Entry #19: Blue Horseshoe Antiques

anitazachary
Mar 17
8 min read

An asile packed with different antiques and treasures; two paths open while a line of furniature takes up the median

Join us as we visit one of our absolute favorite antique stores on our Antique Circut: Blue Horseshoe Antiques! This wonderous place - to us - is right at the top of our Favorite Antique Store list, rubbing shoulders with the greats, like Grandaddy's Antique Mall in Burlington!

We managed to find this absolute gem one summer, after we'd hit the few-and-far between antique shops in Smithfield, and picked up a flyer for the Old Antique Trail in North Carolina. That summer, armed with a Sharpie marker and a map, my daughter and I picked out all the shops we wanted to hit up (and all the shops we already knew!), and mourned the ones that closed. In that beautiful time, we found Blue Horseshoe Antiques & Collectables in Ramseur, North Carolina, and it was love at first sight!

A pathway and booths at the antique store, full-to-the-brim with vintage and antique items.

We've been back at least three times since (once with my husband, but that one didn't count becasue he rushed us through, lol!) and have found such treasures every time! So, we'd like to share our latest journey to Blue Horseshoe with you, taking you nearly booth-by-booth! I'll also try to point out what we ended up taking home with us.

Before we begin: Blue Horseshoe is split up into aisles, with booths on either side, and bigger furniature items making up the median. Sometimes there are also little 'alcoves' that break off into cul-de-sacs of booths, and in the very back, there's a twisting, winding library booth that spans the width of the building, and leads you right over to the Estate Sale area (usually closed off until Auction Night, which we have never been able to go to).

Starting off strong, we entered the very first of the 6+ aisles, and my daughter got her camera ready. We found this beautiful needlepoint of an Abbey, a doll my daughter thought looked sweet and slightly creepy (she says it's the eyes), a crocheted toilet paper cover, and a Springy little rabbit bowl that I almost took home!

A framed needlepoint of the York Minister Abbey.

A doll with blonde rope hair sitting on a shelf. Her eyes are made of hot glue. She wears a green floral dress.

A green and pink crocheted toilet paper cover with a baby doll head in the middle.

A pink flower bowl with a rabbit dressed in a green shirt attached to it. A glass bottle is inside the bowl.

We drifted on to the next booth, and she gasped.

A highly ornamented, gilded wooden frame; it is large, and completley intact.

A complete child's tea set in the colors of pink, orange, green, purple, and cream. There are roses and various flowers with gilded details.

A framed piece of embroidery that depicts Holly Hobbie, the character, wearing a blue and white dress walking through yellow flowers, carrying her cat.

That gold frame caught her right where she stood, and I also thought it was stunning! The price wasn't bad, a little high, but my eyes wandered to a picture frame hanging off of a wooden beam beside it (which we sadly did not get a picture of). It had that same gilding with a solid wooden band, and I just couldn't leave without it! Jordan got it down for me and carried it over to the 'waiting' table, where we left it so we could be hands free.

I spotted that sweet children's tea set in such perfect Spring colors, and at that price, it was an absolute steal! If there were any little ones here, I would've bought it on the spot. And lastly, I have always been a fan of Holly Hobbie; I read Toot & Puddle myself, and they were some of Jordan's favorite books for me to read her at night (besides our Halloween themed books), so seeing this sweet little embroidered picture made me smile.

Next, we moved on to Jordan's favorite booth in the whole store: The Record Booth.

Two large milk crates filled with rock, heavy metal, and pop vinyl records.

Two more milk crates filled with rock, heavy metal, and pop records.

A very large framed poster of the band KISS, as promo for 'Attack of the Phantoms'.

A table draped with a geometric tablecloth, filled with various vintage items, such as a stamp roller, fake marigolds, a beer stein, and glassware plates.

Now, the Record Booth has much more than just records (including a very cool stamp roller that I was almost tempted into) but Jordan is there for the records. There were four crates of records, she took two and I took the other two, calling out artists' names to one another, watched over by a truly giant poster of KISS.

Now she's gotten very lucky before and found her favorite album by Blackfoot (Strikes); and this time? She was even luckier. Not one, not two, but three - she found three Ozzy Osbourne vinyl albums, and lit up like a Christmas Tree! Seeing her so happy, there was no way I could say no. So she proudly, hugging the records to her chest, took them up to the counter and ran back to join me.

An aisle in the Blue Horseshoe where you can see different booths and branching pathways.

Another view up a pathway/aisle with booths to the left and a furniature median to the left.

Reaching the end of that aisle, we snapped a few photos of the layout, and how big a buffet it is for the eyes. There's so many treasures in there!

