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: Patty & Fred Adkison & Blake Hansen

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. Congratulations to Patty and Fred Adkison of Canon City, Colorado. They were the first people we found in Florence and they were happy to share their Florence find with us. 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.

It was a family outing last weekend, when Patty and Fred Adkison, of Canon City, took their grandson, Blake Hansen, on an antiques junket to nearby Florence.

I have it on good authority that there was a little ice cream and a few hugs for Blake as he enjoyed the day with his grandparents, who happened to find exactly what they were looking for in Florence, the antiques capital of Colorado.

The Adkisons were visiting South Dakota and spotted many antique bed frames that some one had turned into outdoor benches. They snapped a lot of pictures. "We even brought a bed home from South Dakota," Patty said.

Of course, the Adkisons, knew the antiques capital of Colorado was just a few miles from their home and they thought they would see what they could find in Florence.

The Adkisons found one bed frame with rails (for $75) that Blake was eager to turn into a bench. According to Fred, bed rails aren't necessary in making the benches, though. Some angle iron works just fine.

Then they discovered a second bed frame in The Iron Gate Antique Mall (109 W. Main St.) pictured above. No bed rails--but the price was just $60. We loved both of the bed frames they purchased, but were particularly taken with this one due to the Art Deco style and well-preserved paint rendering of urns and flowers. Look above Blake's head, and you can spot some of the details.

The Adkisons promised to send a photo or two of the completed benches. We look forward to that. And if they do--of course, we'll put it on this blog, so you too can get inspired, not only by the great antiques in Florence, but by the creative energy people like the Adkisons are inspired by.

If we find YOU in Florence, and snap a picture of two of you and your finds (with your permission) you'll receive a little, bright green card with this blog address, so you can find the blog with your picture and story. And remember--if we don't find YOU first--feel free to contact us at this blog and we'll consider putting your picture and brief story online. There is no charge on either end for this. This is all free and just for fun!