A Lot Like Hoarding Minus the Flat Dead Cats

I went to The River Market Antique Mall around 5th and Delaware in Kansas City, MO ... again. 

Gads, how I love that place.  It's full of the best crap ever!  If you're a "treasure" hunter like me, you'll know I mean "crap" in the best possible way.  4 Floors packed top to bottom with furniture, Mad Men clothing, 70's decor', an antique snow rescue sled, chandeliers, jars of buttons or marbles, deer heads, a wagon wheel, concrete statuary, metal marquee letters, an ER gurney, old typewriters and as my 11 yr old son pointed out... lots of Coke products.  The entire basement floor is BOOKS!  It seems the big furniture is on the 3rd floor, so heads up. 

Before we go any further, how does this correlate with social media?  I think everyone of these dealers should have a website or a blog.  They should also be on Twitter, tweeting about the new treasures they just found and even post a www.twitpic.com revealing the enticing little gem.   They could ask followers what they are looking for currently or down the road. Engage in getting to know their fan base.  A fan page on Facebook would be just as easy too letting fans know where they will be doing shows and to display video of their treasure hunts.  Sadly the link on the home page for antique mall has a broken link to submit your email for email updates.  So click HERE to send them an email i fyou want IN on the cool promotions they are having.


Here are a few things I found interesting on this particular treasure hunt...

The dealer, Donnie Volkart (like folk art! LOL!) was very conscious of how he placed these Four Seasons statues. Winter is of course up front and center. Spring and Fall behind Winter and close by.  Summer is off in the distance.  I really appreciate the thought he put behind merchandising it.

Who doesn't love big wooden columns and the blue table with all the white stoneware...

I'm a sucker for apothecary jars. These look filled with residue of something... hmmm?

A deer head as promised.  One of 5 we saw and great pricing!

Donnie Volkart found this historical finial (very heavy) from a steamboat that had it's final dock in St. Louis.  Cool!  And there's TWO!

I love the old fan and the floor lamp in the back, but the hospital gurney as the base of the table is my favorite!

What can I say?  Pee Wee.  On a parachute. Wha?

Trees made of bejeweled pins, pearl earrings, necklaces, etc...  were popular.

The dealer said it's a reindeer... I'm thinking llama.  Cute riding toy though.

A very cool Masonic robe.  Wear it to receive the secret handshake.

need an ornament or what?!

This is a huge wooden work bench recovered from the Kansas City, MO Fired Department!  How strange but how cool. It felt, looked and smelled like it weighed as much as a house!

I have a thousand more images, but you probably haven't even looked this far down.  lol... but if you have and you go to River Market Antiques, let me know what awesome crap you find!