Sunday, May 16, 2010

Bestest Flea Market Day Ever

I was expecting the flea market to be pretty darn good this week. The weather was pitch-perfect: bright, warm, sunny, and dry. Everyone who wouldn’t - or couldn’t - come out before came out in droves. And oh man, was it ever awesome. Y’all who turned down my offer to cruise the flea market today better crack open one a cold one, because you’re going to need it.

The flea market I go to has a reputation for being one of the best in this part of the country, mostly because of its eclectic mix of stuff. It lived up to that reputation today; if the car wasn’t already loaded with stuff, I could have spent my entire wad and then some. Midcentury Modern furniture, pony hides, gorgeous costume jewelry, vintage swords, a tricorn hat (!), Corgi Puppies (!!), lifesize human sculptures (!!!) - you name it, it was there.

The first big find of the day: oh, just a box with 19 vintage Stablemates, most of them in superb condition. So superb that a few of them might make it into my own SM roster as upgrades:


Most of these babies are from ca. 1975-76, based on the grouping, colors, and overall level of detail. (One of these days I’ll get to my post about how the early Stablemate molds might be the one exception to the rule concerning mold wear.)

The Classics are body quality - all intact, just rubs and scuffs. Good body box filler, being Love molds and all. All of these guys were found together; the Mustangs are absent the copyright horseshoe, which is typical of the early Classic Mustangs. It’s a characteristic they share with the Classic Racehorses and a few of the Stablemates - I wonder if there’s a story there we’re missing?

Here’s the rest of my booty:


The POA is body quality. The Clydesdale Foal is a Chalky, and in wonderful condition - just a couple tiny nicks, and eartip rubs. He might be an upgrade, too. The Red Mill Scottie is adorable, and Mom has already claimed him. The Bulldog is a Robert Simmons piece; I don’t go out of my way to collect Robert Simmons stuff, but if it’s cute and cheap I’ll pick them up.

The box of quilt scraps was the most expensive item of the day, at $15.00. (I’ll save you some suffering and not tell you what I paid for most of the horses.) There are at least two, maybe three bed-sized quilts in there, so it was more than worth it.

The photographs are of Willie Shoemaker, Angel Cordero, Jr., and Steve Cauthen - and they’re all signed. A signed picture of Steve Cauthen on Affirmed as they win the Preakness, the day after this year’s Preakness? Whoa, dude. I’m not much into horse racing nowadays, but the coincidence was just too freaky to let slip by.

But here’s the one item that moves this particular day at the flea market from merely awesome to one for the record books. Shoes aren’t normally something I look for at the flea market: I wear a women’s size 11, and the selection in that size range is - to put it politely - rather limited, especially at the flea market. When I found out these babies were my size, I knew they had to come home with me:


Your eyes are not deceiving you. I bought myself a pair of White Vinyl Lace-Up Platform Boots.

I so totally want a cape and a superhero identity now, a la the movie Kick-Ass. Can you imagine me prowling the hallways of the Holiday Inn in those things? (Look, up in the 200’s - it’s Superhobbyist!)

I’m sure all my peeps at the Swap Meet will double-dog-dare me to do it anyway. (Oh, some of the things we have planned!) More on that tomorrow, though.

3 comments:

Blue Diamond Tack said...

HA - Love the boots! But I think people might be afraid of you coming into their rooms with those babies on - for a variety of reasons LOL!!

Anonymous said...

Steampunk Hooker says:

IT'S AN OMEN.

Christi said...

I'm jealous. I went to a "flea market" (indoor, more of an antique mall) last month. All I found were the usual overpriced horses - $60 for a plain-jane alabaster Fighting Stallion, etc.

I did find a C.W. Anderson book that I didn't already own, though, so it wasn't a total waste of time.