Pivot and Change - saying goodbye to our space at the Mineola Antique Fair

Pivot and change... we’ve all heard and lived those words a lot this spring...

When we signed off in March, from our show at the Mineola Antique Fair, we really thought we’d be back in April. Oh, how things have changed!

Since then, Angea aka Rooster Tails (IG @roostertails55) and I pondered the future and both felt led to close this chapter out. We can’t thank all of you enough for your friendship and support over the last two years at MAF! We’ve enjoyed getting to meet all of you and share stories and talk about junk, antiques, and vintage finds. The 80s ladies inspired a fun design when they told us their motto was to live life in the fast lane - really, they were 87 and 89 at the time, still shopping the vintage markets! Kelli surprised us and drove 1/2 way across the state of Texas to come meet us... Linda from Iowa planned her TX trip to coincide with our show (Sorry Linda, I can’t find the picture) And there were so many more friends we met and stories.

We will carry the stories and friendships with us, always!

We will still be around and go junkin’ when we can (our favorite junkin’ and pickin’ places are still closed). Angea and I both have a booth at Kickin’ K Cattle Co. Boutique in Quitman (just a few miles north of Mineola) and I’ll be even more involved online. I’m working on some virtual junkin’ ideas, so everyone can participate and we will see where the road takes us from here. Who knows, we may be back in the fall. We set out to do one show in 2015 together and it’s been a fun journey ever since, with invitations to various shows and events.

Until we meet again, stay safe, stay well, we thank you, and happy trails. We are excited to see what's around the next curve in the road! 

P. S. The Mineola Antique Fair will be open in June 12-13 - go see our friends there and tell them we said hi!

Where you can find us: 

ONLINE 

Website

Etsy Shop 

Facebook

Instagram 

Pinterest

Blog

IN STORE

Kickin' K Cattle Co. Boutique in Quitman, Texas (about 7-8 miles north of Mineola on Hwy 37.) Located next to Dollar General and Non Stop Nutrition at 407 S Main Street Quitman, Texas 75783 Open Tuesday-Saturday. 

Wedding and Event Pictures

2020 has got off to a busy start! Last week, we had several events, all happening at the same time. It took lots of planning and coordinating, but we pulled them all off, with help from our friends! The Mineola Antique Fair was Friday and Saturday, with us having to put the finishing touches on our new space on Thursday morning. I also had funeral flowers to deliver on Friday and a wedding on Saturday. I did as much advanced prep work the week before, since I knew it was going to be a busy weekend.   

We finshed setting up Thursday, then I picked up all the flowers and started the prep work for Friday and Saturdays arrangements. I opened Friday and closed on Saturday in Mineola, and in between made lots of pretty floral bouquets. This large arch was one of our favorite things to make. The Spencer Wedding was held at Dove Hollow Estates in White Oak. Madison's colors were white, black, silver, and burgundy. 

 The view from the second story...

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of burgundy roses and callas.

 The front entrance of the elegant barn.

 Hydrangeas and iced branches comprised the entryway arrangement, where guest would sign in.

 Sharlette helped me with the on location work at Dove Hollow.

 The bridal bouquet was a cascade style arrangement with white roses, callas, and orchids. (Can't wait to see a picture of the bride carrying the bouquet, since I didn't get a great pic of it.)

 Always have my scissors nearby! The arch was huge at about ten high, so we climbed up and down the ladder a lot.

 Friday night we had storms and a huge temperature drop. Saturday temps were definitely winter like, but the shows had to go on! As soon as we finished up with the wedding, we hit Highway 80 west to Mineola.  Many local schools and businesses closed early on Friday (in anticipation of a storm that didn't hit till after 10:00 pm Friday night. We certainly didn't close or stop work, because the shows had to go on. We are thankful that the storms weren't as bad as predicted.

Selbie was nice enough to help Angea, while I wasn't there. 

We are liking our new space in the building and heard lots of compliments on our new set up. One things for sure, one picture can't capture all the booth anymore, as you can shop from all the way around it. 

