Summer for most college kids means taking off to Mexico or something like that. Not for me. I couldn’t possibly care less about going to Cancun and drinking my weight in Miller Lites. Instead, summer means going to the big Portland antique show at the Expo Center as put on by the people at Palmer-Wirfs with my dad. The summer show has, in addition to the buildings, the upper portion of the parking lot is also chalk full of booths, for about 1400 booths to check out. This summer, like summers it the past, the antique show fell on the same weekend as the Baxter Historic Races at Portland International Raceway, and we attend both, so time spent at the antique show was fairly limited. Gates opened at 9:00 AM, and we arrived around 8:20 and the line was already extremely long…as you can see the white topped tent is the entrance…after standing in line for forty minutes, I took a gander behind us to see how much the line had grown…as you can see, it had gotten even longer.

For those who have never been Expo is an overwhelming experience. All kinds of people from all over (there was a couple from Hawaii was in line behind us) and they are all looking for different things. If you’re into collecting and if you live on the west coast, Expo is the place to go.Usually you’ll find just about anything and everything relating to what you’re into, and heck, you might even find something you didn’t think you were looking for! For myself, since I collect a very wide range of items, I rarely go in with something in mind to find…and this show I came out with some wonderful items for fabulous prices!

The Finds

Fiberglass Lampshade

This was a steal at only $18.00! I had seen several multi-tier fiberglass shades at the show for an average price of about $55.00 or so. Currently, I have more shades than I have actual lamps, so I play a little game of musical lampshades every time I get a new one. I put this one on the tri-pod lamp my boyfriend built from a $5.99 tri-pod and a $5.00 lamp – both from Goodwill.

Nardon Stockings

Pair of black Nardon Stockings, still in the box with tissue paper, for the wonderfully low price of $1.00! Unfortunately, they are not seamed, but they are fantastic never the less.

Penny’s Gaymode Stockings

More stockings! Here we have three pairs of Penny’s brand, Gaymode stockings. All three pairs are in their original package still sealed! These stockings are seamed! Making them more desirable. I purchased these at the same booth as I did the Nardon pair, same price – $1.00 per pair, for a total of $3.00!

More Cuties In Arms book

More Cuties In Arms is a book full of war-time cartoons dealing with women by E. Simms Campbell. These cartoons were originally published in Esquire, and then put together for Cuties in Arms and the second installation seen here. E. Simms Campbell was one of the first successful black cartoonists. He did many other ads and cartoons.The book is dated 1943, and was only $1.00. The downside is that it is missing its dustjacket.

Ladies Black Hat

This little number was only $4.00! Woven out of a plastic straw material, this hat is unmarked, and slightly damaged in the back. It also requires from creative bobby pin work to keep it in place until I find a good, and reasonably priced, hat pin for it.

JohnnyE Juniors Dress

For myself, this dress was the find of the day! At only $12.00 this dress as it all! Wonderful pearl accents combined with a woven poka-dot pattern brings this three-piece outfit together (dress, jacket, and belt). A label is sewn into the jacket portion, but not the dress. It reads “JohnnyE Juniors”. There are no tears or rips to speak of any any of the pieces, however there is a stain on the front portion of the skirt, which I have not yet tried to remove. For detail images, please see my flickr account.

Well, that about sums it up. Of course, there were many items I have much liked to purchase, but money was a limitation – as you can tell by the prices of the items I did purchase, I love a bargain! Expo is a place where you may find a bargain, or you’ll pay through the nose to get your hands on something, but nevertheless, it is the place to go here in Oregon in terms of antique shows! Next show is in October!

The rest of the weekend was spent at Portland International Raceway (just next door to the Expo center) for the Baxter Historic Races, which my dad and I have been going to for ten years or so. It is a wonderful opportunity to see great show cars and watch old cars race. Sunday was curtailed by rain, however it was fun regardless. It also poses a great opportunity for photography. Currently, Patrick is in the process of getting a gallery page up and running for me so I can post my photography portfolio. So, look for that soon where I’ll have pictures from this year!