What I Found In Florence--The Antiques Capital Of Colorado

Well, here's what I found recently roaming around Florence--the antiques capital of Colorado.

I love this old wooden restaurant sign. We all need a bit more quality and good cheer also! Ah, what I wouldn't give to be able to buy a cheese sandwich for two bits. DISCOVERED AT: The Iron Gate Antique Mall, 109 W. Main St.

A magic lantern. This is so cool and well, steampunk. I've been reminding blog readers for over a year that Florence is the unofficial steampunk capital of Colorado, because the shops have so many steampunk, Victorian and industrial items, 365 days a year. DISCOVERED AT: Iron Gate.

 And do NOT forget, Florence's steampunk festival is coming up April 9 and 10.

Big wheels keep on turning...There is always a fantabulous selections of good junk outside Florence Antiques, located at 103 Main St. The selection changes daily and if you slow down enough as you are driving by, you can usually find something eye-poppingly strange and delicious. The inside of the shop is also packed with antique finds, jewelry and more.

Ah, spring has sprung at The Iron Gate Antique Mall. I love this cast iron bench and table and bright yellow accessories.

Yes, Florence has many authors and writers! One of the best known is Barry Brierley. He's the author of many historical fiction novels, as well as a talented painter. He and his wife, Barb, own Spirit Riders, where Barry's books and artwork are sold--as well as western decor, clothing, boots, antiques--and vintage and steampunk clothing and lots more. Located at, 111 W. Main St. And check out the author's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/barry.brierley.3

I like this bookcase made out of reclaimed wood, discovered at The Iron Gate Antique Mall.

What I Found In Florence--The Antiques Capital Of Colorado

Here's a weekly roundup of fun and funky and unique items I found in some of the many shops in Florence--the antiques capital of Colorado.

Yes, it's a butter churn. But I think of it as a vintage exercise machine. Notice that the churn has a foot pedal AND a handle for churning--for a total aerobic workout. DISCOVERED AT: Iron Gate Antique Mall, 109 W. Main St.

Handcrafted right in Florence--delicious organic vanilla. Here's a secret about Florence: There are a lot of home based artisans making small batches of edibles, soaps, crafts and other items, one batch at a time--the old fashioned way. DISCOVERED AT: Wood Grain On Main, 114 W. Main St.

Delicious honey. As it reads on the label: As straight from the hive as you can get.

It's unfiltered, raw and unpasteurized. I purchased some and can attest to the quality and taste. Florence resident, Shellie Busetti is responsible for the honey and the vanilla. DISCOVERED AT: Wood Grain On Main, 114 W. Main St.

Shellie is also a photographer, along with her husband, Bill. She recently showed the new note cards she is producing from her original photos--as well as Colorado postcards. Yes, scenes from Florence, are in the works! The Busettis' photos and artwork are also available matted and framed. They have a website at : http://www.busettiphoto.com/  DISCOVERED AT: Iron Gate Antique Mall, 109 W. Main St.

Handcrafted letters made painstakingly from beer bottle tops, by a local artisan. Each letter is sold individually, so one can just get one's initial or make an entire sign or statement. DISCOVERED AT: Wood Grain On Main, 114 W. Main St.

If you are missing an iron gate for your estate--no worries! You'll find it in Florence. And it's no accident or IRONy this treasure was discovered at The Iron Gate Antique Mall, 109 W. Main St., which always pays homage to its namesake with a good selection of vintage gates and fencing.

Beautiful Hoosier cabinet, spotted at the Iron Gate,which also carries separate Hoosier jars and glass.

Handcrafted, handpainted wood signs--made by a local artisan. DISCOVERED AT: Wood Grain On Main.

Scruffy, the antique dog. Not for sale--but he wanted to get on the blog. DISCOVERED: At my house.

Found In The Antiques Capital Of Colorado: Faucet Flowers

As regular blog readers know, I'm always curious what people are buying in Florence--the antiques capital of Colorado. And more importantly, I want to know what they are going to do with their Florence finds.

