Search for vintage treasures at the Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair

Serena Thompson has an eye for good old stuff.

She spent the first years of her life traveling with her parents in a hand-built, “hippie gypsy wagon,” cultivating an eye for distinctive items. They’d take old cans for storage, or beads her mom would make into curtains.

“Our life was literally a treasure hunt,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t OK if it was just a basic object. They wanted it to be beautiful and artsy but also functional.”

Thompson has since turned a love of vintage goods and antiques into a lifestyle – the Farm Chicks celebrates the thriftiness and style of her parents through books, a blog and pieces for Country Living magazine.

She also presides over the Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair, which began in 2002 with Thompson and friends selling goods out of her neighbor’s barn. Now it’s a weekend event at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center that attracts thousands of attendees and vendors from all over the United States.

“It’s really resonated with all ages,” Thompson said. “I think people love mixing in the vintage with whatever their own style is. People are able to find their own voice.”

Attendees this Saturday and Sunday will find an enormous variety of stuff – from high-end European antiques to items cultivated from regional farms and estates. Thompson said there’s a great mix of items at every price range, plus a mix of handmade items.

“I call everyone who sells there a curator because they are curating their own collections and bringing them in in a special way,” she said. “It is incredibly inspiring – there’s such creativity in the ways they make things and display things. It’s like Disneyland. It’s really magical.”

The show isn’t just for antique aficionados. Thompson said the show stretches the traditional ideas of what’s considered “vintage,” although items made pre-1990s and in the United States have a particular appeal.

Thompson said visitors should expect crowds and high energy on Saturday morning, though she encourages people to return to the show later and on Sunday.

“The vendors come with these huge trailers packed full, and all day long they bring in more,” she said. “When the show closes on Saturday night, they spend the night completely redoing their booth. Maybe they pulled out their favorite stuff on Saturday, but maybe it’s your favorite on Sunday.”

More information on Thompson and The Farm Chicks Fair, including Friday pre-show events and opportunities to sign up for workshop sessions during the show, can be found at www.TheFarmChicks.com