Design dispatch from Brimfield
A graphic journey through the famous antique fields, plus tips for visiting
Hi from Brooklyn, where I’m finally planted after a summer of traveling up and down the east coast. In a few days, interior designers, bargain-hunters, and antiques-lovers will descend upon southern Massachusetts for the season’s last installment of the Brimfield Flea Markets, a labyrinthian collection of antique dealers spread out across 21 different fields along Route 20. My boyfriend and I stopped by during the July show dates on our way to Maine. As two people with two separate Brooklyn apartments with limited storage, no urgent furniture needs, and a tendency towards frugality, we weren’t the market’s ideal customers — which made the window shopping and perusing all the more fun. More than anything, we were there to look and see, not to buy, which made for some great design spotting.
Like in a thrift store or anywhere with a plethora of pre-Internet designed objects, everything seemed to catch my eye. Here, I’ve winnowed down my favorites, and included some tips at the end for navigating Brimfield if you end up visiting next week or in the years to come.
Growing up, we kept our Saltines in a classic rectangular Nabisco tin. Prying off the lid and pulling a crisp cracker from the waxy plastic sleeve is a Proustian moment for me. I like to imagine that it’s the same for anyone who grew up with this round Keebler tin, which was surely refilled over and over again with packages from the store. Here, I appreciate the economical two-color print, the friendly roundness of the sans-serif, and the elegant touch of the italic serif accent type. I also find myself inexplicably attracted to the color brown these days; it feels comforting and down-to-earth, like the plush couch in your grandmother’s house, a cup of drip coffee in a diner mug, or America’s new dad talking about the importance of a clean gutter.
The tin of Dryce, which is essentially a mid-century ice pack, was manufactured by a chemical company in New York and, according to the Internet, is quite a rare find. I don’t really know why anyone would want to collect something full of an unidentified 70-year-old chemical (novelty value, I suppose?), but I was charmed by the illustration of the multi-colored woven picnic basket, tightly packed with two cans of beer, two tomatoes, a full pound of butter, a block of cream cheese, a cluster of grapes, and a single pear. The perfect picnic! Less interesting to me is the Dryce logo, which is a little too ‘50s kitschy for my personal tastes.
Even though these trays are clearly marketed to adults throwing a cocktail party, the food styling here reminds me of the table setting accessories that corresponded to each American Girl Doll Historical Character (Samantha would totally be a martini and olive girl when she grew up, though). I feel like if you pulled these plates out of the box, they’d be an inch and a half in diameter, with a perfect plastic slice of jelly roll cake. The glistening toasted bun with three huge pats of butter, the carefully placed canapés beneath the martini, and the austere cloud of whipped cream atop a silver bowl of gelatinous red convey a sense of ‘80s grandeur that any host would be lucky to emulate. Such faux-elegance is emphasized by the border ornaments in the corners, which were likely chosen from a type foundry’s catalog of ornamental lead type.
This frosty soda fountain glass is my favorite thing I found at the market all day. It’s a goofy concept: an old woman, who is also the letter S, sits and sips her own refreshing soda treat. I didn’t pick it up to look at the other side out of fear of getting what one can only assume is lead paint all over my hands, but a quick reverse image search shows similar characters whose bodies are the letters K and F. KFS, apparently, stands for Kitchen Fountain Soda. Each character corresponds with instructional steps for making your own ice cream float at home (basically, pour some soda into this cup, add two scoops of ice cream, then sit down and drink it). Ok… sure! Whoever drew these characters is a weird little freak and I love them.
The Busy as a Bee and Easy as Pie dish towels were hanging in a tent that sold only two things: table linens and vintage postcards of various New England locales. The booth was run by a bickering couple and I was afraid they were going to yell at me if they saw me taking this picture (hence its distance and graininess). But who wouldn’t love these charming screen-printed illustrations of flowers, apples, cherries, and a woodburning stove? These were so cute that I worried, once home, that they were either facsimiles or contemporary mass-produced designs made to look vintage. Another reverse image search shows that thankfully, these are the real deal.
Speaking of pies… this ball bearing rolling pin still had its original label attached. The type and the duotone colors are standard, workaday design, but the true hero here is the stippled illustrations of baked goods: crispy crust, glistening whole cherries, the soft curve of a domed muffin. Can we bring this style of illustration back, please? King Arthur Baking needs to hop on this.