A couple of years ago, I give a presentation at a 4-H meeting. At the meeting, I officially met Mrs. Fite (although I had known of her for many years.) We talked and she ask for a business card. Later on, we discussed sewing machines, since she wanted to get one for her granddaughter. A few months later, she called me about flowers for her son's funeral. She had specific ideas and flowers she wanted to use and I was able to make the flowers for them. 

Last week, I got a call that she had died and left instructions for her family to call me and I would take care of it. They didn't tell me any colors, just that they needed a casket spray and an easel with ribbons on it (that was the only details that they give me.) That level of trust and respect for my work is truly humbling. I later talked to her sister on the phone and she said Mrs. Fite always talked about my work. 

I knew she had picked out a pink or red dress to be buried in, so I decided to go with a mixture of red roses, stargazer lilies, along with pink and purple mixed flowers. 

 Last week, I also wrote a blog post about living in small town America. The word "Community" was on my mind a lot last week. It was a community service type event where I met Mrs. Fite. It was a lady in our community that recommended me to the Spencer family, when they were wedding planning. It took a community of friends for me to pull off everything in three days. The best selling shirt at the fair last week was the "Rural Route" - it's a t shirt design inspired by our life and work in the rural community and apparently it resonates with many of you as well. 

My business depends on your referrals and an online community of support and shares. I am extremely grateful for all of you that are a part of our community! 

Here's to a great start of 2020! Looking forward to helping all of you in the coming year! 

Looking Back on 2019!

2019, whew what a year!

We started making t shirts and more personalized items, while learning and creating more original designs.

You showed up and supported us at 16 shows. You drove from Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Texas, and lots more places to shop with us in rural East Texas. It was an exciting show year as we had our monthly shows at the Mineola Antique Fair, then got accepted to be included in Vintage Market Days of East Texas, we returned to the East Texas Yamboree with an indoor space in the exhibit building, had a great day at the Methodist Church Christmas Bazaar, and a fabulously fun time with Miss Gussie the glamper at the Gilmer Yulefest.

Through our etsy shop, our handmade items have now been shipped to all 50 states and multiple countries. We’re thrilled to help you with your weddings and special events.

We launched a new website and still trying to figure all that out. #workinprogress

Our Facebook page has more than doubled in size since early spring. Welcome, Y’all!

 And gosh, we all love the sweet donkeys and baby calves at the farm and they make their way into our post and even on our shirts!

 We marked 5 years of being self employed, creating pretty things for all of you.

But don’t think it’s been all roses though, as we all fight the behind the scenes battles, that don’t see the light of social media... #hideyourcrazy #focusonthegood

Through it all, we say a great big THANK YOU for being a part of our year and riding along with us!!! We appreciate y’all so very much! Much love to all of you! ❤️

A Preview of our Mineola Antique Fair Booth

It's time once again for the Mineola Antique Fair! Angea (aka Rooster Tails) and I  got our booth ready this morning and recorded a short video to show you around our space!
 





If you can't make to Mineola this weekend, we will be in Lindale at the Vintage Market Days of East Texas next week, or you can find some of our items in my etsy shop. See something in our pictures  that you like and can't find it in our online shop - just send us a message and if it's possible, we will ship it to you!

Hope yo see you soon!

Getting Ready for Vintage Market Days of East Texas!

So (almost) every Thursday, Angea and I get together and go junkin'  or work on items for our booths. The next two weeks, we will have back to back shows at the Mineola Antique Fair, followed by Vintage Market Days of East Texas in Lindale. This week, we did a little junkin' and decided to drive over to Lindale and prowl around, figure out exactly where the venue was at, which route would be the best travelling, and shop at a few stores we've heard so much about. We figured this was our last opportunity to check it out, before we get really in the thick of things. 

 Picker's Pavilion was very easy to find and the drive wasn't bad at all (about 33 miles from home). It's right off Hwy 69 and FM 16 in Lindale and just a couple miles from Interstate 20. Miranda Lambert's store, the Pink Pistol is caddy corner from the venue.

 We stopped at the Pink Pistol, then ate lunch, went to Main Street Market that we've heard so much about, and then stopped at this quaint little candy store called Kaitlin's Confections.

I can't even recall what this thing was called, but honey hush, it was good! 

We made a couple more stops and I know everyone in town is excited about the event moving to Lindale. (It was previously held in Nacogdoches and will be held in Lindale for the first time.) 

