Sunday 5/23 Update - CLOVER CANCELLED

With the threat of persistent showers forecast throughout the day, I have decided to cancel the Market today.   It's a tough call, but the risk to our sellers' merchandise just isn't worth taking.

We hope you'll join us at our next two events on 6/6 (the same day as the Ardmore Blossoms community celebration) and our last event of the season on 6/20.  We'll be back again in the fall!

Clover Market THIS Sunday, 5/23

We have an amazing group of sellers lined up for this Sunday's Clover Market, with a little bit of something for everyone... antiques, art, vintage clothing (NEW this market), antique and vintage jewelry, handcrafted jewelry (NEW this market), architectural salvage, and "upcycled" furniture. Our featured nonprofit this week is the Lower Merion Conservancy.

We will NOT have any parking available at the Schauffele Plaza lot given the number of participating sellers, but will have close by parking at the Cricket Terrace lot, along Rittenhouse Place, and in the large lot behind the Philly Spots Club.

At the moment, the weather is looking a little "iffy" so please check back here Sunday morning for any updates or cancellations in case of persistent rain or any other dangerous conditions. If it's just a threat rain here or there, we'll be on! Hope to see you Sunday.

Scheduled sellers include: A Square Deal - art, Chairloom - furniture, Cullen & Wolfe - furniture and accessories, Dae Rebeck - art, Forget Me Nots - furniture and decorative accessories, Groundwork Group - upcycled furniture, Jill Gural - decorative accessories, InLiquid - art, Karen Love Cooler- art, Kitsch N. Kaboodle - furniture, Lesley Haas - paper art, Lura Jewelry- handcrafted jewelry, Malenas Unique Boutique - vintage clothing and jewelry, Nannygoat Antiques- furniture and accessories, Open Air Living - furniture and accessories, Salvation Nation - vintage jewelry, Sara Parker Antiques - furniture and accessories, Scout and Annie - furniture, Vintage Frames & Finds - frames and furniture

Whew - that's MUCH better!

It's the little things that really make my day...like the new, much more official looking Clover Market street sign.  It'll be proudly marking our spot on Lancaster Avenue on Market days.  Fingers crossed this weather moves out before Sunday!

Looking for Artisans

While we have always accepted sellers of traditional decorative arts such as painting and photography, I just wanted to reiterate that we are also accepting a limited number of high quality artisan crafts.  This would include functional and utilitarian items or those which use natural media such as wood, clay, glass, textiles, and metal.  Specifically, acceptable crafts would include studio pottery, jewelry, wearable art, metal work, weaving, sewing, wood working, glass blowing, and glass art.  If you're interested in participating, just check out the link at right with our seller info and policies.

10 Questions For......Christine Edmonds of trove

Christine Edmonds, Meg Newell, and Rebecca Bancroft of trove

How Did You Get Into The Business?
Meg, Rebecca and I all live within a few blocks of each other in a sweet town called Newtown. We knew each other casually from neighborhood parties, discovered a mutual love of home furnishings, vintage items, flea markets and wanted a fun job with a lot of flexibility. Meg has four children, Rebecca three, and I have 2.

Business Name Inspiration?
All of the things we had gathered were a treasure trove of fabulous updated vintage pieces. Treasure trove sounds a little goofy, so we simplified it to just trove.

Favorite Blogs/Websites You Regularly Follow?
Decorno, Apartment Therapy (they did a nice bit on us, but of course that has nothing to do with the fact that we like them). I would like to list a lot more, but we are so busy shopping/sanding/priming/painting/promoting and thinking of what the heck is for dinner that we don't have time to read many blogs. We are all pretty excited when our Elle Decor arrives in the mail, and were pretty sad when Domino folded.

Favorite Designers?
Kelly Wearstler, Darryl Carter, Windsor Smith

Favorite Piece in Your Own Home?
My green chenille sofa. When my husband and I were furniture shopping, we laughed out loud when we saw it..... it is curvy and huge and the size of a twin bed.... who would buy something so monstrous? Then we sat in it and giggled and then we bought it. It is like having an extra guest bed in the living room, it is so comfy and long. If you are under 6 feet tall you have to take off your shoes and put your feet up.  It requires a commitment.

How Would You Describe Your Personal Style?
Eclectic vintage/modern American. Maybe I should add "sporty". Since Thanksgiving my dining room has been a ping pong table. When a damask tablecloth is on it, you really can't tell!

Top 3 Desert Island Necessities?
Fully loaded iPod, with lots of Dr. Dog and Citizen Cope. Rebecca's Kindle with 1000 books loaded on it and a few cases of unoaked chardonnay. And I would really like to bring my husband- he is great company.

