May 2016 Brimfield Show Recap

Brimfield is back! Not that it ever went away, but the May 2016 show was almost unanimously the biggest and best in years. The traffic was backed up on Route 20 for miles every day, which hasn't happened in years. The weather was almost perfect and the fields were chock full of dealers and shoppers all doing what they came to do.

What Does Brimfield Mean To You?

Flea market season is right around the corner and the Brimfied buzz is starting to pick up. Dealers are starting to get their inventory ready, shoppers are planning their trips, local businesses are preparing for the swarms of people and we are signing up dealers and getting a new update to the app ready for release.

Brimfield is one of the most well known flea markets in the world, but it is also still a premier antiques and collectibles show. Some of the dealers (and shoppers!) in Brimfield are incredibly knowledgeable about the items they specialize in. In general, they are also very willing to share information with shoppers and other dealers. They love talking about their fields of expertise and helping people add to their collections. Many of these specialized dealers are the backbone of the show and have seen it shrink and grow and change many times over the years. 

September 2015 Show Recap

Reclaimed Charm

As always, dealers had mixed experiences at the September Brimfield show. A few said it was their worst show in years. A few had great shows. As usual, most fell somewhere in the middle and many acknowledged that their expectations were thrown off by such uncharacteristically strong July sales. The sweltering heat can also slow things down and it was really hot the first few days of the show. You expect that in July, but September is usually a bit more comfortable. The weather later in the week was great, but a threat of rain may have kept people away on Friday and Sunday. But the shoppers who are there never seem disappointed. Whether they are veteran buyers or a first-timer just taking it all in, people are generally happy to be there.

As far as the app is concerned, the September show was a big success for us. We had a lot of momentum heading into the show and a lot of things came together giving us a strong finish to the year. 

Brimfield Dealer Profile: the good home

One of my favorite parts of developing the Brimfield Flea Finder app, has been meeting so many talented passionate people who love what they do. This series of Brimfield Dealer Profiles will highlight a small sample of dealers that can be found using the app. I'm thrilled to help shine a little more light on these businesses that they work so hard building and running every day.

the good home
New England sourced vintage and antiques with an emphasis on housewares, tools, small furniture and linens. Quaker Acres, site 82. Use the Brimfield Flea Finder app to find the good home booth at the show or their contact info between shows.

Richard and Nancy Lucier are the dynamic duo behind the good home. Unlike most of the dealers in the app who we met over the past two years, I have known Richard and Nancy for 35 years. They are one of the main reasons we live in Massachusetts, why we are so involved with Brimfield and what inspired us to create the app. They are my parents. So I might be a little biased, but I think they are pretty great!

Welcome to Life to the Brim!

Well, this is it. My very first blog post on my very first blog. I'm going to start with a confession. I don't follow a ton of blogs. I have no idea what people say in their initial posts. I was going to do some research to find out but then I decided I would just wing it! I didn't want to overthink it or have a strategy. So here it goes! 

This blog will be a place where a lot of my interests intersect. Will it be too general? Possibly. But if you are interested in Brimfield, vintage and antiques, home decor, cute kids, DIY projects, New England, vintage campers, food or nice people, you will probably like it. I hope you do!

I came up with the name for the blog because I think it's fun play on words. Brimfield is a big part of our life these days.  That's for sure.  But our life is full to the brim in so many other ways.  It's full of beauty. Full of building memories. Full of long term plans and short term obstacles. Full of parenting successes and fails. Full of figuring things out as we go. We are always trying to get the most out of everything we do without losing sight of what we already have and we have two precocious girls who keep us in check. They simultaneously make time speed up and force us to slow down. 

We are just a few weeks away from switching over to full Brimfield mode again (how did that happen already?!). Summer hasn't even officially started yet but it already feels like it's flying by. We have so much going on and it gets crazy (to say the least) at times but our life truly is full to the brim in so many ways.  I hope you enjoy hearing a little bit about our adventures and will follow along or stop by now and then to check in!

Here's an overview of posts you can expect to see over the next few weeks:

• Highlights from The Vintage Bazaar
• Our vintage camper renovation
• Brimfield FleaFinder App update
• Before and after of a recent craigslist find using Cari Cucksey's Chroma•Color™ Paint
• Detailed Brimfield Dealer Profiles of some of our favorite dealers just in time for the July show!