September's fairly bursting with street fair fun

An ideal mini-vacation is a weekend spent wandering through a lively antique street fair. And why not drop in at some of the local antique shops while you're at it? Often these events are set in the restored historic district away from the madness of the malls. Parking and admission are usually free, and the organizers go out of their way to offer a fun atmosphere for the whole family, with music and food to enhance the day's browsing. It's best to arrive early, before the heat of the day, when parking is easier, and while the selections are still optimal.

Today we'll cover Oregon's street fairs, tomorrow we'll cruise south to California!

Display at the Oregon City Open Air Antique Fair beguiles passersby with lots of refreshing whites and pastels

Oregon has its share of outdoor antique events starting Sunday, August 30 when Oregon City hosts its "Open Air Antique Fair" with more than 100 booths set up on six square blocks of the historic Main Street. A food court will provide the fuel for an afternoon's browsing, the live music from the 60's and 70's will set a nostalgic scene, and appraisers will be on hand to help evaluate your finds. More than 10,000 visitors arrive in Oregon City every year for this successful event, now in its 14th year. Ashley King at the Oregon City Chamber of Commerce can give you more details (call 503-656-1619), or you can visit their website. Oregon City is just off Hwy. 205, southeast of Portland.

The beautifully refurbished old buildings of Albany's Historic District overlook the annual Albany Antiques in the Streets.

Photo by Oliver J. Anderson

In Oregon, the streets of the Albany Downtown National Historic district will be literally filled with antiques on Saturday, Sept. 12. At this 12th annual "Antiques in the Streets," you can find everything from vintage furniture, glassware, pottery and linens to architectural items such as windows, doors and hardware, and many assorted collectibles. Admission to the event is free, and not only are there going to be vendors of antiques and collectibles from all over the Northwest, but there will also be food booths so that you can recharge your batteries with out missing a deal! An appraiser will be on hand to evaluate your own collectible, or the one you just bought. First Avenue will be blocked off for the day, so that organizers can create a bigger and more visible marketplace. Be sure to stop by the Albany Downtown Association booth and get an ice-cream, as well as some literature and coupons to downtown businesses. While in Albany you can also visit the three museums downtown and shop at the Farmer's Market just a few blocks away. The hours for the event are 8 am to 4 pm, rain or shine. Check out the Albany Downtown Association website to keep up with what is happening in Downtown. Vendor space is still available, but you need to call 541-928-2469 soon to get a spot. Albany is on Hwy. I-5, just south of Salem.

If you're already in Albany that weekend and not shopped-out, it's not far to Coburg, where you'll find the 22nd annual Original Coburg Antique Fair the next day, Sunday, Sept. 13. This very popular event also takes place in the historic district, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, and has grown to encompass some 300 antique dealers, so wear your walking shoes for some serious browsing. You'll feast your eyes on an endless array of intriguing antiques and collectibles while tapping your toes to live music and treating your tastebuds to snacks from several food booths. Admission and parking are free, as always. Contact Roxann Emmons at the Coburg Antique Malls, (541) 683-0916 for more details, or check out their website. Coburg is only five miles north of Oregon's capital, Eugene.

Photo: Ruby glass lamp, art and painted furniture at Coburg's Antique Street Fair

We think, therefore we blog

Sometimes I just like to surf on a subject and find inspiration. My favorite topics are antiques, vintage and collectibles (plus sailing and living in Mexico, but that's another blog). This morning I've added more than a dozen new blogs to my list (scroll down and find it on the right), and you're invited to visit them all, when you've got a free hour or two (it took me an entire morning). Some are about brick-and-mortar antique shops, others are online sellers, and many are collectors who enjoy writing about decorating their homes in old stuff.

If you've been thinking of starting a blog on any of the above subjects, and you need some help with your design, check out ShabbyBlogs.com for a selection of absolutely free art elements… everything from backgrounds to buttons to blinkies, pretty post dividers, even page headers in your choice of funky or elegant motifs from Megan and her webmaster brother Kaleb.

Here's a button I like a lot…



And this is an example of a blinkie…



There's a detailed, easy-to-follow instruction page, so you can experiment and play with charming bits and pieces to dress up your page.



