Some antiques may just need a little TLC

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

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

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 ...

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.