My Favorite Time Of Year - In A Very Special Place

My sister and her husband first discovered Little Compton and raised their family here. We raised ours on the move as a Navy family. When it came time to retire we decided we had to come to Little Compton. As we were furnishing our home my sister taught me about antiques. She had an antique store here for many years. Before long we knew how we would be keeping ourselves busy while retired - Holly Lane Antiques!

Little Compton is just across the Sakonnet River from Newport where we were raised but it was an area I never visited until my sister lived here. It is definitely a little piece of paradise! No traffic lights and no street signs until someone decided to make them a couple of winters ago. The locals always felt they were unnecessary since they knew their way around.



As you drive the country roads of Little Compton you can't help but be aware of the stone walls - everywhere!















"The stone walls of Little Compton, R.I., a town of 3,593 people across the Sakonnet River from Newport, have been impressing people for a long time. Thomas Church, who represented the town in the colonial legislature in the early 1700's, when it was still part of Massachusetts, told his colleagues that there were enough stone walls to reach from Little Compton to Boston, 74 miles. They refused to believe him, and Church returned home to check his facts.

At the next session of the General Court, he announced that he had been in error: there were enough to reach from Little Compton to Boston -- and back again.

Many of these early walls are still standing, thanks to accidents of Little Compton's history, a location far enough off the beaten track to discourage developers and land too rocky for large-scale farming. They line the wide roads laid out by the first settlers; they surround the open fields that gaze down on the water; they are made of gneiss granite or slate, depending on the part of town, which covers 21.6 square miles, and they continue to impress people."SUSAN ALLPORT, the author of ''Sermons in Stone: The Stone Walls of New England and New York''







The United Congregational Church sits at the center of the Town Common. This town landmark is surrounded by an historical cemetery.
















This cemetery could be the topic of its own blog. These two stones are especially interesting - one being that of Simeon Palmer and the one next to it with an inscription reading - " In memory of Elizabeth who should have been the wife of Simeon Palmer who died Aug 14 1776 in the 64 year of her age"








Little Compton on a sunny September day is my favorite time of year.




Most feel that summer is the special time in this small New England town. Many travel to their summer homes here from throughout the North East and even further. In September the beaches are returned to the seagulls and are perfect for a wonderful beach walk and a warm evening dinner at the beach without the summer crowds.




The local farm stands are bursting with the colors of the season.

















































Among the flowers of September my favorite is the Pee Gee Hydrangea. The large white flowers of the summer turn a wonderful rose in September.



Sunflowers and mums will always be favorites of fall.






I wish I could take you with me for a ride through these country roads on a sunny September day - my favorite time of year here in Little Compton. The trees are just beginning to change color.



























































The days are quickly getting shorter and the afternoon shadows are getting longer.



The signs of what is coming too fast are already here -



And the holly is filled with berries



For Special Antique Holiday Gifts Visit Holly Lane Antiques.

Click on the banner below to visit our internet store at Antique Arts


Also visit our new internet store
Holly Lane Antiques at Ruby Lane

And for Lavender Sachets hand made from antique and vintage linens - a lovely gift visit
Holly Lane Antiques at Etsy


We participate in Antique Shows most weekends during the summer. It is difficult to leave Little Compton but such a nice place to come home to. The sign on our booth prompts many shared memories from our booth visitors of this special place they have visited and they wistfully think about returning some day soon. And recently my husband's doctor commented that he and his wife had driven to Little Compton and it reminded him of driving through England.

For me - Little Compton is a special place to live - Especially In September!

Rain Rain Go Away! - Falmouth Hisorical Society Antiques Show & Newport Antiques Festival At Fort Adams

Holly Lane Antiques was scheduled to participate in the new Newport Antiques Festival at Fort Adams today. What a beautiful site for an antiques show! Situated at the mouth of the Newport Harbor, Fort Adams offers an exceptional panoramic view of both Newport Harbor and the East Passage of Narragansett Bay. That is - on a typical sunny summer day. Not today - heavy rain and winds predicted all day. Sadly, we opted to stay home and avoid a repeat of last weekend.



Last Saturday we were comforted with the weather news that the rain would not make an appearance until 7 pm - long after the Falmouth Historical Society Antiques Show was over. As the show was opening at 9 am and just as we were putting the final touches on our beautiful booth full of all our wonderful treasures the heavens opened. A torrential downpour happened. We consoled ourselves that most of our items were washable and took refuge under our popup tent. The rain came down so heavy and so fast that our popup collapsed under the weight of the water. An antique dealer's worst nightmare! Then the question was how to remove it without damaging all our breakables? Many items were damaged in the process but it could have been much worse.



The rain cell moved on and the sun came out creating a steamy hot day but no more rain! Interestingly, many visitors to our booth had not experienced any rain at all at their homes only a few miles away.



