They travel all the way from Australia!

Someone I know likes to refer to the town of Shipshewana as “Shop”-shewana because that’s what people love to do here.

But while it’s true that the Flea Market, auctions and all the unique shops in town offer almost endless shopping, this town is more than that.

I was reminded of that last week when I stopped in my friend’s business downtown. He was telling the adjacent shop owner the story of how he and his wife met and eventually married. As I listened to him tell his story, two tourists stopped to listen, too. One of the ladies contributed her own funny story and afterwards her friend commented, “This is why we love to come here… people don’t take the time to stop and talk where I’m from.”

It’s good to know we work in a town with a reputation for friendliness. Just ask the couple who travel all the way from Australia just to visit the flea market and downtown shops and stay in our RV Park … to experience it.

And it’s good to know we can also offer a neighborly experience to those who lose things at the Trading Place.

Sometimes we receive thank you notes for mailing items back to their owners. We received one such note last week after returning a Hanna Montana wallet to a 10-year-old girl. Her card read, “Thanks for sending me my wallet. I would have died if you didn’t find it.”

We’re so glad we prevented that from happening!

On the other hand, there are some things we can’t do, like “less rain” and “valet parking” as suggested on a few flea market comment slips. Unfortunately, our hands are a bit tied on those topics!

But just know we are happy to serve you and we’re doing our best to contribute to your “Shop”- shewana experience!

For a change of pace …

It’s no secret that, in addition to the Shipshewana Flea Market, we are well-known for our antique auctions. And if you thrive in the loud and fast-paced atmosphere of eight to ten auctioneers selling simultaneously at the Miscellaneous & Antique Auction, that’s just the place for you!

But if you want a slower, relaxed atmosphere while shopping for antiques, you might want to visit our Antique Gallery across the street, nestled just north of the Farmstead Inn and behind our new Trading Place Pavilion.

It’s not loud and it’s not fast, just quietly elegant … and big – 2-story big with 31,000 square feet and over 100 vendors!

You will find a huge selection of quality antiques while you leisurely stroll the clean aisles. You’ll also find Elsie, who’s been there since it opened in 1998, and the rest of the friendly staff available when you need them.

So if you’re looking for a slower and relaxed atmosphere and perhaps something new to do while waiting for the Flea Market to open (May 7th), check out the Antique Gallery, Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm, now through April, and 9am to 6pm, May through October.

Rare Victorian Style Stained Glass Window

1900s Japanese Whistle Cups

Fire Bell from the 1930-40s

For more information on these antiques and a sampling of more, visit http://www.rubylane.com/shop/tradingplaceantiqu

It all started with 6 pigs and 7 cows …

Yesterday a caller said he stumbled upon our Web page while doing an Internet search for flea markets. Apparently the small town he is from has an unimpressive flea market.  He said he is impressed by the quality of Shipshewana Flea Market and amazed by the enormity of it. I explained the other facets of our business and he wondered how we grew to be so large and successful.

So here’s the story:

In 1922 a man named George Curtis sold six pigs, seven cows and several head of young cattle at his home. His auction business grew so quickly that four years later he built a barn at the same location. He saw a need for a restaurant, so in 1930 he opened one in his garage.

George sold the business in 1946 to Fred Lambright, who, a year later, built a new sale barn (where we are presently located). At that time people sold flea market items out of their car trunks, so a roof was built for the flea market. In 1950, Fred built an Auction Restaurant on the premises, which seated 50-60 people.

Fred’s nephew, Walter Schrock, bought the auction in 1961 and expanded the flea market grounds in 1968.

1960s Flea Market (photo by Leonard Haarer)

The market grew from 100 to 400 vendors, and the antique auction increased from 4 to 10 auctioneers. In 1978, a 200’ x 80’ building was built for the antique auction and then was enclosed in the fall of 1980 and included a snack bar.

Fred Lambright’s son and grandsons, Robert, Keith and Kevin, purchased the auction in 1981. In 1984, they expanded the flea market to 1000 spaces and the restaurant to seat 110 people. Four years later they built a new restaurant (our current one, which seats 250). The old restaurant was renovated into the corporate offices.

In 1992, Robert Lambright lost a battle with cancer, leaving Keith and Kevin to run the business.

In 1997, the Lambrights expanded the business to include an 85-room hotel,  the Farmstead Inn, which was built across the street from the auction. A year later, the 31,000 sq. ft. Antique Gallery was built next door to the Farmstead Inn. Then in 2004, 69 rooms and a 15,000 sq. ft. Conference Center were added to the Farmstead Inn.

In 2008, an RV Park with 70 full hook-up sites opened on the south side of the flea market.

In 2010, the corporate office building was torn down (old restaurant building) and a section of the Livestock Auction building was rebuilt into the corporate offices. Looking around, it’s hard to believe that our offices were once pig pens!

