Hens' Summer Garden Projects

The Hens have had a busy summer with yard improvement activities as well as getting things geared up for our next show on October 3 & 4. Don't forget tickets go on sale this Tuesday, September 1! Our yard improvements centered on garden sheds. Carrie’s husband, Dave, our show's go-to fix it guy and parking director, is an amazing mason as well as an accomplished builder. Below are photos of the little potting shed he put together in their backyard. If you are a dealer you may recognize something that you sold to Carrie as she has been collecting and curating for this shed for a couple of years. This uber cool shed was worth the wait!

Hen Kathy on the other hand, took an easier route. Over the past few years she has wrangled an old outhouse, an old horse tack shed and a church float with the hopes of building her potting area. The church is large enough for a potting shed if the door is enlarged to accommodate an adult or is perfect as a playhouse for her grandchildren. The outcome is to be determined. Completion photos to follow this fall.

Susi has had her potting shed for a while now and her garden area never ceases to amaze! Beautiful flowers, veggies and fruit abound. Her yard improvement came in the form of new pig digs for her family of Mangalitsa and Gloucestershire Old Spots pigs. Can’t wait for barbecues at their farm! Great fodder for another blog will be the amazing chicken coops Susi, Carrie and Lettice maintain for their flocks. Kathy’s chickens long ago went to the freezer so her chicken house is full of old furniture and rusty stuff.

Show activities have centered around making things run more smoothly and streamlined. As our show has continued to grow, we needed to implement a more concise and expedient way of processing our dealers paperwork. New contract and billing systems always come with a learning curve and a few glitches. We’re proud to say that the Hens have mastered (mostly) the new programs with only minor kicking and screaming! We could not have done any of it without our amazing “IT Chick,” Lettice. 

The show layout is basically the same; however we have made a few changes for the safety of our shoppers and to accommodate our large customer base. There will now be two entrances to the show; the Main Gate and the South Gate. Both gates will have ticket booths and will remain open for the entire show. Another seasonal feature for the October show will be a Harvest Marketplace showcasing some of our local artisanal vendors and their offerings. As always, the Hens will have a local pumpkin grower for your fall decorating pleasure.

Summer is waning and none too soon with the terrible fires and drought here in California and Washington. Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected property owners and responders.

See you in October!


The Hens

Fall Show Hotel Reservations

Hello Three Speckled Hens fans! While summer is still all around us, it is already time to look ahead to October for booking a hotel for the next Three Speckled Hens show. If you are traveling to our show, we recommend reserving your room several weeks in advance as Paso Robles is a popular destination filled with wineries, beaches and great antique stores! For a full list of lodging options, visit our website.

Hen Special: If you book at The Oaks Hotel or the Marriott Courtyard, be sure to mention the Three Speckled Hens Antique Show in order to receive one of our favorite things - a discount! Note that you must book at least 6 weeks prior to the show (one month from today) in order to receive the special rate.

We can't wait to see you in October!


The Hens

Three Speckled Hens are Going Green!

Hello all! It is officially summer and we hope you had a wonderful 4^th of July weekend! The good things on the top of Hens’ summer lists are: the beach, summer fruit and veggies, music and wine in our small town park and tons of great estate and garage sales! Can’t have too much of any of that!

On the other hand, living on the central coast of California has made us very aware of the drought that is enveloping a great deal of the west. Trees are dying and water sources are drying up. It has been a real wake up call for all of us. We need to cut back our use of natural resources and take advantage of the wonderful tools that have been developed that can help replace them.

In this vein, the Three Speckled Hens have decided that starting in 2016, we will stop mailing out our twice-yearly printed postcards advertising our show. Instead we will be moving online and sending out a “Save The Date” email reminder to all of you who have signed up to be part of our email list. This will cut back tremendously on printed material, mail delivery and maybe save a few trees and decrease energy use.

