The Patina of the Country Living Fair

Definition of Patina: A surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use. Or a green film formed naturally on copper and bronze by long exposure or artificially (as by acids) and often valued aesthetically for its color.

The 3-day Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck has become my annual trek. The fair is filled with antiques, vintage, flea market, rustic and handmade items. The pages of Country Living Magazine come to life beautifully.

Walking through the many barns of dealer exhibits and outdoor displays is quite overwhelming. Memories and inspiration abound. Shabby is definitely chic and Farm House chic is the hot trend even if you don’t live on a farm. Thrilled to report the ‘doll head’ theme of the past has passed. Not one creepy doll head to freak me out.

The varying collections has me thinking about the pickers. These are the people who go to estate and barn sales and do clean outs and gather the goodies to sell at these events. There is something about the patina of an item with history, even if it is unknown. It has character. Love it or hate it, one man’s trash is another’s treasure.

 

Let’s compare it to a farmer’s market. You can grow your own but farmers make their livelihood by growing and selling their product. The same goes for pickers. You can scour through random sales or have fun shopping in a nicely displayed booth or store whether at an event like the Country Living Fair or a local antique dealer.

Clustered together in a very crowded barn at the fair were a few local dealers busy with long lines of shoppers buying their fabulous finds. You can wait till next years Country Living Fair or find them locally all year round.

Sydney Waitt Ouellette of Fox Run Antiques says, “The CL Fair was an incredible amount of work but paid off in getting my name and brand out there. The staff of the Stella Shows and Country Living was very organized. One of the best things about the fair was the camaraderie between the dealers and interaction with like-minded shoppers/bloggers/antiquers.”

Troy Ford of Newburgh Vintage Emporium says, “We are a great group of hardworking business owners”.

Newburgh Vintage Emporium
5006 Route 9W, Newburgh, NY
A 45-dealer shop featuring 11,000 sq. ft. of antiques, vintage, repurposed décor, vintage clothing and vinyl. Named Best Antiques Shop in the Hudson Valley for the last 3 years by the readers of the Times Herald Record. Unique finds at affordable prices and for every budget.

Fox Run Antiques
Dealer at Clinton Shops Antique Center in Montgomery, Newburgh Vintage Emporium and soon to be at Retro Modern Antiques in Warwick
Style runs from French Country to British Country to Feminine Farmhouse. Her space at Retro will be more highly stylized and designer.

Clinton Shops Antique Center
84 Clinton Street, Montgomery, NY
A multi-dealer shop.

ReFound Vintage and Shop the Blackbird
A unique combination of a vintage shop and a boho boutique.
215 Main Street, New Paltz, NY

Old Wood and Rust
Dealer at Newburgh Vintage Emporium
Old Wood and Rust specializes in farm (harvest) tables from reclaimed barn wood as well as other unique items.