On The Crush List because…
If you asked me to tour you around the Show, this is where we’d start.
This is the second post of my Field Showcase Series in which I attempt to help you decide where when and how to shop the Show. Last week we were earlybirds in The Fields. Now it’s time to get started for real, and since we have to start somewhere we’ll start where my minivan seems to take me more often than not. Blue Hills.
We should try to arrive around 9:30am. Morning is golden time! There’s a damp chill in the air that will be long hot gone by noon. We’re dewy golden too; showered and bright-eyed (thanks to our travel mug of Folgers Half Caf and that cream cheese kolache) and ready to see every single thing there is to see!
Welcome to pretty Blue Hills Field. There’s so much to like about this spot. It’s beautifully designed and tidy and a nice manageable size. It’s the perfect place meet up with a shopping buddy. And the parking’s free. There’s a nice clean potty paddock with plywood stalls back there. And look how many Crush List crushes are here! The Fall 2015 Show should be especially exciting at Blue Hills because some of the long time regulars have moved on to other fields so it’ll be fresh and full of new things to discover.
Quick aside while we’re on that subject: Hey, you old time hugely famous and popular and super loved fields. You know who you are. Here’s an idea of mine that may cause dealer riots, or a shoppers revolt, or at the very least a whole tornado of angst and drama but I’m going to suggest it anyway.
Move everyone around!
Yes, move ’em around! Put all your dealers’ names in a box and draw them out randomly and assign everyone a new spot. Yes, really. The pot could stand a little stirring. A little zest. A little creative zhuzh. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out where our favorites are and along the way we’ll give a new look to those booths we’ve learned to skip past/look over/pass by. Isn’t this an industry based on a love for redecorating? Redecorate!
OK, here we are. Back to what makes Blue Hills the center of my Show and why it might should be the center or at least the start of yours.
Looking for lighting? It’s one of the things Blue Hills does best. There are booths with industrial blown glass fixtures or custom pulley lights or one of a kind perfect-for-your-sunroom lamps or delicately reworked iron fixtures or a whole ceiling’s worth of vintage chandeliers. Buy your lighting at Blue Hills.
Are you at the Show because you’re right now at this minute furnishing with a purpose and need to find well-priced up to date pieces of both the old and new variety? Blue Hills is your place. There’s a booth just for painted furniture. A real good rug spot. Pascal’s super chic Four Hands style furniture. The maps and paper ephemera place. The booth with endless options for country chic duvets and pillows. That whole run of dealers along the back of the original field with country armoires and cabinets and dining tables. Adele’s fine art. The deckhouse full of Asian bits. All the good Euro in the new part. The dealer at the very end with fun classics like old wooden sleds…
You get the idea. This is high end merch that you want in your home, all pleasantly pulled together by professional real deal dealers. And while it may not sound right first thing in the morning, the Methodist Men’s chopped BBQ beef sandwich with chips and an iced tea is the iconic Antiques Show meal!