Finally, in the early spring of 2012, the 9300 sq. ft. Trading Place Pavilion was built on the lawn in front of the Antique Gallery. The Pavilion quickly became home to a summer Farmer’s Market and our Antique Markets and was also rented for a Gospel Music Jam concert. This year we are excited it will be used for upcoming concerts and weddings.

A lot has changed in 90 years!

Ditching Propriety …

One day last week while at an appointment I saw a lady wearing pajama pants.

It’s not much of a shocker these days, I know, but sometimes it still catches me by surprise.

I mean, it’s not like I’ve never left my home in my pajama pants before. I have done it when picking up my son from somewhere.

But I never left my car.

Guess for me it’s just a propriety issue. I might have to ditch the propriety, though, just for this Saturday.

Because this Saturday will be the annual Pajama Sale in Shipshewana … a day when public pajama-wearing is completely acceptable.

Enthusiasts will drag themselves, in their jammies, out of the comfort and warmth of their own homes for a day of shopping sales in Shipshewana. The sales are fun but it might be even more fun seeing the crazy collection of sleep wear roaming about!

It’s become such a celebrated event in our town that many people make it a yearly family tradition and reserve accommodations several months to a year in advance. Our Farmstead Inn is completely full for Friday night!

Now that’s dedication!

Our Antique Gallery also participates by opening regular hours 9am to 5pm and offering a wide variety of discounts from participating vendors and free cookies and coffee, too.

For more information visit www.Shipshewana.com.

Lost Items … Found Friends!

Those who have attended our weekly Miscellaneous & Antique Auction know that it moves along rather quickly. And although this time of year we are down to about 8 auctioneers, the pace is still pretty lively!

Sometimes in all the excitement people lose personal items or accidentally leave their purchases behind. We try our best to get those items back to their rightful owners!

Recently, someone left behind a camera at the auction and called the same day to notify us. As it turned out, someone else had found it and turned it into the office. Not much effort was required on our part … all we did was mail it.

So we were unexpectedly and pleasantly surprised to receive a thank you note … with a gift card attached.  The gentleman was so pleased to have his camera again. He even said we confirmed his opinion that “Shipshewana Auction is the best.”

What a wonderful way to start the day!  The fact that this nice man took the time to thank us just confirms OUR opinion that “our customers are the best!”

And it just goes to show that every little part of our business is important and that you are the ones who make it successful! So thank YOU!

If you’ve never been to our Miscellaneous & Antique Auction, check it out for yourself any Wednesday year-round at 9am (or earlier if you want to preview the items). We will be having a Folk Art Auction in conjunction with our regular Wednesday auction on Feb. 6 at 11 am.  For a list of other upcoming auctions, visit: http://www.tradingplaceamerica.com/auctions.php

Why not plan now?

So it may be too early to think about spring considering we’ve just begun the new year  …  and that the temperature here has dipped to the low teens lately.

But then again, maybe not.

Maybe, like me, you’re dreaming about spring because you’re stuck inside, not being a winter sports and snow person, after all.

And if you’re going to dream about spring, why not dream sitting in one of these …

admiring a garden of these …

while thinking about how to recycle something like this  …

Make your list now of all that you want to accomplish in your garden and outdoor space this year. So when spring finally does roll around, you’ll be ready for  the Land & Lakes Outdoor Garden Show, May 4^th, 8am to 4pm.

This show is held in conjunction with Shipshewana May Fest, and it features vendors of Garden (plants, flowers, landscape items, etc.), Art (glass, pottery, photography, etc.), Green (recycled and earth friendly products, etc.), and Antiques (primitives, furniture, textiles, etc.).

And if you’re interested in becoming a vendor for the show, click here: vendor info

Happy dreaming!

Bet You’ll See Some Amazing Art!

It’s a well-known fact that Northern Indiana weather can be pretty fickle sometimes.

At the beginning of the month we experienced some pretty mild temperatures for December with no sign of any real snow. And it didn’t arrive in time for Christmas, either.

But it’s here now!

We are now under a winter weather advisory with lots of blowing snow … which should keep the temperatures cold enough for the upcoming Shipshewana Ice Festival, Thursday through Saturday.

Tomorrow is slated for Ice Carving throughout town. If you’ve never attended this event before, it’s something to see. Many talented artists work hard throughout the day to display their unique ice offerings throughout town.

Last year, we had some beautiful ice sculptures:

At the Auction Restaurant

At the Antique Gallery

And at the Farmstead Inn

Competition Carving will be held on Friday from 11am to 2pm. Also, many stores will be open tomorrow until 8pm. And from now through Jan. 31, 2013, a purchased Ice Festival pin will get you special discounts in several businesses, including the Farmstead Inn and the Auction Restaurant.

