• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Art of Doing Stuff
menu icon
go to homepage
  • HOUSE
  • COOKING
  • GARDEN
  • HOW-TO
  • EXTRA
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • HOUSE
    • COOKING
    • GARDEN
    • HOW-TO
    • EXTRA
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » House Stuff » Decorating

    My Antique Show Scores. What I Bought and How Much I Paid!

    June 24, 2021 by Karen 65 Comments

    Pin14
    Share
    Email
    14 Shares

    This time of year without fail I go to Canada's largest antique show, the Christie Antique & Vintage Show. Held outside covering acres of fields the show is how I've kicked off summer for at least 20 years. Also they have good french fries. The show has been cancelled since the start of the Ick. :(

    A woman's hand holding up an red, antique Sears, Roebuck & Company egg scale at the Christie Antique Show. Green grass and cloudy blue sky in background.

    It won't be reopening until 2022. So today we're going to take a look back at what I bought on my last trip to Christie's in 2019. The same way old beer bellied jocks retell the story of some play they made 40 years ago.

    I'm also going to update you on whether it was a GOOD purchase or a BAD one.


    Way back, I posted about my day long trip to the Christie Antique Show and asked you to have a look around the photos for what you think I picked up.  This egg scale is now in my house. The clipboard and sofa are not.  Those are the two things I intended to look for and buy at the Christie Show this year.  But a soon as my feet landed on the field grounds, both of those things flew right out of my brain and made their way home, leaving me there, overwhelmed with all the other options.

    Red egg scale with egg in holder on antique hardware cabinet drawers.

    vintage egg scale - $20

      Any of you who are regular readers with a good eye, noticed the egg scale in my post on organizing my cabinets drawers.


    UPDATE:

    I still like and have my egg scale, but it's in the basement and I'm not using it. So maybe a bad purchase?


    So that was an easy one.  But did you guess that I also picked up sticks?

    Long sticks that are tied together leaning on rustic wooden sawhorse in front of blue tarp with wicker chair to the right.

    Sticks - $1 each ($10 for 10 sticks)

    That's right. I was peer pressured by Pink Tool Belt to buy a bundle of sticks.  She walked out with beautiful white cast iron urns that were a fraction of the price they should have been, yet she encouraged me to pick up sticks.  I have a plan for them. I'm either going to build an onion/garlic drying rack with them for my front porch, or a hanging herb dryer for my kitchen.


    UPDATE:

    Those sticks were a GREAT purchase.  I did indeed end up making an herb drying rack you can see it here.


    Assortment of antique show finds sitting on a table including tall boot forms, shoe forms in a black cast-iron urn and antique brass candelabras.

    And then there's this photo. I could very well have bought ANYTHING in this photo and in fact almost bought the black cast iron urn (it came as a pair of urns).  But I didn't get the urns, I let my sister Pink Tool Belt have them.  I got the ....

    Antique brass candelabra with unlit candles on wooden farmhouse table in front of white painted brick wall in Karen Bertelsen's historic dining room.

    Candelabras - $???

    ... brass candelabras.  Which both of my sisters didn't like.  And were quite vocal about not liking.  I think they hated them. Which is weird because they're everything all of us normally love.  I, on the other hand do in fact love them. 

    Pair of antique brass candelabras with unlit candles and a white plate sitting on wooden farmhouse table surrounded by mid-century dining room decor . Modern white chandelier positioned over the table.

    I especially like them with my farmhouse table and the white mid-century things in my dining room. The candelabras were $65 each, but now that I have them at home, I took another look at the tag and they were supposed to be $65 for the pair! So I'm going to have to email the vendor.  Luckily I grabbed one of her cards before I left.  Otherwise I wouldn't have any idea who I got them from.


    UPDATE:

    I still love my candelabras and they move around the house as I see fit.  One is currently in the foyer, and one in the kitchen.


    Embroidered cutlery pouches beside "The Gardener's Bug Book, Fourth Edition" on outdoor table covered with embroidered tablecloth.

    This is another shot that could go either way. Did I get the cutlery pouches or the bug book?

     

    The cover of "The Gardener's Bug Book, Fourth Edition" by Cynthia Westcott on marble counter top.