If you are not already on our email list, join today to ensure that you receive access to our show reminders, blog posts, Early Bird ticket discount code, and more. To sign up, simply go to our website and click the “Join Our Email List” button on the top left corner of the homepage. We promise you will not be inundated with emails - just the important ones like when tickets go on sale for our next show! To our dealers and shop keepers, at this time we will continue to print our smaller rack cards for your customers as we haven’t figured out the right “green solution” to get around that yet. Anybody have any ideas? We are all ears!

We hope you enjoy a fabulous summer and remember to mark your calendars now for our spectacular fall show on Oct 3 & 4, 2015.

The Hens

Spring 2015: Our Best Show Yet!

The books are closed on the May 2015 show, and what a wonderful story it tells! Our May show had the most number of fabulous dealers, the most eclectic showcase of antiques and vintage pieces anywhere, the largest venue area we’ve ever had, the best selection of food and beverages around, and the most shoppers through the gate in our show history! The enthusiasm and merriment of our dealers and shoppers was contagious. Thank you, dealers and shoppers, for the BEST EVER Three Speckled Hens Show!

So the next obvious question is, where do we go from here? The three of us have already started working on the Oct 2015 show and hope to once again raise the bar for flea markets and antique shows everywhere. We are ironing out a few wrinkles from the last show and working on ways to more quickly expedite shoppers through the gates and move merchandise through our Pickin’s Holding Area and out to the buyers cars. Our goal is to make our show convenient and enjoyable for everybody.

Mark your calendars now for our fall show on October 3-4, and keep an eye on our website and your email for updates. We love seeing you at every show and are very thankful for your continued patronage. Our goal is to present the very best market around for you, our friends!

See you in October,

The Hens

Vendor Spotlight: Sally Sharkey

We simply can’t believe that our May show takes place in 4 DAYS! We cannot wait to see you in Paso Robles and to provide you with the opportunity to discover the treasures of a lifetime. If you would like to purchase tickets in advance online, there is still time to do so until Friday May 1^st. Otherwise, we’ll see you when you buy tickets in line at the gate!

Today’s Vendor Spotlight features our wonderful dealer Sally Sharkey. Sally has been a long-time vendor at our show and always brings the most fabulous items. When she is not at a Three Speckled Hens show, Sally can be found selling her wares in Paso Robles at Reminisce Antiques. Be sure to follow the Reminisce Antiques Blog and Facebook Page in order to keep up with Sally and the other Reminisce Antiques dealers!

Hi Sally! Can you share your personal take on antique hunting and what you like to sell?

I'm a firm believer in living with what you love, without spending a fortune.  In this business I get to live with and sell what I love.  My taste runs from European treasures to rust, to repurposed; all of which grace my home and what I share while selling at the Three Speckled Hens Show and in Reminisce Antiques in Paso Robles, CA. In the three photos below, you can see samples of my booth space at previous Three Speckled Hens shows.

 

What type of pieces can be found in your own home?

I love outdoor architectural pieces inside the house. You can see this in the first photo below showing the entrance to my home, which features a French picnic table, outdoor urn, and birdcage.  Meanwhile my $35 sofa table, lamps and mantle decor, plus the chandelier as seen in the mirror reflection, are all flea market and antique show and store finds.  In my dining room, I prefer a simple vignette in light colors. 

Here I am loading up for the new show on May 2nd. See you there!

Vendor Spotlight: Vintage Bliss

Did you know that we are only 10 DAYS away from the next Three Speckled Hens show and counting? We cannot wait to see you all at the Paso Robles Events Center on May 2 & 3. If you have not purchased your tickets yet, you still have time to Buy Tickets Online in order to avoid the crowds at our entrance on show weekend. We can’t wait for you to see all of our brand new vendors, find amazing treasures, enjoy our food trucks and beverages, and soak in the beautiful Central Coast scenery and sunshine!

