WINTER GETTING TOO long for you?
Uh, huh. I hear you. I’m feeling winter weary, too, my spirits quelled by the recent 10-inch snowfall in Faribault.
I long for warmth and sunshine, for bursts of color and blooming flowers. Just give me spring, will you?
Well, readers, I quite unexpectedly walked into spring, in Red Wing, Minnesota, of all places. Who would have thought? Certainly not me.
But look, spring…
Tulips, among the first flowers of spring.
More tulips in bloom.
This colorful scene simply makes me happy, just like spring.
So many flowers in bloom.
The pretty pastels of Easter and of spring.
Pretty, pretty florals.
Exactly what I needed to see on a winter day: jolts of color and flowers in bloom.
Pottery Place Historic Center in Red Wing, site of antique and specialty shops, eateries and the Red Wing Pottery Museum.
…inside two antique shops at Pottery Place Historic Center, 2000 West Main Street, Red Wing.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
OOOhhh—-I want to go there!!!! It looks wonderful and I think I might have spied some Fiesta Ware!!! Looks like a wonderful place to find spring and goodies!!!
You are right about the Fiesta Ware, which I love, but don’t own. My weaknesses are bowls and drinking glasses. Oh, and vintage tablecloths and trays.
I am floored, why are these shops so far from me, i want all that crockery and those tulip bowls.. such wondrous colour on another drab day.. any coloured glass? i know you had your eye out.. (what a strange expresssion that is.. does one takes ones eye out and point it about, how does that work!?!.. c
C, I was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of glassware in these antiques shops. Never have I seen so much in a single place and so artfully arranged. I told my husband if I was a bride-to-be, I would not register at a Big Box retailer for gifts, I would rather request all of my dinnerware, etc., from these shops. The colors and designs are stunning. I wanted those tulip bowls too and the ones with red polka dots and the… So, so much I wanted. I collect, and use daily, vintage glasses. Oh, I could have added to my collection. But I don’t NEED more. Also, gorgeous vintage tablecloths and aprons…
Is there a specific piece of something you are searching for? Maybe I will remember.
I haven’t been to that place in decades. It was a favorite jaunt for my parents (living on the East Side of St. P.)…pop down there, browse and have lunch at the St. James Hotel. Since Dad passed, Mom and gal friend still do the ‘lunch thing’ (Mom won’t drive that far……just around the East Side). When there I always had to get a piece of fudge from The Fudgery. Don’t even know if that’s still there (just inside the main doors). Great photos……raining outside right now and will continue today and tomorrow. D
I remember a candy shop, but veered myself away from it. We made the big mistake of not planning enough time for a trip to Red Wing. Less than four hours. Nope, doesn’t work. Next jaunt over there, I will have an itinerary in place and probably a room booked, maybe at a local B & B.
Good idea. I/we would spend a whole day!! More like a marathon!!!
A day, for sure. Two would be better.
Now that is the way to find spring when you need a good dose of it! Never settle for gray, wet atmosphere when there’s color just waiting for you to feast your eyes upon it.
I have a few pieces of Red Wing pottery, but I’m more drawn to the feel of the old, smooth vases from the 1930s. There’s something about running my fingers over them that makes me happy.
I totally understand your affinity for old vases. Those of us who appreciate “old stuff” all seem to find our niche. Vases are not only useful, but works of art, in my eyes.
I Love the pottery place, it’s a fun place to browse. I like how you captured spring in all the flowers and colors in your photo’s. I’m hoping for a few more weeks of winter, but spring will be nice when it comes 🙂
* my mom has those tulip bowls, they are so pretty!
Your lucky, lucky mom. I love those tulip bowls.
I know you love winter, but me, not so much.
Oh my goodness, that does look like spring. Nothing like outside my window where the 9-10 inches of snow has been reduced to a couple of inches of slush and puddles with gray skies and falling rain. I didn’t mind the snow last week. It was fun actually. But slush? No thanks. I’m with you: spring, please!
We still have snow covering the ground, although it was reduced considerably by the 1.75 inches of rain we had yesterday.Then more heavy snow for a short while this a.m. Fortunately it cleared in time to pick up our daughter who just arrived back from Argentina.
Thanks for the fresh spring colors! I needed that!
Red Wing is a great town and needs a full weekend to discover. There is a quaint little bookshop located in The Pottery Place and another great book shop downtown. Several coffee shops, too!
Aren’t the colors great. I needed to see these, too, because this winter has seemed interminably long. We had such a small amount of time in Red Wing, just there long enough to realize all we’d missed by not allowing more time. Thanks for the book shop tips.
You must be so tired of the winter. I can’t believe it’s still snowing in Spring! It seems to me you’ve had a very, very long winter but I remember the one before being extremely mild and that was when we had our coldest summer on record where it did nothing but rain. I’m glad you found some colour in your part of the world xx
Charlie, our winter extends at least until the end of the March with several snowfalls into April as well. We’ve had snow as late as late May here in southern Minnesota. In the past 24 hours, another five inches have fallen. That was after nearly two inches of rain on Saturday. So, yes, discovering those hints of spring in two Red Wing antique shops lifted my spirits.
What is it about these pictures that captivate and question? Is it the colours? Or the glorious uncertainity of “what next”?
Shakti
I suppose those would be questions for the reader to ask. I will have more photos from the antiques stores, just not spring focused.
Ok, I’m laughing because I saw the pictures of those wonderful glasses and didn’t realize where you were writing about and thought, “Oh, they have wonderful glasses like that at that antiques mall in Redwing.” 🙂 Love that place. I love those tulip bowls, too – everytime I see them I want them. Haven’t sprung for them yet!
I’m with you on the tulip bowls. They were probably my favorite discovery.
I love all the lemonade sets in the middle! I am so ready for spring to come… The tulips and daffodils in the stores are messing with my head.
I am ready for spring, too. So ready. Thanks for stopping by.
OH MY! It’s heaven!!!!!!
Totally agree. So much there that I wanted. But I held myself back and bought something for my brother and his wife instead after phoning, getting their OK and going to the ATM. The brother and his wife repaid me for the purchase of something they really wanted and I knew they would want.