That morning, I carefully packed fruit, water, camera, a lightweight purse, measurements of things I could really use and more. I took off and walked right out without the fruit, water, and camera. Ugh! A mind is a terrible thing to lose! Oh, well. I knew I could get food there and my cell phone has a camera. But unfortunately, the cell phone battery was low. I only got a few photos and they weren't all that great.
Still, I'll share a couple.
A pillow is the first thing I saw that passed my "fabulous test". The photo below just doesn't capture the look and feel. The design of it first caught my attention. Angela (www.classic-cottage.com) designed them and the one I loved most was made with a special toile from France and stuffed with down. It was so soft and cushy - I could have spent the rest of the day with that pillow! And it was incredibly well made. I wish I had taken a photo of Angela - she was really nice! Her entire booth was filled with things I would have loved in my home.
I recognize a number of the things I saw in the booth listed on her web site. Plus, one of her photos shows a set of "my" pillows being used as back and seat cushions on a garden settee. Ooohhhhh... if only I were rich!
Now, if any of you purchase something from her store, be sure to tell her you found her through my blog. She was nice enough to give me permission to take the photo and use it here.
Obviously, I am wild about toile. I spotted this jacket at another booth. It came from a booth ran by Market on Main, in Tucker, GA. Unfortunately, they don't have a web site listed on their card. They also had a fabulous kitchen island. I took a photo of it as well, but it came out dark and no amount of retouching would make it worth showing.
At another booth, I fell in love with the furniture made and designed by Don & Kathy Gross. They came all the way from Austin, Texas. They only come to Atlanta twice a year - January and June. (Maybe by June I can afford to make a purchase.) Don was really nice, but reluctant for me to take photos, so I didn't. He was worried that having them on a blog would make them easy for someone to copy. He does however have a web site - http://austinwoodhenge.com. The web site has photos. I hope somebody reads this blog and then goes to their site and makes a purchase. Again, if you do, please let them know how you found them. I sure would love to convince Don that even though the internet may give some an opportunity to copy, it also can bring in business. And for anyone thinking they'd like to copy Don's designs, let me tell you, his stuff is sooooo well made and fabulous, you'd be better off purchasing from him!
I fell in love with their coat rack shelves. Here's the description from their web site-
Our shelves and wallhangers are made with crown molding (wallhangers) and handmade brackets (shelves), and are 38" long. We use old doorplates, antique brass cowtags, spools, and any other cool antique parts we can find. They have pegs to hang your hats, umbrellas, coats and backpacks. He also had some large benches that were amazing - I didn't see them pictured anywhere on the web site.
Now back at home, I am left to dream of toile jackets and down pillows and unique furniture, all hand made with love. Why buy (or give) handmade? Click here to find out.