Two Guys Antiques

I love antique shopping. I don't buy expensive, fancy, nice antiques. I prefer "junk." It doesn't need to be valuable or collectible for me to be interested, but it does need to be beautiful or useful - with very broad definitions of beautiful and useful. Two weekends ago I stopped by an antique store that is actually very close to my home. I had never been there before, which is strange, because I'll drive 45 minutes across the county to get to others. But somehow I had never gone down the street to peek in this "new" shop (it has probably been in business for a year or two). 17682 Main St Dumfries, VA 22026 (703) 221-9669 Happily, Two Guys Antiques is a really wonderful shop. It is a lot larger than it appears from the frontage on the road, and I was quite successful in finding things that fit my hopes.

I thought this book, "Wife for Sale," was perfect, especially since I recently brought home a puppy despite my husband's expressed non-authorization. It has since found a home on my bookshelf, paired with another red antique book, "Ex-Husband."

I bought this wooden level to use in my studio.

This is a safety deposit box - super cool, right?

Even better, for the local government wonk I am, was the slip of paper inside - tax receipt from Mississippi.

This is a gauge that will find a perch on a bookshelf or a new life as a paperweight on my desk.

I couldn't resist this scoop.

This is a French porcelain number 3 that would have showed an address.

A little school chalkboard, which will hang in my studio for notes to self and Etsy to-do lists.

This copper pot will sit in the kitchen, where I have copper accents.

Finally, this wooden artist's case opens up to reveal compartments that will help me organize my supplies once I am able to move everything back into the studio.

This last weekend, I went to a giant flea market called the Big Flea. It comes to town a few times a year, and I hate to miss it. I came away with a bunch of excellent finds - three printers drawers (21 dollars for the 3!), a kitchen scale from the 30s or 40s (for weighing clay in the studio), a number of stone switchplate covers, some vintage copper architectural details, wooden architectural pieces, sheet music from 1913 (written by W.C. Handy, father of the blues), and more. I am doing my best to keep the economy afloat, but I was heartened to see the crowds at the Dulles Expo center - assuring that I didn't have to do so alone.