                                                       Patty and her ten faucet handles

Look at those beauties! When this Iron Gate Antique Mall (109 W. Main St.) customer plunked down 10 funky faucet handles on the counter--I just had to ask what she was going to do with them all.

Faucet flowers. OK, I admit I don't hang out on Pinterest much and I read rather obscure magazines, so I am sometimes out of the loop on what's crafty, creative and hot in decorating.

Patty, of Weatherford, Texas, is going to make flowers from her faucets. I asked how she got the idea and she said she saw on a fence, with the leaves and stems painted on. But she was going to make free-standing flowers.

It is worth noting, that Patty, visiting in Colorado, came to Florence one day recently--and had so much fun that she came back the next day. Yes, that's a shameless plug about how much fun folks have in Florence. But Patty said it, unsolicited--even before I whipped out my camera.

Now, I don't know if Patty's finished project will look like this. But for those of you who have never heard of faucet handle flowers (like me) this picture gives one idea how people create them.

I went to one online site and these faucet handles (also labeled as industrial and steampunk) are selling for about $5 each. Just the handles. And of course these are vintage, metal and all cool with the chippy paint. But you know how much they are at Iron Gate in Florence? Just $2 each.

Stay tuned to this blog to see what customers (from all across the country) and even around the world are buying in Florence--the antiques capital of Colorado. And what they are doing with some of the items.

And also stay tuned for a peek into all the cool steampunk-type items Florence has. I've termed Florence, the unofficial steampunk capital of Colorado. Not only for our annual steampunk festival coming up April 9 and 10--but also for the fact that Florence has many shops that have a HUGE selections of steampunk and industrial items like these faucet handles.

How To Season Cast Iron

As most know, Florence is the antiques capital of Colorado. And among the many dealers, from all around the state and beyond, are people with lots of knowledge about antiques, collectibles and doing things old school.

One of the new dealers at The Iron Gate Antiques Mall (109 W. Main St.) has a sign posted in their booth about seasoning cast iron. I, as many of the customers and browsers, found this dealer's method of seasoning cast iron, quite comprehensive. I was given permission to post his method on this blog.

* Cast iron is placed in a preheated oven at 200 degrees F and allowed to warm up.
* Once cast iron is at 200 degrees F, a coating of Pam (spray canola oil) is applied to all surfaces of cast iron.
*Cast iron is placed back into over and temp raised to 250 degrees F. Once temperature has been reached, timer is set to 15 minutes.
* After 15 minutes, cast iron is removed, "wiped down," placed back into oven and the temperature raised 50 degrees. This step is to make sure seasoning doesn't pool or run.
*The process is repeated at 300 and 350 degrees. 350 degrees is the final "wipe down."
*Cast iron is continued to be gradually heated up to 500 degrees. At 500 degrees, the cast iron has the last 15 minutes of heat applied. After the time has ended, the oven is shut off and the cast iron is kept in the oven and allowed to cool down to room temperature.

I recently have virtually switched to cooking exclusively with cast iron. No more peeling non-stick surfaces!

Cast iron has been enjoying another surge in popularity. I've had customers share that they enjoy the potential benefits and durability of cast iron cooking.

Florence has a good selection of cast iron in most of its 20 plus antiques stores.

And that's what I learned in an antiques store today!

We Found YOU In Florence, Colorado: Kate Hamel of San Rafael, CA

Yes, we Found You In Florence, Colorado: Kate Hamel of San Rafael, California!

We have a feature on this blog called: Will We Find YOU In Florence? Florence is the antiques capital of Colorado. And as such, the town gets out-of-town, as well as local visitors. I thought it would be interesting to randomly ask people what they found in Florence, as I likewise, find them in Florence.

Recently we met Kate, who is a truck driver.

She walked into The Iron Gate Antique Mall recently and was thrilled by all the awesome shops in Florence. She is pictured with what she found in one shop, some bars of handmade soap.

