Antiques

Antiques At The Temple

2007-10-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

Flamingo Promotions and the Sisterhood of Temple Judea are pleased to anticipate spring with the 16th Annual Antiques At The Temple on March 18, 2007! Short & Sweet & chock full of Treasures, this long standing, respected benefit for the Temple Sisterhood will be held at Temple Judea of Manhasset, 333 Searingtown Road, Manhasset, NY. Outstanding professional Antiques Exhibitors from the Tri-State area will showcase 19th & early 20th Century Pottery, Porcelain and Glassware; Victorian and Country Furnishings; Fine Art, Photography and Sculpture, Americana and Primitive Furnishings; Antique Dolls and Toys; Estate & Antique Jewelry; Art Nouveau & Art Deco Lighting and Bronzes; Art Glass, including Tiffany; Vintage Books & Ephemera; and many other fine Antiques & Vintage Decoratives. A special feature found only at Flamingo Shows will be Antiques Appraisals by popular TV personality and Appraiser John Bruno, from 1-4pm at $5/item.

Stolen trailer carried a fortune in antiques

2007-09-28T00:54:00.000-05:00

Andrew Vogel was at the verge of tears Wednesday when he spoke of his stolen trailer carrying 4,000 English antiques worth $1 million.

Vogel, 43, and his wife, Kelly, were staying at a tucked-away Hampton Inn Hotel, west of West Palm Beach, Fla.. They were headed back to Chicago after driving to Palm Beach County for the Winter Antique Show at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in West Palm Beach over the weekend.

When Andrew Vogel looked out his hotel window about 9 a.m. Tuesday, his heart dropped, he said. His 16-foot-long, 9-foot-tall dark blue Avenger trailer with Illinois plates was gone. He had to disconnect it from his car because of parking but there was a lock on it, he said.

"It's our livelihood," he said Wednesday. "We have our heart and soul in these pieces.

Antiques with scars, stories add charm, warmth to homes

2007-09-14T18:39:00.000-05:00

I am a sucker for old furniture. Whether it's a valuable antique or a vintage piece, these aged beauties, with their graceful lines and imperfections, lend warmth and character to their surroundings. I think furniture with a past adds oodles of interest to a space and gives a home a lived-in look.

If you want to become a serious collector of antiques and invest in pieces of great value, you'll want to do your homework first. Reams of books and a host of Web sites can help educate you about what makes some pieces more valuable than others and what you should look for when selecting different kinds of antiques.

But if you're like me, when you look for furniture for your home, you are less concerned with scouting out fine antiques and more interested in finding timeless treasures that will win your heart.

Vintage look the rage during Fashion Week

2007-08-18T12:47:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's confusing to know when you are supposed to wear the clothes you see in newspapers, magazines and stores. That is because the media are now sharing the sneak previews that only fashion professionals used to be able to see eight months before you'll want to wear them.

In San Antonio, winter is here. But in stores, spring looks are already in full bloom.

But in New York, it's Fashion Week, and that means that it's already fall of '07. At last count, 221 designers are previewing their collections at the tents in Bryant Park and off-site at venues from art galleries to hotel lobbies, nightclubs to an ice-skating rink. Designers, of course, are vying for attention in hopes you'll remember their names when you finally get around to shopping for your fall wardrobe months from now.

Some antiques may just need a little TLC

2007-08-07T11:32:00.000-05:00

THIS IS the perfect time for making two promises involving antiques: One concerns the proper care of antique furniture, while the second mixes antiques and American history.

Refinish right

Here is a way to help revitalize your antiques to make them look dazzlingly old, but never appearing as if freshly assembled from a cardboard box. Keep in mind that elbow grease can do wonders. Many times a piece through the years has earned nicks and water spots. All it may need is some tender loving care to remain alluring.

Remember, furniture originally varnished to showcase the wood's grain should remain that way. Never paint or "antique" an originally varnished object. It's a sin to hide grain and color originally intended to be visible. Pieces may just need a little effort and a magic concoction (to be revealed) for restoring former grandeur.

What's new in old Antiques with clean lines and utility come into fashion

2007-07-27T16:12:00.000-05:00

Trends in antique furniture circle in and out of favor like painted ponies on a vintage carousel. Biedermeier and midcentury modern are riding high, while Mission and French Empire are fading. Mark Howald, executive vice president of St. Louis auction house Ivey-Selkirk, says there's a logic behind the simultaneous popularity of seemingly disparate styles.

