Great Places to Shop in Lancaster County (Fifth in a Series)

If you are looking for unique gifts, I suggest you visit this weekend. It’s the start of the bazaar season in Lancaster County. You’ll be able to find locally-made crafts, home-baked goodies, art, jewelry, doll clothes, and great food. But be warned...most folks have to hustle to take them all in. And the locals are up and out early – some of the bazaars open at 7:30.

No need to hit the mall or the outlets. Local folks find the best gifts just around the corner from The Artist’s Inn – you can walk to several of these bazaars that are held in local churches or homes.

Most of all, it’s a great way to support the local community as many of the bazaars help non-profits. So get up early and go – you'll be able to find lots of coffee, hot tea and good eats.

Here’s a partial list of the events. When in doubt of where to go, just follow the signs!

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church – (105 West Main Street in Terre Hill) Offering 15 different kinds of homemade chocolate and great food, including soup “to go” to enjoy later.

Real McCoys Christmas Bazaar – (Held at the home of Doris Weidner, 128 Center Avenue in Terre Hill) – Holiday gift baskets, old-fashioned woolen Christmas stockings, natural ornaments and even dog treats.

Berean Church Bazaar – (407 West Main Street, Terre Hill) – My favorite local Jeweler will be at this one.

Weaverland Auction – On Precast Lane, just outside of Terre Hill. Lots of great crafts, including QUILTS. They usually go for low prices.

Bangor Church - Route 23, Churchtown – This is worth a stop just to take a peek inside this wonderful historic church.

Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran Church (9 Hahnstown Rd. in Ephrata) – Their Fair-Trade Fair will feature handmade crafts by artisans from 35 different countries.

Mount Culman Evangelical Congregatoinal Church (1885 Turkey Hill Rd, East Earl) – (just north of Terre Hill on Route 625) – Features local crafts and hot lunches.

The Happy Chapmans – Featuring Folk Art on the Farm – (Route 897 just north of Terre Hill) – Hand-painted signs, especially Christmas items. To read more about the Chapmans, see our previous blog: http://blog.artistinn.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

Liberty Auxiliary Fire Company – (330 East Main Street, New Holland) – You’ll find candles, Chirstmas ornaments, and handmade baby items and much more.

Annunication Orthodox Church of Lancaster – (64 Hershey Ave. in Lancaster) Greek Food Bazaar – Imported items from Greece, pottery and, best of all.....stuffed grape leaves and other Greek Foods.

Did all that shopping make you hungry? St. Paul’s UCC Church in Bowmansville (just north of Terre Hill at 133 Church St.) will be holding a Corn Pie Supper starting at 3:00 p.m.

Happy shopping!

Great Places to Shop in Lancaster County (Third in a Series)

I saw these cute folk craft signs on the street corners in town one day last fall. They advertised “Folk Art on the Farm”. My friend Kathy noticed them as well and we were intrigued. So off we went to follow them. We travelled north on Route 897, just outside of Terre Hill and only about five minutes from The Artist's Inn. In no time at all, we found where the signs led.

To a barn behind a house, filled to the brim with all things painted - snowmen, signs, and trees.

Berries in the Meadow is the name of a local business run by The Chapman Family. In the back of their house sits a barn that is magically transformed – depending on the season. We first saw it just before Christmas, so naturally I purchased several gifts.

I particularly liked the old objects that were painted - like a child's hand-painted ice skate stuffed with pine decorations. Yep, you'll now be able to find that amoung my Christmas collection.

Lancaster County just seems to bring out the creative side in folks - often using old items for their craft. Ah yes, there are usually yummy treats at the open houses.

I loved the bright colors and cheery sayings.

The second time we visited was in the spring and I purchased stuff for me. Their next show is this coming Labor Day weekend, so if you are in town, make sure you stop in. If you aren't in town, call us at 888-999-4479 or visit www.artistinncom/reservations.htm and we can help with that situation! I can't wait to add to my fall collection.

