Park Lane Hotel vintage sign saying 'Farm Chicks Show'
The Farm Chicks Antique Show is more than just a great place for thousands of attendees to gather from across the nation... it's also the favorite venue for many dealers who come from near and far every June for the show!
The giant 'CAKE' made from junk that Celeste of Chaps Restaurant set up at the show
150 of the best dealers of antiques, vintage, vintage-style, and handmade goods participate in the show, and most of them will tell you it is their favorite show to come to. How can you NOT love a show that is all about the details? Three years ago, vendors arrived to find boxed cupcakes in every space. This year, Celeste from the legendary CHAPS Restaurant built a giant cake from junk to celebrate the opening of her new business - aptly named 'CAKE' (What else?!). She served the most decadent devils' food cakes to every vendor on Friday during setup... a sugar rush that was most definitely appreciated by over 200 people working like mad all day.
The decadent chocolate cakes that Celeste served to
the vendors today!
Preparing for Farm Chicks begins months before the show for vendors, and it all culminates in the frenzied 10 hour setup day on Friday. Trailers, vans, and rented trucks fill the parking lots, while hundreds of people spend the day emptying them of thousands of pounds of merchandise. Some vendors create settings worthy of film sets and store displays, others manage to fill every last inch with finely-tuned details. We are, essentially, owners of traveling stores, and we set them up anew for every show.
It's hard work, but it's a lot of fun, too! Music plays, people chat and laugh and oooooh and aaaaahhh over each others' treasures, and a huge facility that was empty at 8 AM is transformed into a wonderland by 6 PM. {And that is when we are kicked OUT by security, so we have to be done!}
Photos are taken, hugs given, and an exhausted crowd heads out to rest until the next morning.
When that door opens at 10 AM on Saturday, the thousands of guests who come to the show know that their experience at Farm Chicks is just beginning... for vendors, that's the finish line! Saturday and Sunday are days to visit, share, inspire, and make new friends as we sell our wares. The energy of the show affects everyone present, and though Sunday afternoon will find us all exhausted, both vendors and attendees alike will be thrilled with their special finds, new friends, and wonderful memories of another successful show. You really can't ask for more!
I hope you all have a chance to visit the Farm Chicks Show one day, or at least to view the many many photos of it that will soon be on blogs, Flikr, & Facebook. I know you'll be inspired! You can find out more at www.theFarmChicks.com.
Deb Kennedy is a designer & decorator, and co-owner of Retreat vintage-style furnishings.
Visit her blog at http://hummadeedledee.