"We're seeing a move toward a minimalist look across all styles," Howald said. Biedermeier, made in Germany and Austria from 1815 to 1848, and midcentury modern furniture are both architectural with clean lines.

Two other clean-lined styles that are popular now are English Regency and French Directoire, says Keitha Kaminski, director of Webster House Antiques in Kansas City, Mo.

Running her fingers along the carved front of a French Directoire cherry console, Kaminski said, "This is a country version of a piece that would have had lots of ormolu, lots of goop.

Antique store grows in new location

2007-06-15T18:34:00.000-05:00

GRANDVILLE -- Ever since her high school years, Carol Kuester has been in love with old things. Her passion for antiques and styles of furniture was so pervasive her mother used to tell her she was "born in the wrong era."
It was that love that led Kuester and her husband, Holger, 10 years ago to start Somewhere in Thyme, an antique and crafts store that leases space to collectors and artists.
The Kuesters have relocated Somewhere in Thyme from its original location, 2410 Chicago Drive in Hudsonville, to the 4165 Chicago Drive SW, site of the former Grandville Home Furnishings store.
The move provides Somewhere in Thyme with better exposure and more than twice the space -- with a total of about 14,000 square feet -- offered at its Hudsonville site, Carol Kuester said.

Collectors Universe Reports Metrics for Second Quarter and First ...

2007-06-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT) , a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles and diamonds and colored gemstones, today reported its unit performance metrics for the second fiscal quarter of fiscal 2007. The Company reports the number of units which it authenticates, grades and ships, on a quarterly basis, for coins, sports cards, autographs, stamps, currency, diamonds and colored gemstones, which comprise its principal authentication and grading markets. The Company's brands in those markets include: Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) for coins, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) for sports cards, PSA/DNA Authentication Services (PSA/DNA) for autographs, Professional Stamp Experts (PSE) for stamps, PCGS Currency for paper money, Gem Certification & Appraisal Lab (GCAL) for diamonds, and American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) for colored gemstones.

Finders and keepers flock to annual antiques show

2007-05-28T18:03:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-01T22:56:00.000-05:00

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).

Antique Show set for weekend

2007-04-17T00:49:00.000-05:00

Antique hunters will relish the gathering of vendors that will be on hand at the Oroville Municipal Auditorium on Saturday and Sunday for the annual Spring Antique Show and Sale put on by the downtown district.
The event will feature over 35 dealers from all over the West from Oregon, Nevada, Northern and Southern California and Arizona according to event organizer Diane Putman and will cater to a wide variety of visitors from all over the area.
KPAY's radio host John Humphries will be on hand for evaluations on Saturday only and in addition all the downtown antique stores will be open and within walking distance of the auditorium to provide additional shopping opportunities.
Putman said the dealers and stores feature a wide variety of goods from sterling silver plated silverware, furniture, pottery, glass, Depression glass, elegant glass and baubles of all kinds.

Rare Collection of Antique Maps Unveiled at Northwestern

2007-04-10T13:53:00.000-05:00

Established in 1954, the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University in Chicago is said to have the largest collection of African art, history and literature in the world. Recently, it unveiled a collection of antique African maps created as far back as the 15th century.
David Easterbrook, the curator of the library, says that the early cartographers who created these maps based their data mainly on anecdotal information from travelers. They also used the limited literature of European scholars, and antiquities of Greek and Roman scholars who had written of, or traveled to, Africa.
â€œThey were taking text and turning it into something visual," he said.
Easterbrook adds that the maps cover in particular North Africa and Algeria, Madagascar and other islands, and a few city plans.

Find one-of-a-kind collectibles at Zany Coffee and Collectibles

2007-04-03T12:06:00.000-05:00

"We have things you don't normally find at your everyday Walmart," Mary Szanyi-Coffey, owner of Zany Coffee and Collectibles, said.Zany Coffee, opened in November 2006, carries a vast array of unique collectibles such as Looney Tunes characters, Peanuts, Star Trek, Star Wars, classic cartoon characters and McDonalds character figurines. The store also sells handmade jewelry and artwork from local artists as well as music boxes from the San Francisco Music Box Company, Crazy Mountain Arts, Funko Toys, Silkstone Barbie dolls and consignment collectibles.As the name states, they also are a coffee shop carrying cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, hot chocolate, smoothies and frappes as well as a small selection of baked goods.

