Again, we happily avoided the Black Friday throngs and high tailed it to South Jersey. First, we made a brief stop at Yellow Garage Antiques in Mullica Hill. Proprietors Steve Lipman & Tracy Dodge created a congenial and festive atmosphere with delicious food, holiday music and great antiques. Collectors and dealers were shopping the aisles and the parking lot was full. There were quality pieces at reasonable prices. Nice selection of redware and stoneware.
We headed south on Route 581 ( Commisioner's Road) and thrilled to the big sky and open spaces of the farms that dotted the area.
Our destination was Roadstown and an attempt to locate the original home of the owner of a Ware Chair we will have for sale in the upcoming Antiques Dealers Association Online Show, December 2-4, 2014. See www.adadealers.com
We did not find the house this time, so we continued on to the Gibbon House Museum in Greenwich (pronounced Green - witch) to visit the Ware Chair collection. The Ware Family, originally of Roadstown, New Jersey, made chairs for 150 years, using the same techniques handed from father to son. See our Blog post about the Ware Chair Making Family, January 1, 2014.
After a quick "hello" to the Cohansey River
and making a wish that someone would please save the historic house langusihing on the bank of the Cohansey River
we headed to Millville, home of inspirational Wheaton Arts. The glass artists here are phenomenal, the setting is quaint, the natural surroundings of whispering pines and sand at your feet, soothing. There is something for everyone here- spectators fervently exclaimed over the creation of the "World's Largest Glass Fruitcake" exhibition in the glass house. Unique gifts such as glass paper weights, ornaments, sculptural art , and more, abound. There is a General Store with an old fashioned candy counter for the kids. Also for the kids- swings and a pond with a long bridge to explore.
Geometric shapes - cube, above and pyramid, below
There is also an excellent musuem, which has an admission fee. The glass blowing demonstration also requires a fee, but , free admittance to the shops, pond, and swings. www.wheatonvillage.org