ANTIQUES AND GOING GREEN?

When I was thinking about acquiring collectibles and antiques, I started pondering if collecting "stuff" could be part of wanting to improve my "going green" lifestyle.
That was when I discovered on Google the following antique shop.

'A TRUE ANTIQUES SHOP' in Strasburg, Va.

Vilnis & Co. Antiques is a Shenandoah Valley dealer in Strasburg, Virginia who sells antique furniture and accessories in "properly-restored and in estate condition," as well as period antique Federal, neo-classical, Empire, American, English, and continental furniture and decorative arts. Owner Vilnis Vitols recently talked about his shop in Strasburg.

How does Vilnis describe his shop?

This is an old-fashioned antiques shop similar to those one would have found thirty or forty years ago. Vilnis prefers to stick to the Webster’s definition of an antique, which is 100 years old. Most of the items he carries are pre 1830, although you will find an excellent selection of items from all periods. His specialty is neo-classical, city, high style, but he also carries quality examples of country furniture, folk art and a smattering of 20th century modern. Occasionally he will offer a good reproduction for sale, but it is always properly labeled as a reproduction.

What advice would he give beginning collectors?

Collecting Antiques is an acquired taste, that is - REAL Antiques collecting. Expose yourself to as many real antiques as possible. Seek out antiques professionals who are willing and excited to share their knowledge. The saddest part about antiquing today is that you could visit twenty shops today displaying a sign that reads “Antiques” and never find one real antique. This is a real antiques shop.

Vilnis & Co. sells real antiques. Plan a trip to Strasburg and be ready to discover a bounty of treasures at Vilnis & Co. Antiques. Vilnis & Co. is located at 329 N. Massanutten. (540) 465-4405 or visit him on the web at Vilnis Antiques. And don’t forget, real antiques are the epitome of “going green” and the original “recyclables!”

Have You Considered Using Classified Ads to Buy/Sell Collectibles?

At the bottom of this blog I have added a sample site of Classified Ads that might help you in your search to buy collectibles/antiques for your collections or to sell your own collections. I will try this for awhile to see if anyone has any success. Be sure and let people know with comments.

SPRING IS COMING! What does your fancy turn to?

Depending on where you live, it is coming faster or slower than others. For those of us living in San Diego county, it is coming faster. Thanks to the plentiful rain we received last month, things are greening up almost over night. Flowers are Blooming! For those of you living in the MidWest or the East, it is coming slower. My granddaughter is going to college in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and my daughter's family live in Platteville, Wisconsin and although the temperatures are coming up; their 10 day weather forecast still includes a possibility of rain/snow showers. But I am sure that the word "showers" brings some degree of hope for Spring coming.

Regardless of your weather right now; in Spring, what does your fancy turn to? Even though I have a limited planting space for a garden, I still love collecting seed catalogues. Some of the other "fancies" I turn to include Spring baseball, one day road trips, Spring cleaning ( because I
feel like I have to--NOT because I want to), reading cookbooks for Spring and Summer recipes,
and thoughts of being outdoors more! And, let's not forget the arrival of Daylight Savings Time.

As I think about my Spring fancies, I realize that there is one that includes all the others.
Drum roll, please! Garage Sales! Not being an avid garage sale person, I find myself looking for the ads and the signs in the yards of upcoming sales. Every fancy that I have at springtime can be tickled at a garage sale. I love looking for old copies of seed catalogues, anything collectible for baseball, books and maps for road tripping, cookbooks - both old and new that generates some watering of the mouth when read. Notice, that I left out the housecleaning fancy unless I can find some old-fashioned advice or feng shui books that will make the process easier.

So, for those of you who are like me and don't have the word avid in front of your garage sale interest; I am posting some garage sale tips for you. Even if you have heard them before, you might forget some of the key ones from year to year. The following guide fits into the avid fan of garage sales: the eBay seller. Even if you are collecting for just yourself and not selling on eBay; you know that someday your collections will outgrow your space. So you might be a seller on eBay before you know it and even if not you will find some very useful tips in the following guide. The Garage Sale Guide was found on

Tips for Garage Sale Buyers and Sellersby: maxsamedia( 3372)

Find those sales. Check your local paper (also online version), those pennysaver freebie papers and craigslist for garage sales. I also find signs people put up around town in advance, which rocks! I can find out a few days ahead if I can make it there.

