I can’t believe we only have a month and a half left of Summer.  It seems to have flown by!  I can already smell that faint scent of Fall in the air.  The Back-to-School flyers are in my Sunday paper, NFL training camps are in full force and Summer camps are coming to an end.  I love Summer and hate for it to end, but end it must.  But don’t be too disappointed!  Because with the end of Summer comes the beginning of Summer sales…

At Red Barn Mercantile, we are putting all our upholstered furniture on sale!  Beginning August 1, all upholstered furniture will be 25% off.  And, as an added bonus, we are giving 15% off all special orders of upholstered furniture.  And, for those of you expecting little ones, that includes our Serena and Lily gliders! 

We have some amazing pieces on the floor right now.   All of which were bought with a sense of Summer, but all of which translate beautifully into the Fall and Winter.  The Catalina sofa has chocolate linen fabric so rich you almost want to lick it!  And, the Ella chair, with it’s stark white slipcover, is a beautiful addition to any room.

We are not taking dibs on any of the pieces.  They are first come, first serve.  So, if you want the navy blue and white Serena Sofa or the pair of Tudor chairs, you better call or come by as soon as you can.  These pieces won’t last long!  (Wow, do I sound like a used car dealer.  Yikes!)

See you soon!  Amy

Hello all,

Thank you to everyone who came in this weekend!  Ever since the wonderful Washington Post article  came out we have been reallly busy.  What a tremendously positive response we got to the story.  Thank you for all your kind words.  I’m so glad you liked it!

Now that the whirlwind weekend is over, I have a chance to tell you about the story.  Every year around Memorial Day Luckett’s General Store has a fun, fantastic flea market.  I remember my first one, it was five years ago and I was about a week post partum after having my first child.  My friend, Lisa, had her first booth and what was potentially the start of a new career.  I wanted to be there to support her, so I left Will at home with my husband and off Mom and I went.  Ever since, I’ve been hooked!  It’s exactly what I think fleaing is all about - great vendors with great prices, a local band playing James Taylor and Van Morrison, fair food and kettle corn.  And, perfect Spring weather.  To me it just doesn’t get better than that.

So.  Knowing this flea market was coming up I thought it would be fun to invite Terri to join me.  She came into the store just after Christmas and we really hit it off.   We’re kindred spirits with a similar love for all things old and Hable Construction.   I asked her if she would be interested in joining me, she ran it past her editors and they agreed.  So off to Lucketts we went…

What a great day it was!  After a little miscommunication about the location of the “front entrance” we found each other and set out shopping.  Len Spoden, the photographer extraordinaire, followed us around for almost the entire day.  Let me just say, he was lovely.  What a sweet, patient man.  My mom was really nervous about this and wasn’t sure she wanted to have her picture taken.  But once we met Len we were immediately put at ease.  He was completely unobtrusive and you didn’t even know you were getting your picture taken.  He was truly wonderful.  And extremely talented.  My mom looks great in all of the pictures!  Mine are okay, but that’s not Len’s fault.  If you catch my drift.

As soon as our little gourp walked in the gates we were buying.  I have to tell you that I was not the only one buying.  Terri managed to find a few pieces herself.  She bought the most incredible tray, two french chairs with the coolest vintage homespun upholstery and a sweet demi lune table.  I was secretly kicking myself for not seeing the tray first.  It was REALLY cool.  She asked another friend of hers who was at the flea to take home the table and I was more than a little impressed that she got the rest in her Mini Cooper.  Now that’s power fleaing!

In the story Terri mentions a great old wire laundry basket.  It’s the one that got away.  This is a really good lesson for everyone - veterans and novices alike.  One that I hate to relearn every now and again.  We were standing there chatting and waiting patiently for the vendor to finish with her customers.  I was enjoying our conversation about what we would each do with the basket and therefore was not in a rush.  Besides, I had taken the ticket off the basket so therefore thought I was safe.  Boy was I wrong.  When I was finally able to get the vendor’s attention and ask her if that was her best price for the basket, she informed me that the woman who had been standing next to me just bought it.  But I had the tag!!!!  To me, the unwritten rule is if you pull the tag you intend on buying it.  And, I intended on buying it - no matter what her best price.  I would love to hear your opinion on this one.  For some reason it just seemed unfair.  Am I wrong?  Quite clearly I’m still stinging from that one.

