Round Top, Texas - Our Final Day in the Lone Star state

It's hard to believe we've only been in Texas for four days, given the amount of (literal) acreage we've covered in such a scant amount of time. And though the food has been delicious, we tire a bit of the ubiquitous "sneaky meat" that seems to make its way into every dish. Looking forward to Kombucha and avocados and Westside traffic, we spend our last morning at Round Top shopping. (Of course) As the days have passed, more and more dealers have shown up, more tents have opened, and more containers have arrived, so we're determined to make use of our last few hours. And we do!

Visiting with the charming, adorable French dealer Richard Hartmann, who runs his booth with his Tennessee native ex-wife (one of his four ex-wives and the third "also has a tent in this field," he gestured with his hand), we were won over by his enthusiasm and his wares, eventually purchasing a beautiful striped Turkish kilim (56" x 119") and wishing him the best for the remainder of the show. We then stopped to check out some incredibly detailed carved cow skulls with Jeffree Turney, a Florida-based dealer who specializes in unique Swedish country style. These skulls are shipped to a remote part of Sweden, where they're hand-carved by an 86-year-old artist. They are nothing short of magnificent.

Our last lunch in Round Top required a final plate full of meat, so we made our way to the nearby Methodist Church barbecue, ostensibly legendary around these parts. While wiping our hands on paper napkins and sipping sweet tea and finishing our barbecued chicken sandwiches, we made our plans to hit the road for the Austin airport to catch our flights back to Los Angeles that evening.

Throughout our Texas travels, not only did we come across some incredible pieces from dealers all over the world and meet some amazing people, but we brought some truly spectacular, one-of-a-kind pieces back to rumba! Keep your eyes on our 1stdibs page, where many of these Round Top beauties will be making their online debut and up for grabs! As for you, Round Top, we'll see you again in October.

We tried, very unsuccessfully, to sneak into Renck Hall before it was open. With the great Richard Hartmann! Why not?Amazing Swedish antiques dealer. Hand-carved cow skulls. The Gypsy Rose Antiques store, whose mascot is a tiny chihuahua rescue.Jim's Wims in Brenham.

Barbecue!How it goes in Texas.

Round Top, Texas (Part Three)

Hitting the show pretty early, we immediately headed for Jimmy's tent in the Excess field, excited for the much-ballyhooed unveiling of the new container. Upon arrival, we immediately sensed we were completely outnumbered. Not only was the owner of this particular entire field poised at the parked truck's edge, hauling off leather club chairs and tufted sofas and silver leaf mirrors, claiming each piece he wanted as his hands touched it, but we were two women among a sea of men. Not ones to despair or become shrinking wallflowers, we did eventually manage to make our presence known, ending up with a gorgeous early 19th-century silver leaf mirror and a pair of spectacular brass table lamps (all of which just arrived at rumba this week!). Check out our Facebook page for previews of the goods.

We then dashed off to Brenham, hearing that there were some great vintage shops in the tiny town next door to Round Top (or, as the locals say, "just down the road a piece," which could be anywhere from five to thirty minutes' worth of driving). Also, we heard that The Pomegranate serves an outstanding salmon salad ("the salmon's flown in," we were assured). While the shopping was subpar, the salad was indeed delicious, accompanied by a well-balanced Arnold Palmer on ice - most vendors and restaurants only had sweetened tea and no idea what an Arnold Palmer could be. After lunch, we swung back into Round Top, finding a couple of fantastic chandeliers - one from a Texas dealer and another from Massachusetts - bringing them to Blue Hills to add them to our purchases, everything arranged to be delivered together to us in Santa Monica after the closing of Round Top, which lasts over two weeks and includes the infamous Marburger, a part of Round Top's show we would miss, as we were leaving Texas the following day. Pulling a few strings, we managed to get a dinner reservation for Royer's Round Top Cafe , a legendary (and tiny) restaurant owned by "Bud the Pieman" and whose maxim "Eat Mo Pie" can be found all over its interior. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest meal we'll ever come across, but it was dang good. And that apple pie? Something otherworldly. The ability to purchase Royer's pies online and have them shipped to us in California is a bit too tantalizing.

Ready to return to L.A. Wednesday night, but enjoying the kindness of these Southern folk and the beauty of Round Top's green pastures and bright blue skies.

Our smallest satisfied client

Happy little cutie, Matilda, in her Boomerang chair.

Darling Matilda's parents wanted to get their custom rumba Boomerang chair completed before Matilda entered the world, so last September we were choosing possible upholstery options with Nicole and Ian, promising to meet the deadline! Since all our custom pieces are made-to-order in Los Angeles, they had their beautiful Boomerang chair in Knoll's gorgeous Venue fabric (delicious tangerine color - Autumn Leaf) all set up in Matilda's room by the time she made her big debut. Nicole says they read stories in this chair daily. And just look how happy this little sweetheart is in her beloved Boomerang!

Happy six months, Matilda!

Round Top, Texas (Part Two)

We were somewhat dubious about reaching Wellspring Retreat in the dark, given that the owner, Linda, had been out when we called for address confirmation and her sweet husband, Bob, answered the phone, momentarily unsure as to the bed and breakfast's address. But with Tom Tom in hand and the power of the iPhone, we found our way to the beautiful, quiet little spot, done up in true country decor. Linda was there to greet us and sent us off for some mediocre Mexican food, one of a mere handful of restaurants in town that was open after 8 PM. The place was hopping with locals commingling with dealers, buyers, and designers, all in town for the early days of Round Top, as it (allegedly) didn't open to the general public until the following week.