Future Plans for Your Business?
We want to establish stronger relationships with the design community. We find amazing pieces every day. Just today I bought a huge free standing old-school blackboard with oak framing and a regency white marble-topped round cocktail table. We really try to buy only what we love. I am headed to a month of Austrian/French flea markets in July. I'll go with empty suitcases and a lot of hope. We'd also like to figure out where to store all of our treasures so Meg's husband can get to his lawnmower without moving 20 bureaus. I just read that Kelly Wearstler has a 10,000 square foot warehouse. That upset me tremendously. Why can't WE have that???

Why Participate in Clover Market?
We already know and love all of our Newtown friends/ neighbors..... how many adorable small chairs or alabaster lamps does one need? We wanted to reach out and meet some new friends who are 30-40-50 minutes away. We are a great weekend destination as our town is historic- and we have great restaurants, clothing shops and farm markets. We are also open by appointment, so people sometimes grab some friends, hop in the car and visit. Last week a couple from California came. They were staying in Philadelphia, saw the article in Philadelphia Magazine and drove up to see us. They bought small unbreakable things that would fit in their suitcase.

Fantasy Purchase (e.g. if I had unlimited funds, I'd...)?
I would love 2 of the Arne Jacobsen egg chairs. My husband and I were in the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen last year, and it is littered with dozens of them. They were designed in the late 50s but look very hip and they are comfortable, a fact that many people (including myself) often forget when selecting a chair. Probably in black leather so they would last forever.

Finally, how can people find you?
We are in Cape May at West End Garage. We designed the living room at the Princeton Designer House - open 'til May 23rd. We have a big barn sale coming up May 21-22-23 and we'll be back at Clover Market on June 6th. Best bet is to go to our website and sign up to get our monthly emails or become a fan on Facebook. If you hate email, you could just look at our home page now and then...all the info is there.

Malena's Unique Boutique

Starting our vintage apparel off with a bang is Malena's Unique Boutique from West Chester PA.  Malena's features personally handpicked vintage apparel and jewelry and is owned and operated by Malena Martinez, who started collecting at the tender age of 12.  She has done course work at both F.I.T. and Parsons School of Design and holds a BFA in fashion design from Pratt Institute in NY.  Malena's has received numerous awards including the "Best of the Main Line" for vintage clothing and jewelry (2008) and the Best of Philly Magazine (2006).  Can't wait to see what she brings to Clover Market on May 23rd!

Exterior shot of the store

A beautiful vintage Ferragamo scarf

A selection of her vintage costume jewelry

Featured Collectible - Industrial Cogs and Gears

I thought it might be fun from time to time to highlight an item which has been featured at Clover Market (or is being sold by one of our sellers) to give you some inspiration for how this item might be used in your home.  This week I'm featuring industrial cogs, a long-time favorite of mine for their graphic and sculptural quality.  Allison from Nannygoat lent me a few of their cogs, pulleys, and gears last night which I just casually grouped together on the stone ledge outside my house:

My favorite use of the industrial cog, by far, was this application by designer Thom Filicia who used them in a beach house foyer for sculptural appeal and to visually link the first and second floors of an open entryway.  This photo has literally been in my inspiration file for years.  I can't even imagine how difficult the installation was on this one as I can vouch, after lifting the ones from Nannygoat out of my trunk last night, that these can get quite heavy!

Photo courtesy of Eric Piasecki

Another interesting application I have seen is the use of the cogs as a freestanding sculpture.   A pair or trio of these on a deep windowsill, casual tabletop setting, or even placed on a console table behind a sofa would be really cool, as shown in the photo below.  Just search on industrial cogs on 1stdibs.com and you will see how popular these are.

Photo courtesy Alhambra Antiques

The clock shown below is a reproduction, but imagine using real cogs and creating functional, beautiful art with real patina.  If you were so inclined, I'm sure you could find a simple working clock face and install it into one of the cogs, and hang the other cogs on the wall nearby to make them look connected.

You could also create a whole wall sculpture using cogs of different sizes, shapes, and materials - think wood, iron, large and small, all grouped together.  A really large cog could be made into an interesting coffee or side table with the addition of a glass top and base.  A mirror could be added (just saw one of those on 1st Dibs for nearly $1100).  Smaller cogs could be used as paperweights or to hold down a pile of magazines on a coffee table.  The possibilities are endless!  

I hope you'll come to the Clover Market and be inspired by the obvious - and not so obvious - "finds" that abound from our sellers.  And if you're interested in any of the cogs (if I don't decide to keep them here at my place first - ha!), please contact Nannygoat directly at info(at)nannygoatalley.com or stop by their tent at the next Market on May 23rd.

