Last week amid the birthdays and lice and Easter preparations, Mister and I escaped to the Round Top Antiques Fair. I always write about this because it’s so completely great; when are you guys going to believe me and go yourselves? Who cares that it’s the middle of nowhere in Texas? Tori Spelling made it out last year! You should too!
This time my main shopping trip was to Marburger Farm–which is one small part of Round Top. I think Marburger has the best items and displays, hand-down. Keep in mind that this takes place in the middle of a 40-acre field. There are several giant tents set up, but there is no paving or air con. Despite this the sellers do a fantastic job making their booths look gorgeous. This is especially amazing considering how many of them come from around the country.
Marburger also has wifi and nice Kohler bath trailers (with actual toilets!) so it’s not completely primitive. These were some of my favorite things that I came across. (Not nearly as kitschy and oddball as the flea marketish parts of Round Top.)
I thought the shells were nice but an actual zebra head? That’s kind of a niche market.
Of course.
Because who hasn’t thought, “you know what this mantel needs? A turtle shell.”
Have you ever seen so much Ironstone in one place? I haven’t. I noticed a really pretty cake stand that I thought I might splurge on until I took a look at the price tag.
$1600 for a cake stand??? For that price I expect it to be painted with the tears of 18th Century Chinese concubines. I think I’ll stick with the ceramic version from Pier One that costs 97% less.
Also pretty but way too expensive:
Antique napkin rings. At between $150-$200 each this lady has sunk a lot of money into inventory. And think of all the polishing! Oy! I don’t even own any cloth napkins. I think that officially makes me tacky.
So no, I didn’t buy much at my trip to Round Top. But let me tell you, it is the best window shopping on Earth. So mark your calendars; the next fair will be October 3-7.
To find out more about Round Top, you can read my post from the last fair here.
The turtle shells look surprisingly creepy to me. Kind of like the weevil shells in my flour.
“Painted with the tears of Chinese concubines” ftw.
J is for jealous. I want to go there some day.
you made me snort. And if I have a turtle shell on the mantle, it’s because my children brought home something cool, not because I was tacky and wanted to designerize it. Ditto for the zebra head, which means I’ll never have one, because it’s not like I think going on safari and killing a zebra would be really, really cool. Not ever. Which is kinda what it’s condoning. I’m not so cool about decorating with dead animals anyway. Now, the new thing about pretend taxidermied animals which are really cardboard cutouts painted or, even better, hand sewn and stitched? That’s awesomesauce.