I spent the day wandering the labyrinth of dusty dirt rows cutting through the grass fields of Brimfield, MA. Row after row, field after field of junk! Well, not all junk. Maybe 80% junk. The other 20% makes it worth the trip though. Actually, the entire Brimfield experience, including the junk, makes it worth the trip. Three one week events each year bring thousands of dealers, collectors and curiosity seekers to the tiny town of Brimfield.

If you haven’t experienced it as yet, Brimfield should be on your bucket list. If you attend the flea markets there enough times you’ll grow to hate it just like the rest of us. Spend several days in a row there and you will be afflicted with something that we dealers call “Brimfield hangover”. It settles in on your way home and lasts for a day or two. It is a state of soreness, lethargy and exhaustion, generally exacerbated by sunburn. There is no remedy, although a large bag of kettle corn purchased on your way out of town has been known to help.

As usual, I only bought a few trinkets, scraps of junk that will someday be incorporated into a steampunk sculpture (if you are unfamiliar with “steampunk art”, please see previous posts on the subject). It has been a few years since I discovered anything good at Brimfield, but we keep looking. It’s also a good idea for me to check in with some of my dealer contacts, just so they don’t forget me. I try to got out there at least one day every season.

For years I set up a booth and sold my own Junk at Brimfield. I no longer do the number of estate liquidations which formerly netted me large quantities of Brimfield-type material, so doing the show now no longer makes sense. The best days I ever had there were when it rained. I always brought a tent and a truck large enough to display my case pieces. Having shelter from the rain always meant the buyers would loiter in my booth and purchase my offerings.

The next Brimfield show dates are September 4th to 9th, 2012.