Next, we ducked into a little alcove (you can almost see it in the first picture, off to the right) which was new!

A dead-end booth filled with lots of items, all stacked with a clear pathway around.

Vintage gumball machine with iron feet and a glass bowl, painted red.

A cardboard box filled with milk glass drinking glasses and a milk glass pitcher.

A translucent orange plastic tackle box repurposed into a sewing and thread storage box.

Shelves filled with milk glass candy dishes, bowls, vases, and egg cups, as well as a cat-shaped pillow made out of blue and cream plaid.

An orange and white tied pumpkin crowned with a doily; a tree stick makes up the stem.

A tiny Buckingham Palace royal guard doll is captured in a clear plastic tube.

A stunning antique rolltop desk, with four drawers and a lock on each one.

The opposite side of the very same dead end booth, with various vintage items and antiques stacked up in a U shape. A chair hangs from the ceiling beams.

Tiffany lamps, gumball machines, paintings, vintage horse equipment, a tacklebox of sewing equipment, a whole set of milk glass drinking glasses, more decorative milk glass (and a cat pillow, like ours!), a fabric pumpkin - which, if you didn't know, that's how our shop started! - with a real wood stem, a rolltop desk my daughter and I drooled over, a silly Buckingham Palace guard, and so much more made up this cul-de-sac booth! There was so much to look at that it felt like an ISpy book in the best way.

Departing there, we started up the next aisle.

Another photo of the pathway of an aisle, this time pointed towards the median, where a beautiful solid wood Halltree stands.

What was once golf ball storage in the form of a folding cabinet has been turned into thread storage.

A quilt made entirely of the face and likeness of Elvis Presley, with his name in various fonts in the color of shades of blue, black, and cream. A sign in red beneath the quilt reads: "WOW!! Elvis is in the building!"

A booth that is filled to the brim with Spring flowers, Spring accoutraments, rabbits, and fake flowers.

A thin wooden crade holds a blanket that is green with white trees all over it, and a very realistic baby doll lays on it, dressed in pink and white, with a pink pacifier in its mouth. A beanie is above the babydoll, monogrammed into it is the name 'Celine'.

A white bookshelf filled to the brim with books.

Four very old, beautifully leatherbound books, complete with gilding; these books are very, very large.

The same white bookshelf but from farther away; those large leatherbound books sit on top of the bookshelf.

We found halltrees, Elvis quilts with cheeky notes, an ingenius way to store thread, someone's baby (doll) in a crib, a Spring attack, and big, stunning books. Oh those shrink wrapped books would've came home with us if they were in better condition! And, that stunning set of brown-red and gold books nearly came home with us too, but Jordan's eyes saved us - sadly, the books were showing signs of red rot. Red rot is a mold that affects older/antique books, and though curable, is a bit of an annoyance to get rid of, so the books stayed put.

Still reeling from the dazzle of the books, we continued on and found quilts!

Quilts of various color and size spill out of cabinets.

More quilts spill out of cabinets, while others hang in a small cabinet and other linens spill out of drawers.

Another angle of quilts spilling out of a big, wooden cabinet.

Moving down, we encountered a bench/halltree that I would've taken home, had I the space in my car - how sweet is that? The colors are just so soft, and I could wholeheartedly imagine this in my husband's Nana's house, covered with down pillows and decorated perfectly Shabby Chic; she wanted her guests comfortable, and this screams comfort to me.

A stunning halltree which is also a bench. It is painted in pastel colors of sage green, a soft buttery yellow, and cream. The top of the mirror is scalloped, with hooks beneath it for jackets.

A complete bull's skull with horns. Beside it on the left is a jaw bone and a vertebre is on the right.

A very bright orage, vibrantly colored booth with paraphenilia from the 60s and 70s.

A cobalt blue couch is layered with bright, lemon yellow and powerful orange blankets and knitted pillows. Bright colored glassware sits in the background.

Further 60s and 70s decor, including bright, color splotched floral chairs, tie-dye paintings, a framed bright red and orange quilting pannel, and bright orange glassware.

From that beautiful halltree, we found a bull skull (which was even more impressive in person) and fell right into a time warp, back into the 70s! The cameras on the cabinet caught Jordan's attention, particularly - she loves old cameras.

From there we mosied on, right into an apothecary!

A booth bursting with green, fake ivy, fake leaves, light tan baskets, and deep wooden cabinets. Ivy hangs everywhere from the top and around the sides; lots of natural, wooden and twine textures.

A photo of more of the cabinets, which carry jams, jellies, essential oils, candles, herb sachets, and antiques.

A stained glass pannel (framed) hangs on the wall behind an open, glass cabinet door. The stained glass pannel is very art nouveau, in colors of blue, green, cream, and pops of red.

