Weird & Wonderful Finds From A National Antique Fair

A few weeks ago John and I trekked out to Mount Dora for one of my favorite events of the year: Renninger's Antique Extravaganza. For one weekend in November (and another in January & February) over 800 antiques vendors from all around the U.S. set up shop in one enormous field, and it. is. glorious.

When I mentioned this to a friend she asked, "So, what are you going to look for?"

I stared at her blankly. "Oh, no" I said, "That's not how this works."

After all, you don't just set out to find a couple of taxidermied bullfrogs playing billiards... they find you.

You know, later. In your nightmares.

And now, in the spirit of one of my favorite Facebook groups, Weird and Wonderful Secondhand Finds, all me to present my favorite findings of the day.

Starting with this Wonder Bread-themed clown head gumball machine, because even just putting all those words together is a work of art.

I waited 'til he wasn't looking to take the photo.

::evil grin::

I don't know if it's supposed to be Wonder Bread themed, but if not that's a wild coincidence:

 Maybe the gumballs were bread flavored.

And now that you're making that face, here's a black velvet painting of an alicorn flying over Saturn:


Once you notice that wing placement, it's all you see.
(There's a "butt-flap" joke in here somewhere, I just know it.)

I have no memory of taking this next photo, so it's like a little gift to myself from past Jen:

Thanks, past Jen.

(If ever a photo was crying out for captions, it's this one.)

Wait, wait, hold on. I just noticed something. Wonder Bread, Butt Flaps, and now BUNS?



Gosh, now I feel obligated to keep the bread/butt theme going.

John? Any ideas?


No? Nothing?

'Kay.

Way over on one edge of the field is this signage graveyard of sorts. It makes for a great game of "I Spy."

For instance, can you find the creepy Halloween zombie baby?

Over on this side was a giant shark head dangling from the tree canopy:

... which my Mom insisted on getting a photo with:

[Maui voice] "Shark head!" 

Tell me you can't hear this teeter totter creaking loudly while lightning flashes behind it on a dark, stormy night:

Yes, that's right, children, go sit in the clowns' arms, so they can stare wide-eyed at the backs of your heads.

Muwahahaaaaa.

Sorry. I promise not all of my finds are creepy.

::Scrolls quickly through remaining photos::

But, uh, a lot of them are.

Let's do a whole bunch of creepy ones fast, like ripping off a band-aid. Yeah?

Nope, nope, this isn't working. It's too much. We need a palate cleanser.

Aha! How about this fabulous bird brush? I don't know what it's for, but it reminds me of Mary Poppin's umbrella.

Y'all probably know I like Donald Duck, so most trips to Renninger's I end up with another small Donald toy for my collection. Usually nothing too old, and that only costs a few dollars.

I do take pictures of the old expensive ones, though:

I spent far too long in front of this little pull-along wagon:

That distressed teal paint practically glowed - and for some reason Donald's wearing a reddish-orange?! Gah, so pretty. His arms spin when you push/pull the wagon, I'll post some video in my Story later. Eventually I reminded myself this is way too big for my little Donald cubby, though, and spared my bank account. 

I'll show you which Donalds I *did* buy at the end. Keep it scrolling.

This is from before my time, but it reminds me of the toy egg vending machines I loved as a kid. I wonder what was inside the eggs!

My first time seeing one of these IRL:

This is an inflatable terrarium ottoman(!). They were popular back in the 50s and 60s, and since you can't open them, they all have the original fake roses inside. Kinda wild to think the air in this thing is 60 years old, right?

Every antiquing trip I have a list of my Personal Purchase Temptations (PPT). That Donald wagon was one, and strangely this stylized fawn statue was another:

Kinda funky, but I like the lines - and it would look great in a Christmas centerpiece, right?

I also lingered over this cast iron Robot:

... this plastic panda:

... and the one I regret leaving behind the most, this sweet wooden Viking lass:

She's pretty big, maybe 12 inches tall? I like her face, looks like it was done with woodburning. Anyone know anything about her?

A few more pretties, before we go back to the hilarious creepies:

This is a heavy stone planter. In fact I saw quite a few lady-head planters scattered around the fair:



This one's my favorite, though:



Love her round face! Wouldn't she be sweet with dangling ivy or weeping willow? I doubt any of these are actually old; garden planters get a lot more leeway here.

Speaking of lady head vases, we found an entire tent of the antique porcelain versions:

This is maybe a quarter of the booth. The seller said they're all from one woman - the seller's mother - who collected them her entire life. WHOA.

Every one is different! It's both impressive and sobering, looking at the literal collection of a lifetime.

Random Cool Stuff:

Vintage sieves, possibly used for panning for gold?


A helmet desk lamp:

The face guard tips up!

... and a store display cram-packed with Smurfs:




There are cars and trailers parked all over the field in-between the vendor tents, so you never know what you're going to find around the next corner:

R2!


I don't know why, I just love this carved face:

It's oddly comforting to look at, right?

Then on the opposite end of the spectrum (brace yourself), there's this:

This is... unsettling. I am unsettled.

Going by the cigarette, my guess is it's an ashtray. An ashtray with a death mask attached to scare you out of smoking. Then again, it's an oddly deep container on the back for an ashtray, and what's with that metal peg sticking out on the front? Anyone know?

I saved my most mind-bending find for last. This is absolutely the last thing I EVER expected to see at an antique fair, and is a hoot to boot.

Ready?

BEHOLD:

Everyone in our group was freaking out and ushering me over to this booth, and it took me several loooong seconds of staring at the horse before I looked down, ha.

OUR AT-AT ROCKER

Well, not the one we made, but one made with our template! (If you're new here: we designed this AT-AT rocker and still sell templates, so there are dozens of these cuties rocking around the U.S.) This one has been well-loved; the handlebar is snapped clean off. Even in this condition the seller wanted $195 for it, which I guess I'll take as a compliment. ;)

Whew! That was a lot! But before you go, let me show you what I did buy:

 

First, this adorable Donald container from Tokyo Disney (which gets ALL the best merch) for $3. Not old, but cute!

Next a vintage glass ornament - maybe 70s, going by the style? - of a partridge in a pear tree:

Hard to photograph and a bit dusty, but fun. That was $4.

And finally, an older Donald toy I've never seen before:

He has a pull string to talk, and his mouth opens on a swivel. Google tells me he's from the late 70s, and the $10 I paid was... fair. He was super filthy when I first dug him out of a toy bin, but after a good scrub he's ready to join the Donald troupe in my office.

I may have to expand soon.

I hope this was a fun mental break for you from the usual December stress and busy-ness - I know it has been for me! John and I are finally finished with that big construction project for a local charity, and in fact they moved in all their office furniture and equipment this morning. It was a mad scramble down to the wire last night, and we still have some touch-ups and small repairs for later, but for now? WE REST. 

::collapses into a couch heap with a mug of tea and bag of chocolate::

You try to rest up, too, and feel free to cancel as many plans as you need to, k? For a lot of us the next two weeks are usually about stressful family interactions, cram-packed schedules, and guilt. Whatever you think about the holidays, I can promise you that's not what they're about. So let's opt out of as much conflict and self-bludgeoning as we can, and take more time to relish sweet moments of rest and laughter with the ones we love. (I'm saying this to myself as much as to you.)

Hang in there, a new year's a-coming.

::mwah::

*****


P.S. Want MORE? I post a lot of fun antique finds, just click on the "antiques" label below this post to browse. Or, here's a good one from 2019:

Freaky 'Tiques! 10 Hilariously Creepy Things You Only Find Antiquing