Greensboro Daily Photo

Santa at Summerfield Farms

Santa has already been spotted in Greensboro this year; well, in Summerfield. The above photo was taken at Summerfield Farms at the Vintage Holiday, Vintage Market Days. It was a weekend of fun with vintage and vintage inspired items. While all of the booths were under tents, the weather was perfect for this outdoor event and shoppers were out in droves.

Word has it that Greensboro folks are shopping earlier for Christmas this year. Also, people seem to be making a real effort to shop locally and to purchase gifts with a lot of meaning behind them. With events like the one above, and all of the cute, locally-owned stores, and pop up art events, there are plenty of options to keep your retail dollars in the community. Santa 100% approves of shopping locally. It is as easy for him to fit those local food, art, and craft items in his sleigh as it is for him to have them shipped. It is hard to believe that Christmas is only 35 days away. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Southeast Bottle Club's 2018 Greensboro Bottle Show

Yesterday, the Southeast Bottle Club held their 17th Annual Greensboro Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show at the Yanceyville Farmers Curb Market. There were 160 dealer tables with a selection of everything from antique bottles, jugs, insulators, advertising signs, and other collectibles related to bottles. They not only sold, but gave free appraisals. Appraisals always bring people out, even those who don't collect. The show started at 9am on Sunday and from nine until noon, it was packed. By 2:00 pm, when today's photo was taken, people had left and many dealers had packed up, too.

The upside of crowds dispersing is that dealers have all the time in the world to talk while they are painstakingly wrapping every single bottle by hand. Soda/pop bottles was the largest category offered at the show. Also popular were poison bottles, on average, ranging from $40- $100. Poison bottles were textured, so that people fumbling around in the dark or those whose vision was failing them, could tell by the feel that the bottle contained poison. Old bottles with labels intact are especially valuable. Some vendors had bottles of medicine made right here in Greensboro. If you are a bottle collector, you probably know that Vicks salve was created by Lunsford Richardson, a Greensboro pharmacist in the late 1800s. While he had a total of 21 home remedies, Vicks was the best-selling product. Got bottles? Check you attic and closets. You just may have great-great grannie's medicine bottles filled with a product made in Greensboro. Hold on to your bottles and take them to the show next year to get an appraisal. The show is held the third Sunday in November.

 

 

 

Pleasant Hill

While today's post was taken through the back screen door at Pleasant Hill Antiques, the focus is not so much the antique store, but about finding beauty when and where you least expect it. The antique shop in in an old log cabin that dates back to the 1830s. It is beautifully maintained and is now maintained by the son in law of the man who ran it as far back as twenty years ago.

Located at 3104 Pleasant Ridge Road in Summerfield, this rural piece of land reminds us that nothing is more spiritual and beautiful than nature. In the last 16 years, there has been a decrease of farmland  d by 600,000 acres in North Carolina. As our state's population continues to grow, it will be increasingly important to protect our farm and wood land. If you are in Greensboro, head out and pray or meditate in nature, or on some farmland, maybe even near Pleasant Hill!

Fall Leaves 2018

In Greensboro, we've had an interesting fall this year. At first, the leaves showed no sigh of turning colors. Then We had hurricane weather and rains that toppled trees and blew the leaves off of trees. Finally, there are signs of fall. Even thought the foilage is past peak, you can still find pockets of fall beauty. The above photo was taken on Beaman Place, near Grecade Street and Wendover Avenue. Curiously, on the left hand side of the photo, the leaves are plentiful and colorful. On the right hand side of the photo, the leaves are sparse and the whole scene is more monochromatic. Nature has a way of doing what it wants, especially this time of year.

We've already had a taste of winter, with some near freezing rains and overcast days this week. Yesterday, the skies were beautiful and the weather seemed like a mid-November gift. Hopefully, you will get a chance to get our and enjoy Greensboro's beauty this weekend. It is hard to believe that the above scene was located just off of one of Greensboro's busiest east/west roads. Happy Saturday!

Near Merritt Drive

Today's photo was taken on Spring Garden Street, near Merritt Drive. This part of town has changed considerable, since the cotton mill was torn down, apartments for college students were built up, and Deep Roots Coop moved from this area into downtown. The above building has an auto repair shop. In front of the Calen Servicio Mecanico, a food truck is parked. Food trucks are now quite popular in Greensboro and finding a spot to park them isn't always easy.

The spot is bright and cheerful, especially since this photo was taken on a bright, sunny day, earlier in the year. As you are out and about this weekend, try driving some of the roads in Greensboro that are off your beaten path. You just may find a new shop or service that you want to try out. Happy Friday to our readers in Greensboro and beyond.

Graffiti Under Wendover

 

 

Graffiti is something written or painted, usually with spray paint and without permission. It is often installed quickly, at night, and somewhere it will be seen. Many question whether or not graffiti is actually art. However, with internationally prominent graffiti artists like Keith Haring, Lady Pink, and Banksy, the genre is moving up in status.

Today's Greensboro graffiti is located under Wendover Avenue at Mill Street in Midtown. This isn't part of the mural initiative in that part of town. It isn't a thought-provoking comment by Banksy. No, this is the old-fashioned kind, where people write something that probably only means something to the artist. 7-2-17, what happened on that hot summer day a year and a half ago? While the above scene was not commissioned and is not particularly memorable, there is something appealing to the eye about the cross-like structure with colors that evoke a scene from the American southwest. Wonder what it will look like a year from now!

Susanne Baker's Paper

Yesterday,m we featured wrapping paper. Today, we feature handmade art paper by Susanne Baker. Susanne learned this ancient marbleizing technique, known as Ebru, thirty years ago at the University of Alabama. She has been perfecting her papermaking throughout the years. Susanne sells the paper and journals, notecards, and other items with the paper at the Yanceyville Farmers Curb Market. She sells every weekend and on special events, like the holiday market this past Sunday. You can also reach Susanne through her email at alavee15@hotmail.com     

This genre of aqueous art was first popular in Turkey and Central Asia over a thousand years ago. Susanne, currently teaches English to students whose home language is other than English. She loves her day job. However, her retirement plan is to dedicate herself full time to paper making. Susanne, who also has a library science degree, especially loves books that have marbleized, handmade endpapers. Consider getting some of the paper for your friends who appreciate handmade, beautiful, and local gifts. Below, you can see Susanne's paper used as a backdrop for a photo shoot. 

Innisbrook Wrapping Paper

Those of you in Greensboro with young adult children probably remember the Innisbrook wrapping paper fundraisers when your children were in elementary school. Innisbrook has been making high-quality wrapping paper for about thirty years now. What you may not know is that Innisbrook is a Greensboro company, located near the airport and Gilbarco at 422 Chimney Rock Road. 

The above photo features CEO David A. Worth and his son. They were both out at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market this past Sunday. David was selling wrapping paper at the "Made 4 the Holidays" event, and doing a little public relations for the company. David pointed out that, even though they don't do the school fundraisers any more, wrapping paper sales are on the upswing; possibly due to the fact that people order so much online and like to personalize items before gifting them. Today's artists are really coming up with creative designs for all occasions. Hopefully, Innisbrook will have a table at the "Made 4 the Holidays" event at the Farmers Curb Market on December 2nd, so that shoppers can say  everything about their gifts is local, from the actual items to the paper they are wrapped in!