    Bug book - $5

    The bug book for the win. I was sold on it from the cover and subject matter but when I opened it and found it's also filled with these great illustrations I decided I'd pay anything they wanted for it.

     


    UPDATE: 

    I reference this bug book ALL the time!


     

    Open book showing elaborate insect illustrations sitting on marble counter top.

     

    Would you like to save this stuff?

    We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.

    The rugs ... 

    White tent containing many kilim rugs on ground and hanging up at the Christie Antique Show.

    This is the rug guy that's at the show every year.  For the past couple of years I've bought a rug from him every time I visit the show. I use them as a long row of scatter rugs from my front door to the back of the house.

     

    Patterned brown, tan, red and blue Turkish kilim rug bought at the Christie Antique Show on rustic wooden floor.

    Turkish rug - $90


    UPDATE:

    Well, yes the rug is still down and looking great with the rest of my Turkish scatter rugs. 


    And this next photo. What do you think I got from here?

    As assortment of finds at the antique show including rustic pink milk urn, wooden egg crate, antique traffic lights and wire baskets.

    Egg crate - $40

    I bought the egg crate.  Because as I fully explained in this post, I very desperately needed an egg holder.


    UPDATE:

    I did NOT need another egg holder. It sits in the basement. Probably a bad purchase but I knew that.


    And now a couple of things that weren't in the photos from the Christie post.  I also bought a bench.  But not just any bench.  I've been looking for a bench for a couple of years now but they were either too much money or the style wasn't just right.   Not that I knew what the right style was, I just knew what wasn't the right style. 

    The bench I bought is a Canadian Armed Forces bench from their training facility.

    Painted white Canadian Armed Forces bench with foldable legs positioned on front porch of Karen Bertelsen's historic cottage home.

    Armed Forces bench - $120

    I love this bench. It's painted and a little different than every natural wood bench you see in the way it looks because the legs are foldable. You can just fold them up and the bench turns into a flat piece you can store or carry anywhere.  

    I  just like the way the hardware looks on it with the metal braces and the chains underneath.


    UPDATE:

    This bench is one of my most favourite Christie Antique show purchases. I didn't know it at the time but I really, REALLY love this bench.


    Ironstone crock filled with flowers and greenery with beige linen towel draped beside it; both sitting on antique wooden hardware cabinet.

    Ironstone crock - $25

    Finally, as I often do, I bought a piece of ironstone. This is just an inexpensive jug (some of them are hundreds of dollars) for keeping flowers in throughout the summer. In the winter, it might graduate to a pot for a tiny countertop Christmas tree.

    And finally (I bought a LOT this sale) ... 

    Cream enamel bread box with glass knob sitting on shelf of wooden hardware cabinet. Also shown: various white dishes, wooden rolling pins and black bowl.

    I got a bread box!  A cream enamel bread box with a small glass knob.


    UPDATE:

    I gave the bread box to my sister to sell in her store, lol. It was a beautiful bread box, but I couldn't justify the space it took up in the kitchen.


    And there you have it.  I won't have another chance to make bad decisions at Christie's until June of 2022.

    Hopefully.

    Ick.


     
     
     
     
     
     

    →Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←

     

    More Decorating

    • An Autumn Antique Show
    • Some Room Rearranging Happened This Week
    • DIY Easter Wreath Ideas with No Pastels
    • The Rental House. Before & After Photos.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      The maximum upload file size: 512 MB. You can upload: image, audio. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

    1. LN

      September 26, 2023 at 7:51 pm

      I used to weigh/grade eggs with my grandma on the farm using an egg scale just like that. Such good memories…

      Reply
      • Karen

        September 27, 2023 at 10:40 am

        That *would* be a good memory. :) ~ karen!

        Reply
    2. Jacquie Gariano

      June 28, 2021 at 2:24 pm

      Oh, I so wish I were nearer to this "yard sale" I just love things like this. I do spend the summers in Vermont and go to every "junk" place I can find they are nothing like this. Here in California we don't have anything like this. I an so envious.

      Reply
    3. Joan

      June 26, 2021 at 4:07 pm

      I think you should have bought the mannequin instead of the egg basket that way you could have had company during the ICK year! LOL!

