UPDATE: It really was fine. Sadly, Thunderbird Ranch is no longer open but we’re happy to have this post to remember it by!
I watched a pair of longhorns chase each other around a stock pond yesterday. Right in downtown Round Top. Because this is the southwest after all. Thunderbird Ranch Fine Art gallery celebrates all things cowboy, cowgirl and just plain cow in a charming space right on Bybee Square. I’ve spent a bit of time in the west-er parts of the southwest and this spot brings all that right to us. Denise Jacobs is the expert curator behind all of it, so go on in and ask her anything while you check out that snakeskin barbed wire piece you know you want.
If you know this folk song you can hum it while you look at the rest of the photos. If you don’t know it, you might want to spend a moment here and then carry on with the photos.
As you may know, I’m forever delighted and grateful for the semi-annual Round Top Antiques Show/Texas Antiques Week extravaganza. What a spectacle! I can’t believe so many people work so hard to put on a magnificent multi-week mega-event just for me. Oh, and you.
Wanting to know more about what goes into Show preparation, I recently asked a few dealers to take us behind the scenes. And one of my all time favorite people, Marc Elson of Loblolly General Goods, responded! So without further ado, here is Marc’s diary of his days just getting from his home base in Michigan down to his gorgeous Show booth at Blue Hills. With pictures!
…Reserve 26′ Penske Diesel. (With wind chill of -15° it can just stay running with the heat on for 8 days, or until the Texas border).
…Pack clothes for all 4 seasons and book 7 hotel nights.
…Hire three laborers for loading. That one cool industrial piece I had to have weighs 500 lbs.
…Gather bungies and rope and 300 packing blankets.
…Load furniture, lights, art, china, glass, garden, walls, flooring, wiring, tags, office, tie it all down!
…Locate every antique mall and shop along the route…..Don’t forget the windshield ice-scraper and de-icing fluid.
…Drive 1300 miles. Allow 200 miles for seeking out items to fill remaining space in Penske.
…Purchase items along the way and repack Penske. Always look for exit before pulling into any antique mall parking lot.
…Meet a ton of great people in the business.
…Dodge every ice, sleet, hail and snow storm. Plan on getting stuck in Guthrie, OK for a day..it’s an impossible place to avoid the weather in February.
If you’re game to get out the candy thermometer and tackle the ‘tricky’ confectionery challenge known as the pecan praline, please have at it. I hope for your sake that you’ll be using an old family recipe, because it could take at least an hour just to decide which recipe to choose; evap or butter milk, baking soda or no, microwave or stove or no bake at all. And here’s a little heads up. Some recipes suggest a “second pair of hands” for the spooning out part, so know that you’ll need to enlist a praline plopping partner.
I, on the other (lazier) hand, will be enjoying my perfect pralines the old fashioned way, by making my way to the Katy Sweet Candy Factory in LaGrange. The shoppe is right in the front part of their factory/office building, so as you wander about trying to decide among chewy, creamy, peanut patty (or all three), you also have the Charlie Buckety fun of peeking through big windows into the production area.
There are few well-known poems or quotes to be found about the praline. Well, there’s one classic from Wayne’s World the movie, but this is a family website so I’m not going to give you an easy link; you’ll have to Google it on your own. Instead I’ll leave you with an encouraging paragraph from Southern Living Magazine that was written about pralines but I like to think really applies to everything in life.
“If your pralines don’t turn out right the first time,
Don’t despair.
Simply create a new dessert.
Crumble and fold them into softened vanilla ice cream.
Or, if they’re too soft,
scrap up the mixture, chill it, and roll it into 1-inch balls.
If it’s January, that means the Show is just weeks away. Or still weeks away, depending upon your glass/full persuasions. As for me, I’m beyond ready to go so I thought I’d make a little visit to my photo library and pull together a quick potpourri of Show Fabulousness to tide us over. And what better theme than MEN?
You can pretty much find whichever kind of man you need at the show. Plenty of busty classics, of course.
Famous guys and otherwise.
Cowboys upon cowboys.
The swarthy and the less so.
Here’s to days and days of happy hunting coming soon!
Way one: Anyone who’s anyone knows about the Antiques Show. And from what I’m hearing, pretty much every one of those anyones is going to be coming to the Spring Show this year. (I’m thinking of spearheading a fundraiser for the construction of a charming Segway/rollerblade/electric bike/rickshaw trail along Hwy 237; holler if you want to be on my committee).
Way two: The completely adorable Junk Gypsy TV stars really do live here all the time, not just when their camera crew is around. We all love y’all!
Way three: Festival Hill. It may seem like a hidden gem if you’re just now discovering it, but the musical elite from around the world have been admiring James Dick’s magnificent gift to Round Top for decades.
Way five: This is a 100-way tie among a whole host of Shakespeareans, artists, artisans, galleries, writers, collectors, cowboys, musicians, ranchers, historians and more. You know who you are.
Tucked into the top of that list of What Makes Round Top Famous should be, of course, The Prairie by Rachel Ashwell. Yes, that Rachel Ashwell, inventor of Shabby Chic. Famous for sure.
The Prairie’s country luxe vibe feels gracious and gentle and rather Englishy, but there’s also a low hum of California cool around the place, all topped off with the sweet twang of Texas. If you’re there during the show, sign the guest book in the Rangers Lounge, but then go peek in the Pearl Barn. That’s where Rachel and her team store their found treasures before they’re carted away to Tokyo and New York and beyond.
Here’s my list of TPbRA Don’ts. Don’t visit Round Top without scooting up for a look see. Don’t forget your camera. Don’t get married anywhere else. Don’t miss any event Rachel invites you to even if it’s just because you follow her on Facebook and you’re not sure you’re supposed to go. You are! And finally, don’t forget to pick up a set of whisper linen pillow cases while you’re there. Even better, order a Liliput Ottoman in her best of the best yummy amethyst velvet.
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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