As you can imagine, we’re still glowing from our weekend at Fieldstone Vintage Market. Many of you wished you could have been there so we asked the very talented Sharalee Prang to document our day and, boy, did she ever! Sharalee captured so many poignant moments of our vendors and customers alike, not to mention each of the incredible displays that our vendors worked so hard to put together. It was extremely difficult to choose which ones to post today so be sure to check out our Flickr account for many more stunning photos of our day in the field. Also visit our Fieldstone blog for another batch of Sharalee’s pictures…they’ll make you feel like you were actually with us at the EcoDairy last Saturday! In case you missed it, be sure to also her slideshow on vimeo.

Our morning started out with the field (and all of our tents!) wrapped in a heavy fog, making things just a wee bit damp. But after a beautiful sunrise, the fog lifted leaving nothing but blue skies and sunshine behind! It wasn’t long before the parking lot was full and customers were eagerly lined up for our 9am opening…

Look at their smiles! We saw a lot of smiles all day and I know that my cheeks were hurting by the time we packed up. Customers began pouring in and the hunt for treasures was on! You could see the EcoDairy and all of our tents for miles, from the freeway and beyond and, despite several hardworking parking attendants, cars were soon lined up as far as the eye could see!

The best part of my day was having the chance to see peoples’ eyes light up and even hear them gasp when they walked through the gates into the field. Many had never been to the property before and it was truly magical, with the open fields, horses and mountain views beyond. Our vendors went above and beyond to create the most gorgeous displays for their goods…

Like I said, their were happy smiles everywhere, our EcoDairy partners Helinda and Tanya included! Our only regret of the day was that Rachel and I were too busy scurrying around the property and manning our own booth to take any time to shop. But it was so fun watching customers triumphantly carry their new finds around the pathways…

See what I mean about all of the smiles? The kids all had tonnes of fun too…from pony rides, to live music, to a fantastic art station hosted by The Reach gallery, there was more than enough to keep them entertained while mom and dad shopped…and shopped!

We had live music performances by Hanna Williamson on the violin, local band Old Mare, and singer/songwriter Anna Vandas. They’re all so talented and it was fun watching people dance while they shopped or take a break and have a picnic lunch while enjoying the music…

Be sure to check out our list of all of our Fieldstone Vendors…most have links to webpages or online shops so you can continue your market shopping from home. The networking opportunities on Saturday were amazing, with customers coming from Victoria, Vancouver and beyond and we’ve been so excited to watch our vendors grow and expand their small businesses. After all, they’re the reason we chose to host another vintage and handmade market!

All photos by Sharalee Prang Photography for Fieldstone Vintage Market.

Yes, that’s Rachel and I looking a little melted at the end of the day…but still smiling! We’d like to take a moment to say a HUGE thank you to the Bakerview EcoDairy and our lovely partners Helinda Vanderkooi and Tanya Curtis for hosting such an amazing market and working so incredibly hard to have everything ready for our big day! Another HUGE thank you for our husbands, families and friends for patiently helping out behind the scenes on the home front and the odd building project (or 2)! More thanks to Canuck Place for manning the front gate and raising funds for the much needed children’s hospice in Abbotsford. If you forgot to give on Saturday, please help support this wonderful organization and visit the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice here.  The City of Abbotsford and Tourism Abbotsford also lent a hand, generously printing off hundreds of rack cards advertising Fieldstone and several other local business…thank you! And last but not least, another HUGE thank you to our amazingly talented vendors and thousands of happy customers…we could never have done this without you!

All photos by Sharalee Prang. See more at our Flickr page here and please always give credit where credit is due 🙂

I’ve found myself drooling over the Barn House photographs that are popping up all over the internet and  I’m feeling a little down that Lily and I didn’t work a visit into our weekend plans.  First Farm Chicks and now Barn House…boo.  We could have blamed it on research and discovery for the Fieldstone Vintage Market and our Birch + Bird shop, right?  We’ve been watching what’s going on across the border for some time now and it’s definitely something to aspire to and the Barn House Boys pulled out all the stops.

Lily and I have been thrifting for a very long time now, you could probably call us professional thrifters.  Not every day is a good day in the world of thrift but every once and awhile, you hit the mother load.  I think that’s why we love vintage markets so much.  So many treasures all in one place.  A vintage lovers heaven.

Luckily, for those of us who missed out on this fantastic market, Michael Jardine captured all of these images and it’s clear why we should be sure to visit the next one.

