Texas is a big state. Since starting to spend part of my time there when covid began/ I left LA, I have been seeking out the parts of Texas that might offer me inspiration and joy. The Round Top antiques show is something that has come up over and over throughout this search, and I was excited to come together with my two friends to explore the show for the first time. My dear pal Mary Hollis, her partner Spencer, and I headed up early in the morning the last day of the show not sure what to expect. Our first mistake was going the last day of the show, what we definitely did not mess up on is bringing a huge cooler full of snacks and drinks to keep us fueled throughout the day (all credit on that goes to Spencer). We started at The Halles by Paper City, a VIP lounge that offered a lovely sitting area, clean bathrooms, a champagne bar, food truck, and full bar. We picked up our swag bags and were offered some hot tips by the paper city crew of where to start exploring based on our interests. Mary Hollis and Spencer are renovating an amazing 200 year old home in the old 6th ward of Houston, so they were interested in Architectural elements, and I was interested in finding vintage jewelry that might have some quirky inspirational charm, as well as any unique textiles. The morning we arrived is when we found out the show is actually many miles wide, fun in theory, but also totally overwhelmed with where to start and what vendors to prioritize for a one day excursion. We found out highlights to be The Marburger Farm Location with tons of wonderful high end estate vendors, as well as my business crush Arloom showcasing an array of gorgeous repurposed textiles of which I bought one fabulous top, and Mary Hollis did too. After finding a full size vintage Merry Go Round (that I promptly texted a photo of to my boyfriend suggesting we keep it in our backyard to which I was met with a 'haha'), and Spencer finding the perfect old german window frame to fix up and install in their new but old kitchen, we found ourselves out of time with lots of vendors packing up early for the last day. Takeaways for next year are to rent a house, stay a couple of days, and don't start the last day when every vendor is exhausted and burnt out and ready to head out. One perk of the last day is the willingness of vendors to make a deal as they were ready to get packing, and one less thing to pack was more music to their ears than that last stack of cash they might get. Overall we had a fantastic time, and the Halles VIP tent was a wonderful addition to initiate this first timer, plus they had queso hour which delighted us all. We met lots of great people, collected some new sweet things to cherish, and had a great time with my two friends.