• Courtesy and a Smile. This goes for you too! Courtesy never hurt anyone, so be nice. I always try to say Good Morning/Afternoon to the sale holder. Nice touch. Also, try not to make a mess, pick up after yourself, compliment something, help them move things, ask before going somewhere that may be private, watch your kids. Don't ever call their stuff crap, even if it is and even if you’re not buying anything. It is just beyond rude. Just look around, say thank you/good luck and leave. If you're in a small town, someone there may remember you at their garage sale and charge you an arm and a leg for being nasty. If you're nice and smiley, they'll probably give you a deal. If not, at least you were a good person.
• A big sturdy tote bag, pref. canvas with short handles. VERY important. I use this as a shopping basket type thing, so I can grab what I want then check again before I buy. Hook it over your arm and you still have both hands free to rummage. A godsend! A folding granny cart is good to use at a flea market to hold your stuff, so you’re not running back to the car all the time. (also mentioned below)
• Know what you're looking for. Are you just browsing, or are you looking for something in particular? Need a lamp, a blender, particular books, furniture, toys? Specific collectibles or other ebayables? Keep a little notebook with you, and write down just what you're looking for, with specifics (colors, sizes, dimensions). This way you won't forget when you see it. Some people even bring price guides with them, but this can be a bit cumbersome and makes it obvious that you're a collector or reseller.
• Grab it! If you see something interesting, even if you're not sure about it, GRAB it. Put it in your canvas shopping bag. You can always put it back if you don't want it. If you then decide you do want it, it'll be gone. Mother always said: If you see it, grab it or someone else will.
• Wait your turn. If the seller is dealing with someone, please wait until they are finished before asking for prices or to pay. I had many buyers come up to me and interrupt while I was dealing with someone else. Please give me a second here ...
• Don’t expect freebies. If someone is selling at a reasonable price, feel free to haggle, but let them make some money. Not everyone sells books for .10. If it’s .50, fine, that’s still a bargain! True, I usually won’t pay more than $1 for a DVD or .50 for a book, but not everyone sells them for less. Have a top price, try to haggle for lower but remember that not every purchase will be a killer bargain.
• Go easy on the newbies. Not everyone is a garage sale maven, they may not know how to price their stuff. If they ask you the buyer how much, be reasonable. If you pay about $1.00 for something, tell them .50 to 1.00, not .10. That may be good for you, but I totally believe in karma. You cheat someone here, and you'll get cheated somewhere else. They'll probably undercharge you anyway, and at least your conscience will be clear.
• Always ask for a bulk discount if buying lots of stuff!! I cannot stress that enough. Say: What will you take for ALL this stuff (even if it's not that much)? They'll usually knock a few bucks off, just to move it all out. Always worth a try. I'll even buy a whole box of similar things (books, buttons, CDs), even if there's a few I don't want, cause I can get a better price for the whole lot then for a few cherry-picked items. The duds can be traded, donated or saved for my next garage sale.
• Don't let on you're a reseller. As mentioned above, some people may not be thrilled to know you may be profiting off their old stuff. Few will ever ask outright, but avoid letting on you're an ebayer. If asked, say you know someone who loves/collects this stuff. "My brother is a DJ, so he likes lots of CDs." "My sister knits, so she'd love these vintage patterns." If with someone else, have a code: Do you think "Zelda" will like this?? (translation, "think it will go on ebay?")
• Bring a buddy. Know someone who also loves to garage sale? Want to spend more time with your kids? Bring them along! You can do more in half the time. They can also scout more areas for you, advise you on purchases, and help you carry, while you do the same for them. A real bonding experience for friends or family. I bring my 4 year old son with me, he just loves going around town to other people's houses, and he loves the goodies he gets on our walks.
• Check your items before you leave. Does it have all the parts? Does it work? Is the DVD in the case, and is it the correct one? Forget about returning stuff if it's broken or not right, this is a garage sale, not Sears. Also check clothing for stains, tears, does it have the buttons, does the zipper work. I bought some "brand-new" sneakers for my son, but when I got home I saw they did have a bit of wear inside. Nothing major, I guess they were worn maybe a few times, but still. (I did get an exchange at my garage sale though; a lady returned with a purse and even-exchanged it for a kid's shirt. Go figure.)
• Don't turn your nose up at the clothes. I know that most people get the creeps when they think of used clothes (yarg!). That's fine, I can understand. But many times I see clothes with the tags on them, never worn! Also take a peek at jackets, vests, ties and other such "outer" items. They don't touch the skin. I do sometimes check out clothes for my son, only if they look new or almost new. I got two almost new heavy button down Gap shirts, a great almost new reversible Guess denim jacket and new Gap black jeans for him, all for $2.00 total. Perfect for school. Of course, everything went through the wash as soon as I got home. This works better for younger kids; older kids may be a bit more picky. Depends on your kid.
• Gear up. Some comfy shoes, some caffeine and a very biiiiig tote bag and cart that holds everything I need. Some things I always bring:
• A good map of your area. I walk everywhere, so I need to know if a GS sign I just saw is within my walking limits. My map is from my local village hall, and it's practically large print. Try there, and grab a few because they'll get tattered soon enough.
• A big sturdy tote bag, pref. canvas with short handles. VERY important. I use this as a shopping basket type thing, so I can grab what I want then check again before I buy. Hook it over your arm and you still have both hands free to rummage. A godsend! A folding granny cart is good to use at a flea market to hold your stuff, so you’re not running back to the car all the time.
• Money in small bills. I'd feel like a Class A dope if I just haggled for a $1 item then paid with a $50 bill.
• Some water and snacks. Self explanatory, esp. in summer.
• Baby wipes or moist towelettes. Easy to clean things or yourself after rummaging.
• Cell phone. Honey, can you come pick me up??? I just bought 500 books ... yeah right, like THAT'S gonna happen ... But you may need a hand getting that retro couch back to your house.
• Pen and paper, if person has more to sell or knows of another sale in the future, or the phone number of that cute guy also rummaging through the books.
• Boxes to hold your stuff steady in the trunk of your car.
• Wrapping stuff: newspaper for smalls and glassware, towels blankets for larger items and furniture.
• Tape measure, to make sure it will fit in your house.
• Magnifying glass/loupe, to check for cracks, damage and to read hallmarks/signatures.
• Your own plastic bags, they may run out.
• Some people use GPS, and also use their phones with internet access to check on craigslist throughout the day. Sounds kinda hardcore to me, but whatever works for you.
  

