Unique Finds with the Ferguson's ❤️

Welcome to the GypsyMoon Chronicles! We are so excited to share with you our dear friends- Colbi & Brandon from Ferguson’s Finds! Ferguson's Finds is not your typical antique store! They offer items to suit a wide variety of styles including, farmhouse, industrial, primitive, retro, shabby chic, general store, and much more. Their curation includes advertising, general/country store pieces, furniture, and unusual one of a kind items.

We met them years ago at our 3rd and most rainiest GypsyMoon EVER! They were troopers and the fact that they are the sweetest people ever and incredibly talented made us want to have them back show after show! We just know you will love them as much as we do!

Grab your tickets to GypsyMoon Marketplace so you can shop with Ferguson’s Finds April 29 & 30!

Gosh, we love Ferguson's Finds and all your cool picks!!! Tell us where your love of picking/ collection came from!

Brandon- When I was about 4 or 5 years old I started attending auctions with my dad and pop. They liked old stuff, I liked old stuff and I soon realized that I could make money on it. In about a year or so, I had a business of buying and selling!

Colbi- I always loved decorating with vintage and antique items. I was actually “on the hunt” for a few items and when I met Brandon he was like “Oh yea, I have 4 of those in the warehouse!”

When and how did your business first begin?

Where do yall go and find these treasures?!

Here, there, and literally EVERYWHERE! We travel several states (mostly Missouri, Indinaia, Kentucky, Tennessee) going to sales and auctions looking for the most unique items to bring back to you! We also scour online marketplaces regularly and find some pretty cool pieces on there! We have been doing this for so long, a lot of times people contact us when they have items to sell.

You both have pretty demanding careers, plus another business! How do you balance everything! Give us some tips :)

Colbi- Wine! LOL JK! I know this sounds cliche,but the secret sauce that keeps everything running is teamwork. (They say teamwork makes the dreamwork!) I am thankful that Brandon supports all of my crazy ideas and dreams. We work together and do what we have to do, to make them a reality. We each have our own strengths and bring them to each business, which helps share the workload. (Brandon will tell you that Blossom Hill is entirely my baby… but he is up with me most mornings at 5am harvesting! He is even getting pretty good at knowing the names of flowers and making bouquets!) We are working hard to build our “empire!” I have so many entrepreneurial ideas that I want to pursue, but Brandon has to pump the brakes and slow me down sometimes! As our “side-hustles” have grown, our time has gotten more difficult to split. I have recently accepted a new position that allows me greater flexibility on the weekends and in the evenings. This has been a tremendous game changer to allow me more “brain-space” to focus on our budding businesses!

Brandon- We’ve got you all fooled! We don’t. (But it helps if you marry a woman who could outwork most men!)

As a married couple do you go on picking dates? If so, what does that look like?!

Colbi- It looks like every Saturday of my life for the past 10 years! Most every trip we take, Brandon is searching online to find an auction or something to buy along the way. One time he asked me if I wanted to go to the mall, and I couldn’t believe that he wanted to come to Bowling Green and go shopping. So I agreed and we jumped in my car. On the way there he said “Oh, by the way, I need to stop somewhere and look at something real quick.” Little did I know, before we even left the house, he had already bought an entire collection of typewriters in Bowling Green. With 40+ typewriters crammed into my car I didn’t even have room to go shopping!

Brandon- “I made money on those typewriters. I still don’t see a problem with it.” We enjoy long walks down the flea market aisles and romantic evenings at the auction house, she hangs in there with me pretty well at auctions. I have to keep her out of bidding wars.

What has been your all time favorite find?

Too many to name!

Have you met anyone famous while on the hunt?

Our travels have allowed us to cross paths with some pretty famous people! We set up in Leipers Fork from time to time, which is home to celebs like Mike Wolf from American Pickers, Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Stapleton just to name a few! We have bought and sold several items from Mike Wolf, even played catch with his dog Francie! Another funny celeb story came from Leipers Fork a couple years ago… A lady in our booth was talking to Brandon about a pair of glass front drawer pieces that we had displayed for sale. She seriously considered them, but ultimately did not buy them. After she walked away, another vendor approached us and asked if we knew who that was… it was Jessica Beil, Justin TImberlake's wife! We have also sold some vintage Christmas items to Amanda Shires (Jason Isbells wife) that was featured in one of her Facebook videos! Larry Gatlin has also shopped at our booth.

Trends obviously change, what are some things that are trending now?!

Over the years, we have seen several trends come and go, however we try not to buy based on trends. We look for pieces that we love and hope you do too! We believe that general store/mercantile items and antique advertising/signage are timeless and worth preserving. While that is our speciality, we have seen prices fluctuate on those items throughout the years due to changes in popular interests. Joanna Gaines “Farmhouse” trend has been popular for a few years now, which fits our style great!

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to incorporate antiques in their home for a mix of old and new?

Colbi- I would love to give some advice… but I am probably not the best person to ask! We always joke about the only “new” things in our house are appliances, our couch, and mattresses! I just use what I love and it’s hard for me to spend money on new items, when there is so much cool old stuff in our warehouse! I use a piece for a while, until I find something I like more and then swap it out!

Brandon- Decorate? Yeah, that’s her job.

Do you own a piece or collection that you would not part with? If so, please tell us about it!

It’s a running joke whether we are buying items to keep or sell! We both had so many things we “collected” that we made the rule “If it starts with the same letter of your name you could collect it..” well needless to say we got creative and store counters became “beautiful store counter” so Brandon could collect them!

Colbi- I have several things I collect/hoard! My great-grandmother and I were in an antique shop and both fell in love with a Candlewick punch bowl. That started my addiction to Candlewick. I used to collect Pyrex, but now I have almost every piece, so the excitement of finding one I don’t have has worn off… so I am thinking about selling it! I love anything garden or flower related (One time we were at a pick and I told Brandon there were some terra cotta pots I was interested in. He walked in the shed and asked which ones and I said all of them. Needless to say we left with a truck bed full of terra cotta pots.) I have several quilts and cake plates, and an ever growing collection of vintage Christmas. (I had so many Santa salt and pepper shakers, I had to narrow it down.. so now I only collect kissing Mr. & Mrs. Claus shakers!) Everyone also wants to buy our vintage Santa Post Office and our checkout counter.. but Brandon’s response is always “You’d have to fight my wife over that!” (And I think I would put up a good fight over those items!)

Brandon- My early wooden farm advertising collection will not be for sale as long as I live. There is one sign in that collection that I had tried buying for nearly 10 years. Colbi and I were getting pretty serious and she was waiting on an engagement ring. They announced the three-day auction and it was on her birthday. Strike one. I went to the auction and spent some of the money I had saved for her ring on this sign. Strike two. She still got a ring out of it and the only thing she asked is if her ring costs more than the sign.

What would be your "ultimate find" of a lifetime?

Brandon- I’ve already found it… Colbi. (Cough cough. If anyone asks… she wrote this answer.) I wouldn’t say it’s my “ultimate find” but right now I’m looking for a round or double round Merrick Spool Cabinet.

Colbi- It’s hard to say what my ultimate find would be because you don’t know what all is out there. I would love to complete my candlewick collection. I think my best find so far is our checkout counter. It was covered with grease and filth. I scrubbed on that thing for weeks.

How has GypsyMoon helped grow your business?

Since we both have full time jobs, we are not able to have a brick and mortar storefront. GypsyMoon offers us the opportunity to have a “pop-up” shop twice a year. It has greatly expanded our market audience. Although most people don’t come to GMM looking to buy a store counter, we get several calls after the show asking about our items. It also has given us a supportive network of other small business vendors!