A new way of selling the old

2007-03-27T14:14:00.000-05:00

Antiques are big business - and there is no antiques business bigger than Tomlinsons. which has become a shrine for connoisseurs the world over. RON GODFREY, business editor, visits the North Yorkshire honey pot for home makers and aficionados alike.
IF TOMLINSONS' 75,000 sq ft warehouse is a North Yorkshire cathedral dedicated to the thrilling thingamajigs of history, then Sarah Worrall is its high priestess.
You only have to hear her intoning her litany of love for a madly beautiful (or is it beautifully mad? ) George III tilt-top breakfast table with crossbanded edge on a pedestal and four reeded supports on brass hairy paw casters to know that she speaks the language of antiques fluently and with passion.
Such is her reverie within that mighty rectangle set against the rural sky outside Tockwith, that it is almost as though the Â£2,495 plus VAT price tag is an afterthought.

Police find three antiques stolen from Minister's house

2007-03-22T15:40:00.000-05:00

KUCHING: Police have recovered three antiques belonging to Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Datuk Effendi Norwawi which were stolen from his house last month.
Sarawak Deputy Commissioner of Police SAC I Datuk Kuik Harris said the antiques which included a sword and a keris, were found in a house in Kota Samarahan near here on Tuesday.
Several other items believed to be stolen were also found.
SAC I Kuik told a press conference at the Kuching police headquarters on Wednesday that the police were carrying surveillance on the house on Tuesday morning when a car carrying five men drove up to it.
When they realised there were policemen present, they sped away.
However, one of the men fell out of the car because the car door was open.
The man, a 30-year-old Indonesian, was arrested and when the house was searched the police found the stolen items.
Among the items seized were a computer, laptop, generator, cameras, guitar, serving tray and teapot.
Also seized were a pair of police shoes and a police raincoat, believed to be used by the gang to impersonate the police.
We are now hunting the remaining four suspects, believed to be one local and three Indonesians, SAC I Kuik said.

A new way of selling the old

2007-03-14T18:47:00.000-05:00

A new way of selling the old

2007-03-06T18:58:00.000-05:00

Master craftsman reproduces Early American furniture

2007-02-27T13:13:00.000-05:00

With power equipment and antique hand tools, woodworker James King toils daily to preserve the techniques and furniture styles of the master craftsmen of early America. In his home in rural Hudson, Ill., King, 51, builds reproductions of fine furniture produced by artisans in this country from 1700 to 1850. Period-inspired furniture and historical reproductions are the focus of King's business, Post and Beam, which he has operated full time for eight years. He receives orders from museums, businesses and homeowners from across the United States - the majority from the northeast part of the country. His work can range in price from $800 for a small table to $15,000 for a copy of an 18th century highboy. He recently was commissioned to build a reproduction of a 1775 Chippendale-style looking glass for George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Va.

Read More...

Small is big: Miniature dioramas, and Dinky cars

2007-02-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

Collectible toys - including a niche collectible, miniature dioramas - will be featured at two suburban sales this weekend.
The dioramas, along with an assortment of dolls, will be offered by Stephenson's Auction beginning at 5 tonight at its gallery, 1005 Industrial Blvd. in Southampton. Roughly 35 dioramas, electrified models each about 13 inches high by 25 inches wide and 12 inches deep, depict a variety of quaint scenes with miniature furniture and figures about 6 inches tall.
A barbershop diorama includes a shoeshine stand, a brass clothes tree, a barber pole, and a cigar-store Indian. A costume and shoe salon displays footwear ranging from galoshes to ballet slippers.
An 1870s trophy-room diorama comes with hunter, animal heads, a gun collection mounted on the walls, a hand-painted landscape, and a globe reflecting the world as it looked in 1850.

Read More...

Antiques expert is seeking real deals

2007-02-20T19:47:00.000-05:00

ANTIQUES expert David Dickinson was a big hit with the public when he brought his latest television series to Ellesmere Port on Saturday. Scores of people, some of whom had queued outside to be the first on to the set, made their way to the Civic Hall hoping to cash in on some old family heirlooms, or take a gamble at auction.
The flamboyant bargain hunter enjoyed great success with the first series of Dickinson's Real Deal, which attracted more than a million viewers every day, and was busy casting a helpful eye on some of the potential deals throughout the day.
While racing across the set in between filming, the antiques guru did quickly confirm to the Pioneer that he was enjoying his visit to the town.
One woman from Ellesmere Port had brought in two hand-painted plates which she'd had for 18 years hoping she might strike it lucky.

Read More