Week 3 Market Wrapup

Wind, wind, go away!   Well, we had fun anyway - nothing a large coffee (or three) couldn't cure.  Thanks to everyone who came out, even though conditions were less than optimal and many of you had Mothers' Day plans.  We appreciate the support and hope you'll stop by again on 5/23.  We have a large group of sellers - both new and returning -  and our fingers are crossed for 70 and sunny!!

Chairloom never fails to delight our buyers - a real mix of traditional and mid-century pieces with fantastic fabric choices - bright, graphic, and totally original

Mint condition factory pendants from Olde Good Things - a pair would be amazing over a large island.

One of two regal garden lions from Ellason Antiques - I picture these flanking an entryway or sitting atop one of the Main Line's many beautiful stone walls at a driveway entrance.

From new seller Scout and Annie - I loved the unusually shaped fan back and caning.

The always-fresh inventory at Salvation Nation

Beautiful pieces from new seller Groundwork Group.   Their tables would be perfect for adding a relaxed vibe and patina to a room.  Zinc, recycled barnwood, and whitewashed finishes galore.

Chair caning demonstration from craftsman Nicholas Thaete (Cane and Rush)

A bright little trio from new seller Open Air Living.  How fun would these be in your kitchen?

Dan from Kitsch-N-Kaboodle shows Liz Williams some of his glassware and decorative smalls.

Max and Cleo check out Katherine O'Hara's glass kites.

More and more kept coming out of Kitsch and Kaboodle's truck as the day progressed!

I loved this faux tortoiseshell shelf from Open Air Living - I'd use this for holding toiletries (lotions, perfumes - the pretty stuff) in a bathroom or even for a small bar setup 

Many great pieces from Tommy Sheldon photography.  

Tommy, I eat my words - I was sure your tent was going down!

Is it time for a cocktail yet?  (Molly Worth, Tommy Sheldon & Julianne Rowe)

Lura Jewelry Debut 5/23

Jewelry designer Megan Steer is a Wayne, PA native currently residing in New York who works primarily in sterling silver and bronze with precious and semi-precious stones.  She is one of Clover Market's new artisan crafters  - we plan to have a few high quality "nontraditional" artists at future markets.  Megan first studied jewelry design in high school and then went on to Parsons School of Design and FIT.   She notes on her website that "I love to take seemingly delicate motifs such as roses, vines or smoke, and give them substance. I find inspiration everywhere from ancient weaponry to Glam Rock to the Art Nouveau movement. Where others may see imperfection I see mystery."

Much more at Megan's website and Etsy shop.  

Clover Market Expanding to Vintage Clothing!

In designing a room, I have always loved to mix in old with new, high with low, traditional with modern. A lucite table with a woven chair. A mahogany dining table on a seagrass rug. A thrift store find next to an heirloom piece. It's the mix that really keeps it interesting. Let's ban catalog-only design, for our homes and for ourselves!! That's what Clover Market is all about.

And so it goes with fashion, too. In the same spirit of celebrating all things vintage, we are looking to expand and are now seeking sellers of high quality vintage (c. 1900 - 1980's) clothing and accessories. We are open to a range of items from true designer label to more "affordable treasures", as long as all of the clothing is in perfect or near perfect condition and has been carefully edited and selected.

Sellers, please check out the application at right or send me an email with a few pictures of your proposed items to theclovermarket (at) gmail.com and we can discuss whether Clover Market is the right fit for you.

Vintage style icon Zooey Deschanel photo courtesy of blog.modcloth.com

New From Chairloom

Roberta Roller Rabbit Big Cata fabric - another beauty!  At Clover this Sunday.

Clover Market on NBC's 10! Show

The Clover Market was on the 10! Show today (we're at the 1:40 mark).  Huge thanks to Rachel Schwartz for covering us as a perfect Mother's Day outing or a place to find a unique gift for the special mom in your family!   Antiquing + brunch = my idea of perfection.  The weather is looking great and we have a nice mix of returning sellers and newbies for this weekend.  Hope to see you there.

New From Salvation Nation

Get to the May 9th Market right on time if you want to take one of these beauties home!  A sneak peek from Salvation Nation...

A stunning 1950's era platinum ring with a yellow 6 carat oval citrine and 40 round cut diamonds set in tear-drop shaped boxes.

Amazing costume piece - silver tone medallion with ivory and white beads, chain tassles and triple strand beading

Wonderful color and light in this fantastic floral pendant - perfect for spring!