One of the greatest challenges of this business is having enough “smalls”.  Dealers refer to the small items that aren’t furniture as “smalls”.  When you have a shop or do a show as a dealer, the majority of your sales are “smalls”.  This is to be expected.  Not everyone wants or needs a 6-foot farmhouse table or a step back hutch.

The result of this reality is that I am always looking for smalls.  While I have a decent stock of refurbished or found furniture – it’s the smalls that most people really want to buy.

On a recent trip to Maine, I had the benefit of having a few hours to myself.  Sweet!  Time to find inventory.  So, I stopped by some of my usual spots.  Never disappointed, I was able to find some great smalls.  I also have such great conversations with the dealers who own these shops and on occasion am told any stories that accompany the items I buy.

Among the most recent finds in the photo above are some antique brown transfer ware plates (8), the sweetest photo of a girl on a horse, glass flower frogs, an antique mirror with a gold cast iron frame, a wooden mortar & pestle, and a hand made stoneware bottle. Also, as shown below, I found an antique potato basket.

By far, my favorite item is the potato basket because it is handmade, it’s huge and it’s in amazing condition.  Normally the bottom edges of the baskets are broken or the weave is damaged. A basket full of potatoes is heavy!

Don’t those glass flower frogs look like jewels? Also, I found a couple of Dundee Marmalade jars.  Holy moly, those are getting so difficult to find!  Anyone else notice that?  You will also see a set of 12 (Twelve!) antique brown transfer ware soup bowls. They are in great condition and it is almost impossible to find 12 of anything. Four, yes. Six, yes. Eight, maybe. Twelve, ha- not likely.  Perhaps, I should start playing the lottery?

I also purchased a beautiful old washstand with mustard color paint.  Photos and more info about this find will be in a separate blog post.  This was another lucky find!