Outstanding in the Field

Spring Antique Shows Open, Crowds Follow

Joyce Rojas was in a hurry Friday.

“I’ve been rushing around so much I didn’t even put in my teeth,” she said, smiling to reveal some bare gums.

It was Rojas’ first day selling from her massive set-up near Renck Hall in Warrenton. She’s one of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of vendors who have descended on northern Fayette County for the spring antiques show, which stretch over the next two weeks.

One day in and Rojas, of New Caney, had already sold several antique cabinets, but what she’s really known for is her birdhouses.

Rojas, who turned 72 last week and has been coming to Warrenton for more than 30 years, said she generally brings 3,000 birdhouses to sell every show, and usually sells most all of them.

She and her husband make them, hand paint them and then sand them to give them an old look.

“I usually sell them for $5 but I had to go up to $6 this year,” she said, citing the rising cost of the nails. “I was worried, but nobody’s complained yet.

“Sell cheap and the stuff generally goes,” Rojas said.

Mid-Century Modern

But most of the stuff in Warrenton costs a lot more than $6.

Josh Martinez’s massive metal rocket car (price tag $4,500) is still on display but already sold out front of his tent “Modular Goods.”

He and Josh Lawson of “Dearly Departed Vintage” and Ashlin Leonard of “Revibe Inside” all set up their tents together because the Houston area trio all specialize in mid-century modern, retro-style items. Leonard’s favorite item she’s

Leonard’s favorite item she’s selling this year is a martini bar sign ($1,400). She’s also selling a row of neon bright 1960s airplane seats from a Continental plane for $800.

Lawson is selling a Arnt Lande designer rocker recliner and ottoman that he bought from a vendor in Warrenton when it was falling apart at a previous show. He re-upholstered it and is selling it now for $2,400.

Signs of the Times

A few steps down the walkway is Andy Bergara, who’s got several alphabets worth of old letters from signs spread out in the green spring grass.

The San Antonio resident is a Air Force-retiree who got into the junk business about 15 years ago.

He buys the letters from companies going out of business, and then sells them at places like Warrenton. He said people love to pick through the letters to spell out their family names to put on barns.

Everyone’s Got a Speciality

Refurbished cast-iron cookware is the specialty for Warren Botard and his wife Kathy at their booth, Funky Junktion in Bar W Field, right under a big Texas Flag they erected. They’ve been coming to Warrenton to set up for eight years from nearby Sheridan.

Stevie Lambeth came to Warrenton from a little farther – all the way from Kansas City.

Friday afternoon he was putting together a drafting table from the 1940s.

He had a wide array of old wood items for sale, some from the 1800s –old trucks and church pews and art easels.

He owns Stevie’s Antiques and unlike many of the vendors in Warrenton, antiques aren’t just a hobby or weekend gig, but his full time livelihood.

“It it’s old and broke we buy it and fix it,” Lambeth said.