Breyerfest 2022 Day 2 – Wyoming

Wow, there is a lot of driving to do in the first couple of days. Today was 300+ miles and 6 antique/thrift/flea markets. Weather is nice, lots of clouds, and we had a bit of rain dropping into Cheyenne. The truck is running well, and the load on the back is secure. We crossed the continental divide, and had quite a bit of road construction to deal with.

I do love the shops in Wyoming. There are lots of neat western antiques and the stores are cool to wander in as well. There are converted markets, old brick warehouses and wonderful 40s shops with tile entries and detailed display areas. I appreciate shops that put in a good effort to show off and take advantage of what they have. This thrift store had some nice details, but they didn’t keep up the display areas. Just a bit of rearranging and this area could look super-sharp and show off the cool furniture.

Then there are the over-achieving dealers. This next dealer knows that featuring stuff helps shoppers visualize items in their homes. As and antique dealer I can pull something from a dark corner and know it will look sharp on display, but not everyone can imagine that. This shop front with windows and lighting really stands out and invites you in to browse.

I love stores with multiple rooms and floors. I love to explore and discover treasures. The straightforward shop with even rows and good lighting is fine, but the rambling building where you can’t see the back and the aisles zig-zag at random through uneven rooms is exciting. Antique stores promise the unusual and rare, and it is fun to be surprised by the shop as well as the contents. My favorite thing is to turn a corner and see even more space to explore.

I am very impressed at the overall quality of the modern folk arts and crafts I am seeing in the shops. I am taking lots of pictures of creative projects I tell myself I will do someday. There are the usual projects with cutlery bent in interesting shapes and lots of things turned into lamps, but also lots of new ways of combining old things with a really high level of craftsmanship. This bar was an old dated oak piece originally, but someone really took it to the next level with the modern country update. Unusual bar renovations are popular and have become pretty common, but this one stands out from the crowd.

It was a long and fun day, and the empty boxes are already filling up. No photos of our finds for a few days, we are just too tired at the end of the day to do much more than crash into bed. We have to get our rest to get energy to attack again tomorrow!