A Chili Cook-off will be held downtown as well on Saturday from 10am to 3pm, which should help warm you up some.

So come on out if you get a chance. Might as well put the winter weather to good use!

Shipshewana Shimmer Walk and other happenings…

So it’s definitely Christmas in Shipshewana.

If the huge colorfully lit tree and beautiful lights downtown didn’t give it away, then the streets filled with shoppers determined to take advantage of the many sales might …

… or some interesting stories:

Today is “Wana Night Out!” with sales that began at 2pm today continuing through 8pm at participating stores.

One excited shopper who stopped in our office on another matter told me how he sleepily dialed the number of a local radio station and was the winning caller during the morning show. So he’s using the gift certificate he won combined with the sales to buy a really good snow shovel.

Smart guy.

And I just heard a story about the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant Christmas tree. Apparently, our restaurant manager’s young grandson took a bite out of one of the homemade ornaments. No worries – it was made of something edible! The bonus is if you come to the restaurant and look for the “bitten” ornament on the tree, you can win some pie as part of the “Shipshewana Shimmer” Christmas Tree Walk now through Dec. 31. Grab a map of Shimmer Walk participants and discover all the beautiful, unique trees throughout town, as well as discounts and some free items.

Finally, if you come to town this Friday or Saturday night, you can see the true Christmas story played live at the Trading Place Pavilion in front of the Antique Gallery. Members of New Life Fellowship Church will perform a Live Nativity at 6:30, 7 and 7:30 pm. If you’ve never seen a camel up close, now’s your chance! Cookies and hot chocolate will be provided for everyone and kids get goody bags.

So come enjoy Christmas in Shipshewana.

All that’s missing now is the snow…

A Celebrated Event!

Christmas is a wonderful time to see and experience Shipshewana …

For the Trading Place, our season begins with our Evening at the Gallery Open House, 6-8 pm the second Friday of November, at the Antique Gallery.

This event usually draws a big crowd and last Friday was no exception.

By 5:20pm the Gallery parking lot was already half full!

When I walked into the Gallery at 5:50pm, I greeted by a sea of people filling the aisles.

I made my way through the crowd, taking note of every little detail of this celebrated event from the pleasant smells of freshly made buttered popcorn and ham sandwiches to the soothing sounds of the Dulcimer group playing on the second floor that drifted downstairs. And as I browsed the aisles, it was quite an effort to keep my hands in my coat pockets and not on the tempting samples of food offered by many vendors: candy, cookies, fudge, brownies, cheese & crackers… and even barbecue meatballs!

There was much to see and touch (and eat, of course) while searching for wonderful gifts for the equally wonderful people on our shopping lists!

From the classic gifts …

… to the ones bringing out our inner child….

 

So many shoppers were smiling and visiting with each other that it felt like a gathering of good friends celebrating the approaching Christmas season and the discounts on the many fine antiques displayed.

When I left at 6:10pm, the parking lot was full and people were parking in the grass. Judging by the crowd, it seemed to me that the Evening at the Gallery is part of the Shipshewana Christmas tradition for many!

“Changing of the Guard” of Seasons

I woke up this morning to a cold, blustery fall day, leaves furiously thrown about by some serious gusts of wind. And it occurred to me that just the other day I praised this wind for so generously gathering the leaves into a neat pile right in front of my garage door.

Then I remembered I never got around to picking up that pile. Whoops …

You’re right … I’m not praising the wind anymore as I now have some unwanted guests taking up residence in my garage!

It reminds me of a line from the classic book, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day:

“I don’t mind the leaves that are leaving; it’s the leaves that are coming.” – Piglet

Sometimes, despite our efforts to stay on top of the leaf situation before winter arrives (and I don’t mean jumping on top of the leaf pile!), the leaves seem to be winning!

And so it goes … this inevitable and somewhat futile exercise leading to the “changing of the guard” of seasons.

Here at the Trading Place, those strong winds seem to usher in our “changing of the guard” of seasons as well. For us, it means the flea market comes to an end (tomorrow and Wednesday are the last days) and we switch gears to some exciting, upcoming events occurring soon for the holidays.

This Saturday will be an Antiques & Collectibles Show held in the Miscellaneous/Antique Auction Barn from 9 am to 5 pm. And next week, we will hold an Antique Specialty Auction, with better quality items, sold in conjunction with our regular Misc. & Antique Auction. We will also host the “Evening at the Gallery” Open House, Nov. 9, at the Antique Gallery, 6 to 8 pm, a fun night with lots of snacks, discounts and door prizes. All are great events to attend to get a jump-start on your Christmas shopping.

So take a break from the yard work and come on out and enjoy yourselves … because it can grow tiresome trying to fight those leaves!