Big Red Barn Blog

We went on our last road trip, garage sale of 2022 last Friday. The Kan-Okla 100 Mile Garage Sale. We started in Coffeyville, Kansas, and ended in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We got a car load of great items, made some new friends, went to some towns we had never been to before, and enjoyed a beautiful day! We took the traditional selfie in Coffeyville and hit the road early Friday morning.

***Starting the Day in Coffeyville, Kansas***

This sale was very organized and sales were fairly easy to find. We did not leave the road too much searching out garage sales. There were several large flea market type sales, out in the middle of a pasture. Although these are fun and enjoyable, you are less likely to find a great buy there. The best buys of the day were at a “HUGE” garage sale in someone’s backyard just north of Dewey, Oklahoma. We bough a lot of glassware, Fire King Charm, depression glass, Pyrex, 1950s style cocktail shakers, Forest Green Fire King, a Tom’s Peanut Jar, Halloween decor, flatware, and lots more!

We found the coolest little antique shop in Dewey, Oklahoma. She had things in her shop that we had not seen in years. She had some fabulous costume jewelry, Weiss, Florenza, Eisenberg, Trifari and more. Lots of old jars, Frankoma, crock bowls, linens, pottery, primitives, kitchen gadgets, and more. It was one of the best antique browsing experiences of my life. It’s in downtown Dewey, Oklahoma. On the south side of the street. You really can’t miss it! If you’re ever passing through Dewey, it’s a MUST stop!

Now for some garage sale pointers. If you are a part of something like this or even are having your own sale, if you do not mark ANYTHING, a lot of people are not going to ask you about a price! My advice is to at least mark a few things so people can get an idea of your pricing scheme. After about two hours of solid garage sales, people are getting tired of asking you how much something costs. They will probably just skip your booth and go on to the next one!

Also, accurate signage matters. When you are going to a long garage sale event, there are many, many choices. If your sign is sloppy, falling over, or gives me NO idea of where your sale is, I’m probably not coming!

We made great buys along the road and our car started filling up a bit after about four or five hours. We brought boxes, crates, and paper to wrap and safely get things home this time.

This was a great day. We bought some very rare pieces of cast iron, fabulous costume jewelry, oil fence signs, tins, hard to find glassware, old jars, tin toys, insulators, and more. Consider checking out one of these sales next year. Oklahoma has a few now and it’s a great opportunity to visit small towns across the state!

Stay tuned for news of the next Big Red Barn Sale! Announcement in the next couple of days!!

Jackie

Collecting

Big Red Barn

August 17, 2022August 17, 2022 Big Red Barn Blog

Summer is a busy time for those in the resale business. We are all busy buying and prepping for fall sales. The Big Red Barn is no exception. We have hit the road this summer and found a lot of garage sales, auctions, tag sales, clean outs, and more this summer.

We hope to have our next sale in mid to late September, weather permitting. This is a preview of the next sale! As well as some thoughts on the business.

***Prepping for the Next Big Red Barn Sale***

Deciding what to buy is one of the hardest things about this business. I have mentioned in other posts, research is a critical component to this business. You need to be aware of what is hot in the markets and be prepared for it to change in a flash. Although some items remain consistent sellers, other things can go south quickly.

About 20 years ago when we started in this business, ornate glassware such as Fenton and McKee was fetching top dollar. Art pottery, McCoy and Hull, were popular and sought after. And, vintage china patterns such as Noritake or Lenox was also very popular. Today, these items might still sell, but not what they were twenty years ago!

***Furniture, Pennants, Signs, License Plates, & More***

Garage sale events, like Antique Alley and the 100 Mile Garage Sale, were back this year. We hit several of these as well as other big buying opportunities this summer. We have found a lot of great items to sell at the Stillwater Antique Mall and the Big Red Barn!

Fire King Jadeite, Fiesta, and Pyrex are still very desirable and Jadeite and Pyrex prices have skyrocketed. If you find a piece of vintage Pyrex or Jadeite at a reasonable price, do not hesitate to buy it. Pyrex is still rather plentiful, but very pricey. Sometimes you get lucky! I found a box of Pyrex at a recent sale. There were some pieces I have really not seen before (the orange refrigerator dish/casserole). Some of the Pyrex was not quite what I like to sell at the Antique Mall and will be found at the Big Red Barn. Jadeite is also pricey and has become very hard to find.

***Pyrex at the Stillwater Antique Mall***

Currently, I sell a lot more farmhouse type of items, such as old canning jars, doilies, kitchen gadgets, primitives, baskets, etc. These have been popularized through many of the home renovation shows that feature farmhouse style homes.

Our Big Red Barn sale inventory is a bit more rustic. Shoppers seem to love the eclectic nature of our items. I have tried to give a preview of some items for sale at our next sale. Of course, the Pyrex, is available at the Stillwater Antique Mall! Our barns are getting full. We’ve been sorting, pricing, and cleaning for the past several months.

And, I hope to make a few more buying trips before our sale. Stay tuned!

Jackie

Uncategorized

Peaches

July 30, 2022August 16, 2022 Big Red Barn Blog

Last week we told you that some very nice family friends gifted us with a large amount of fresh peaches. This last week we were able to use gevery last one of them in some really delicious ways!

We started by trying out a freezer jam recipe we found on Pinterest. There are tons of recipes for this so we picked one we thought sounded good to us. After making and trying the first batch we turned right around and made another batch. It was fairly simple to make with only the peeling and pitting of the peaches being the time consuming part.

Next we wanted to can some pie filling to have all year long. We made the pie filling and used lemon juice as the preservative. We were able to can fourteen jars of pie filling. We can’t wait to try it in a pie soon. We’ve got a really good pie crust that came from the family of the people who gave us the peaches.

We then had one bag left and decided to make one last round of freezer jam. It is really that good that we made three rounds of it. There are so many recipes out there for things you can do with peaches. Once the peaches on our property come in we will have so many ways to use them. I definitely want to try to make a peach crumble and of course peach Bellini’s!

What are some ways you all have used fresh peaches? We would love to hear any different ideas to put this delicious fruit to good use!

Uncategorized

A Little Bit of Everything

July 20, 2022July 21, 2022 Big Red Barn Blog

I hope everyone has been having a great summer so far. We have been busy here on the farm. I wanted to update you on what we’ve been up to the last couple of weeks!

My sister, her husband and my nephew came to visit for the Fourth of July. When they first arrived we hosted a 40th birthday party for my brother-in-law. It was a fun gathering with a nice appetizer hour, delicious buffet and a red velvet cake for dessert. We then had a great Fourth filled with tons of great food, amazing friends and a pretty spectacular fireworks show. The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday and we always go all out. I’ve been experimenting with decorated sugar cookies and I feel like these came out pretty well!

We have been getting a ton of tomatoes from our garden and decided to make several batches of marinara. We are hoping to make plenty to last us throughout the year until next summer. We always share our jars of marinara with friends and family as well so we need to make a lot. Hopefully we will continue to get a steady supply. We also planted pumpkins this last weekend and will be keeping eye out for them this fall. We will update you on how those go and how you can use them in various ways.

One day I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to try my hand at some cinnamon rolls. I’ve never made cinnamon rolls from scratch and thought they would be delicious and a nice challenge. For my first attempt they turned out really well. I’ll have to do a future post to share the recipe with you all.

So far the first half of the summer has been busy and full of fun. We are looking forward to the rest of the summer. We just had a family friend drop off a ton of peaches. Next week we’ll let you know how we use them up. Here’s to the dog days of summer and making plenty more memories!

-Cristie