After that let down, my spirit a little crushed we moved on.  At the next booth… I spotted it.  The bread cart on wheels.  It was magnificent!  I know to most of you that sounds ridiculous, but to me this piece is just so special.  This is one of those pieces that I love.  It was at one time purely functional.  It hauled freshly baked bread in Buffalo, NY from bakery to store and that was it.  Now, it takes on a whole new function.  The warm patina, the graphic letters and numbers and the wheels (God, help me I love the wheels!) add character to whatever room I put this in.  Whether it’s in the kitchen for recycling, the bathroom for towels, the playroom for toys or my office at the store, it’s current home, for merchandise that needs to go out on the floor it adds charm and history.  This piece goes down as one of my all time favorites and will always remind me of a really special day.  Come by the store some time and I’ll show it to you.

After much antiquing and kettle corn eating (ambrosia of the Gods!) we were finished.  I have to say, that, in the end, Terri could have written this story without me.  She and I were totally on the same page as far as mixing old and new.  She has brilliant ideas and a fantastic eye (did I mention that tray was REALLY cool?!).  We both agreed that antiques shouldn’t be precious.  They should be loved and used.  And, that people need to understand that antiques aren’t fragile - they are well made.  If it can withstand 100 years, give or take a few, it can withstand your two-year-old and house full of pets. 

I think most of you will agree.  For those of you who came by this weekend, thanks!  It was a pleasure meeting you.  I love to meet fellow flea market junkies.  For those of you who went to the Big Flea this weekend, I hope you found a wonderful treasure as wonderful as my new bread cart on wheels!  Finally, here’s to the folks that work so hard to bring them to us.  We thank you!

Take care and happy fleaing!  Amy 

Hello all!

Did you see the Washington Post’s Home Section today?  We’re in it!  I’m just too excited to blog about it now, but will give you the low down later.  But, before I go rejoice, just two things… First, thank you, Terri!  The story is fantastic and I feel fortunate to be able to call you friend.  Second, that’s my mom!  Isn’t she great?!

Will write again as soon as my head is out of the clouds!  Take care,  Amy

Hello!

We are pleased to announce that we now have gift registries!  Now you can incorporate the Red Barn look into your new home or your new baby’s nursery. 

For your new baby, register for our Elizabeth Allen or Serena and Lily baby bedding, Relics cribs, classic children’s books like Corduroy and Blueberries for Sal, beautifully handcrafted stuffed animals from Peru, and baby’s first dishes in pretty pansy and cute cowboy prints.

Start your new life together by registering for our beautiful Frances Palmer Pottery, sophisticated Thomas O’Brien lamps, colorful and comfy Thomas Paul pillows and fabulous without being fussy Suzi Matelasse coverlet’s by Pamela Kline.

And don’t forget all of the one-of-a-kind finds that really add character to your space.  We have antique blocks to pu on the shelf in your baby’s room and old horseshoes to hang over the door of your new home for good luck.

We would be so honored if you included us in your life’s new plans.  It’s such a thrill for us to help people create their sacred places where they will make memories year after year.   Two people have already signed up.  If you’d like to join them, please contact us for more information.

Take care,  Amy

Hello all,

It’s been awhile, but I think you will agree that we have been very busy…  So.  What do you think of the new site?  We are over the moon excited about it and hope you are too!

We are often asked if we are online, meaning do we sell online.  With so many requests we felt like we couldn’t keep our public waiting.  (Just kidding!  Not sure we warrant a “public” just yet.)  As you can see we now offer many of our favorite products for sale online.  Some of my favorites are the Thomas Paul pillows, the Hable Construction bags and all of Frances Palmer pottery.  I also have a fondness for the partisan pillows.  What fun in an election year! 

We have many more things that we are feverishly adding to the site.  Our furniture and bedding sections will be increased in the coming days as will the home decor and gift areas.  If you have a special request - maybe something you saw in the store on a recent visit - please shoot us an email or post a comment and we will see what we can do.  At this point we are not offering our one-of-a-kind items, but we could change our minds if our arms are twisted enough.  Wink.  Wink.

We encourage you to sign up for our email alerts.  If you do it today, you will get a $10 off coupon for your next online or in-store purchase of $50 or more.  We promise not to inundate you with needless emails only the good stuff, like new product announcements, sales and promotion information, and special email coupons for you.

I hope you like the site as much as we do.  A few special thanks are in order… Thanks to Blackbarn Media for the wonderful design and Marilynn Spindler for the amazing photographs - check out the blog gallery for more images! - and a big huge thank you to my husband, Dan, for adding e-commerce to the site and making the whole thing come together.  What an amazing team!

Finally, thank you for coming to the site and to the store.  What a pleasure it is to have you visit!  Take a look around, enjoy what you see and as always, let us know how we can help you.

Take care,  Amy