So imagine: It’s the mid 1800’s in Lusatia and you’re a Wend. You’ve begun to feel quite a bit pinched by the King of Prussia who keeps insisting that you change your religion and your language. What do you do? Yes, you’re exactly right. You gather up your family and friends and hop on a ship to Galveston, Texas.
That is the incomplete but completely true story of how a few hundred Wends found their way to Serbin, just west of Round Top. In a charming museum right in the heart of Serbin, the Texas Wendish Heritage Society has compiled an impressive amount of information and artifacts about the Wends’ life and times. So many, in fact, that a visit there feels a lot like antique shopping, without the option to purchase. The museum facilities also house a kitchen space where volunteers gather twice a week to make traditional Wendish noodles to be sold in stores all over the area.
I’ve learned more than I have room for about the Wends, so I must leave you with just one brief thought for now. Don’t pile up your Wendish noodles with a bunch of stuff like it’s pasta. The noodles are a side dish to be eaten like a bowl of grits, with butter, salt and pepper.
Hey y’all, the Show is just months away and I hope you’ve been taking care of business. Have you… scheduled your vacation days/given after-school a heads up/measured the fireplace wall, twice/counted your secret cash stash/and all that? Proper preparation is key to Show enjoyment!
I couldn’t even imagine what a dealer’s Show Prep To Do list would look like. OK, you’re right. Imagining what a dealer’s Show Prep To Do list looks like is exactly the kind of thing I would do. I’ve asked a couple of dealers to share their lists with me, but somehow sharing their lists of todo’s isn’t on their list of todo’s because they’re so darn busy doing their todo’s. I get it.
Matt White of Recycling The Past is one of the Show’s most well-known, well-liked and well-stocked dealers. A doer extraordinaire. So it’s quite cool that he has a huge warehouse in Warrenton open for shoppers any weekend of the year, provided we kindly email or call ahead. The space is both a gigantical back room for several dealers’ booths and a cozy hangout headquarters. Squooshy sofas and a full kitchen and sleeping spaces are tucked into one corner of the building, completely surrounded by airplane parts and slabs of wood and disco balls and a jeep and just look. UPDATE: Matt’s opened the incredibly cool and popular Flophouze Hotel next to his warehouse. Stay there!
The warehouse is known as The Round Top Ballroom. Obviously it makes for an event space like no other, and word is it’s just waiting for its first wedding. I hope it’s yours! Weddings in unexpected places are a big favorite of mine, just ask anyone who attended ours at Miami’s Monkey Jungle. (Tagline: “Where the Humans are Caged and the Monkeys Run Wild!”) Since I don’t need a wedding, I’m thinking of putting on a big old music party out there one of these Shows. Wanna come?
The good news? You've discovered The Crush List. The not so good? I haven't been actively posting here for a few years now, which means the never terribly reliable details about my crushes are even more unreliable. Antique vendors have switched venues, shops in town have moved or passed on, donkeys may or may not be in the same front yards... In spite of the risks of massive misdirection I've left the site up in hopes that it still achieves its goal - to inspire you to visit Round Top for the Antiques Show or any time you have the time.
With that said, I leave you to explore this random list of my very favorite things about my very favorite place. I’ve tried to capture the area’s special pieces and parts. Some are big deal, some are small gestures, some are legendary and some are just tiny pip and squeak.
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