Despite uncertainty in the weather forecast, shoppers came out in droves to peruse the hundreds of booths.
Review & Onsite Photos by Carly Timpson
DEERFIELD, N.H. — Uncertain weather forecasts cannot deter a Brimfield crowd, even if it’s for the Northern edition at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, N.H. The two-day event, which takes place twice annually, spanned the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-25. Show promoter Klia Ververidis Crisafulli noted that set-up was “really challenging with the rain and freezing cold temperatures, but it turned out perfect for shopping!” Occupying five buildings and plenty of outdoor space at the fairgrounds, there were about 275 vendors set up for this year’s spring show.
“This year, we had way more vendors inside than we’ve ever had, so it made the show look smaller, but the vendor count was pretty close to the 300 that we shoot for. If it hadn’t rained, we would have exceeded it, I’m sure, like last year. Attendance was right around 10,000. We had a big turnout on Saturday, but Sunday’s turnout was almost as big as Saturday, which is always nice to see as Sunday usually tends to be slower… Also, what was a surprise this year was the number of pre-sale tickets, which was around 2,000. We haven’t had a number that big for any show since Covid when people would buy in advance because they were afraid that we’d max out capacity.”
Ververidis Crisafulli also noted that “about 35 percent of vendors were new. The rest were repeat vendors from a prior show. About 50 percent have done every Brimfield North show since its inception, so a lot of repeats.” One of these new vendors was Brookyln, N.Y.-based Shane Hennessy, who was selling with Ray’s Records. They had vintage clothing, hats, accessories, sports memorabilia, posters, cameras, cassette tapes and, of course, vinyl records — lots of them. Hennessy told us he’s been attending Brimfield shows for years, though this was the first time he brought his own items to sell. As collecting trends would predict, Ray’s Records was a popular booth with a younger clientele.
A younger clientele could be found anywhere we saw clothing or vinyl records on offer. Luckily, Ray’s Records, Brooklyn, N.Y., had both!
Though he had participated in last year’s October edition with a friend’s booth, it was John Carbaugh’s first time having his own set-up. The Dover, N.H., dealer described his specialty as “jewelry and metaphysical,” though he “picked up some odds and ends” up to appeal to Brimfield’s wider antiques audience. Carbaugh lined his tables with handmade jewelry and crystals of various shapes, sizes and colors, as well as some alluring crystal mystery boxes. His additional offerings included woven tapestries, glass bottles, collectible cards and vintage cameras.
Alyssa Sanbar, of Manchester, N.H., also set up for the first time, though she said this was her first ever show as a dealer. Sanbar was selling items from her parent’s collection under the name Cabin In The Woods, and her dad was there to show his support and offered up information about some of the items. One such item, which was drawing substantial attention from shoppers, was an old child’s Jeep army truck pedal car. In all original, unrestored condition, the Jeep retained its hood-mounted machine gun, which Sanbar’s father noted made it even more rare since many of them would break off with use. Unfortunately for most of the truck’s inquirers, it was sold early on, though it remained a focal point in Sanbar’s booth for the first day. Her other offerings included many of those items you may expect to find in a New Hampshire cabin in the woods: cozy blankets, sleds, cookware, ski- and mountain-themed décor such as throw pillows, a taxidermized woodland critter of indeterminate species and an entryway bench fit for putting one’s boots on!
Given the numbers Ververidis Crisafulli reported, it was much easier to find vendors who have been to every Brimfield North since it began in 2021. One of those five-year veterans was David Dawson, who you would see immediately upon entering through the fairgrounds’ gates. Dawson, who operates Scrapped and Found, repurposes mechanical scraps, as his business name suggests, and crafts unique sculptural art pieces with the parts. His robots — made of old radios, globes, oil cans, lights, industrial chains, bike pedals and other spare parts — stood proudly outside his booth, welcoming shoppers to the show. Smaller, more accessible models — with bodies made from bocce balls — stood guard over his tables. While his works are primarily robots, some other beasts were featured — one particularly eye-catching piece was a portrait of Frankenstein’s monster painted over an assemblage of 10 license plates.
David Dawson of Scrapped and Found made these mechanical monsters. Worcester, Mass.
Christopher DeVol, who had a stand-out booth situated in the fairgrounds’ oversized gazebo, has also been a dealer since the show began. The Concord, N.H.-based dealer told us, “I specialize in Native American artifacts, knives, jewelry and have a little bit of everything else, too. This morning has been great — I’ve had a lot of business. I think the weather has kind of helped us since people aren’t going to the beach.” Coincidentally, after this reporter left DeVol’s covered gazebo, it began to rain for the first time that morning.
