Gypsy Caravan

(Donna and Joanie, ready to shop.)

Sometimes a yardsaler has to open her mind to new things.

While I love the research, the strategy, and the hunt of a really busy yardsale day, I was persuaded by my friend, Donna, to try something different. It was Gypsy Caravan in St. Louis. Gypsy Caravan somehow benefits the St. Louis Symphony but since I lost the brochure they gave me at the gate, we will all just have to Google it to figure out who was in charge and how they use our money. What I DO know is that there was an entry fee: $5 per person for most of the day. But early birds had to pay EXTRA! We forked over $20 apiece for entry prior to 9 AM. (This is a concept I think we yardsalers could apply to our own trade. Those people who show up before dawn to poke through your stuff and get first dibs? Charge them a buck to shop! I seriously think they'd pay it. They are mostly dealers and hard core shoppers. Somebody try it next weekend!!)

Anywho, with a $20 entry fee, we were among some very elite shoppers, yet there was still an enormous line of people waiting to get in.

Some of these folks are obviously experienced with Gypsy Caravan. Many had carts and totes for hauling their anticipated treasures. Some vendors sold these carts at ten dollars a pop.

So what can one buy at a Gypsy Caravan? It was part flea market, part antique store, part art fair. The first vendor I saw, with a choice location adjacent to the entry gate, was this purse and sunglasses salesman.

I needed sunglasses.

(An aside: yesterday on my morning run I almost literally ran into Donna on her morning run, in the middle of our street. She panted, "Tomorrow! Gypsy Caravan!" I honestly never know what the hell she is talking about. Is she serious? Is she kidding? Is she making some sort of cultural reference I know nothing about? So I said, "What?!" She said, "It's a flea market!" So I said, "Will you drive me?!" She said, "Yes!" I said, "Sweet!" And we both kept running, in different directions. That was about it. So I went about my business all day long. I went to a party at night with my husband and called Donna's cell on the way: "So... um... Donna... what's the deal? Are you, like, picking me up or something? What time should I be ready? Call me back." That was the message I left on her voicemail. I never heard back. We were out until ten. Thank God I was the DD and didn't drink much. Because at 6:15 AM I get a phone call: "It's Donna! I'm picking you up in ten minutes!" I jump out of bed, take the meds, brush the teeth, put on last night's outfit, add some more deodorant to the paste already in my pits, brush some mascara on the lashes, and I'm out the door. All I needed was coffee and cash which we got at the mini mart.)

So, yeah, I forgot my sunglasses. This guy was selling them for ten bucks. If you bought one of his counterfeit purses you could get a pair of shades for five.

But this lady, immediately across the aisle from ten-dollar-shade-man, was selling for five bucks with no required purchase of an illegal handbag. The choice was obvious.

As a photojournalist I felt a little intimidated when I saw an actual news crew from channel 2 reporting on the weird stuff for sale at the Gypsy Caravan. I'll admit I considered approaching them with my business card but didn't have the cojones. (Kids -- that's "balls" in Spanish!)

(This blog business is becoming rather important to me. I don't actually think I'll get rich or famous from it, but as a housewife-and-mother-of-five I feel like this may be the closest I get to a J-O-B. I talked it up so much last night at the party we attended, I was certain we would have followers in the double digits this morning! Alas. We are stuck at nine. So many of them are related to me. Sigh.)

Back to the Gypsy Caravan. Some of the many vendors were junquers. They had antiques and old stuff. I'm not really sure what the difference is between "antiques" and "old stuff". It seems to be the price. I kept thinking about Laura and Samantha, my original yardsale team. Sam would have loved this collection of rolling pins:

Glass, wood, ceramic, textured, smooth... all displayed on a wine rack. I recall a magazine spread in which twenty or so rolling pins were displayed on a kitchen wall. I think this is a worthy item to collect, and Samantha should be encouraged to collect them.

Laura (our blogger with the most excellent vocabulary EVER!) always searches for old card catalog files. AND she loves wood. When I saw this, I knew she would love it. (Except it was over $100 and there was that $20 entry fee! She would have passed out from the shock!)

Then I thought about Cyndi, my friend who loves fabric. She makes all of her home decor from gorgeous, expensive fabrics from Calico Corners. Then, with the remnants, she makes tote bags, aprons, whatever she can think of, for her friends and loved ones. These were some magnet boards which she can easily add to her repertoire. I'm sure they are just steel plates wrapped in fabric. She will do it better and market them more skillfully, I am certain.

Now... please recall the fez from last weekend.

Give yourself a moment to scroll down and read about Soulard and the Pez-fez adventure.

Are you up-to-date? Good. Because look what we found today:

This is an authentic fez, bejeweled with Moolah rhinestones, in a special box, mounted on a satin fez-form...

But wait!

Under the fez is the satin fez-form. Under the satin fez-form is...

a flask!

Is that brilliant?! Does that not encompass all that Fred Flintstone represents?! It was the highlight of our day, Readers, finding this hidden fez-flask. I think we all need to take a moment to scroll down to the post in which Jessica affirms her joy for the world and include the phrase:

"I LOVE MY FEZ-FLASK!"

Do it.

Right now.

Thank you.

Don't you feel invigorated?!

Now. On to the bust...

The bust is something I actually bought. It was only ten dollars, I think I paid nine, and I will use it to display the weird jewelry I buy at future yardsales. But here is the story Joanie relayed about the bust:

Joanie and Donna were looking at the wares in the booth which included the bust. There was a woman, crouched down near the bust, talking on her cell phone:

"Do you want a bust?"

Shouting now, "A BUST! A BUST!"

Now really loud, "A BUST!! B-U-S-T!"

She's not getting through. So she changes her approach:

"A BUST! You know... BOOBS!!!"

I bought the boobs, Reader.

They were unusual and interesting. I harbor no shame.

There were things at the Gypsy Caravan that I wanted but did not buy. I put these in the "Art Fair" category. They were things-made-out-of-other-things and they were clever. In general, I think we should all buy such things to encourage creative thinking and creativity in general.

Here are a variety of birds made from weird metal objects including golf clubs and silverware:

After a few hours of gypsy caravanning (for which we all wore gypsy-style hoop earrings, I must note) we stopped at Uncle Bill's in The Grove for some delicious breakfast and jaded gossip. (Haha. Not really jaded gossip. Just regular gossip.) I had the "Supreme2x2x2x2". Which offered two pancakes, two eggs, two bacons, two sausages, and some hash browns (which probably represent two potatoes!) That's a day's worth of calories, don't you think? Yum.

It was well worth the early wake up. I think Donna and Joanie should be included in future yardsale adventures and might offer unique insight as guest-bloggers. Stay tuned.