Amish Country Antiquing Continued - Mad Hatter Antiques

After Adams Antique Mall since we were in “Antiques Capital USA” (Adamstown PA) we continued on to see what more we could squeeze in before everything closed at 5 pm.  I don’t know that I have ever been somewhere where literally all shops close up at 5pm and everyone goes home to their family, Sounds nice in a way doesn’t it…

Mad Hatter Antique Mall
61 Willow Street (corner of Rt 272)
Adamstown, PA

Anyway, our next stop was Mad Hatter Antique Mall.  Mad Hatter is located in a former hat factory, and it has that high ceiling, industrious look of a former factory.  I love that these old buildings are not only surviving but thriving with new businesses bringing life into them. 

Oh my, such fun fabulous lamps!

We spent quite a bit of time at Mad Hatter – there was soooo much to look at and such interesting things.  I can safely say they have the widest array of mid-century modern that I have seen……..anywhere.  So many things that we recognized from our childhood, it was fun, fun, fun! 

Vintage Blue Aluminum Christmas Tree...
how awesome is this?

So many colorful glasses...and jelly jar glasses too!  

Nothings better than percolator brewed coffee!  Every shape
and size was here at Mad Hatter.

The girls having 1950's hair fun
I think they were practicing for
the hair styling dream sequence
in Grease

Many (like 20) years ago I purchased a set of 1960’s Hazel Atlas Glass Co Capri Blue Dot high ball glasses at an antique store in Richmond Virginia.  I just loved the color and at the time my everyday dishes were plain white so the aqua blue glasses looked so nice on the table with them. 

Hazel Atlas Capri Blue Dot Old Fashioned
Hi Ball tumbler..I had to have them!
photo courtesy of tias.com

Over the years and through many moves most of these glasses had broken but I still have a couple.  In the last couple of years I have purchased a few additional pieces in this pattern as I have found it and I have to say I still love it.  Mad Hatter had a 4 rocks sized tumblers…I had to have them J.

Although most of the antique malls do strive for their own “personality” not all are distinguishable from another.  Mad Hatter is not only distinguishable but truly memorable for their fun wares and colorful groupings.  We could have spent hours if they had been open later than 5pm…on second thought, perhaps it’s a good thing it wasn’t.

This is the third fabulous vintage stove
I have seen for sale in the last couple of months.
I'm dreaming of having a kitchen big enough
for this!

Saved by the bell on this piece...if I
had only had a bit longer to contemplate
where I would put this it might just have made
it in my car...

Shining A Little Light

I think I may have mentioned a couple of times when I moved into my 1929 bungalow 3 years ago it was kind of like moving into 1972…you know what I’m talking about, gold cabinets & trim, gold & green linoleum flooring, pineapple wallpaper EVERYWHERE..  I’m sure on trend for 1972 but not really so much in 2009. 

Just as outdated but I would say predating 1972 were most of the lighting fixtures.  Some vintage fixtures are so cool and if they had been closer in style to the age of my house that would have been so fab….but that was not to be.

This is one of the few I decided to keep...from my
upstairs hallway.  And there is the 72 gold...

So I was faced with replacing most of the light fixtures in my house and I really wanted something that was a little more unique than what I was seeing at my local Home Depot or Lowes.  I also have a real aversion to what I call the ubiquitous “boob lights”.…they’re everywhere. 

The Ubiquitous Boob...

So I started venturing into the lighting specialty shops and was literally sticker shocked by many of the fixtures that I found and loved….sorry I didn’t have several thousand dollars to spend here.  I also did quite a bit of online shopping but I’m a visual person and I was really struggling picturing the generic photo’s that I saw online in my dining, kitchen, bathroom and entry.  I know there were many options that possibly could have been perfect online – I just couldn’t get my brain there.  I finally struck gold in tax-free New Hampshire at The Lighting Center at Rockingham Electric as well as finding two fixtures at the massive discounted Home Depot Expo that was going out of business.

Old Kitchen fixture...after I had taken
it down (forgot to snap a pic while
it was still up...)

New Kitchen light Kichler 42155BPT from
Rockingham Electric in Rockingham NH



Old Dining Chandelier - I like milk glass but maybe
not so much with brass on my chandelier



Fancy New Dining Chandelier - Elk Lighting 2396/5
from Rockingham Electric

I replaced the dining, entry & kitchen fixtures myself – since the electrical was in place and it was a simple swap out no problem right?   After a small issue with the bracing for the dining room chandelier (the junction box from the old one dropped when I removed the old fixture so I had to put a new box in and make sure it was supported properly to hold the weight of the new chandelier) up they went.  I am definitely not an electrician but I’m here to tell you as long as you remember to turn the power off and pay attention to how the old fixtures come down - swapping an old light for a new light isn’t difficult.


Old Fixture from Entryway - the delivery
guys actually knocked it off the ceiling
when delivering my new couch.  Good
excuse to replace ASAP.



New Entryway Light - vintage from Ebay.  TJ also installed
an electrical outlet so I can plug my lantern string lights in.

Now the outside fixture & bathroom fixture were another story.  I definitely know my limitations when touching anything electrical and these two required more complicated installations – the outside fixture needed new wiring and the old bathroom fixture was mounted on the ceiling where the new one was a wall fixture to fit over my sink & mirror – so I called in TJ the electrician. 

Old Bathroom Light - there was a twin installed
in my basement as well...I traded that one in for
recessed lighting (will show soon - I have more
work to do)

New Bathroom Light Hampton Bay 499 549
from Home Depot Expo

Old Front Entrance Light

New Front Fixture  - Murray Feiss OL4400PBR
From Home Depot Expo

My neighbor at my old apartment is a carpenter so whenever I need someone to do work on my house I give him a call for a referral -TJ was a friend of said neighbor. TJ spent the better part of a day at my house and installed the new fixtures as well as some recessed lighting in my basement and a few new electrical outlets.  Referrals are definitely the way to go if you’re looking for someone to do these kinds of jobs.  He did such a great job and I am so excited to finally have everything installed.