day in portland
Hi All,
Last weekend I attended the Maine Home, Remodeling & Garden Show at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Now, I have to tell you, ages ago I attended Salt, the school for journalism and documentary field studies. However I now know I have a wildly-inflated opinion of my own ability to get around Portland’s city winding streets. I think I must have taken about 4 wrong turns getting to parking at the Civic Center. Of course a Mapquest print out on the passenger seat, completely ignored. But sometimes misguided overconfidence can be a good thing, because on my way to the show I stumbled on the Portland Salvage Company.
What a neat place! 3 floors of everything from early 20th century art deco glass lintels to creaky old farmers tables practically the length of my entire house. There were a few items of whimsy too, including a lively metal rooster of questionable age at the front door, as well as a collection of giant colorful glass knobs in the shapes of flowers, each nearly the size of small frisbees. When I asked to borrow a tape measure ( to search for a 50” armoire) the sales girl nonchalantly pointed to a dusty basket perched on the desk in front of me. Inside were a dozen mismatched tape measures waiting for the unprepared buyer like myself. Very handy idea. However, after a fun hour, I walked out without the chicken, or the armoire, but feeling like I had found a place I will come back to often.
When I finally got my car parked, (about 10 feet from the front door- wahoo!) what struck me most about the Maine Home show was the diversity of the vendors on display – custom interior designers and architects were cheek to jowl with home-industry types and someone selling the latest in wood floor cleaner (I bought two). Many folks were there looking for bargains, and there were some to be had. I spotted a half dozen excited folks on their way back to their cars with armloads of energy efficient light bulbs that someone was selling at a cut rate. But I had my eye on antique brass lamp in form of a lobsterman – an adorable slice of kitch in an unexpected place. On the whole, a day in Portland was a fun ‘enlightening’ experience.
-Kim
Add comment February 17th, 2007
Okay, okay, for all his adoring fans, I’m posting a photo of the second most important male in my life, Juneau. Look closely, he’s the one napping in the snow. The 10 year-old oversized bedwarmer is my personal interior designer; preferred upholstery cover is snow white hair. everywhere. But who can resist a face like that? And his design services are only the cost of food, water, three walks a day, chews, and the occasional high-pitched squeaky toy. Such a deal! he even keeps my lawn fertilized for me.
