Blank Pages Waiting for Memories

I bought a stack of scrapbooks and unused photo albums...the kind with the black or ivory paper...at the flea market last week. I cannot resist them. These were never used. They are ready for a 21st century touch. I remember the little black corners we would buy so that we could arrange pictures on the pages. How far we have come with our digital technology...or have we?

When you google “define scrapbook,” you get all kinds of possibilities. I like this one: a book, similar to a notebook or journal, in which personal or family memorabilia and photos are collected and arranged.








For all of the hoopla over scrapbooking today, it is actually traces its roots to the Victorians. The printing press and particularly chromolithographs—color lithography-brought a new dimension to paper goods. By the 1880s, trade cards had become a major way of advertising America's products and services. Both children and adults would collect the cards and paste them into scrapbooks. You may find someone selling the trade cards that have been removed from albums—you will see residue of the glue on the back.

The Baker Library at Harvard owns 1000s "of trade cards representing the full range of products and businesses advertised through this medium from the 1870s to the end of the 1890s.” They are now cataloging and digitizing an initial group of 1,000 trade cards that are representative of Baker's collections and of the genre itself. It is an interesting way to view history by looking at the advertisements of the day.

Other kinds of paper goods were also pasted in the albums. Calling cards printed with a man's or woman's name in a fancy script were exchanged on social occasions and also as tokens of affection. They were saved as a measure of one's popularity—again think of the “counters” we have today on web sites, Facebook, My Space…even the number of comments on a blog!

Holiday cards at first were sent only on New Year's, Valentine's Day, and Christmas. By the 1880s there were cards also for birthdays and Easter. Most cards of the period were not folded but were rectangles or shapes printed on stiff paper or cardboard. They usually had an illustration and either just a simple holiday greeting or a verse. Some were embossed or had a fancy edge of lace or fringe.


Picture postcard collecting was extremely popular from about 1902 to 1915. Though postcards had existed on a modest scale earlier, it was the Columbian Exposition of 1893 that helped create interest in scenic cards. Changes in postal regulations and the appearance of American postcard publishers helped stimulate proliferation of the cards.


Elaborate cards were also given to students in schools and Sunday schools and often found their way into scrapbooks. Perhaps in the attic is your first report card pasted in a scrapbook. Another popular item was a die-cut sheet of "scraps" that could be torn or cut apart easily because the images were held together by small paper tabs. A sheet would reflect a single theme like flowers or children or Christmas. Scraps date from the 1840s onward, and most in the 19th century came from Germany. They were inexpensive to buy and were widely used to decorate cards or to paste in decorative array into blank books, hence "scrapbooks." Nowadays we have stickers, but you can get reproductions of the Victorian scraps like the one shown here.




A scrapbook could be home to tickets, newspaper clippings, magazine photos, whatever struck the owner's fancy. They are the threads of that person's life. Although many of the Victorian era scrapbooks did not survive well, every now and then one will show up.

Ironically, in today’s cyber world, paper has gained importance through the scrapbooking revival. Of course, there are punches, stickers, papers, and elaborate trimmings, but it is good to see a return to something that can be touched beyond the virtual world. But, no matter what time zone they come from, they reflect a time, a memory, a life.

Last week I mentioned my friend Peggy and her health problems...well, the breast cancer has metastasized, and she starts chemo this week...I think this picture symbolizes what I want...I want her to have more time...much more time...I am not ready to lose her...I am being selfish, but we are like sisters. She was my assistant librarian in the school where I worked in Maryland, and even though she moved to Florida, and I moved to New Jersey, we get together every other year, and we talk weekly on the phone. She has a beautiful daughter and a wonderful husband...none of us are ready to let her go!

