This weekend’s route stayed close to home and entirely indoors, beginning at the Brownwood Collectibles Expo before heading across town for a first visit to Junk and Disorderly Antiques.

We arrived just before opening at the expo and still found the space already filling with early browsers. It turned into one of those slower-paced days that works differently than a full market circuit but still delivers the same feeling of discovery once you start looking closely.

Treasure routes do not always stretch across multiple towns. Sometimes they are hiding right in the middle of your own.

The Brownwood Collectibles Expo took place inside the historic Santa Fe rail depot building, a setting that immediately gives the event a different kind of atmosphere than a typical vendor hall.

The show spread across the main room and an adjoining annex space, with roughly twenty vendors set up across both areas. Even arriving just before the official start time, the crowd was already building and continued to stay steady as collectors made their rounds.

The mix leaned strongly toward fandom culture and modern collectible nostalgia. Tables featured comic books, Pokémon cards, Magic: The Gathering decks, Funko Pops, vintage toys, customized gifts, and character-based accessories. Families moved through the aisles alongside serious collectors working carefully from table to table. We saw some of our favorite local shops set up there, including R&R Cards and Games who brought a huge collection they had been saving up special just for this event.

One of the most distinctive booths belonged to Zardachu, where Pokémon cards were transformed into jewelry using holographic coins, dice, and character artwork. Two pairs of stud earrings came home from that stop alone.

Looking back, the table that deserved a longer second pass was a densely packed vintage booth tucked among the card vendors. It included a clothing rack and an eclectic spread of small objects that hinted at more discoveries than we had time to uncover on the first lap.

After the expo, the route continued across town to Junk and Disorderly Antiques for a first visit.

Walking in felt like stepping into a space designed for slow browsing. The building is large and densely layered with booths carrying glassware, primitives, Western pieces, farmhouse décor, furniture, and mid century kitchen accents. It is the kind of antique mall that rewards multiple passes.

Several booths were heavily stocked with Mushroom Kitchen pieces, one of the clearest motif signals of the afternoon. Brass geese appeared more than once as well, alongside repeated flashes of chrome across mid century tabletop pieces.

A mid century chrome napkin holder and a Japanese metal trivet came home from this stop, though the piece still lingering in memory was a 1970s Homco mushroom wall plaque with frogs and butterflies. It was the kind of whimsical wall décor that makes a space feel instantly personal.

A few familiar names appeared among the booths, including Margaret’s Jams and Jellies and the Mad Hatters Estate Sales team, both of whom regular readers may recognize from routes across the region.

This is absolutely a stop worth building into future Brownwood treasure loops.

Several brass goose figures nearly made the trip back with us.

The Homco mushroom wall plaque with frogs and butterflies is still very much on our mind.

And the vintage booth back at the expo remains one of those tables that deserved a slower second look before leaving the depot.

There is always at least one object that asks you to come back next time.

This week’s pick: Mushroom motifs!

Mushroom imagery continues to appear steadily across antique malls and booth spaces right now, especially in kitchenware and wall décor from the 1970s. These pieces carry a warmth that works particularly well alongside wood grain, brass accents, and enamel surfaces. When they show up in clusters like they did this weekend, it usually signals a motif that is moving back into everyday interiors rather than staying tucked inside nostalgia displays.

Even without a traditional market schedule, the collector energy at the depot made the morning feel active from the start. Families browsed alongside dedicated hobbyists, and tables built around trading cards and fandom culture drew steady attention throughout the event.

Across town, Junk and Disorderly offered a completely different pace. Instead of quick passes between booths, the space encouraged slower movement and second laps through the aisles.

Weekends like this are a reminder that treasure hunting is not always about distance. Sometimes it is about taking a closer look at what has been nearby the whole time.

This route stayed entirely inside Brownwood and still managed to open new doors.

Between a crowded collectibles expo inside a preserved rail depot and a first walk through one of the town’s most densely packed antique malls, the day became a reminder that treasure hunting does not always require distance or a full event calendar.

Sometimes the best discoveries come from finally stepping into the places you have been meaning to visit all along.

Some pieces spotted along these routes eventually make their way into my online vintage resale shop, Not New Things.

Every Thursday we publish The Dispatch, a weekly guide to markets, estate sales, and antique stops across Central Texas.

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We love discovering new stops and supporting local businesses around Central Texas. 🩵

Thanks for wandering along this weekend.

Some routes stretch across counties. Others stay close to home and still manage to surprise you. Between a collector filled depot show and a first pass through Junk and Disorderly Antiques, this felt like one of those quieter Saturdays where you leave already planning the next visit back.

See you in Thursday’s Dispatch.