BRIMFIELD - Brock A. Lewis, of Framingham, hit the Brimfield Outdoor Antique Shows bright and early - 5 a.m., to be exact.
And by 7 a.m., he had a $45 Mickey Mantle Louisville Slugger wooden bat to show for it.
Lewis said he bargained the bat price down $5. He collects baseball memorabilia. Some of it he keeps. Some he sells.
Why does he show up so early at the famous antique shows?
"There are other people just like me," he said.
There were plenty of shoppers out at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the opening day of the May show, getting a glimpse of the wares in the various booths. The six-day show runs until Sunday.
The shows, which feature thousands of dealers along Route 20, attract thousands of people. Antique shows are also held in July and September.
It was Mary Moore's first time as an exhibitor at Brimfield. She operates "The Claw Foot Tub" in Amherst and reported that she was making sales - at least 10 - as she set up her booth at Sturtevant's North Field before 7 a.m.
"We were setting up and selling things. We couldn't even get them out," she said.
"People definitely like the unusual things."
One of those things was a 1960s red Columbia bicycle with handlebar tassels that she sold for $200 to a man who planned to bring it back to his "man shop" in Stockholm, Sweden.
"The guy loved the tassels," Moore said.
Going to Brimfield is a tradition for Carol A. Sylvester, of Haverhill; Joanna M. Donahoe, of Hollis, N.H.; and Leanne Kelly, of Nashua, N.H. They said they always arrive at 6:30 a.m. on the opening day of the shows, and love searching for items.
"This is amazing," Kelly said, as they browsed the Mahogany Ridge field.
James Brady, of Taunton, has been selling antiques at Brimfield for 40 years. His specialty is lighting, and he pointed out some turn-of-the-century railroad lanterns going for $40 a piece and astral oil lamps from the 1800s going for $300 each, or $600 a pair.
He said the early shoppers prefer the oil lamps, while the younger shoppers, who often arrive later in the day, prefer electric. He was in the Mahogany Ridge field.
Mother-and-daughter duo Lois G. Lichstein and Amy Karyn Lichstein were shopping for items for Amy's New Jersey store, Amy Karyn Home, which features home furnishings.
Amy Lichstein found 16 wood blocks, in a variety of designs, that she planned to use to create new patterns for fabric through the screen printing process.
She got them for $130, which after some haggling was cheaper than the original advertised price.
Amy Lichstein said she's been attending Brimfield for more than 20 years. Lois Lichstein said they come every year.
"It's great," Lois Lichstein said. "The whole excitement of the place. You can always find something. You never go home empty-handed. The truck's always full."
Source: www.masslive.com
And by 7 a.m., he had a $45 Mickey Mantle Louisville Slugger wooden bat to show for it.
Lewis said he bargained the bat price down $5. He collects baseball memorabilia. Some of it he keeps. Some he sells.
Why does he show up so early at the famous antique shows?
"There are other people just like me," he said.
There were plenty of shoppers out at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the opening day of the May show, getting a glimpse of the wares in the various booths. The six-day show runs until Sunday.
The shows, which feature thousands of dealers along Route 20, attract thousands of people. Antique shows are also held in July and September.
It was Mary Moore's first time as an exhibitor at Brimfield. She operates "The Claw Foot Tub" in Amherst and reported that she was making sales - at least 10 - as she set up her booth at Sturtevant's North Field before 7 a.m.
"We were setting up and selling things. We couldn't even get them out," she said.
"People definitely like the unusual things."
One of those things was a 1960s red Columbia bicycle with handlebar tassels that she sold for $200 to a man who planned to bring it back to his "man shop" in Stockholm, Sweden.
"The guy loved the tassels," Moore said.
Going to Brimfield is a tradition for Carol A. Sylvester, of Haverhill; Joanna M. Donahoe, of Hollis, N.H.; and Leanne Kelly, of Nashua, N.H. They said they always arrive at 6:30 a.m. on the opening day of the shows, and love searching for items.
"This is amazing," Kelly said, as they browsed the Mahogany Ridge field.
James Brady, of Taunton, has been selling antiques at Brimfield for 40 years. His specialty is lighting, and he pointed out some turn-of-the-century railroad lanterns going for $40 a piece and astral oil lamps from the 1800s going for $300 each, or $600 a pair.
He said the early shoppers prefer the oil lamps, while the younger shoppers, who often arrive later in the day, prefer electric. He was in the Mahogany Ridge field.
Mother-and-daughter duo Lois G. Lichstein and Amy Karyn Lichstein were shopping for items for Amy's New Jersey store, Amy Karyn Home, which features home furnishings.
Amy Lichstein found 16 wood blocks, in a variety of designs, that she planned to use to create new patterns for fabric through the screen printing process.
She got them for $130, which after some haggling was cheaper than the original advertised price.
Amy Lichstein said she's been attending Brimfield for more than 20 years. Lois Lichstein said they come every year.
"It's great," Lois Lichstein said. "The whole excitement of the place. You can always find something. You never go home empty-handed. The truck's always full."
Source: www.masslive.com