Kansas Barn Sale

 Our fall includes several favorite traditions, but none are as beloved as attending the Kansas Barn Sale.

A few years ago, we signed up as exhibitors and we have continued to count this show as one of our favorites. The setting is perfect, the people are happy, and the hospitality is unparalleled.

The Emma Creek Barn creates the perfect backdrop. We arrived early to finish the final set up and it was just a little magical with the lights on and the sky showing brilliant colors.

 Sunrises in Kansas are the best! The morning of the show, we had some great color and slow warm up to a beautiful fall day.

 We really enjoyed putting out some of our favorite vintage finds.

 The sign inventory was on point. Jeremy worked really hard in the months leading up to the show to have a great selection.

I loved this little collection - old books, pumpkins, positive vibes, and all things vintage.

We can't wait for next year's show!

Fall vintage show line up

 Our first Mini Market last weekend kicked off our fall show schedule. It was so much fun to pull items out of our storage locations, dust them off and begin putting everything together before we hit the road.

This weekend was School House Market Days in Saffordville, KS. We enjoyed chatting with some of our fellow vendors and hanging out in a very cool old schoolhouse!

Between the weather, the trees turning and more and more pumpkins and mums showing up, we are starting to think FALL!

Here are a few more places to catch up with us over the coming weeks:

September 23/24
Fabulous Finds on 99

Westmoreland, KS

October 1Kansas Barn Sale
Hesston, KS

October 8Old 54 Outdoor Market

Augusta, KS

Our first Mini Market!

Saturday was our first Mini Market at the new location. As you know, renovation is underway on our new building. We are so anxious to be in the new space and have items tucked into every storage space, including our dining room!

This weekend was a great chance for us to give a sneak peek at the new building - a sort of "before" snapshot - and to pull our items out of storage to see what we might have in inventory before our big fall show season.

Our first show of the fall is next weekend at the Schoolhouse Market Days in Saffordville, Kansas, just west of Emporia. After that, we have a sprint to the end of the calendar year that includes some of our favorite shows and major progress on the building. Fingers crossed, we will be finished with phase one of the renovation and in the building by Small Business Saturday at the end of November.

We are really looking forward to our next Mini Market to be held in conjunction with Fabulous Finds on Highway 99, September 23-24.

Fall at the studio

It's beginning to look a lot like fall at our studio!

We are gearing up for some of our favorite shows. Check out our show listing and as always, we keep our "sometimes hours" at the studio or are available for shopping by appointment. You can also see our booth (and a lot of other great booths) at Eclectic Charm in Manhattan.

September 25 & 26
Fabulous Finds on Highway 99
Treasure abound all along Highway 99. Stop by the studio for some great vintage shopping.

September 25 & 26
Pumpkin Patch Arts & Crafts Fair
Get your fall fix at the 42nd annual event. We will have some hand painted signs and small furniture items with our friends with Eclectic Charm.

October 3
Kansas Barn Sale
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hesston, KS

Plant geek: Fall containers

This week was a whirlwind of travel for work.  I actually arrived early for one of my appointments.  My early arrival was a function of being paranoid about traffic.  The previous day included a drive that was planned for one hour and ended up being three hours! At the risk of being late, I left well before sunrise.

When I made it to the charming little town, I did was I usually do - looked for a Starbucks.  You can bet on clean restrooms and a chance to grab something with caffeine.

On the walk back to my car, I saw this great little restaurant with the BEST fall arrangements.

Check out the window boxes.  I love the variety of textures and the height. 

When I was messing with the photos, I tried it in black and white.  When the color was removed the arrangement was still just as striking.

  

Near the door, this beautiful topiary was installed.  Love it!

Vintage finds: fall studio tour

Fall is our favorite season.  Though, I also make a strong case for loving spring, especially after a long Kansas winter.  Come to think of it, decorating for the winter holidays is also pretty spectacular. Perhaps I should just say that currently, fall is my favorite season. We will leave it at that.

We have had a ton of fun displaying items at the studio.  When we unpacked from the Kansas Barn Sale, we also found a few more treasures that we had forgotten to take with us for the show.  This means that we have some great pieces at the studio and some that we have been trying to incorporate in our booth spaces.

I am loving some these pieces and am constantly engaging in the "keep or sell" debate.

 We purchased our pumpkins from a student at our local high school.  I love some of the unusual colors and shapes.  The smaller pumpkins are super cute!