Their motto is “Put a Little Happy in Your Life” and I’m hoping these pictures will help you do just that – in case you can’t make it to The Chapmans in person. To keep track of them, you may want to follow their blog: http://www.berriesinthemeadowart.blogspot.com/ or visit their online store at http://www.berriesinthemeadow.etsy.com/

Great Places to Shop in Lancaster County - Second in a Series

Just 5 miles from The Artist’s Inn is the quaint outdoor antique and collectibles market of Shupp’s Grove. Tucked away in a shady corner of Lancaster County, Shupp’s Grove attracts antique dealers and buyers from near and far. It is the oldest outdoor antiques market around – that’s saying something since Adamstown is known as the Antiques Capital of the USA.

In fact, if you’re a fan of the Antiques Roadshow, you may find it interesting that Leslie and Leigh Keno got their start at Shupp’s when their dad was a dealer – we once saw a picture taken of them with 70’s hairstyles.

Admission is free, parking is free, fun is free. And, if you find what you didn't know you were looking for, well, that's when the free ends but the fun continues.
I really liked these outdoor "sculptures",


while Bruce finds it hard to pass up a Barrister bookcase.


And you just never know when you'll need another doorstop.
Or WWII ammunition?



Over the years, we’ve purchased all kinds of things – Christmas gifts, an old buggy seat that we use as coffee table for the Carriage House, antique linens,


furniture, even an old plunger to hold extra rolls of toilet paper at the Olde Stone Cottage.

You just never know what you’ll find!


Do not miss a stop at the bath house. There are not many places that have restrooms this nice. Fresh flowers and a real fireplace in the fall – that’s my kind of restroom!

Shupp’s also has several places to stop for a bite to eat and build up more energy for shopping.

If you look on their website, you can find the listing of special themed weekends. Dealers ranks swell during the three Antiques Extravaganzas – the last full weekends of April, June and September.

So, if you enjoy the romance of the woods, the thrill of the hunt and the euphoria of “the big find”, make sure you head to Shupp’s Grove. But hurry, they are only open April through October.

Great Places to Shop in Lancaster County (First in a Series)

Do You Yearn For An Urn?

The time had come to do something about our front yard. Years ago, Main Street in Terre Hill had been lined with huge oak trees. Their branches reached for each other across the street and met in the middle, creating a canopy that shaded sidewalks and cooled front porches. But when the electric and phone companies started trimming them, the trees began dying off. All that remained of the two that were in front of the inn was a tangle of roots and rotting stumps. Our ivy did a fair job of covering up the uneven ground.

So we replaced the sidewalk and had the rest of the old stumps ground out. But it looked so empty. That’s when I remembered Hoover’s Farm Market.

Located on Route 23 between Goodville and Churchtown (a mere five miles from the inn), they make concrete statues and urns.

It's where I purchased my beloved three-foot bunny for the back gardens of The Artist's Inn. He has survived several years – in fact this winter’s snow covered almost all of him.
My mom and I stopped at Hoover’s and I quickly found what I wanted-two beautiful large urns to replace the trees. She insisted that I get them. In fact, she paid for them too. Now you know where I learned my shopping philosophy: “If you see something and fall in love with it, you just need to buy it.”

There’s a wide selection of urns from which to choose – along with nursery plants, fresh vegetables and home-baked goods –

even "outhouses" - so it’s worth a stop whether you need statuary or not.

There is one drawback.....Hoover’s offers no delivery on urns.

Time to call some good friends for help. Good friends like Bob and Lynne. They own an inn, the Australian Walkabout. They also own a pick-up truck. And so we invited them to dinner.....

Getting the urns in the truck was easy - Hoover's had a contraption - sort of a cross between a backhoe and a forklift. Now came the moment of truth - unloading the urns without breaking them - or any other body part.

And so Bob and Bruce wrestled with the urns. (Funny, but neighbors seem to disappear from their front porches when a project like this gets underway.)