Rounding us out with the only non-food related item of the batch is this twee illustrated postcard by Margaret Tempest, a children’s illustrator who was best known for her books and drawings featuring animals dressed up in human clothes. Chris actually took the photo of this postcard (which I’ve replaced here with a higher resolution one from this eBay listing), and we both kicked ourselves after the fact for not snagging it when we had the chance. Look how sweet this bunny couple is, with their dandy green suit and Little Women-style shawl! The details are what I find the most compelling: the peek of a petticoat underneath the bunny’s polka-dot dress, the clusters of flowers growing on the banks of the river, the baby bunny in the background carrying a stick they found (very accurate toddler behavior!). I would like to live in this postcard, please and thank you.
Tips for Visiting the Brimfield Flea Markets
Beforehand, I tried to do some research about navigating the market, and came up scant. Other than this nice post from a blog called Molly in Maine, there wasn’t a lot of practical advice about what to expect. There’s also a decent FAQ on the Brimfield website, which is kept up-to-date but has a decidedly web 1.0 functionality and look. Here’s some things I learned and will be keeping in mind for next year:
Go early. Most people who go to Brimfield will tell you this, and I think it’s true. We went on Saturday around 10am and while there was plenty to look at, there weren’t a lot of larger pieces of furniture. I think all of the really good stuff goes on Thursday morning, when the fair opens — but I’ve heard it can be totally mobbed. If you just want to look around, the second or third day should be fine. But if you’re looking for specific pieces, go the first day and get there before the fields open.
There’s so many fields. The thing that makes Brimfield so cool is that it’s actually a bunch of different antique fairs smushed into one. Each show field has a different organizer and a different vibe. I had read beforehand that May’s Antique Market is the one to see, but it was totally wiped out by the time we got there! We spent the longest at New England Motel. The good news is that everything is relatively close together, so if you’re used to city walking, bouncing between different fields should be pretty easy for you.
Don’t sleep on the fashion! One of my favorite fields (I believe it was Mahogany Ridge) was full of vintage clothing, which I wasn’t expecting. There were lots of well-curated women’s, men’s, and kid's clothes and accessories, some with decent prices.
If you’re from New York, most things will look like a bargain. Something I read beforehand was that prices at Brimfield tend toward the higher end, since it’s supposed to be the cream of the crop. I can’t speak too much to the fine antiques, but for everything else we saw, prices seemed average (or better!) to my New York standards. We saw a solid wood dining table for $300, which feels like a steal to me. If you’re from a high cost of living area, you’ll probably feel similarly, but if you are used to thrifting or antiquing in the suburbs or rural areas you might get sticker shock. We were also visiting on the second to last day, so vendors may have been cutting bargains.
Make a list. Everything looks appealing, so to avoid getting a bunch of stuff that won’t fit in your apartment, make a list of things that you actually need. My list included a white tablecloth to use for a sewing project, picture frames, and a blue porcelain plate (my mom’s request). The only thing I left with was the tablecloth (and I would have diverged from the list had I seen a true treasure), but this tactic did help me from leaving Massachusetts with a dining room hutch that won’t fit through my front door.
Don’t let the rain stop you. My friend Caroline gave me this advice and we were lucky enough to be able to heed it. On the day we visited, it was drizzling slightly, which kept away the major crowds (and made the temperature bearable!). Thankfully it never poured, but if it does, some of the fields have connected tents so you should be able to navigate things pretty easily without needing to hold an umbrella the entire time.
Don’t pay more than $10 for parking. At least on the day we were there, we easily found $10 parking on the edge of the fields. Closer in we saw people pay as much as $25! It may be worth it if you know you’re buying a lot, or heavy pieces, but if you’re there mostly to browse, save your money and park further out.
Go pee beforehand! The only bathrooms we encountered within the Brimfield grounds were kind of gross porta-potties. On the way out, I tried to use the bathroom at the Cumberland Farms at the edge of the grounds, and there was a long line for the women’s room. The bathroom is right by the dairy case and the whole time I was waiting I had to stare at a display of white American Kraft singles and they were literally as white as a sheet of paper and it really freaked me out.
Bring cash. Duh! Some vendors do take cards, but cash is always a safe bet and is necessary for the food stands and parking.
The donuts are very good.
Eating: so much melon, ice cream, and Annie’s cheddar bunnies.
Making: melon granita with whipped cream and a peach icebox cake!!
Watching: the US Open, past my bedtime.
In awe of: the other night, my friend Ben told a bunch of people about my newsletter (thanks Ben) and someone called it a Suzeletter and it rendered me fully speechless for five minutes. How come I didn’t think of that!?
Thanks for reading! Have a very nice long weekend and make sure to eat as much stone fruit as your body can possibly handle ❤️🆗
Suzeletter knocked me out
Suzeletter❣️