comfortably by the central fireplace.
This pretty iron chandelier hangs by a heavy iron chain from the lofty ceiling. No electricity needed, these candles are old school. Love it.
Here’s a shot of the private beach just down the hillside from the main house and barn/guest house. Truly an idyllic spot.
And here she is: Annie! I love this shot because you can see on her face how warm, fun, and enthusiastic she is. And how much she loves Zippy, her adorable little terrier.
It takes a village – Annie’s team assembles on the lawn by her shed as we prepare to unload the container.
Annie assembled a fabulous crew of hardworking, professional guys, and a few fellow-dealers/interior design lovers, to help empty the container. Pictured here with the delicious lunch Annie’s husband, Neil, prepared for all of us.
Here comes my French chest off the container! These guys were hardworking, and were indulging my need to document everything with my camera.
Here it is, ready to be loaded on the UHaul and head home.
This set of three German beer fest tables was all I could fit on the truck in Lincolnshire – next time I’ll be prepared and get a whole lot more!
While I was photographing the unloading, Chip and Harry (Linda’s husband) headed out to get our UHaul so that we could get our treasures home.
Opening the UHaul this morning to get a look at all the loot felt like Christmas morning.
Four hours, and many, many miles later, we arrived home last night with our haul. But it was only this morning that we opened it up and began carrying things into our barn.
Here’s a quick look.
This leather French club chair is the real deal: from an actual club in France, with that inimitable wear, softness, and style. LOVE it. The English factory carts are a bit smaller than American ones, and are a nice size for a coffee table.
The proportions, lines, and patina of this beautiful French chest make it a beauty. I can’t wait to start decorating it.
This piece just tickles me. It’s a 4′ wide canvas depicting Versailles circa 1900. I’m not sure if it’s a prop or promotional image. But it’s just so cool!
These are possibly my favorite find: hand-written deeds, mortgages, and indenture from the 18th and early 19th century. Their wax seals are still on them. Amazing pieces of the personal history of British subjects from hundreds of years ago. And beautiful, too.
There’s lots more to unpack and put out, but I just wanted to share this much with you. It’ll all be ready for our opening November 18-20 (next weekend!). Now I’ve got some work to do!
“How was it?” everyone asks. It was almost a blur. Going back through these pictures (which are just a handful of what I actually took) makes me realize what a whirlwind it was. I learned a lot of what to do and what not to do. And I’ll definitely be doing it again. I’ve already got my strategy worked out and some tentative dates on the calendar. This time was a bit of a trial, never having had the guts to do a container shipment before. Now that my appetite is whetted, I’m hooked!
Thanks for reading,
Virginia
The Sheds, where we found wonderful things to bring home to you.