We spent the rest of the day emptying out our pitchers and cups and saucers amazed at how much water they had collected in such a short time. Also, between visitors to our booth, we tried to dry as much as we could of our rain drenched booth. Note the special English tablecloth displayed on the back table. The dye from the table cover ran into it. I have been trying all week to rescue it - no luck! Surprisingly, after sitting in the sun all day most of our items were still wet at packing time. There was just too much moisture still in the air.





This was a day we will not soon forget - one that makes us stop and ask - why do we do this? The answer is simple in that we enjoy our antiques and sharing them with others. Though we also sell our antiques on the internet, there is nothing to equal meeting those who will take them as their own - to share their joy in their find!



Admittedly our experience of last Saturday has made us more than a bit cautious this Saturday. 100% prediction of heavy rain driven by wind - just couldn't do it! Though it is our understanding the show will go on rain or shine for those braver souls than we.


Holly Lane Antiques would love to have you visit our booth at one of our shows to see and touch our special antique items in person. Contact us to be added to our show mailing list at hollyln@sprintmail.com.

And click on the banner below to visit our internet store where many of the items pictured are available for purchase.


Also visit our new internet store
Holly Lane Antiques at Ruby Lane

August Continues - Osterville Historical Society Antiques Show

After being rained out and rescheduled for the following day the Osterville Historical Society Antiques Show took place under beautiful sunny skies. At Holly Lane Antiques we love participating in this show and consider it our favorite. It is a small but very special show in a lovely area of Cape Cod on the grounds of the Historical Society. It is always a well attended show and it is a pleasure to spend the day with such nice people.





Our items were well received and sales were brisk. Our daughter Laurie was visiting from California and her help was welcomed - allowing us time to visit with many returning customers.





As always our large collection of early English White Ironstone was very popular as were our flow blue and blue transfer ware pieces. Depression glass and our lovely English table linens also proved to be favorites among our booth visitors.



After a fun day with antiques we were able to join three of our daughters and two of our grandchildren for dinner at the beach - a perfect ending for another busy August day!





Holly Lane Antiques would love to have you visit our booth at one of our shows to see and touch our special antique items in person. Contact us to be added to our show mailing list at hollyln@sprintmail.com.

And click on the banner below to visit our internet store where many of the items pictured are available for purchase.


Also visit our new internet store
Holly Lane Antiques at Ruby Lane

Holly Lane Antiques Returns To SoWa

Holly Lane Antiques returned to the SoWa Antiques Market earlier this month. We again enjoyed the atmosphere at this market. Simply - everyone is so happy in these surroundings with the combined Antiques Market, Arts and Crafts Market and Farmers Market. On this Sunday there was the addition of many artists booths from New York. We found the visitors to our booth to be a pleasant mix of local Bostonians along with summer tourists who were delighted to have found SoWa.

The wind breaks added to the windows helped greatly to eliminate the breakage we had experienced at previous SoWas. However, the pigeons are still attracted to our white ironstone. It is a wonderful collection for all to be excited about - even pigeons!



The highlight of my day was my conversation with Joyce - a lovely lady who is so lucky to have inherited a large set of antique Haviland Feu de Four china. Few de Four is rare and beautiful Haviland china in which the flowers and colors vary. However, they all have the soft muted tones that result from the manner in which they were made. Transfers were placed on top of the glaze with an additional firing at the foot of the kiln where the temperature was lower. This process itself being quite costly resulted in this china not being produced to the extent other Haviland china was produced. It has become very popular among collectors today and is quite scarce making for a difficult search. Joyce realizes how special her collection is and is loving being able to have it to enjoy. She remembers as a child it was always kept very high and out of reach.

An example of Haviland Feu de Four china


We will return to the SoWa Antiques Market September 13th and look forward to spending the day with new and old friends.




Click on the banner below to visit our internet store where many of the items pictured are available for purchase.



Also visit our new internet store
Holly Lane Antiques at Ruby Lane

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/hollylaneantiques

August ~ A Busy Month Of Antique Shows And Family Visits

Holly Lane Antiques began August at the Little Compton Antiques Festival In Little Compton Rhode Island. This antiques show is held at the Sakonnet Vineyards and the combination of good wine and fine antiques proved to be a perfect match.

The preview party Friday evening happened during a torrential downpour. We were under a large tent. The rain on Friday brought a perfect clear and sunny Saturday for the antiques show in this charming area of Rhode Island.



Many of our favorite pieces found new homes that day including a White Ironstone President Shape pitcher, a gray Transferware pitcher and a Wedgwood pitcher with a hound handle. It was a day for pitchers!







The favorite part of my day was a visit by my almost 99 year old father who came by to see just what was it his daughter was doing most every weekend. Our daughter Amy made the visit possible.



Our perfect day ended with Dad and Amy enjoying Little Compton's annual fireworks display.





Holly Lane Antiques would love to have you visit our booth at one of our shows to see and touch our special antique items in person. Contact us to be added to our show mailing list at hollyln@sprintmail.com.

And click on the banner below to visit our internet store where many of the items pictured are available for purchase.



Also visit our new internet store
Holly Lane Antiques at Ruby Lane