One Day, One Mall, and Four Booths

April 22, 2016 7 Comments

I love when passion and persistence give birth to inspiration and fulfillment. That’s the experience I had this weekend at my favorite antique mall, Artichoke Annie’s, near Columbia, Missouri.

We headed to Columbia on Saturday morning to meet a new online acquaintance for a furniture trade. I didn't realize it at the time, but the Willett Mid-Century Modern end table she placed in our hands would become the centerpiece for a collection of untold treasures.

My passion for all things Mid-Century Modern has increased in recent months. It is what we crave, and our community has an appetite much the same. As of late, we have increased our efforts to find more mid-century gems. Our goal on Saturday was to do just that.

We headed to Artichoke Annie's, a 30,000 square foot antique mall featuring the wares of 200 dealers. We had already combed one-fifth of the entire mall and had not landed a single find. The process of just looking was enjoyable, so we were not discouraged. We continued to browse the aisles, shelves brimming with relics from the past, when a set of three stools screamed for my attention. 


The price tag read a bit higher than I hoped, so I tried to walk away...only to be pulled back by the magnetic force of vintage perfection. Each time I attempted to move on down the aisle, I was drawn back. I ran my hands across the seats, I swiveled them, and I finally lifted one of the stools from it’s resting place and positioned it for a picture. Two more times I tried to walk away, but it was too late. I was already mentally placing them in the back of our van. Before long, I was making a deal to purchase them.

After the bar stool discovery, the drought reappeared and continued for several aisles (and several hours). We were nearing the end of our time capsule journey with only a few additional finds, but nothing to text home about. Then I spotted the clock.

It was the mid-century design of the clock that first captured my attention. As I evaluated it further, I realized the colors were similar to the stools. The set had been moved to the front of the store long before, but I thought they had to be pretty good match. When I finally carried the clock to the front, the cohesion was uncanny.  

I was beginning to feel a bit inspired, but the magic of discovery had really just begun. The next aisle over, I found a pair of small lamps. The Mid-Century Modern vibe and that turquoise color fit perfectly with our growing collection of finds. A room design was emerging. 

As I pulled the lamps down from the shelf, their previous owner (and the purveyor of the booth I stood in) came walking around the corner. She walked up and asked what else I was looking for. I gave a short explanation of our goals and she immediately led me to a pair of orange table lamps. 

 And this fantastic lamp that was on the opposite end of the mall in another booth:

As we gathered our finds together at the front of the store to check out, I realized just how much our passion and persistence had paid off. This collection of items, pulled from the contents of four different booths, only increased my craving for Mid-Century Modern. My mission for the day had been more than fulfilled, and I walked away from Artichoke Annie's Antique Mall with a smile on my face. 

See the full feature collection on our website by clicking the picture above. 

You can also see even more of our Mid-Century Modern items here!

 

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