Today I took the day off and Visited the Chandelier Barn Market Country Christmas sale with my friend Sarah. This beautiful working farm in Southern Indiana hosts three events yearly including a spring show, fall show, and the Country Christmas show. The farm utilizes their large barns and brings in multiple tents to host dozens of vendors and artisans selling handmade crafts, upcycled furniture, antiques, art, jewelry, metal art, lighting and much more. I first visited during their fall show in September and enjoyed it enough to come back.
The day started off early as I headed to my friend Sarah’s house at 6 am. We had purchased the early bird tickets in hopes of beating the major crowd that would follow over the weekend and although only about an hour drive they were on EST so the doors opened at 7:30 our time. However, due to some “navigation” issues, we ended up arriving when general admission opened. Our GPS lost signal and while chatting away, we missed our exit and found ourselves 30 miles north of where we should have been. After turning around, the gas light came on and indicated we had 11 miles before running out of gas. With this section of the interstate being recently developed there aren’t many exits or gas stations along the way and I was quite certain we wouldn’t make it. By the grace of God we found a gas station a few miles away and fueled up before finally making it to our destination. We laughed and joked about what a stereotype female road trip this had become.
We were greeted at our car by an Amish buggy that escorted us to the 150 yards or so the market entrance. Our first stop was a small booth selling knitted hats and gloves where we both snagged our first purchase. This was the first really cold day of the year with a high in the upper 30’s and wind forecasted for most of the day. After a mild fall, no one was quite prepared for the frigid environment. I laughed as I saw probably half of the patrons visiting were wearing those cute cable knit hats and I imagine that girl made a killing today.
We made our way through the barns and vendor tents grabbing a few things here and there. I brought about $100 cash just in case some vendors didn’t have card readers. After picking up two larger decor items from cash-only booths this dwindled quickly. I asked one vendor why he didn’t use a card reader, and he said it just didn’t seem worth it for them. This is definitely the type of place where I could spend $5 or $200 depending on what kind of deals or unique items I found and I don’t tend to carry around large amounts of cash. This vendor had an adorable upcycled wooden desk that I would have taken off their hands but told them I couldn’t since I didn’t bring that much cash with me. Tip for vendors: in today’s world you need a card reader. This is how people shop and I guarantee the business you are missing will make up for the small transaction fees.
I found a shutter painted the most beautiful shade of blue with attached wire baskets and a small wreath. There were dozens of crafts made from old shutters and window frames but this color really popped. I love this piece mostly because of the color and the shutter itself was still in pretty good shape. It will probably end up in our mudroom once we renovate it.
My favorite item was a “Merry Christmas” metal sign inlaid in a wooden frame created by Cascade Metal Design. I love metal signs and had purchased one from them at the fall sale that said “Gather” which is hanging in our dining room. I have a large metal sign from Magnolia Market but I’m glad to have found these guys where I can purchase them locally and for about half the price. These signs are a perfect farmhouse-industrial blend and beautiful in our home.
Lunch was our choice of several food trucks and we went straight for the comfort food at The Twisted Toaster. I had a delicious grilled sandwich with mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar, and bacon. You’re never too old for a grilled cheese, especially one with so much class! Another booth was selling “Christmas Cider” which I believe was pressed cider with melted red hots and spices and this hit the spot as we warmed ourselves sitting on hay bales in front of a bonfire enjoying our lunch.
We finished up skimming the rest of the vendors playing close attention to the handmade signs so Sarah could get some ideas and see what those vendors had to offer. She makes handmade custom signs through her business Behind The Green Desk. There were probably hundreds of signs in all shapes and sizes throughout the sale today and I truly feel hers are top notch in comparison. I’ve seen a lot of her projects and she works hard to make every sign unique and special. I hope she was encouraged enough to open a vendor booth or table sometime soon because I know she would kill it!
Overall I have enjoyed each trip to the Chandelier Barn Market. These types of craft shows and vendor sales are all over the place and I encourage you to check out any going on in your local community. This one was a great venue for a girls trip and 2-3 hours is plenty of time to make your way through everything.
I wish I had more photos to share, but due to the aforementioned “navigation” issues, my phone battery lost power so I was only able to grab a few. Check out their website for more photos.