Today’s Vendor Spotlight features the fantastic Amy Hendricks of Vintage Bliss. Amy founded her business in 2009, which features a gorgeous array of meticulously restyled antique and vintage goods. Based in our very own Paso Robles, California, Vintage Bliss is the perfect whimsical and feminine vendor that you’ve been searching for. Discover more by visiting the Vintage Bliss Facebook page. 

Hi Amy! When did you first become interested in antiques?

I have had a passion for restyling vintage furniture since I was a little girl. I was constantly wanting to redecorate my room...So my mother taught me how to paint furniture and we spent hours hunting through second hand stores and antique shops, in search of treasures. I have a passion for all things vintage. I love finding things that are old and broken down, and then recreating them into something new that someone will love and treasure in their home.

What do you like best about attending antique shows?

I love being a part of Three Speckled Hens Antique Show, it is such an amazing gathering of talented and creative vendors. It is fun chatting with the customers and hearing how they plan to use the pieces that they've purchased. I look forward to every show, and always try to make my displays more creative than the one before. Hope to see you at the show!!

Amy Hendricks

Vendor Spotlight: A Junker's Journal

The Three Speckled Hens "Vendor Spotlight" blog series continues this week as we ramp up for a fantastic May 2 &3 2015 show in Paso Robles! Today we get to share with you the wonderful story of Sherri Spear of A Junker's Journal. Sherri is a genius when it comes to transforming what some may see as simple "junk" into beautiful treasures such as jewelry, lamps, furniture, and more. You can  follow Sherri on Instagram at #ajunkersjournal, on Facebook, or shop for her treasures on Etsy.

 

When did you first become interested in antiques and junking?

When I was a little girl I'd pretend I had shop where I sold things I loved. I also always dreamed of having my own home that I could decorate just the way I wanted it. Fast- forward a few years when I lived on my own for the first time... I had big ideas and a tiny budget. I shopped flea markets and garage sales, often needing to rewire lamps and refinish furniture. I brushed up on my sewing skills and made all my own soft furnishings. It's hard to believe I've been at this for over 30 years!  It started with projects for myself, family and friends...wish I had photos of some of my earlier transformations, like the homebuilt farm truck bunk bed that I bought from a friend and transformed into a tug boat for my son's room.  

How did you learn the "tricks of the trade"? 

About 15 years ago my husband, son, and I moved to Paso Robles. I was fortunate to be able to stay home and follow all the professional tradesmen around our house while it was being remodeled. In exchange for being a "laborer" I was able to learn so many new skills. That experience made me realize there isn't anything I can't do if I put my mind to it. Watching the transformation of our home made me realize that everything is worth saving and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I decided then to try to see the beauty in every "thing." My first project after the house remodel was a chair that my contractor had in the back of his truck to take to the dump. I just couldn't let him do it. As far as I know, that refinished rocking chair with its one-of-a-kind upholstery patchwork cushions still sits by the fireplace at Hollyhock Farms B&B. I do what I do now because I love the idea that I saved something that was headed to the dump, transformed it, and now it gets to have a new life in someone's home.  

How have you honed your creative style over the years?

I think the older I get the more I'm able to let go and just be creative. I have so many different things that I like to do but I would have to say that I'm currently into transforming things. I love to take things apart so although working with "junk" is not at all glamorous and comes with certain challenges, I like the fact that I've learned so much about how things go together just by deconstructing them. I like making "things" (like jewelry trees) out of lamps and other recycled materials, and lamps out of "things" (like shoe lasts and fire hose nozzles). I've always loved puzzles so I like taking things apart and rebuilding something completely different, like this antique organ keyboard table, or the screen door displays in my booth. Years ago, I made lots of decorative pillows that I would like to think of as "functional art" and still like to sew from time to time. And then there's jewelry. I took a jewelry making class in high school and a few years ago decided to get back into making jewelry that I would like to wear and now have made enough pieces to share.

Like I said, I dreamed of having my own little shop where I sold things I loved. So, Thank You Three Speckled Hens for letting me set up my little shop twice a year right here at home!