Give in to your Spring fancies; find your nearest garage sale when weather permits and most of all have fun!

THE STUFF THAT COLLECTIONS ARE MADE OF!

I know that I have stuff .
I know that I have collections.
I know that I have collectibles.
I know that I have more stuff.

What happens when the line between what is stuff, what is a collection and what is a collectible blurs? Does it all become stuff? Does it all become a collection? Does it all become a collectible?
I am beginning to believe that it all becomes a giant collection of collectible stuff!

Can anyone say "Clutter"?

Once it all becomes clutter you can lose track of what is real and what is just simply stuff. I have long believed in the Feng Shui concept of clutter prevents your chi from flowing smoothly and probably can be blamed for many other mistakes, mishaps and missed "things to do".
Therefore I do hereby proclaim that my clutter is the reason that I have missed posting to this blog since August of 2007.

I also proclaim that in the true spirit of a New Year and improving my resolve to evolve; I shall eliminate the stuff, identify my collections and then determine which are collectibles. Does saying it "out-loud" on a blog make it happen? I certainly hope so.

If any of you find that you can identify with parts of this, I would like to send you to a great article that I found on one of my favorite websites, Zen Habits
entitled: The Minimalist’s Guide to Fighting (and Beating) Clutter Entropy

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a healthy and peaceful new year and one filled with less stuff and more collectibles and collections.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING TO USE

When I go to the grocery store, I always stop at the racks that hold all of these free magazines.
Most are about real estate or cars and trucks. There are ones about parenting, community college classes, local casinos, different local community weekly news, shopping and classified ads and some New Age ones. But the other day I found something new that caught my eye. It was called Today's VINTAGE Magazine, and it was Vol.1, Issue 1. I grabbed it and took it home to peruse immediately.

The Publisher and Editors had been associated with the Antique & Collectables Newsmagazine
and Antique Journal. When the company closed the California offices and moved operations back to Wisconsin, they had a chance to look around and decide what to do. Fortunately for us in California, they decided that communications was their business. So they decided that they could not "think of a better way to support the greening of America than by educating and encouraging people to research and use antiques and vintage items in their daily lives".

I am using this post in my blog to congratulate Today's VINTAGE Magazine for remaining in California and for creating this very informative magazine. You can visit them at their website which they say is still a work in progress; but it already has a lot for all.

One of the articles that I really liked and found helpful was one written by Angela Moore, Editor.

25 WAYS to USE VINTAGE ITEMS

Find yourself with family heirlooms, hand-me-down furniture, or a random collection from Uncle Fred's closet? Feel like you just can't part with Great-Grandma's handkerchiefs, but don't know just what to do with them? Truly valuable antique items should be displayed with the proper care and reverence, but there are many ways to incorporate collectibles, vintage pieces and found objects into your modern décor..

1. Sew pretty handkerchiefs together to create pillows, table skirts, or window valances.
2. Create a collage from old postcards or love letters hang them in antique picture frames.
3. Break up old dishes and china, and use the pieces to create mosaic designs on coasters, flower pots, wall plaques, memorials and tabletops.
4. Fill a clear vase or bowl with a collection of small items, like buttons, marbles, matchbooks or costume jewelry, and display on a dining table or end table.
5. Convert an old dresser into a computer desk by removing the drawers and inside framing, then attaching a prefabricated keyboard underneath the top.

