Cool junk, oddities, kiche, re-purposed things, collections, and bargains. Retired couples, decorators and artists! These are what brought us to the Northlake 400 Antique Show in north metro Atlanta. The first weekend of December was the annual Christmas Market, a visual delight.
It’s a decent road trip up to the show, so we had to get mentally prepared. First, we grabbed some snacks and traveling beverages for the ride. Then, I invited a friend to keep me company in the front seat while Gabe finished his math in the back seat. Thankfully gas was cheap because I drove the Suburban and its an hour away!!
After an hour of traffic and twisty roads we arrived at the ticket booth.
“$3 a person,” said the attendant as I rolled down the window.
“You bet,” I said. “And I have cash too,” I smiled.
“These tickets are good all weekend,” the attendant said as he handed me the paper stubs.
I looked at my friend, Mary Lyn and we both knew these next 3 hours would have to do as there was no traveling back out here!
“We can do it!” I told her as we emerged, excited, from the truck.
Now, if we were no-nonsense shoppers, on a mission, we would’ve needed a strategy to approach this shopping maze in the short time we had available. However, this was no serious mission. It was an adventure. It was three hours of amusement and buying the few gifts I found was the bonus.
This year, there weren’t too many vendors outside, so we buzzed right into the enormous building which houses a million vendors of every kind.
Half of the fun for me is watching my son’s reaction to all that is here. Many of the vendors specialize in one particular item or niche. There’s the map guy, the extroverted whisky guy, the cross lady, the wood man. There’s the couple that sells old toys and the old woman that deals in lace. Characters in their own right, these folks are more than happy to share their life’s collections and interests. When you talk to the wood man, and touch his cedars, he runs and grabs his binder to show you a photo of where he cut the tree and the saw he used to do it. This year I discovered a booth with a woman who sold nothing but ribbons, gobs of ribbons of every shape and size and texture.
“Come back in January,” said the ribbon lady. “Everything will be on sale.”
We had lots of little conversations like this with the vendors. Of course, they loved Gabe and gave him free stuff. Who doesn’t like a blonde 12 year old wearing a braided knit hat?
One lady said to Gabe, “Come over here.”
Relucantly, but with a knowing kind of smile, Gabe walked over and the lady said, “Do you like squishies?”
At that, the lady whipped out a bag that could have only been made in China, and gave him a foamy and slightly used Eagle toy.
Gabe smiled and said, “Thanks.”
He took the toy, turned it over in his hand, looked at me and whispered, “The neck is split open. But don’t say anything.”
We waved and thanked and moved on.
Gabe enjoyed the vendor with the keys and knobs. Knobs for your drawers, your water faucets, and your front doors.
A mounted, young buck caught Gabe’s eye and he pointed it out, “Mom! That deer’s rack is ridiculous.”
“Your’e right!” I said. “He looks mighty proud to have such a petite set of antlers.”
“I bet you can buy him cheap,” he said.
We laughed and stood wondering at how he came to be in a place like this.
If you like furniture, this was the place to be. Big and small, weird and cool, it is here.
Finally, after making our way through Halls A – F, our feet gave out and we had to eat and take a break.
Somehow, we managed to get out of there after only 3 hours.
On the way home, after more mom conversations and math, we decided that this was a total blast.
“Maybe we can come up here next month,” someone said.
Who knows? I thought.
Two days later, I found a decapitated, squishy eagle’s head in the rear seat of the burb.
That’s when I knew we’d have to go back next December.
Wouldn’t miss it.
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ornaments for days -
beads to touch -
just ribbon in this booth -
Keys, knobs and bobbins -
Copper Pots -
Silverware -
Maybe too young a buck -
cool things with old cars -
small things
Angelina's Garden 
💟 Your blog caused me to smile~It was fun to read!
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What a fun day! It is amazing what people collect and resell! It was fun to see things through the eyes of a 12 year old.
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Thank you for reading!
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What fun! Enjoyed reading your slice!
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Thank you for stopping by!
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