Message in a Bottle

I come to this Monday's Show and Tell by a circuitous route. My best friend Peggy ~ or BFF ~(on left),
who has battled both Hodgkins and breast cancer in the last decade, was given the green light last year, but now the tumor markers have tripled and some strange physical things are happening. But, she is waiting for new tests...which got me thinking about modern medicine and how far we have come in the last decade even...and I then I bought a stash of pharmaceutical bottles at auction...
And that brought me to today's show and tell...bottles...told you it was a roundabout!









Once again history plays into the lesson. Ancient Egyptian craftsmen developed a method for producing glass pots by dipping a core mould of compacted sand into molten glass and then turning the mold so that molten glass adhered to it. While still soft, it could be rolled on a slab of stone in order to smooth or decorate it. The earliest examples of Egyptian glassware are three vases bearing the name of the Pharaoh Thoutmosis III (1504-1450 BC), who brought glassmakers to Egypt as prisoners following a successful military campaign in Asia. Ancient Romans preferred blown glass containers for their pills and potions.

According to the ancient historian Pliny (AD 23-79), Phoenician merchants transporting stone actually discovered glass (or rather became aware of its existence accidentally) in the region of Syria around 5000 BC. Pliny tells how the merchants, after landing, rested cooking pots on blocks of nitrate placed by their fire. With the intense heat of the fire, the blocks eventually melted and mixed with the sand of the beach to form an opaque liquid.

In the 17th century, King George imposed a tax on liquor to curtail alchohol abuse so herbs were added to the liquid and "bitters" was introduced.
The tax came to the colonies and gin was taxed in America, so once again herbs became useful in creatng a medicinal drink. Popular brands were bottled in amber, brown, and aqua glass.

Perfume bottles were prolific and beautifully decorated, but they deserve their own topic. For now, I will simply mention that Lalique designed some beauties in the 19th century for Coty.


Soda and beer bottles are collectible as well as dairy bottles. The little cream bottles make sweet breakfast creamers and even old milk bottles look cute on the breakfast table filled with milk or use for flowers.








Bottles are dated by production techniques. Before 1845, when a bottle was blown,a pontel rod was attached to the bottom and a glob of molten glass acted as glue so the glassblower could manipulate the bottle. From 1845-1860, the rod was heated to a high temp to afix it to the bottom, and it was snapped off leaving a metallic residue and sometimes a rough edge if it did not get sanded well.
As the machines took over, a seam that reaches from the base to the lip indicates a bottle machine made after 1883 or so.

The crown bottle cap was patented in 1892.
But even the caps have their own history...as well as jars! But...another time!

For now...don't keep things bottled up...make sure you tell someone you love them...
besides, if you keep things bottled up too long, you might need some of what used to come in this blue bottle!!!

Enamored by Enamelware

Enameling traces its routes to ancient China and Egypt as well as Cyprus 3500 years ago. It is made by melting fine glass particles on to red-hot metal. As it cools, it fuses to give glass-coated metal. Cloisonne symbolizes the fine artistry of the enameling technique.

In the late 18th century, a German steel mill applied enamel glazes to iron containers at the same time Sweden was developing a process. Of course, when it was developing into cookware, France joined the production ranks, and, by 1803, the process was perfected. Great Britain also joined the ranks of top enamelware manufacturers.

Germany became known as the major producer in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. In 1848, a patent was issued in the US, but the overseas competition was tough. The European designs were colorful and much better designed than the American wares. That stemmed from the peasant heritage and everyday things were decorated to make life beautiful in their meager lives…or…as my theme echoes…extraordinary touches for ordinary days…


As immigrants came to America, the European techniques made their way into US manufacturing companies. American enameled items came to be called graniteware -- a term that may have arisen from the popularity of Granite Iron Ware, a line first produced the St. Louis Stamping Co. They introduced the gray speckled wares at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition. You can see the grey strainer on the ladder below...this is the style you see in great quantities at flea markets. Agateware is a label for the swirled wares...like an aggie marble. Agate is always popular among the country collectors. The blue agate ladle in the carrier below is a pretty specimen of agateware.
World War I halted production in the United States, and, although wares were produced later, they were never as spectacular as the early European or American Victorian lines.