 The large pumpkins are made from the same materials as brooms - unusual and lovely.  They make great anchors for displays or center pieces.

 These photos are from a couple of weeks ago...a few of the things have already sold. The signs have also turned over after the Pumpkin Patch and my favorite sign maker is restocking with a goal of four new signs a day!

Preview of the Kansas Barn Sale

 We are preparing for our second time as an vendor at the Kansas Barn Sale near Hesston.

The weather forecast is perfect.  The site is incredible.  The shopping is spectacular and we meet the nicest people and reconnect with old friends.

Here are a few photos as a preview to Saturday's sale.

The barn is the centerpiece to the show and all around it you will find vendors with as much vintage, antique, handmade, unique and fall themed items as you can possibly see.

You will know you found the place when you see the old pickup at the edge of the drive.

 The barn looks especially magical at night.  If you have the chance, go to the Emma Creek Barn page to see the venue in action for weddings and other events.

 I do enjoy the rustic and western vibe.  Even the doors to the restrooms look cool.

Here is a preview of our space...first the bare bones structure pieces...

 We had a terrible time trying to make the slope in our space work.  We have a pretty steep rise from the front to the back and it made for a bit of a challenge to keep things level.

 Some doors waiting for signs.  I really need the two captains chairs with chippy paint to go to good homes.  I love them...it was a tough keep or sell decision.

 This is the ugly before the pretty.  We had to lay out a lot of things to get an idea of what we had packed.  So much good stuff!

 More foundation pieces...waiting for all of the smalls.

 I have been having a lot of fun with the wine barrel ring spheres, antlers and pumpkins.

 This might be my favorite arrangement with some hydrangeas from our yard.  The little basket with the plums label...another tough decision for keep or sell.

 Things are starting to come together!  More work tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, but it truly is the best part - putting the finishing touches on everything.

  

This photo isn't from our booth, but I thought it was the perfect example of everything I love about this show - vintage, chippy, character and FALL!

Plant geek: fall colors

 There are few falls in my memory that have featured the brilliant colors of foliage as we have enjoyed this year.  You can find brilliant reds, yellows and browns across our Kansas landscape.  I find myself really amazed at the colors that are appearing and staying on the trees around our home and on the campus.

I am particularly
 taken by the tree near one of our chapels on campus.  It has slowly turned from green to this beautiful rust color.  Perhaps what makes it so striking is the oxidized copper roof in the background.  I love the contrast of the green patina and the rusty looking leaves.  I also pass this tree on the walk to and from my car each day and see it as a great sight to bookend my work day.

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 We enjoyed some rainy fall days this week.  Rainy fall days are some of my favorite!  I took this photo near our library at the end of the work day, one that was cloudy, cool and rainy.

I can't forget this beauty.  It is in my line of sight when I exit the north doors of my building.  This tree usually has some color, but this year, it has out done itself.  If I remember right, in most years, this tree will drop all leaves all at once...beautiful color one day and gone after a day of strong wind or a hard freeze overnight.

This fall has been a perfect way to ease into the winter ahead.

Fall arrangements

 My travels this fall took me to several great cities and towns.  During my short stay in Minneapolis, I saw some of the best fall arrangements!

Across from my hotel in downtown, there was a small plaza with outdoor seating and these great flat screen TVs.  Decorating the plaza were several beautiful, giant fall arrangements.

I loved the scale of the arrangements and the pots.  It is hard to make an impact with a design element in the middle of so many tall buildings.  The combination of elements - grapevine, mums, pumpkins, branches, flowering cabbage, and more - all fit together so well.

Love, love, love every single part and piece!

I was really impressed with the grapevine "window" and wreathes.

The bamboo poles connecting these two smaller containers were really neat elements that I have never seen before.

The purple and green color combination of flowering cabbage is a favorite.  I have a hard time finding this plant and I think it is because I look for it at the wrong time of the growing season. I really want to try to incorporate this in next year's fall containers.  I also would really like to actually plant my fall containers instead of just letting the summer plants play out.

Love the pumpkins tucked into the arrangements.

Love the drape they achieved for this combination.

The Loft restaurant that I blogged about earlier also had some great fall arrangements - both hanging baskets and large containers.  The containers had these stacks of rolled birch bark that were just stunning.  I am seriously thinking about how to use this for winter arrangements this year.

One of the best things about travel is finding inspiration in unexpected places.  I am blessed.