A few weeks ago while Wayne was out of town at the Designer's Downtown Market, I headed just up the road from us to Denver to participate in Freshly's Spring Market. Before I chat about the market a bit, I must introduce you to the store - it is simply fabulous.
Shelli set up her amazing store in an old gas station on Hwy 16 in Denver, NC. Picture cars zooming by with this little piece of funky serenity just off to the side.
When the weather's nice, the double garage doors open and some of her goodies get pulled outside. Below is a perfect example of how creatively she uses items around the store - so cute!
Inside every square inch is carefully filled. I walked through at least twice while I was there and noticed different items each time.
Shelli definitely has a talent for fun and creative displays. This little corner popped out at me. I adore the vintage suitcases and the adorned dress forms.
Another corner - another gorgeous display. See the extra suitcases up on the ledge above?
This is my favorite piece in the place. Shelli took vintage windows and used them to divide up the large garage space. It serves the purpose well without making any part of the store feel closed in, and looks amazing in the process.
Hanging from the windows were a collection of small jars holding tiny plants. I love this idea and want to save it for our future home.
Now that I've gushed sufficiently about the store....let's move onto the market. Here's a shot of our little table. This is our new set up that I am rather fond of. It doesn't travel quite as easily, but I think it looks great when put together.
Jennifer at Reflective Designs was selling stationary and cards. It was her first market ever (boy, do I remember that feeling!), and I was excited to hear that she sold out of a few things. She was wonderfully nice and lent me a large, cushy chair - a dream to have at a show. :)
Nancy (aka "The Fabric Lady") had tons of gorgeous upholstery fabric at $5/yard. I played for a while, but ended up buying the ends of two different pieces to re-do a chair in our bedroom. Stay tuned for a post.
Cameron from Cowbelle is local to Denver and creates adorable scarves and pillows among other goodies. I love the name which according to her site "is a little bit southern belle with a side of cowgirl". Too cute.
Tracey from Patina South, was also participating. She came all the way from Raleigh to visit her sis (Cameron - see above), and to display her eclectic mix of goods. She had antiques (including the gorgeous map below)...
...and a lovely mix of jewelry. I took home a pair of earrings. Because that's what I do. (Don't tell Wayne...he'll freak).
Cupcake Delirium visited Freshly for a bit as well. I had not yet had the honor to sample one of their cupcakes. I had run into them at a few shows, but they often sold out before I made it to the truck. As I had learned my lesson in past, shortly after they arrived I purchased one to take home. I must tell you - it was worth the wait!
I saved one of my personal show highlights for last. Although the sweater below is related (and gorgeous), it is not it... drum roll please?
Alpacas!! Oh. My. Goodness. Could there be a more Seuss-like bundle of furry cuteness?!? Just looking at them makes me giggle a bit.
The Alpacas were carefully transported to Freshly from the amazing folks at Good Karma Ranch. It took some time for me to get them to even come close to me (I was pretty convinced I just wasn't Zen enough), but toward the end of the market me and Namaste (pictured below), got to know each other a bit. :) Good Karma not only breeds alpacas, but they also sell yarn and goodies made from the alpaca fleece. Apparently it's hypo-allergenic (who knew?).
The market was Freshly's first of the season...we're definitely looking forward to more.