fab finds: what cheer

In my last post, I promised to share what I brought home from the What Cheer Flea Market. At last, here are my fabulous finds from that fun day:

A Georges Briard enamelware bowl ~ I have admired his designs for so long, and I'm excited to finally own a piece!

 A sweet 1973 Gigi figurine from World Wide Arts

A set of four small apple trays ~ so cute!

A super mod Aries tea towel, in need of a good wash and iron!

A festive set of Holt-Howard Christmas puzzle blocks

A great 1946 ad ~ can you imagine cooking in this dreamy kitchen? *sigh*

This 1955 book's amazing illustrations made it too hard to resist!

Now ... what do all of the above items have in common? They were each one dollar! I know ~ I couldn't believe it, either!

I also picked up these two beautiful Josef Originals reindeer, in perfect condition ~ a steal at two for five dollars:

Last but certainly not least, this was my big splurge of the day:

The dealer told me that this set of speedway lights came from the Placer County Fairgrounds in Roseville, California. It's big and heavy and sure to be a great conversation piece in our home!

Linking to Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl, and to Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures ~ be sure to check out all of their fabulous finds!

what cheer

If you ever find yourself in southeast Iowa during the first full weekend of May, August, or October, you'll want to head over to the small town of What Cheer, to the Collector's Paradise flea market. It's a beautiful countryside drive along Highway 21 to the Keokuk County Fairgrounds. The market always features an eclectic mix of antiques, collectibles, and junk ~ priced to sell ~ and the people are some of the friendliest you'll meet. The angus burgers and funnel cakes aren't bad either!

I look forward to this huge flea market every year (especially after a long winter), and I was so excited to take a vacation day from work and spend this past Friday there with my dad. We browsed the grounds for almost seven hours, and I think we maybe covered one-half to two-thirds of the dealers. I could've easily spent another day or two at the market (but I'm also a pretty slow shopper ~ I like to take my time and see everything!).

Here are just a few of my favorite things seen at What Cheer:

I could fill the walls of my home with vintage advertising like this.

Hubcap or piece of art?

 A perfect trio of vintage horsies.

 Loads of cool old junk at every turn.

Vintage oil cans ~ calling Mr. Frank Fritz!

 A solemn cigar Indian.

 This time I saw lots of these old metal dollhouses ~ someday I'd like to buy a couple to use for creative storage.

 I adore '60s and '70s Barbie stuff.

 Rows of handcrafted birdhouses.

 Yesteryear AmEx.

I had to stop and compliment this dealer on her gorgeous displays.

Next post, I'll share what I actually brought home from What Cheer ~ including some fabulous dollar-bin finds and one very heavy conversation piece!