i stumbled upon an old word document the other day…a little something i wrote several years back about the mystic of fleamarket mornings. some things have changed since i wrote this…(i.e. we no longer stay in our little old rv (moment of silence…GoD bless cousin eddie)…but the passion and the soul of the fleamarket, i’m glad to say, is still the same…
here it goes…thought y’all might want to take a gander…
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“It was a typical flea market morning…but it felt like anything but typical to us. We were nestled deep in the country…in Warrenton, Texas. Where the population is less than the speed limit, where you can still see the stars so thick at night you could almost pluck them from the sky…and where you can look any direction and see lush rolling hills, covered in grass that looks like rich velvet the color of Kelly green, dotted with grazing cattle and capped off with white cotton candy clouds perfectly placed in a baby blue sky.
{image: keely marie scott}
This particular morning, there was a crispness in the air and a pure Texas dew on the ground. Amie and I needed to get to the tent early…it was almost opening day of the show and we had a full day of unloading, climbing ladders, hauling furniture, and constructing mini-vignettes ahead. Our alarms unwelcomingly awoke us from much needed slumber at 6:30 am. Home sweet home during the antique show is our junky little RV, affectionately referred to as ‘cousin eddie’. It’s tiny and completely cramped – 2 people can’t pass through the ‘kitchen’ at the same time, one person must sit in the booth seat and let the other pass by- but cousin eddie has been our cozy little home for many an antique show and it’s almost bittersweet to think of other living arrangements.
The sun was just beginning to peak it’s majestic head above the bovine-dotted hills…electric pink, neon orange, and deep purple velvet splattered the sky begging the dew to evaporate and the dense coolness to rise leaving us a beautifully picturesque fleamarket day in the country.
Amie and I threw on our vintage fringe jackets, leather gloves and grabbed the dolly. As we started to walk the mile trek from cousin eddie to our tent, we passed through the fleamarket grounds; we navigated ourselves and the dolly through the geographic terrain of untold junk, sleepy tents, and early rising vendors with their morning coffee. I remember the feeling I had as we walked by some of the funkiest, coolest junk ever….salvaged car fronts with their original paint-perfectly rusty and perfectly one-of-a-kind, vintage letter press pieces all piled in huge buckets, old tubs with funky mannequin legs sticking out of them…I remember looking at Amie as I dragged the dolly behind me and knowing that we both had the same surreal feeling …one of pure joy and gratitude for this life, this day, this morning. It was so beautiful and graceful and perfect that I believe we both almost felt guilty that we could be so lucky. We both smiled and Amie said: “Boy, traffic sure is hell this morning, huh?” That pretty much summed it up.
{worldly treasures abound…}
{the most eccentric finds are always at HeCTOR the COLLEctoRS}
{junk…makes me happppppy}
{funky junk at MyLiSSA’s}
{theresa cano of garden antqs vintage}
{kwaku…our fleamarket dalai lama}
{jimmy kuhl…aka jimmy COOL}
The rest of the day consisted of indescribable hard work. Our bodies ached, our muscles screamed, we were completely dehydrated and delirious from the manual labor…as we crawled into bed too tired to eat we almost felt like our bodies had been beat. But at the end of this day, we still knew we chose this life, we were the lucky ones…and we were right where we wanted to be.”
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see y’all at the fleamarket!!! we open on FRiDAY, sept 23rd at NOON!!!! yeee-hawwwww!!!!
32 Comments
Great Story…….and a BIG OLE “PAT ON THE BACK”, for how far you have come!!!! Hugs an Junkin Luv…Cathy aka GGJ
No matter who you are or how far you’ve come, it’s essential to remember what got you there in the first place…….hard work, determination and a pure passion for what you do. I am so happy for you guys I have tears in my eyes as i type this. I am a true, blue Junk Gypsy cheerleader. BIG HUGS!! See you in Warrenton in a few days………..
I too am a tried and true Junk Gypsy Cheerleader and have been for years. You gals have the style and grace it takes to pull off some awesome junkin. I look forward to makin it to fleamarket next year. There is no place I would rather be rockin than there with you all on a dewy texas morning sippin coffee in my junkin mug, fringe shaw and walkin boots. Have a blast. Junk one for me. Luv ya sistas Angie
One day i will make it there to go to the fleamarket and the prom!
Beautiful!
