Vintage treasures, unique home decor, antiques, project pieces and salvage for repurposing, it’s all in one place this fall and just a 2 1/2 hour drive from Indy.
Now in it’s 47th year, the Springfield Ohio Antique Show and Flea Market is back and promises to be better than ever. A straight shot across I-70 to the Clark County Fairgrounds Exposition Center puts you in the center of the action for what CNN calls one of “America’s best markets.”
The bargains start at the entrance to the grounds, with a general admission charge of $10. For the hardcore junkers there is also a $15 Early Bird Special that gets you in at 7 a.m on Friday and includes admission to the Saturday and Sunday shows. Now tell me, where you can find a better deal for your money?
A record number of vendors (2,500 are expected) from around the country, stockpile their wares for all year for this event, making for some rare finds. The Springfield show has been featured in Country Living Magazine and Martha Stewart Living and is often the backdrop for many shows on HGTV. It is impressive, to say the least!
Indianapolis dealer and “furniture artist” Morton Parker, currently with Midlands Arts and Antiques, has been a spectator for the past three years. This year he and his wife Paula have decided to load up the truck and head to Ohio as vendors. The hours, the elements, and the labor involved in setting up for a show like this make it an exhausting experience, so why do it? Mort’s answer, “it is the thrill of the hunt, the wall-to-wall people and the chance to network with other dealers. In all honesty we aren’t sleeping much with all the anticipation.”
This type of enthusiasm carries throughout the show as you are repeatedly stuck by how friendly and helpful people are. Half an hour before the close last year, I met a dealer from northern Ohio who was packing to leave. Worn from three days in the hot sun, with a long drive ahead of him, he stopped what he was doing to tell me about the long abandoned textile mill where he had purchased much of what he had brought to the show. After I had made a pile of old bobbins and wooden spools I liked, he pointed to the only other box left and said, “take that one too and I will give them all to you for half price . . . he didn’t have to ask twice!
Glassware, rare books, toys and trains, knives, architectural pieces, pottery, sports memorabilia, you name it and it is here.
Furniture, hard find in many shows, abounds. From fine French antiques and primitives cupboards to funky little painted chests and coffee tables made from industrial carts, the selection is amazing. This is not a show for the Big Box stores. Furniture here is largely American made and solid wood. Some of the selection is “room ready” but you will also find project pieces to refresh or refinish.
Folk art and primitives fill many of the booths. On my last visit I snagged six sets of Victorian shutters, a wooden wringer, an early 1900s tool box and four old duck decoys, brought to the show by two gentlemen from Pennsylvania.
The organizers of the market have provided stands with snacks and cold drinks, as well as an indoor food court with homemade pie, award-winning BBQ, sandwiches and full dinners. Affordable overnight accommodations (I recommend reservations) are only minutes away from the fairgrounds.
This year show runs for three days, September 16-18. Hours are Friday noon-6, Saturday 8-5 and Sunday 9-4
For 362 days a year, DisneyWorld may well be “the happiest place on earth,” but for three days in September the “Magic Kingdom” for collectors is in Springfield, Ohio! Don’t miss it. Until next time………Linda
Irvington resident Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates and may be reached at 317-258-7835 or on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/WhatsInTheAttic