This past October my girlfriend Isabelle and I travelled to Waco, Texas to attend an event called ‘Silobration’. If you don’t watch the show Fixer Upper or know who Chip and Joanna Gaines are, you are probably wondering what the heck I am talking about!
Leading up to this trip, when I would tell people I was going to Waco, I got many puzzled looks. I think when people hear Waco, they still think of the whole tragic David Koresh, mass murder that happened back in the early 90’s. The popularity of Fixer Upper and the fact that Chip and Joanna are proud to call this town home, has certainly gone a long way in changing Waco’s tainted image. The bi-line of an article in Texas Monthly says that “Chip and Joanna Gaines are renovating Waco’s reputation one home at a time”…I love that!
Isabelle and I, who are die hard fans of Chip and Joanna Gaines both receive emails and updates from Magnolia Market, so for months and months, we were reading information about the 2nd Annual Silobration. We talked about going, and then in September we decided to make it happen! YOLO am I right?
If you haven’t heard of Silobration, it started out as a grand opening/celebration of Magnolia Market at the Silos and now it has become an annual event. To learn more, you can read about it on Joanna’s blog: https://magnoliamarket.com/second-annual-silobration/
For my fellow Fixer Upper fans out there, visiting Magnolia Market at the Silos is like being called home to the mother ship. I visited the grounds 3 times in 2 days, and honestly could have gone back a 4th! I took so many photos that I have decided to split them up into 2 posts. In today’s post, I want to share some of the many photos I took inside Magnolia Market. In part two I will share more about the Silobration event as well as the grounds of the Silos-the Market is just one component!
For our first visit to the Silos, I think Isabelle and I were there for several hours. Magnolia Market is a huge retail space, stocked with all kinds of farmhouse goodness. Did you know that Joanna opened the original Magnolia store when she and Chip were first married? Fun fact that I learned while reading their bio.
This is a photo of the original Magnolia store.
While Magnolia Market is filled to the rafters with all things Joanna, Chip has his own corner too, stocked with “guy stuff”.
Because of the Silobration, the store was extra busy. One of our concerns about attending the event was that it would be crowded and we wondered if it was a bad time to plan a visit. I am so glad that we didn’t let that stop us because, while it was definitely crowded, it was never an issue. Yes we waited a while in line to pay, but because the line snaked around the store, I just took it as an opportunity to have a close up look at #allthethings.
The crowds were black Friday-like, but I was impressed at what a lovely group of people the Magnolia Market customers were. Everybody just seemed happy to be there, despite the lines.
Isabelle and I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Stevens, Joanna’s mom. What a sweet lady! According to the staff she is a regular presence at the store and is always happy to meet and greet the visitors!
One of the first things that immediately caught my eye upon entering the store was this amazing installation on the wall.
This vintage book installation was one of my favourite displays in the store. I had never seen anything quite like it before. I have an obsession with old books, and I have since I was a kid. So does Joanna, and they are one of her decor staples. But books on the wall? With an image printed on them? Mind blown!
A few weeks after my visit to Waco, I was scrolling instagram and came across a blogger who was also struck by this masterpiece, and had posted a picture of a similar installation she made for a wall in her home. Dannyelle, of Life Is A Party, figured out how to re-create this just from looking at a photo! I am constantly amazed by people’s creativity. What’s even more awesome is that Dannyelle created and shared a tutorial on how to make your own. Its on my (long) list of “things I want to try and make”! Check it out here: https://www.lifeisaparty.ca/2016/diy-deer-book-art/
And now lets get to the eye-candy, the photos I took from around the store…it’s probably a good thing that I was limited as to what I could buy/bring home because the urge to purchase every single thing I saw was STRONG!
Lots of “signature” Joanna accessories, the recycled glass jars and the Magnolia Wreaths in particular.
What a creative way to showcase their paint line… I was a bit sad there were no paint chips to take home.
The way that the merchandise was displayed made you feel like you had strolled onto the set of the show!
There was tons of amazing wall decor, my favorite was the horse picture, its Chip’s horse Dolly! It was a little too big for my carry-on though. Sad face. I did end up purchasing the vintage poster hanging kit and a map poster to go along with it as these items were portable!
I bought the white version of the cute little vase perched on those vintage books. I was so inspired by all of the vignettes and displays around the store! It was like my favorite decorating magazine come to life…sigh…
Leather, plaid and one more shot of the portrait of Dolly!
There were lots of kitchen goodies to feast your eyes on. In particular, I loved the pottery, cake stands and the beautiful books!
Well, that wraps up the photos of the inside of Magnolia Market. I hope you got a sense for what it is like to visit the store! In the next post I will share photos of the Silobration event, the greenhouse which is an additional retail space, and the grounds of the Silos!
Thanks for reading!
xo, Kerri