At Megan's own blog, you can get acquainted and learn more about design, how to use code and tap into your inner artist. She's promising "even more designs, freebies and tutorials" to make your blog fabulous. If you appreciate her generosity and creative spirit, send her a comment! Like all of us bloggers, Megan loves feedback and if she hears from you she might just write a feature about you!
© copyright 2009 shabbyblogs.com. All rights reserved. Floral stamps by Rhonna Farrer.

A sad loss for Kalama

The historic Heritage Square building in Kalama was destroyed by fire June 10

Owners of Heritage Square Antiques in downtown Kalama, WA called us this morning to report that their historic 113-year-old wood-frame building burned down June 10. What a sad loss! It was reported that the cause of the fire was next-door neighbors tossing an ashtray out their window. The store and its contents, a fine collection of antiques, was totally destroyed.

The fire was filmed and made available on YouTube.

Superb style in the genes

When exquisite taste is genetic, why not partner-up in antiques? Arlyne Meyer and Michelle Cardwell, the mother-and-daughter team at A Moment in Time have opened a second antiques store in the Niles District of Fremont, CA, where they'll feature fine furniture, pictures and mirrors. The new store, A Moment in Time Too is at 37312 Niles Blvd, and the phone number is 510-790-6300.

They'll also continue with their original location at 37396 Niles Blvd, where the emphasis is on exquisite hand-painted porcelains—the largest collection on the West Coast!

Quilts, Crafts and Old Radios in Aurora

"If there are no quilting bees in heaven, I'm not going."

from Jean Kirkpatrick's Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community and Craft

If you're in Oregon and you love quilts and early crafts, don't miss the current exhibit at the Aurora Colony Museum which brings to life settings from popular author Jean Kirkpatrick's full-color book, "Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community and Craft." Displayed are not only handmade quilts but artifacts contributed by a number of Aurora families, creating vignettes of home life in the Aurora colony of the 1800s, which lived communally and developed skills in a number of crafts. The exhibit continues through June 6. Shown here is one of the settings illustrated in the book and recreated in the exhibit.

Tomorrow the last Flea Market of the season will be held in Aurora, in the American Legion Hall at 3rd and Main, 9am-4pm.

And radio aficionados should stop in Aurora next weekend, when the Antique Radio Show and Sale will take place, also at the American Legion Hall, 9am-3pm. The Northwest Vintage Radio Society will present a big display of vintage radios.

Blunders and Absurdities

At last it can be told: the new edition of Cochran's Collector's Guide has been uploaded and is ready for your perusal. The paper version was distributed about six weeks ago, and can now be found in any of our advertisers' stores, from Washington State to Arizona.

The new cover is pictured here on our home page, at upper left. Please keep in mind that the cover is green this year; it's important that you make this distinction because the previous edition, with a cinnamon brown cover, has the same year imprinted on it. Yes, we made a big mistake, and will be living with it for the next year. Endless phone calls and emails: "Um, did you know the new book has the same date on it as last years?" One shop in Washington actually dumped all their new books at the Palmer-Wirfs Show, thinking they were the old edition. (sigh...)

I've taken to reading this quote every so often just to remember that life goes on, even after the most egregious of errors. And will get better, if we don't dwell on the past.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

So take a look at the Guide's online version by clicking on the Contents button above. We still have a little tweaking to do, and the links have not yet been activated, but I'll have them done before the New Year. And may your holiday season be serene and joyful, and take you into the New Year in high spirits.

Window Shopping

With Thanksgiving only a couple of weeks away, antique stores are decorating for Christmas and planning big open house festivities for that weekend. Windows are being dressed in their holiday finery, and while it's too early to bring on live Christmas trees, the artificial trees are turning up everywhere.

Niles Antiques on Niles Blvd. in Fremont, CA has one of the most beautiful window displays I've ever seen: uncluttered, dramatic and with penguins and a polar bear instead of the usual reindeer and elves. Well done, Ron and Madeline!

By the way, Thanksgiving weekend marks the Niles Merchants' Open House, followed by their Christmas Tea and Tour the first Saturday in December, both sponsored by the Niles Merchants' Association. And on December 12, Niles Main Street is planning a Holiday Home Tour.