No job would be complete without a cheerleader, though I suspect that Taylor was more excited about the ice cream at dinner than the urns.

Lynne stood by with refreshments for moral support.

I was busy taking pictures.

The flowers are planted and now we just wait for the ivy to fill in. So if this gets you yearning for an urn, you’ll know to head to Hoover’s.

One of Lancaster County’s best secrets: great little shops that offer so much – they aren’t found on any tourist map and rarely do advertising. But the locals know about these jewels throughout Lancaster County. I’ll introduce you to some of my absolute favorites in this blog.....so stay tuned – after all, there’s always some shopping to do!

Girls Just Wanna……..Go Shopping in Lancaster!

We think that Cindi Lauper would agree….you have fun when you go shopping. And, as you can see in these pictures, it seems the guests at The Artist's Inn never run out of places to shop. What better way to carry on a conversation, discover new things, stop for lunch, and generally…have fun.

The thrill of the hunt is just ten minutes away in Adamstown (the center for antiques shopping in Lancaster County). Two huge warehouses and lots of little shops and outdoor flea markets await you. Whether you are adding to a collection or just browsing and open to new ideas, it’s a great place to visit. We’ve found many a treasure for our inn, cottage and carriage house in Adamstown.

Of course the outlets are here – three centers in fact – VF in Reading, Tanger and Rockvale in Lancaster. We are smack in the middle between Reading and Lancaster, so you can take your pick of bargains. Amish quilts, local crafts and small interesting shops can be found on the back roads throughout Lancaster County. They may not be listed on the major tourist maps, but you are sure to enjoy these special gems.

Be sure to leave room in your car for some of Lancaster’s bounty, whether it’s home-grown produce, nursery plants or pumpkins in the fall. Our fields burst with corn, tomatoes and squash in all varieties. And if you like flowers, trees and shrubs…..there are at least 8 nurseries within a 15-minute drive of Terre Hill.

Don’t forget our “sales”. Outsiders may refer to these as auctions. It’s a great way to mingle with the locals and catch great prices. Many auctions take place every week, while the mud sales (to benefit our local fire companies) typically take place in the Spring. You’re liable to catch auction fever if you go!

Lest you think only girls like to have fun, we recently had a guest who bought 29 quilts at a local auction. Everyone on his list is getting a quilt for Christmas!

So, the next time your girlfriends want a getaway, bring them to Lancaster – they just wanna have fun and go shopping! And you just may find your picture on our blog!

The new Cat

Some of our favorite guests stayed with us a few weeks ago and brought us a present. A new cat. You would have thought that we had enough of the four-legged variety but this one is different – it doesn’t need attention or to be fed, but still looks adorable and has found a spot under the antique high chair in the dining room.

It came from one of my new favorite places – Graybuck Country Home in Mohnton. Last fall, my friend, Paula and I went to Graybuck looking for Christmas decorations for the Carriage House. We weren’t disappointed – they have some great ideas and nice gifts. I can’t wait to go back in the summer when the garden center is open. I was already drooling over the outdoor fireplace. Check their website for directions and hours and, if you go, tell Barb we sent you.

It seems a lot of my guests are quite fond of shopping. I do my best to investigate new places, whether it’s a craft shop, nursery, or woodworker. There are so many great little stores to discover in Lancaster County – we are really blessed with lots of local talent.

But buying is the easy part – getting everything home sometimes presents a challenge. We’ve helped folks tie luggage to the top of cars, mailed home goodies and even held an occasional piece of furniture. I should really start taking pictures of people’s cars when they leave – the shot of two outhouses in the back of the pick-up would have been nice. Or the station wagon packed with purchases – I had to help load the tall planter so it would sit across the laps of three women or it wouldn’t have fit!

And so, as I look around the inn, I see that many of my favorite things have been gifts from people. Little reminders of fun times and warm hearts. But the best gifts of all are the friends that come to visit us at The Artist’s Inn.