By the 1940s, aluminum and glass cookware that could go from oven to table took over the market. In the 1950s a resurgence of the white utensils occurred, but they did not have the popularity of earlier wares. Also, in the 1970s, Hong Kong produced a number of the old style colorful pieces like the one below.

Today, Chinese reproductions do exist, but it is easy to distinguish old from new. The news pieces are extremely lightweight and “tinny” sounding. The older pieces feel more substantial, and they probably do show wear. After all, the process is glass fused on metal…it cannot be perfect…it was used everyday. Even though some collectors always want perfection, they tend to forget life is for using…not for wrapping away.

How About Some Hanky Panky?

Nothing is more exciting to a linen lover than seeing a stack of hankies at a flea market or auction. You never know what charmers that pile holds.
Handkerchiefs started their lives among the aristocracy, carried them in the folds of togas since pockets had not been created. They have been woven with threads of sentiment, intrigue, and romance since the first century BC. In Pathos, Cypress, birthplace of Aphrodite, there is a sacred tree at the entrance to Agia Solomoni Church where people still hang handkerchiefs in hopes of wishes coming true such as finding healing or true love.


In 300 AD using a cloth to wipe one’s nose is mentioned. During the same period it was customary to wave handkerchiefs to greet the appearance of high ranking persons in the theater or in place of applause.


It found great success with the lords and ladies in the court of Henry II, and during the Renaissance, handkerchiefs were considered an essential accessory, prompting Erasmus to note that ''To wipe your nose on your sleeve is boorish.'' It became a display and fashion object of the greatest importance.

When snuff usage became common in Europe during the 16th century, people used large colored squares on which the brown tobacco stains were less visible.

In the 18th century, the handkerchief found another use in the theatre, where it became the prerequisite in tragedies in France and eventually throughout Europe.


Marie Antoinette was so enamoured by the beauty of the square handkerchief, that Louise XVI decreed that all hankies be made square. In many communities, elaborately decorated handkerchiefs were exchanged as symbols of betrothal. Personalized with names, dates or locations, hankies were also sent as remembrances between those separated by distance and war although I am not sure how "Chubby Nellie" liked her gifts!



During the 19th century ladies regarded the handkerchief as an indispensable accessory for an elegant costume. It no longer disappeared in the bags that they carried but were artistically decorated articles to be displayed. Ladies carried them openly in the hands, even in the streets. Handkerchiefs became more ornate, at which point they also began to serve as tokens of a man's love for a woman, and vice versa.

The custom made it easy for young people while chaperoned to evolve a system of signals that enabled them to carry on a discrete conversation across the room. For example: drawing a hankie across your cheek meant “I love you”, a hankie held to the right cheek meant “yes,” but, if it was held on the left cheek, it meant “no”.

Let it up to the Americans to create a disposable handkerchief. In 1924, the Kleenex brand of facial tissue was first introduced. Kleenex tissue was invented as a means to remove cold cream. Early advertisements included endorsements from movie stars who used Kleenex to remove their theatrical make-up. By 1926, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the manufacturer of Kleenex, became intrigued by the number of letters from customers stating that they used their product as a disposable handkerchief. A test was conducted in the Peoria, Illinois newspaper.

Ads were run depicting the two main uses of Kleenex: either as a means to remove cold cream or as disposable handkerchief for blowing noses. The readers were asked to respond, and when 60% responded that they used Kleenex tissue for blowing their nose, by 1930 Kimberly-Clark had changed the way they advertised Kleenex and sales doubled proving that the customer is always right. But how much more fun for a child to blow his or her nose on this hankie!

The handkerchief was not gone. Hanky Greeting Cards became more popular during the 1940's and 1950's when a handkerchief and a greeting card were combined to reflect the sentiment of an occasion.


I think many learned to iron when Mom let them do the hankies! I know it was my job, but now looking at a pile of hankies truly reflects how much our culture has changed in the last 50 years.

