So THAT'S what "Trash to Treasures" means!

Yesterday we were at the "Trash to Treasures" show in Tarpon Springs - I never did find a suitable link to put up - and now we know that it means you bring your trash to the show, and people find their treasures in them. (Cue dope slap to self's head.) Instead, we brought our usual array of inventory, set it all up on our tables, and were dumbfounded when we walked around the show to find a load of junk for sale.

Well, almost. I did find 2 treasures - a Crown Staffordshire hand painted teacup and saucer in a lovely yellow with sprigs of forsythias on it, and for childhood memories' sake, 4 small Beatrix Potter books. But most of the stuff for sale was truly awful.

So our booth, and several others, were rather like diamonds glinting in the garbage heaps. We didn't hear any deprecating remarks about our prices, or our selections. It wasn't a great show for us, and in the future we'll be certain to bring our less wonderful items. Things that, at other shows, sometimes I'll unwrap to put on the table, then think twice about having it out, and wrap it back up as being unworthy for an antique and collectible show. Items such as these would have been perfectly suitable and might have found a home, at the right price.

People are really on the look out for silver these days. Sterling, plate, just about anything will go - and I'm always looking to add these items to our inventory. It's quite incredible what you'll find at a rummage sale, covered in tarnish; and it really isn't until you've spent some time with polishing paste and some elbow grease before you can find out what shape the item is actually in. So there's a certain amount of risk there, but quite often the initial investment is not too terribly great. It's the cleaning time and materials that are the true investment. I do admit to feeling a wonderful little rush when the gleam of a piece of silver starts to show as a result of a little bit of effort!

The only drawback to yesterday's show was really the capriciousness of the weather. It was sunny; it was warm; but there was a constant breeze that would build up to some 25 mph gusts (which I think were the tail end of a violent system that the day before had swept through Georgia, with tornadoes in its wake there), and we lost 2 pieces to the wind. I think every single vendor there suffered breakages as we did. Of course, we had also just received our shade canopy, which can really be a godsend as the springtime quickly moves into summer weather down here. Unfortunately, we found ourselves having to hang on to the frame as it promised to take off like some kite across the municipal parking lot several times. We were able to inch it a bit closer to a patch of grass in order to bungee cord it down to some stakes, but ultimately, we were forced to take the whole thing down before the heat of the day was in full force. Some passers by were kind enough to help us lift up and carry the whole frame and canopy over our the tables off to where we were able to take it down in relative safety. Nonetheless, for the entire day, I was on edge every time a gust of wind would come up, and we kept on having to take one thing after another off the tables and stow it away in the storage tubs, to keep it from blowing away.

Packing up at the end of the day was tortuous, as the lids of the storage tubs were liable to fly across the parking lot, as were the wrapping materials. It just felt like it took twice as long and four times as much effort to safely pack up and stow everything away. By the time we got home, ate some take away Thai food (I don't ever attempt to cook on a day when we've done a show), I showered my wind-burnt body, took a bunch of ibuprofen, and fell into bed, where I slept for 11 hours. Whew!

So for now, it's back to the Teapot Project, as I've come to think of my latest TIAS fling. I'm halfway done with the addition of the various teapots on to the website, and I'm increasingly pleased with the acquisition, as it's such a great variety.

Here's a picture of a wonderful pot in the shape of a dragon, being ridden by a wizard. It was made by the Clay Art Company of San Francisco, which was known primarily for their cookie jars and masks. Just beautifully made in very rich colors, with great details.

A success in Tampa!

The old-timers all say that it's nothing like it used to be. The heady days of big money antiquing has gone the way of much of the country's economy, and most people who came to the show were looking, not buying. Mostly older, retired people, without the disposable incomes that impulse shopping requires.

Having said that - we had a very successful show! As is customary with these shows, the best customers were other dealers, and most of the trade was done before the gates were open to the public. This show was no exception, and so we declare the Tampa show to have been a moderate success for Time Travelers. Our next door neighbor proved to be our best single customer, for which I've thanked her in a note sent off this morning.

The dealers are friendly, kind, and really let us in on the sense of community that I was hoping we'd find, but hadn't truly expected. We kept an eye on each other's booths if an errand (or a quick shopping trip) needed to be made; when the skies opened up on Saturday afternoon and Bob and I discovered that we didn't actually possess enough tarps to adequately cover all of our tables, someone was quick to make a loan of an extra one; that's the kind of people these dealers are. Nobody I spoke with was familiar with the internet for commerce, or used it as part of their trade. Most didn't own a computer. This might be a reflection of the caliber of shows that we've chosen to participate in, or it may just be an oddity of the area that we're trading in - I just don't know, but I was really surprised!

The weather cooperated for the most part for this show. Friday afternoon was the finest, with comfortable temperatures and blue skies. Saturday was very mixed and the threatening clouds kept the crowds at home; we covered up early when it started to rain in earnest, around 3:30. Sunday started out cold, and though it became sunny, it never really warmed up completely. Would it have been a better show had the weather been better? Maybe. Who knows?

The van is all packed up and will remain so in preparation for the coming weekend's show in Sarasota. This one is just Saturday and Sunday, with no Friday preview hours. Then we'll have a break of a few weeks, and do another weekend show in Dade City.