Congrats ladies, and I must say well deserved. I’m proud to say “I was a fan back when!” I can’t wait to see more of your home design in action! I always wanted to know what a Junk Gypsy home looked like. 🙂
can I just tell you two that I happened upon your website, probably 5 years ago by chance. And lucky one at that 🙂 I have been following you guys all the way from Maryland, and crave youalls life. Your blogs make me so happy, i adore the pictures you include and am SIKED for your HGTV Show!! ahh!! You guys inspire so many people and this is well deserved. I am getting closer and closer to planning a road trip. you speak of the texas skies and mountains to highly, it makes me love them as well. keep doin what your doin’ 🙂 Love, Steph
I’m bringing three newbies from Tulsa, OK who haven’t experienced Round Top yet. I get excited for every show! I forwarded your blog to give them a taste of what to expect. We’ll be seeing you!
From,
The Girl from Oklahoma
Way to go girls!!!! Congrats on that TV show! Ya’ll keep good secrets….luv ya and hope to see ya soon!
This is so exciting and well deserved. You girls are the best at what you do. Wishing you more continued success and junk filled dreams come true. Oma Linda
We will be there this Saturday and it can’t get here fast enough! Oh,how the week does drag by!! I am also bringing some newbies to this show and i am sure they will get as hooked as i have over the years! Hugs all around ya’ll!!
Looking forward to seeing all your new treasures!! Are you there on Tues???
I’m proud to say I’ve shopped with the gypsy’s! You girls are amazing and inspiring. Hope to be there in the spring. And I CAN’T WAIT till the hgtv series hits the air!
Amen to that sister! Flea market life is definitely not easy but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Junk is what I love and rust is in my blood; I’ll do this ’til I die and reach that mansion in the sky, Amen.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im so excited. Ive been talking about this and I keep waiting to hear when yall got your show. Oh goodness! Im so excited for yall Im crying happy tears for you. CONGRATS
U girls have certainly Stayed in the Buggy!!!!
“some men dream of worthy accomplishmentss while others stay awake and do them!!!”. We like u guys never want to go to sleep!!!!
Congratulations on the HGTV series and continued success of the Junk Gypsy brand! I absolutely love the creativity and style of you girls! I been following you all for years and always spread the word of your talent! I never miss seeing you all in Warrenton every year! So glad to hear that you all finally made the big move to Round Top! I live in Bellville, so hope to see you all around the area! Mucho congrats! Brenda Mauney
I’m a NewBee to the gals…. ABSOLUTELY am hooked!!!!
Wish I lived a little closer to make it to this one…. BUT, however far & wide to the next…. I will surely FIND away to come!!!;)
You chika’s ROCK & I most DEF am HOOKED!!!
Mucho love your way, XOxo….. Kelli<3<3
Where is JOE PETE?????
Loved it, I’ll see you this Sunday! I hear there is another blogging party at Teresa’s booth, are you guys going?? If so I’ll see you there. Get some rest and plenty of vitamin C before the show! See ya soon!-cindy craine
The filmecrew was having a heyday today filming you two hauling your finds! So glad you all will be on tv as yourselves – true free spirits, not trumped up reality stars! Best wishes on all of your endeavors!
I am SO, so, So, sO happy for you guys. I think it’s been a long time coming and you guys have definitely put in more than enough hours. You gals are a real inspiration and should be SO proud of that.
On another note… I remember visiting with you girls (in cousin eddie) after a long days work at Cafe Pie In the Sky on mDillards field. I know I’ve come a long way since those days and you guys took off like rockets. God bless y’all on this AMAZING jorney!!
The Gypsies on HGTV?! Incredible, and well-deserved!
I am so happy for you, you are living the American dream!
I am so happy for your new adventure!!
Well deserved and can’t wait to tune in! Looking forward to watching the real thing…there is NO substitute!!
Have fun!!
Love this blog — You guys are so inspirational — love me a litle early mornin’ TX fleamarketing! Wish I could be there this time. Congrats on your AWESOME news — and thanks for sharing this look back. Peace, love and happy, happy JunkIng!! xxoos
You guys are awesome! Just when I was feelin a little unmotivated, ya’ll just pick me right up again!!! Thank you for your creative push you always give!!!!!!!
Your photos alone drive me crazy. Want to go shopping…
just love your blog, and yes i love junk 2 there are plenty of happy junk people in the land of oz ( australia) you have so many interesting things over there all the best
Hey, gypsies, when is the start of Antiques week? Want to come over and c y’all again!
Just beautiful Jolie. I can just picture you and Amie walkin thru that “traffic” in the early morning. Warrenton is si mply magical in a that is simply hard to describe. Thank you for doing what you do, it inspires us suburban gals to do the same! MWUA!
I love ur show n hope n pray u gals be more frequently on the air.my dream someday is to be in ur town or maybe live there. U gals give off a lot of inspiration. GOD BLESS U ALL AND URS.
Love to watch your shows and enjoy every picture. Thanks for sharing your talents with all of us. Oh and Jimmie Kuhl looks like Paul Newman.