There were sachets for tea, bathing, cooking, and so much more, here! It smelled divine, packed with soaps, jams, essential oils, forever plants, and so much more! The stained glass in the last photo caught my eye, but we ultimately left it, as I'm completely out of wall space now. This was a new booth, to us, and it was a true delight to look through!

Moving on, we found another beautiful cabinet.

A standing cabinet, which could also be an end table, made of solid wood. Two doors open into the body and there is one drawer.

A bowl of old timey, black-and-white as well as sepia toned photographs; think early 1900s, late 1800s dress.

A short grandfather clock shoved ino a corner; the face is very gold, and the door to the weights is open.

A butcher block table with very thick, carved legs. One end has a hanger for towels. The face is made up of different small blocks of wood.

A large painted egg that is just as wide as it is tall; at least two feet tall and the same wide. There is a japanese or chinese depiction of a group sailing along a river.

Photographs are a particular interest to us, we are just enthralled by their clothing, their expressions, and what they took photos of! So we were absolutely absorbed in that bowl of old pictures for a while. The grandfather clock - as you can see in the photo - was something I wanted my daughter to take a picture of. It was stunning, and though a bit smaller, looked like the one my father made - the one in our house right now - many, many years ago.

The butcher block table was beautiful; and strangely enough, we had just bought a butcher block table too! It was from a different store, but the coincidence was very fun. I loved all of the different grains in each square. And how could we not take a picture of the Giant Egg? It's Spring! But seriously, that egg was bigger than my and my daughter's heads combined.

From there, we approached another booth that my daughter likened to a Victorian living room, complete with turkey (sans head), turkey fan, globe, bird's nest, chandelier, and a couch I had to tear her away from. Recovered, I think it would be stunning.

A victorian couch which is upholstered in a very busy fabric (red, yellow, green, and cream) in a small pattern. Above that is a portrait in black-and-white, where the outer frame is painted green. In front of that is a chandelier.

An old bench that was, at one point, heavily used.

A fake bird's nest filled with three speckled blue eggs.

A whole skinned turkey with its fan spread hangs on the wall beside a seperate turkey hand fan.

Then, the aisle ended, and we turned the corner once more and met with even more beauty!

The booth at the end of an aisle, filled to the brim with vintage goodies!

The front of a big, beautiful, handcarved cabinet; its doors are open and there are various liquor bottles stored inside.

The side of the same cabinet as before; all doors are open, and more handcarved details, such as columns on its edges, can be seen.

The same cabinet as before, but a close up photo of the glass inset in the two upper cabinet doors. They are leaded glass, in circles.

A stunning, highly detailled coal scuttle, with feet. It is brass, with a beautiful antique gold petina.

"When I get my Victorian house," Jordan said, staring at the cabinet, "I'm getting that." It was a phrase often said, but with that big, hand carved cabinet, I knew she really meant it. When I asked her what she would put in it, she said: "Books, probably."

The coal scuttle also caught our eye, with its cute little feet!

A cabinet with various plates on top of it, including two flow blue and white plates.

Two brass or metal bunny rabbit statues sit amongst a wealth of glassware and a fake bushy plant.

Four shelves jam packed with statuettes, tchotchkes, plates, bowls, and so much more. It's like an ISpy game.

Three large shelves and a tabletop filled to the brim with statuettes, tchotchkes, plates, teacups, and so much else. It's like an ISpy game.

A red basket is full-to-bursting with a whole set of plates, bowls, and mugs that depict flowers. Beside it sits a big box filled with a very realistic baby doll.

We found blue flow plates, LOTS of statuettes and tchotchkes, bunny rabbits, a full set of bowls and mugs, another baby doll, and so much glassware our heads started to spin. Quite literally, we had to take a break for a moment and let our eyes adjust - we were starting to get overwhelmed!

Extremely large moose antlers hang on a plain wooden sheild on the wall.

A red bucket holds four sets of spike (small deer) horns.

A large milk glass punch bowl sits on a table, with a matching milk glass spoon inside it.

A small sized broom hangs on a beam but its handle is curled to form a sort of cane loop.

Eight shelves (and the top of the cabinet) are filled to the brim with items. Statuettes, tchotchkes, creamware teacups, and so much more. It's again, like an ISpy page.

Deer and moose antlers jumped out at us, with a milk glass punch bowl and spoon, a very interesting little broom, and shelves of creamware and tchotchkes! We thought we'd seen it all until we turned to the median of the aisle, and were met with a vintage barber's chair.

A vintage barber shop chair made of leather and metal.

A gold and marble cash register which is highly, highly ornamented and detailled. It takes US dollars and coins, and is from the 1800s.

