Finders and keepers flock to annual antiques show

From little trinkets to large pieces of furniture, there was a little bit of everything at the Robert R. Merlino Memorial Antiques Show yesterday in Cromwell Center, Tompkinsville.
"There is so much stuff," said Gladys Schweiger, executive director of the Staten Island Alzheimer's Foundation. "There are all types of things -- estate jewelry, crystal, furniture. It's wonderful."
She even found a little turtle statue for her granddaughter, who loves the shelled reptile.
The Alzheimer's Foundation hosts the annual event, which attracts vendors from as far away as Pennsylvania and usually raises about $10,000 for the organization through admission, raffle sales and vendor tables.
Ms. Schweiger said the profit they make from the event stays on Staten Island and is used to help run various programs.

Translate the style

Like Bob and Stevie Burke, most of us have collections we'd like to display. It might be Grandmother's costume jewelry, toys from your childhood, antique cooking tools or the knives Bob collected during his travels.
So why not get those precious things out of the musty boxes in the basement? You can mimic Bob's look literally, as with this display of Native American rattles, or you can give yourself more freedom, depending upon what you have and the tone you want.
To get a shadow-box effect, start with framed hotel art without glass (4 by 2 feet, Stars Antiques Mall, $38; Oregon City Furniture Co. has a wide selection, $20-$50). Brush three to four coats of semigloss latex paint over the canvas (this is Miller's 'Roasted Pepper') and use a 1-inch angle brush to paint the frame black (the gold border was untouched).