In the course of her work, Kate has been from Vermont to California. She's made many deliveries to the Denver area and has been to Pueblo, but has never taken the cut-off from Pueblo and visited Florence until this visit

Recently she had a delivery to make at Fremont Motorsports, located at 600 E. Main St.( www.fremontmotorsports.com)  and used the time she had waiting to make delivery to explore the town.

Kate, besides enjoying a successful career as a trucker, is also a furniture designer. She is working on launching her own furniture company. She promised to send pictures, to be posted on this blog, of her reclaimed furniture designs, as well as the link to her upcoming website.

The fact that Kate is creative and artistic, added to her delight in discovering the unique vibe of Florence.

"I've met friendly people, seen wonderful antiques stores and met guineas, chickens, rooster, mules..." Kate said.

Yes, Florence had lots of great antiques shops (more per capita than anywhere in Colorado), and many friends people and animals. But we've found that the people who visit Florence are also extremely friendly and have interesting creative pursuits.

Kate also enjoyed the history of the town and the scenic beauty. Yes, we found Kate in Florence. And she says she was so thrilled with what she found in Florence, that she'll be back. So, it's likely we'll find first-time visitor, Kate Hamel, in Florence again.

But will we find YOU in Florence? If we do, we'll give you a card with the address to this blog and take your picture and ask you what you found in Florence.

And even if I don't find YOU in Florence--you are welcome to send your own pictures of what you found in Florence, for possible inclusion on this blog.

We Found YOU In Florence: Genieva Grigsby of Canton, Texas

You will find the most interesting people shopping in Florence—the antiques capital of Colorado. 

This time we found Genieva Grigsby of Canton, Texas. We overheard her talking with friends about shopping for antiques and collectibles all the way in Florence.

Of course my ears perked up. Why was it so unusual for someone from out of town to be finding treasures in Florence?

“Have you ever heard of Canton, Texas?” Genieva asked me.

I admitted I had not.

I was in for a delightful education. It turns out Canton has a population of less than 5,000 people—yet on First Monday Trade Days—anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 visitors flood the small town for what it purported to the country’s largest and oldest continuously operating flea market.

And Genieva works at the First Monday Trade Days, renting vendor spaces. “You can’t shop when you are working,” she laughed . Genieva has been working in the office at the flea market for about a decade.

The event hosts up to 6,000 vendors with a variety of merchandise ranging from antiques, collectibles, electronics and good old-fashioned junk.

So how did Genieva FIND Florence? She also has a home in Creede, Colorado. But friends from Pueblo accidentally discovered Florence years ago and could not wait to share Florence.

We found Genieva in Florence. And what did she find? Lots of things, besides a fun day with family and friends, and the thrill of the hunt. But she was particularly happy with this find.

She liked this vintage food chopper (found at Iron Gate Antique Mall for under $15) replete with a tomato graphic that matches her kitchen cabinets.

Most of us locally know that Florence has the largest amount of antiques stores in Colorado per capita—making it a paradise from shoppers all around the country, but it’s always fascinating to find out about other parts of the country.

Canton’s First Monday Trade Days started in the 1850s when the first Monday of the month was the time circuit judges made their rounds. Naturally the townspeople gathered for that and to catch up on town news and sell and trade farm and other items.

 The event eventually grew into the USA’s largest and oldest flea market that still retains its historical name, but now operates on Thursday through Sunday before the first Monday of every month. You can find out more by going to: www.cantontxfirstmonday.com or: www.firstmondaycanton.com

Will we find YOU in Florence, the antiques capital of Colorado? That's part of a new (an hopefully fun) feature on this blog. It's simple. There is so much to find in Florence, but we want to find YOU in Florence and see what YOU found in Florence. Even if we don't find you first, feel free to send us a selfie or picture of you and your Florence find. Simply include your name and where you are from, the item and what you plan to do with it. Try and get a Florence landmark or background in the picture, so we know you found it in Florence. And feel free to tell us how much you paid for it (if you want) and what store you purchased it from. Shop owners in Florence are also welcome to submit pictures (and a brief story) about who they found in Florence and have it appear on this blog. There is no charge on either end for this--it's all about fun and sharing.