Thankfully, as Ververidis Crisafulli stated, there were many dealers set up indoors this year. Gail and Paul Hubbard of Campton, N.H., were one of the five-year dealers who took precaution to set-up inside. Of course, another draw to being inside was the fact that Paul could hang his handmade wooden frames on the building’s walls rather than having to arrange them under a tent somehow. The Hubbards had a large selection of original vintage posters, advertisements and bumper signs, all sold in one of Paul’s custom frames. In addition, they also hung street signs, windchimes, artwork and a gun. Other items found on their tables included lanterns, bottles, doll accessories, tin cans, stuffed bears and pennants, which they reported were “selling like crazy!” They also had success with “a big wooden butter churn and an old, old ‘No Vacancy’ sign from a motor inn or cottages.”
In another building was Collins Gift Shop, owned and operated by Wendy Collins. She has also been doing this show since 2021, and said she specializes in “dolls and folk art.” She certainly had a lot of both, with dolls of all kinds stacked along her tabletops and an eclectic array of folk art lining the walls and shelves, some of which included metal pieces by local makers Third Shift Fabrication, holiday items, candles and more.
As seen here, Wendy Collins, Collins Gift Shop, Rye, N.H., specializes in “dolls and folk art.”
Across from Collins was Gary Passamonte and Domenic Vecchioli, who are Gandtiques. They told us, “We’ve been doing this show since it started. We had a slow start today, but it’s been great. Antique pottery and vintage Barbies are doing really well.” To complement the Barbies, Gandtiques had plenty of items originally catered to children, including a variety of other dolls, dollhouse furniture kits, plush toys, figurines and an unusual “1960s medical device used to show what pregnancy looks like from the inside,” which, at a glance, looked like any other small doll, but its pregnant stomach was removable and all the organs were depicted inside. As of Saturday afternoon, no one had bought the model, though it had generated lots of laughs and strange looks.
Another dealer who reported interest in Barbies was Vikki’s Vintage. Their booth was anchored by a fabulous embroidered, faux fur-trimmed long Afghan coat by The Hippie Shake and had plenty of other 70s-inspired items for shoppers to peruse, as well as a great selection of Midcentury Modern, Pyrex, small furniture and more clothing. The owner told us, “I sold two large cases of Barbies, gardening-sorts of things and clothes. The crowd has been really good today — very strong.”
While Vikki’s Vintage catered to more traditionally feminine fashion tastes, NH Mantiques, run by Richard Matckie II, was just opposite her booth. Matckie’s business card bills the operation as “The Antique Store for Men (And Stuff for the ladies too.),” and he filled his booth with plenty of items one may expect to find in a garage or workshop, such as oil cans, fishing reels, knives, National Sportsman magazines, bottles and old radios. He also had political pins, kitchen items, glad window frames, Winchester Arms advertising signs, furniture and a few pieces of art.
Books, vanity items and other vintage smalls with Jen and Paul Martin, who sell out of Sage Farm Antiques, North Hampton, N.H.
Sharyl Murphy is the owner of Sage Farm Antiques in North Hampton, N.H. The collective, which is in its 25th year, brings together 25 dealers from across New England, and she, as well as many others, were present at this show. Murphy said she was having a very good show, noting that “people are cheerful, especially happy as the sun has come out.” Other dealers representing Sage Farm were Jen and Paul Martin, who were at this show for a third year and reported it being “very busy and excellent”; and Robin Kovalcin, who has been showing at Brimfield North since the beginning.
Manchester, N.H.-based Antiques on Elm was offering vintage televisions, cameras, an old iMac computer, radios, clothing, lanterns, cookware, books and more. The third-year dealers told us, “It’s been excellent — minus the rain… That was a challenge. But we’ve sold a lot of Pyrex today and anyone under 30 wants vintage clothes. There seems to be a lot more younger people at these shows now than there used to be.” As if on cue, two young boys came running over to the booth and beelined to the clothing rack, which held Harley Davidson shirts, leather jackets, sports jerseys, tie-dye T-shirts and more.
Pam Green, from Milford, N.H., reported having an excellent show. She sells primarily “vintage restaurant signage and stuff, and Americana.” She has been doing the show for a few years now and shared, “I love being here… People buy fun stuff, a bit of nostalgia.”
The next edition of Brimfield North in Deerfield is October 11; however, this year’s Traveling Show, Brimfield Adirondacks, will be in North Hudson, N.Y., July 25-27. For information, www.brimfieldliveonline.com.