 So with our busy show schedule coming up, we have been working like crazy getting things ready. We've been ripping up wedding dresses and sewing lace on jackets and shirts, we've been creating t shirts, and distressing flannels since June!

We are in the process of getting everything organized and ready to go for our next two shows... This is  is maybe  a 1/3 of the inventory scattered out on my bed! I'm trying to get everything labelled, tagged, and sorted by designs. 

This week we will be at Mineola Antique Fair and the following week in Lindale! Busy and fun times! 

Vintage Market Days of East Texas

We are so excited to announce that we will be participating in the Vintage Market Days of East Texas to be held at the Pickers Pavilion in Lindale, Texas September 20-22, 2019!

The East Texas Show has previously been located in Nacogdoches, although it is moving to Lindale, which means its much closer to home for us. We had previously been invited to participate in this show several times, but schedules, distance, etc prevented us from joining. With the move to Lindale and all the shirt inventory we are building up, this time seems like a great fit. We applied for the show (it is juried and categories are limited) and after a week, we found out we were accepted!

A couple of years ago, Angea and I went to shop at the show in Nac and let me tell you, these folks put on a fabulous show, so we are excited to get to participate in the next one! 

So mark your calendars NOW, you don't want to miss this experience! 

Oh and hey, Miranda Lambert's home town store, The Pink Pistol, is located on the same street, so you can shop there as well!

We will still have our monthly show at the Mineola Antique Fair and we have a couple of other shows lined up for fall, so it's going to be a busy and fun time. Now excuse me, I've got to get back to sewing!

So What Do You Do Now?

So what do you do now?

Well, it's kind of a long answer!

 I get this question occasionally, so for anyone who doesn't know, I thought I would take a minute or two to answer it.

First off, I have an online wedding shop. I work from our home on the rural route and I create custom burlap and lace wedding bouquets that ship worldwide. I usually have about 40 colors of burlap in stock plus lots of vintage lace! Along the fabric theme, I also create one of a kind upcycled clothing items (think distressed graphic flannels, fun vintage pearl snap shirts with lace, etc) and recently I added graphic tee shirts to my shop. You can find them at gypsyfarmgirl.etsy.com 

 I've also recently launched my new website www.RustandRomance.com Why Rust and Romance? Well, because we love rust, junk, and vintage transformations and then we tie in the rustic weddings and romance. You can find many of the same items on the new website plus more of my junk finds and transformations. You can also shop this site, directly through my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl (There are some ready made bouquets on this site, however Made to Order / Custom wedding work hasn't been added here, at this time, although always available - just send us a message.)

 Next, we have a booth at the Mineola (Texas) Antique Fair. This venue is open the second weekend of the month and we split this booth with Angea at Rooster Tails. While we do help each other on projects from time to time, we each have our own inventory, but our styles and products mesh really well, so the items are all displayed together! We've got all kinds of fun "junk" in our booth, along with vintage finds and repurposed items, home decor, and our clothing. It's fun having someone to work the booth and go junkin' with! (While some think Angea works for me or vice versa, all the finances are kept separate. Although, if either of us gets a big project, we are always there to help each other out and we have "board meetings" to bounce ideas off each other!) Watch for an exciting announcement about this venture, coming soon!

After 15 years working at the flower shop in town, I left to devote my attention to my online shop.
I didn't plan to do fresh flowers anymore, but "once a florist, always a florist!" By request and your referrals, I create fresh and silk flowers for weddings, funerals, and special events. I don't keep fresh flowers on hand, although I can get them as needed. I try to always keep a few nice silk wreaths on hand (even if not listed online) that work great for funerals and serve as a keepsake the family can take home plus they don't have to water it like a plant. Need something in a hurry for a service - this option works great. I also create silk cemetery pieces as well.

Plus we have a farm! Want to see occasional cute baby calf and funny donkey pictures? Come over to Instagram.com/gypsyfarmgirl or www.facebook.com/thegypsyfarmgirl to see them and for our daily dose of inspiration and see all the things we are doing, along with pictures from our flea market style yard and life in the country.

Or, I guess the short answer would be "I make pretty things!"

I'm here to help you, however I can!