Vintage vision hits Vail Valley

EAGLE — It always seems like there is this one item in your home around which the rest of your decor revolves.

Maybe it’s something as small as a bowl or as large as a cabinet, but it holds a special spot in your heart and in your living space.

If you haven’t found that piece or if you are looking for some supporting players to highlight its importance, look no further than the Vail Valley Vintage Market happening this weekend in Eagle.

Jennifer Sturgeon and Gaby Milhoan are the creative forces behind the show, and they aren’t total amateurs at the effort. For the past four years, Sturgeon’s parents have been presenting the Lone Star Market in Ballinger, Texas.

“It’s amazing how it’s a small town of 4,000 people in the middle of Texas, but people come from all over to it,” Sturgeon said.

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A few months back, both women were at another home show when they bumped into each other in a particularly fun booth. They were both inspired by what they saw, and they both envisioned a whole show that would offer the kind of merchandise that the one booth displayed. They partnered up, asked the town of Eagle Marketing Committee for some seed money and booked the Eagle River Events Center. Then they set to work finding the type of vendors they wanted.

According to Milhoan, the women reached out to vendors from throughout the western United States and have attracted more than 60 artisans for the market.

“We wanted true vintage, antiques, salvaged and industrial pieces. Think the show ‘American Pickers,’” Milhoan said. “We ended up with a pretty great mix.”

She said some of the local folks are using the show to see if there is a market for their salvaged, hand-crafted and repurposed goods. Other vendors have spent years traveling the market circuit and have found their own personal niche.

“One of the coolest things I have seen is a guy who makes custom headboards out of salvaged wood and then installs lamps made out of Mason jars and industrial fixtures,” Milhoan said.

Big weekend in Eagle

The Vail Valley Vintage Market views itself as a compliment, not a competitor, for the downvalley Wheels & Wings event. The auto and aircraft show is planned for Saturday at the Eagle County Regional Airport, and Milhoan said anyone with a ticket stub from that show will get a discount on their market admission.

“We picked this weekend to work in and with the theme of a vintage feel,” she said.

Milhoan and Sturgeon also stressed that shopping is just one part of the market atmosphere. There will be food trucks and wine and beer booths at the event, along with a kids’ area featuring an alpaca petting zone, bounce houses, face painting and crafts. There will also be a project station for adults, where they can learn some do-it-yourself tips.

“People can come for an hour or they can make a whole day of it,” Milhoan said.

Bitten by the Vintage bug

As veteran vintage aficionados, Milhoan and Sturgeon hope that marketgoers will find pieces that truly speak to them.

Milhoan said she lives in a 100-year-old home and it was the challenge of moving in that drew her to vintage decorating.

“I thought, ‘What in the world am I going to do with all my furniture?’ when I moved in,” she said. But then she found a little white, wooden bench that, in turn, inspired her whole home.

“When I was growing up, our house was plainly decorated around this one couch,” Sturgeon said. She used to tease her mother about that decorating foundation, right up until the time she found these large decorating letters, covered in old maps, that spell out “Explore.”

“It is in our home and it has a lot of meaning for us,” Sturgeon said. “That’s what it is really all about — making your home your own with items that have meaning for you. Your home should have individual character. It shouldn’t just be someplace you lay your head at night.”