To see the rest of the 25 Ways, go to the website and look for this article under Vintage Decorating

COLLECTIBLE vs COLLECTION ---WHAT IS THE VALUE TO YOU?


My husband and I were having a discussion the other day about how one really knew the value of ones's collections. He has a collection of coins that he has had from when he was a child; one coin he is particularly proud of is a 1950 Denver nickel. So is the value what you, the owner of the item, place on it and how do you know that if you take it to someone for appraisal, you will get a correct value. I remember a collection of baseball cards that I had inherited and had no idea of the value. Someone who was more an acquaintance rather than a friend told me he didn't think that they were worth much. He would give me $50 for all of them. Now some 20 years later, I know that they had more value than that. It didn't help to find out later that he actually collected baseball cards himself.

So my thoughts to share with you this time is to realize that most things we have around have value to us personally, but if you have something that you think might have dollar value; please find a reputable individual or company to appraise the item for you.

The following info that I found on the internet addresses this issue quite well.

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure
From Carrie Conaway, Associate Editor of the Regional Review
Jun 11 2004

What distinguishes a collectible from ordinary rubbish is not always clear. Nonetheless, there are two primary characteristics that collectible items share: desirability and rarity.

DESIRABILITY Whether it is destined for a museum or a private collection, to be collectible, an item must be desirable to someone other than the collector. So, your seventh-grade love letters probably won't qualify, unless you become famous (or notorious). But what makes something desirable?

CONDITION Condition is so important that third-party grading services have sprung up in some collecting areas to grade and validate the quality of items. The coin collecting market is one of the best-developed examples, with 70 possible grades of coin in the Sheldon Numerical Grading System.

AESTHETICS Form, color, size and materials also matter for desirability, although these preferences tend to change with popular tastes. For instance, very large items historically were not viewed as popular collectibles because of the difficulty of storing them, but this has been changing in recent years. Rudy Franchi, a vintage movie poster dealer and appraiser on Antiques Roadshow, points out, "The typical movie poster is 27 by 40 or 41 inches and is known as a 'one-sheet'. The market for larger movie posters used to languish, but people are now living in bigger homes, and so they are able to display bigger things. Now there's a big fad in buying the larger sizes, known as 'six-sheets,' that are 81 by 81 inches, as well as foreign posters, which are often larger."

RARITY "There are some books that are absolutely fabulous literature, but there are too many of then," says Ken Gloss, proprietor of the Brattle Book Shop in Boston. "For instance, Shakespeare, next to the Bible, is the most commonly printed literature in the English language. It's wonderful stuff, but there are millions and millions of them so they're not worth much. You're looking for the one that's a little more unusual, that you don't see all the time." Items can be rare for several reasons: Some items are simply uncommon and irreproducible. Among those who collect materials about signers of the Declaration of Independence, for instance, the autograph of the all-but-unknown Thomas Lynch or Button Gwinnett is worth far more than the John Hancock of, say, John Hancock.

In many cases, what people collect is only in short supply because they define their collecting area so narrowly. But sometimes rarity is created by the manufacturer. In the 1980s, the Swatch Group created a frenzy by selectively releasing Swatch designs to a limited number of distributors, such that every retailer had a different selection, and by limiting sales to one per person. Swatch also launched an intensive promotional campaign touting their watches as a good investment. Swatch Fever spiked, and sales in the U.S. alone increased from $3 million in 1983 to $200 million in 1987. The same strategy applied to anything manufactured in limited edition, such as Franklin Mint plates, Beanie Babies or Precious Moments figurines.

On the other hand, it can't be too rare. "If there's only one of something, there can only be one collector," points out David Wood, curator of the Concord Museum in Concord, Massachusetts. "What fires people up is things that are relative common, so that you can get a complete collection of it in every form and every style." These sorts of items are easier to find at antique stores, flea markets, and garage sales, adding to the serendipity of the collecting experience and fueling the motivation of the devoted collector to keep searching.

This article, a portion of "Objects of Desire", is courtesy of the Regional Review, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The article in its entirety, can be found on the: http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/nerr/rr2004/q1/objects.pdf

Stay Collected!

Baseball Card Collecting---A History

After having a couple conversations with people after making my post on LOL COLLECTIONS about baseball and baseball card collecting; I realized that there are a lot of people who don't realize people do actually save/collect baseball cards and have for a long time.

Therefore I went on a search mission on the internet to find out about the history of baseball card collecting. As always, I started with Google. I do believe that I could spend days searching and researching on the Internet. One lead always takes you to another.

I found a great History of Baseball Card Collecting that I thought was a perfect addition to my previous post on here. Hope that you will enjoy reading it.

http://www.geocities.com/chrisstufflestreet/history.html

Stay Collected.