Though, after a breakfast of eggs, biscuits, and coffee, venturing into the Blue Hills collection of tents by 9 a.m., we discovered that Friday and Saturday had proven themselves to be some serious shopping days. Chatting with dealer Doug Jenkins, a familiar face from last autumn’s Brimfield experience, we found lots of amazing pieces already bearing red dots. For instance, a set of four incredible yellow leather chairs (shown below), among others, had sold to designer (and hotel maven) Liz Lambert. We made a mental note to arrive in RT even earlier next time and went ahead with purchasing an incredible, rather prodigious wall unit and solid square dining table from Doug, both originating from an aquarium in Copenhagen. They were irresistable (and will be at rumba very soon!).

At a Turkish rug dealer's tent, we went pretty crazy for piles of pillows created from vintage rugs and were treated to the mysterious maxims of the trio of dealers, who claimed they needed to "break the leg of the devil," which roughly translates to "making a sale to get the day going right." Later, while negotiating over the purchase of a 10' x 8' 1960s rug, considering the purchase of a pair, the owner very cryptically, sotto voce, said, "Listen, honeys, you buy two pieces, you buy two pieces, you buy one pieces, you buy one pieces." We drove off, promising to consider his words of wisdom while eating a pound of brisket on home-baked wheat bread at the Legal Tender Saloon right next door to Round Top in Warrenton (did we mention how small these towns are?). There, we ran into L.A.’s Big Daddy's Antiques owner, Shane Brown and his wife, who invited us to their dinner party that night. They own an absolutely adorable house in Round Top and, over a rousing and lively dinner of spaghetti, we again met up with Doug, and were introduced to people we'd talked with earlier in the day during our power shopping, like Connecticut dealer Charlotte Mecozzi, and her dealer friend, James Haron. James gave us a tip that he was expecting a truck in the morning, and that we should be there to see the new pieces as they were hauled off the container. With excitement, we promised we'd be there bright and early, with coffees in hand.

Lots of photos below!

(Next blog post - the pecking order of Round Top, a tour of tiny Brenham, and Royer's legendary pies.)

Our Wellspring Retreat Bed and Breakfast front porch - so beautiful and relaxing.This is dear Linda, the owner of Wellspring. She makes some mean biscuits. Round Top is known for its legendary Texas Blue Bonnets. People apparently take family Easter photos and the like in their fields.A view of the Blue Hills field of Round Top. Rebecca and a dealer, whose shop is down the road from Round Top - happy to be shopping! Doug Jenkins's booth was GREAT. The chairs we desperately wanted, but Liz Lambert got to them first. Gorgeous table we bought from Doug; originally from a Copenhagen aquarium in the 1950s. The incredible wall unit we bought from Doug, also from the Copenhagen aquarium.Chatting with Doug post-purchase.

A beautiful eleven-foot-long dining table from a Florida dealer.The double-talking Turkish rug dealers. Home of the brisket and the iconic pimento cheese sandwich. We call this "lunch."

rumba's Round Top, Texas road trip (Part One)

 

Commonly referred to as "the Super Bowl of antiques shows," the Round Top Texas Antiques Fair is an incredible behemoth of tents and booths stacked alongside one another within a ten-mile radius in the tiny town of Round Top. Selling everything from early Americana, Texas primitive, early 19th-century European, rugs, armoires, sofas, paintings, sculptures, tables, chairs, and ephemera from Italy, Sweden, France, England, and all over the U.S., the show is now in its 45th year. This was our very first Round Top trip and it was pretty amazing.

We flew out of L.A. at dawn on Sunday, arriving in Austin and spending the day with old friends Katy Culmo and her husband, Matt, whose wonderfully curated home was replete with gorgeous textiles, warm colors, magnificent art, and ubiquitous versions of hands (Katy is especially fond of the rendering of hands in sculpture, paint, and photography). After lunch at Clark's Oyster Bar, we checked out Katy and Matt's fabulous contemporary clothing store, By George, in the bustling and beautiful heart of Austin's South Congress shopping district and then scoped out Uptown Modern with them, picking up some much-needed lattes at Mojo's Daily Grind as the sun began to dip. Sidenote here: Mojo's is just down the street from Hotel Saint Cecilia, a quiet little hotel geared towards writers and musicians and owned by designer Liz Lambert, who snatched up a set of four amazing butter-yellow leather chairs from the Round Top fair just one day before our arrival (more on this in the forthcoming blog post). 

With lattes in hand, we hit the road for our hour-long drive to Round Top and to the Wellspring Bed + Breakfast retreat, an 1830s German settlement farmhouse which would be our home for the next three days.

(Next post: Round Top, Day One - award-winning barbecue, demonstrative Turkish rug dealers, dealer dinner parties, and more)

Matt inviting us in.The dining room of Matt + Katy's Austin home.Long dining table leading into the living room.Great vignette in Matt + Katy's place. Mid-century shop, Uptown Modern, in Austin, Texas.

By George, Katy + Matt's clothing/accessories store in Austin, is super gorgeous. Interior of By George.