Finding Fall

Welcome to Best Friends Antiques fall update. After Blanchard's successful Harvest Festival last week end, we are looking forward to celebrating fall. The trees are showing hints of color and most of the nearby farms have harvested their produce. Roadside stands have a plethora of pumpkins, squash, gourds, corn stalks along with great apples and seasonal vegetables. We are nestled in the midst of huge sugar maples that share their brilliant color with us each year. The shop hosts a barn full of painted and country furniture as well as other unique primitives. The workroom on the south east side of the barn is also being put to use for the first time, as it holds school desks, tables, and an amazing old green cupboard. The little guesthouse is open to offer crocks, blanket boxes, tables, totes, chairs, windows, shutters, and more. Our fire pit has been put to good use during these past cool rainy weeks. It is set up to offer toasted marshmallows and hot cider to visitors who stop by to warm their hands and feet as they browse the grounds of the shop. Please come and celebrate fall with us.

Welcome Spring!

The harshness of this Michigan winter is easily forgotten, as we inhale the heady fragrance of the lilacs. They are in full bloom along the roadside, in our yards and in our hearts, as the memories of our favorite gardeners/grandmothers are awakened by that unique scent. The beauty of flowering fruit trees, and the emerging strength of new hostas quell worry about one final frost. We are all about welcoming the amends nature makes every spring. Best Friends Antique shop is filled with unique items inspired by the anticipation of planting, growing things, and basking in the warmth of the sun. From antique garden tools, sprinklers, and wonderful old watering cans to wicker plant stands and painted "old porch" furniture, the shop welcomes our friends who are emerging from a long winter's nap. Be sure to join us as we celebrate the wonder, hope and promise of the season.

Butter Bowls and Bread Boards

We opened Saturday, April 4, to welcome first visitors of the season who were looking for hints of spring. The sun and crisp fresh air invited a surprising number of people who talked about their quest for simple, but classic ways to add to their current collections and decor. It isn't always possible to point to a single "favorite," but this week end it was definitely primitive wooden butter bowls that received the most attention. Those we sold, ranged from very large to small, all with unique and interesting wear. Why butter bowls and bread boards? The bowls, handmade during a less complex time, represent hard work, durability, beauty and offer multiple uses. The bread boards have similar appeal, but were simply made of wood that was left, and put on the counter to be used as needed. Both of these items originated during a time when life moved a little slower and choices and options were fewer. Bank failures and lay offs loomed then too, but people did the best they could with what they had, and each other. They made it through just fine, and so will we. There is something current and comforting in the message these primitive old pieces send.

Open....sort of

Sandy and Jane stopped by yesterday and asked if they could look through the shop. This is always a dilema for us, and most likely, for other shop owners as well. The shop isn't officially open until the first week in April, so it is still festooned with holiday decorations left to languish in late December when the temperatures dipped too low for the furnace to keep up. In addition, the treasures collected during the winter months are stacked in the aisles, blocking easy access for the early birds who are seeking that special find. Jane and Sandy said that only adds to the fun of discovery. :) We know the disappointment of driving through a town, finding an interesting shop only to have it closed. It was fun to throw open the doors, letting the warm sunshine and our first customers launch the season, even if both spring and the opening of the shop won't be official for a few more weeks.

Alas, "Best Friends Antiques", will need to wait for a few weeks to open, as the icy road and hills of snow need more warm sunny days before we welcome the first customer of the season. We are counting on the first week-end in April. Until then, we will be in the shop pulling together looks for spring that are made of watering cans, wooden garden totes, a variety of weathered step stools, small blanket boxes, unique architectural pieces and yes, a sage green cupboard with a homespun heart and a grapevine wreath. :) I'm still learning how to negotiate the world of the blogger and hope to figure out how to open this to others who are interested in finding and selling American country and primitive antiques.