Thrifting heaven

Hey all! Hope you had a lovely weekend! Mine was GREAT – I got in a bit of shopping which is always fun. And by a bit I mean a lot. :)

My favorite spot this weekend wasn’t a store though – it was a thrift/antique mart like I’ve never seen. A friend told me about it months ago and said we should check it out. We met there Saturday morning and I didn’t have high expectations – I thought it may be fun to browse and be in and out pretty quick.

Well, I was wrong. It was AMAZING. Seriously, a thrifty decorating bloggers DREAM. It’s called the Indie Arts Vintage Marketplace (in Indy):

Holy cats. It was so much dang fun. It was at a local conference hall and we were there for hours…I think we finally drove away almost four hours later.

We were both in heaven, it was a blast. We were GIDDY. I took some photos along the way so you can see what we were so excited about. Bear with me, they were all cell phone pics and it was crowded, so I couldn’t get great shots.

The sale had a fantastic mix of shabby, industrial, traditional and antique finds – we LOVED this booth with the industrial lighted signs:

I’ve been planning on making one of these on my own (using a tutorial like Lindsay’s) but I couldn’t resist these metal versions – I picked up a star with yellow lights I’ll show you soon. :)

I thought this was a brilliant idea – this vendor takes old dresser drawers and turns them into rolling foot stools:

 

Isn’t that fun??

There was a lot of furniture – I loved that little school house bench:

I negotiated the prices down on almost everything I got, but I was surprised to see great prices on so much. (A couple booths were ridiculous, but not many.)

This sofa was HUGE and beautiful and was marked at $399 (and that was early in the day):

There were a TON of painted pieces too:

This black and aqua dresser had leopard print pulls – SO fun:

I loved this yard stick table too:

It reminded me of my friend awesome Traci’s bookcase table. ;)

If my house was twice the size I would have left with a LOT more. (So it’s a good thing I don’t.) I loved this ottoman – for some reason I was oddly drawn to it:

I loved that it was worn and soft – but it was a little too worn (there was a hole in the top).

There were a TON of vintage letters:

My girlfriend and I were totally bumming that our names didn’t start with “M” – that one rocked. :)

I thought this EAT sign was adorable with the way they made the “A”:

I thought the idea of building shelves into a big frame was genius:

There was a whole booth with just air plants – I have been looking for these forever! I was so stinkin’ excited:

I picked up a couple of them. Once I figure out where they are going I’ll share more about them. So cool!

This booth had a ton of art they made with vinyl – I thought the big fork, knife and spoon were adorable and would look so cool on a big wall in a kitchen:

That laundry sign was pretty cute too. ;)

I think my favorite booths were the ones with an industrial vibe. I was obsessed with this big metal basket and the leather medicine balls:

They were SO heavy!

At first I thought this big chunky chain was fabric, but it was actually made of bottle caps:

There were a TON of awesome industrial lights and accessories:

This big piece (part of a propeller? A vent?) was HUGE and would look so incredible on a big wall:

Or with a big round piece of glass on it, and make it into a coffee table? Ack!!

So what did we get?? Way too much. ;) My friend found a $30 wooden chandelier that we were both drooling over:

It may need to be rewired but that shouldn’t cost too much. It was gorgeous!!

She wanted a vintage sled to put by her front door and found one:

She found a few things to decorate the kid’s rooms, including this old Valvoline can and an adorable night stand:

I was so thrilled with each one of my purchases. My goal is always to fill our home with accessories that represent something about us  – and this fold up basket was just that:

It looks like a drum to me when it’s opened up, so it’s perfect in the basement! (Hubby is a band director, musician and composer, so music plays a BIG part in our life.)

And yes, that’s another placemat pillow.  :)

I have never seen a rosemary topiary – have you? I loved the pretty clay pot too:

I use rosemary to cook and the smell is amazing, so I couldn’t pass this up!

I think one of my very favorite finds of the day was my first purchase –- a gorgeous brass bowl for $10:

I’m a little obsessed with it. I just love the colors and the design. Stunning.

I got a few more things I’ll share with you soon, as soon as I figure out what I’m doing with them!

So I had no idea this Indie Arts event happens throughout the summer too – I guess nearly every month here in Indy? They have one more indoor date planned for March too! I was thinking it might be fun to get a few of local bloggers/readers together to go to that one! Anyone in? I may try to plan something, stay tuned!

Thing is, now we’re in trouble because we know about this awesome mart and it happens more than once a year. Next time I will have to exercise more restraint!

I love shopping places like this – you truly find one of a kind pieces that no one else will have. Do you have any local places you check out frequently? Any great finds? I’m still thinking about some of the items I passed up…