We don’t have near enough vintage markets in our neck of the woods but it feels like the time is right and slowly but surely they are popping up here and there.  Are you an avid thrifter or a vintage market junkie?

I have noticed glass fishing floats being used in decor for some time now but I’ve never given them much thought.  I’ve always thought they were lovely, their shape and colour add an effortless layer of interest into displays.  I came across Joan’s blog, For the Love of a House, where she shared her obsessive love for these shiny orbs of glass  and how she displays them throughout her home.  And I have to say that I was fascinated and now I want some too…

1. Northwest Magazine 2. Glass Float Junkie

Wikipedia:  “Glass floats, glass fishing floats, or Japanese glass fishing floats are popular collectors? items. They were once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their nets afloat. Large groups of fishnets strung together, sometimes 50 miles (80 km) long, were set adrift in the ocean and supported near the surface by hollow glass balls or cylinders containing air to give them buoyancy.  These glass floats are no longer being used by fishermen, but many of them are still afloat in the world’s oceans, primarily the Pacific. They have become a popular collectors? item for beachcombers and decorators. Replicas are also being manufactured. “

For the Love of a House

1. Pottery Barn 2. For the Love of a House

“Today most of the glass floats remaining in the ocean are stuck in a circular pattern of ocean currents in the North Pacific. Off the east coast of Taiwan, the Kuroshio Current starts as a northern branch of the western-flowing North Equatorial Current. It flows past Japan and meets the arctic waters of the Oyashio Current. At this junction, the North Pacific Current (or Drift) is formed which travels east across Pacific before slowing down in the Gulf of Alaska. As it turns south, the California Current pushes the water into the North Equatorial Current once again, and the cycle continues. Although the number of glass floats is decreasing steadily, many floats are still drifting on these ocean currents. Occasionally storms or certain tidal conditions will break some floats from this circular pattern and bring them ashore. They most often end up on the beaches of Alaska, Washington or Oregon in the United States, Taiwan or Canada. It is estimated that floats must be a minimum of 7?10 years old before washing up on beaches in Alaska. Most floats that wash up, however, would have been afloat for 10 years. A small number of floats are also trapped in the Arctic ice pack where there is movement over the North Pole and into the Atlantic Ocean.“

Dreamy Whites

J. Covington Home

“Once a float lands on a beach, it may roll in the surf and become “etched” by sand. Many glass floats show distinctive wear patters from the corrosive forces of sand, sun, and salt water. When old netting breaks off of a float, its pattern often remains on the surface of the glass where the glass was protected under the netting. Other floats have small amounts of water trapped inside of them. This water apparently enters the floats through microscopic imperfections in the glass while the floats are suspended in Arctic ice or held under water by netting.  To accommodate different fishing styles and nets, the Japanese experimented with many different sizes and shapes of floats, ranging from 2 to 20 inches (510 mm) in diameter. Most were rough spheres, but some were cylindrical or ?rolling pin? shaped.  Most floats are shades of green because that is the color of glass from recycled sake bottles (especially after long exposure to sunlight). However, clear, amber, aquamarine, amethyst, blue and other colors were also produced. The most prized and rare color is a red or cranberry hue. These were expensive to make because gold was used to produce the color. Other brilliant tones such as emerald green, cobalt blue, purple, yellow and orange were primarily made in the 1920s and 30s. The majority of the colored floats available for sale today are replicas.“

A Beach Cottage

1. Design*Sponge 2. Wisteria

Interesting.  Right?  In August, we’re heading out to the Oregon coast with Lily’s family as well as 2 other families for a week of relaxing by the ocean.  By the sounds of it, August isn’t prime glass float season but I can tell you for sure that I’ll be on the look out for my own glass float.  Kamichia, the Glass Float Junkie, is the lucky gal who came across the treasure trove of glass floats that you saw at the beginning of the post.  Well, I shouldn’t make it sound so easy.  She has been beach combing for glass floats for some time now and she found that glorious stash in Alaska on a super secret beach that she accessed by plane.  On occasion, she has found so many that she has had to leave them behind.  Can you imagine?  Her blog is extremely informative if you would like to know more or to see more photos documenting her hunts and her incredible float collection.

S. R. Gambrel

Of course, you don’t need to comb your local beach for days on end digging through the sand in hopes of finding your very own glass fishing float.  There are always our friends at Etsy who have done the work for us.  Here are a couple of my favourite Etsy floats from Light in a Worm Hole.  She has plenty more to choose from in any price, colour, size and shape.

Light in a Worm Hole

So, does anyone suddenly have the urge to go beach combing?  Glass Float season ends soon!