A highly, highly decorated and ornamented cash register from the 1800s, wihch is gold and petina'd with time; this takes Shillings and Pence, and came from the UK.

A close up of a highly, highly decorated and ornamented cash register from the 1800s, wihch is gold and petina'd with time; this takes Shillings and Pence, and came from the UK.

Then, just next to us were absolutely stunning cash registers - one with marble to test coins, and it took USD - and the other, highly ornamented, which took Pence and Shillings! Which means that the behemoth of a register had to come all the way across the pond, probably on an old steamer. My daughter and I mused how beautiful they both were, and how pretty they would look in a themed diner or quirky soda fountain restaurant.

A stained glass piece in the shape of a trapizoid; the colors of cream, cobalt blue, and an amber-brown are layered.

A Beet Poot, or vase with a face; it takes the shape of a white man with large cheeks and a large nose. His eyes are brown and he's making a comical expression, with only two teeth visible.

Next, we found a whole set of moscow mule mugs, very pretty stained glass, and a pitcher that made us giggle. My daughter says this is called a Beet Poot online, and I think that is a very fitting name!

Next, we ventured into the highly anticipated Library booth, which wound and twisted, stretching the width of the whole building.

the Complete Unabridged Little and Ives Webster Dictionary and Home Reference Library, Illustrated International Edition on its side. It is INCREDIBLY large, colored red, with gold lettering on its spine.

Ten more shelves packed with various books.

Bookshelves that carry knick-knacks, including one whole shelf dedicated to statuettes of grandmothers doing various activities, like sewing, knitting, and washing clothes.

A close up portrait of Einstein leads the way out of the library booth, to another packed booth, where a stained glass transom hangs overhead.

A very large, gilded frame hangs behind a rocking chair.

By this point, we were so overwhelmed that we didn't actually pick out any books. But, my daughter did spot those grandmother figurines, and the stunning picture frame that was almost three feet tall!

We followed the little trail left for us, right under the Einstein picture, and found yet more booths.

Five empty quarter machines (or gumball machines) sit on top of a cabinet; they are from various time periods and are all different colors, but are mainly painted red, blue, and silver.

Large piece of driftwood are shoved into a almost-hidden shelf.

A hall mirror hangs on the wall; the mirror is handcarved and sports beautiful scroll work. Three hooks hang beneath the mirror itself.

A dark-red wood desk table stands, covered in other items, but sports hand carved details, spindles, and two drawers with locks.

Gumball machines, driftwood, a mirror we wanted to take home, and a stunning handcarved table that we also wanted to take home all lined that small area! There was no exit from here, so we turned around and went back through the library, taking last looks, before we finished up the last of the main aisles.

A white shell chandelier or wind chime (?) we're not exactly sure.

Scales, but they are made of red glass, with metal details and a marble base.

A poorly painted sign showing Crush from the movie 'Finding Nemo'; he's looking at the viewer and asking 'What's Up?'

A small dark silver jewelry casket, very muvh in the style of Art Nouveau, with swirls and flowers stands beside a bright red iron crab.

A stained glass piece portraying a black cat sitting on a stack of five books; the cat's back is to the viewer, and it's tail curls to the right.

We snapped these on our way up to the register, thoroughly overwhelmed, carrying way too many antiques, but happy as clams. We thought the glass scales were very interesting, and if we were Libras, we would've taken it home (even though we don't use red anywhere in the house); Jordan almost took home that silver casket (she has several others in gold) but didn't because she's also running out of space, lol! The little red crab was precious, as Jordan's a Cancer, and the sweet cat stained glass looks like one of her cats, Ozzie.

As we paid for our items (and there were quite a few!) we got to talking with the cashiers, giddy over our purchases, and somehow managed to leave a little under half of our purchase there! Thankfully, we were not charged for it - the pieces having already been wrapped in butcher paper and left on the 'waiting' table - and decided that we'd grab the items next time we're up there, if they're still for sale.

Thank you for joining us on our latest Antiquing journey! If you'd like, you can check out Blue Horsehoe Antiques & Collectables in Ramseur, North Carolina; I'll attach their social media handles at the bottom of this post! If you're in or around Ramseur, also consider checking out Magnolias On Main, an antique store that looks very promising! Sadly, we haven't had the chance to visit, but it looks amazing.

This post is not sponsored, we just love sharing wonderful little shops to help keep local NC places alive, and beautiful things out of the landfill. It's also a lovely place to take the family, and help the kids learn a little about history!

Blue Horseshoe Antiques & Collectables (Website; Facebook) - Ramseur, NC

Magnolias On Main (Instagram; Facebook) - Ramseur, NC