      Reply
    4. Jan in Waterdown

      June 25, 2021 at 9:32 pm

      Soooo, scanning through all the replies, I found one from me almost exactly 2 years ago when I wrote that I’d love to hear the result of the candelabra price “mistake”. Did you ever get any money back or just chalk it up to experience?

      Reply
    5. Kelli

      June 25, 2021 at 6:25 pm

      Wow y'all have the coolest stuff at that Christie's sale--I love reading about all the wonderful stuff you've found there. Really sad they didn't have the sale this year, y'know...being that it's held outside and all. 🙄

      So you didn't keep the bread box as a measurement device, so you'd know--while explaining to someone--which particular items are bigger 'n a breadbox?

      Reply
    6. Darlene Meyers

      June 25, 2021 at 6:22 pm

      What is your sisters stores name? Does she have a website?

      Reply
    7. Sherri

      June 25, 2021 at 6:17 pm

      Wire chicken basket- make a chandelier for the outdoor or coop area....

      Reply
    8. Caroline

      June 25, 2021 at 4:58 pm

      There’s always Aberfoyle 🥰

      Reply
      • Jan in Waterdown

        June 25, 2021 at 9:16 pm

        Awwww I wuz gonna say that! 😕

        Reply
      • Karen

        June 28, 2021 at 8:41 am

        Aberfoyle is equally dangerous. I went on Sunday and I came home with two of the largest, most questionably upholstered chairs in existence. ~ karen!

        Reply
    9. Julie

      June 25, 2021 at 4:10 pm

      My mom has that very same egg scale and I love it!

      Reply
      • Barbara Judisch

        June 29, 2021 at 6:32 pm

        I have it too, Julie, and 5 others that make it a collection!

        Reply
    10. Paula

      June 25, 2021 at 2:54 pm

      I loved this update post!

      Reply
    11. Jake

      June 25, 2021 at 1:26 pm

      The art of doing stuff? The sticks you bought, you could’ve built the egg crate and saved money you think? One lady had the right idea on the baskets to protect young plants. I really like the that egg scale I really like, if it’s just getting dusty in the basement, ship it to me lol. The bug book was a Great find! Keep having fun

      Reply
    12. Lisa

      June 25, 2021 at 12:25 pm

      Those wire baskets are great to guard yummy tender young shoots from hungry rabbits and deer. The cages used for tree roots work too, wrapped with chicken wire. Pin them down until the leaves are darker green and not as tasty. I rescued my heuchera from those savage deer chewing them down to the ground. By the time they were 12" tall, dark red and hairy and deer had moved on to greener pastures...
      But I still need help with voles, those little bulb-eating monsters! Any suggestions?

      Reply
    13. Lynn

      June 25, 2021 at 12:13 pm

      Ooh the candelabras are fantastic Karen, the garden book is my close second though.
      Great finds

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    SHOP ON AMAZON

    Use it 👆 to support my work. LEARN MORE

    My name is Karen Bertelsen and I was a television host. In Canada. Which means in terms of notoriety and wealth, I was somewhere on par with the manager of a Sunset Tan in Wisconsin.

    I quit television to start a blog with the goal that I could make my living through blogging and never have to host a television show again. And it’s worked out. I’m making a living blogging. If you’re curious, this is how I do that.

    So I’m doing this in reverse basically. I’m the only blogger who is trying to NOT get a TV show.

    More about me 👋

    Seasonal Articles

    • This Fruit Fly Trap Catches 25X More Than Your Bowl of Vinegar Does
    • Apple Watch Band Stuck? How to Remove It.
    • Cleaning Copper with Ketchup: A No-Rub Experiment
    • Garbage Apples, Jam Trauma, and the Beige Poppy Crisis
    • Creamy Pesto Pasta with Zucchini & Goat Cheese
    • Saving Lettuce Seeds From Bolted Lettuce

    Popular Articles

    • This Is Where I Try To Buy Your Love
    • Guaranteed Crispy Sweet Potato Fries & Sriracha Mayo Dip
    • A Year Full of Pots: Win Sarah Raven's New Book
    • The Difference Between People Who Eat Mayo & People Who Eat Miracle Whip
    • Your FIRST look at my new kitchen in Canadian Living Magazine.
    • How to Print an Image on Wood.

    Footer

    as seen in

    About

    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Social

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    13 shares