Who wants to iron them? So much easier to grab a tissue, blow, and toss. Oh, yes, the bride still carries one…the businessmen still have them in the lapels and workmen wipe their brows with them. When you think of the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into those little squares, you realize how much they life they carry. Now that is some real hanky panky!

Get Plastered! Literally--well, kind of!

Plaster of Paris…and, yes, it does have something to do with Paris! A large gypsum deposit at Montmartre in Paris is the source of the name.

When the dry plaster powder is mixed with water, it re-forms into gypsum. Plaster is used as a building material similar to mortar or cement. When plaster powder is mixed with water, it creates a paste which emits heat and then hardens. It remains quite soft after drying and can be easily manipulated with metal tools or even sandpaper which enables it to be used for finer sculpture work than mortar.


It seems that from the 1930s through the 1950s a demand for the antiquities’ reproductions must have been a popular decorating trend. Two popular manufacturers are Marval Ind Inc and Alexander Backer…see labels below.





I have seen several ethnic styled busts done in African, Asian, and Eastern figurines from both these American companies. I would imagine these were post WWII after we made our mark as a world power, and we were expanding our horizons.

I must confess that I only buy the figurines that appeal to me…they are the angels, the women, the urns...

These figurines do tend to get overlooked at an auction or sale because they are not bronze or marble, yet they have a soft charm about them. And, yes, many times they have some flakes and chips around the edges…but don’t we all?

Blog Award! Moi!!

Thanks to Inka of Inkling's Designs
and Carolyn The Odd Sparrow
for the honor of receiving the Arte y Pico award ...I received Inka's message while I was watching the Tonys, and I felt like I needed to pull out my folded acceptance speech! Chuckle!

The Arte y Pico is "given to those who have a penchant for art."
Here are the rules:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of and a link to the blog that presented it to him/her.

4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of the award.

5. You must also post these rules.

So, here are my 5. . . the winners are

C'est Chouette
For inspiring me to attempt this! Look! I can even create links!

Treasured Heirlooms
For fun things to look at!

The Polka Dot Rose
Just oozes sweetness...

The Delights of Anticipation
Because I am a clothes freak!

The Enchanted Valley Boutique
For creative presentation!

The "Real" McCoy

McCoy Pottery actually started in 1848 as a stoneware crock and jar manufacturer. Until 1933, their pottery remained utilitarian...bowls, crocks, jugs. I have a set of 2 of these mugs that were my grandparents...they date to 1913.
In 1934, Nelson McCoy hired an English designer, Sidney Cope, who designed many of the collectible pieces people seek. When he died in 1961, his son took over until 1966 when Nelson McCoy's wife took over. (Bet that was an interesting dinner converstation!) This is McCoy's "art" pottery...still a poor man's Roseville, it does have its own charm. Here is a picture of Lily Bookends and a decorative vase.

One of the more dramatic lines was called Butterfly and was manufactured in the 1940s. There were 26 different shapes and 6 pastel glazes: blue, yellow, aqua, lavender, pink (although called coral), and white. This is a pink jardinere.

In 1950, all of the buildings were destroyed by fire, and they rebuilt with all new technology. They were the largest pottery producer in the U.S., shipping millions of pieces per year.

The pottery of the 50s included violet pots and a Garden Club Line produced in 1958...that line is very streamlined. The Floraline, produced in 1960 for Teleflora, FTD, and Smith Bottle, was a little more decorative.



In 1967, the company was sold to David Chase who in turn sold it to Lancaster Colony Corp. in 1974.

Throughout the changes, Nelson McCoy, Jr. remained President until he retired in 1981. Four years later the company was sold to Designer Accents who failed to maintain production and it closed in 1990. Interestingly, the McCoy line has held its own in the collectible world. Although prices have come down some, they still hover in the 2002 price guide ranges~for what it is worth...since I still say, buy it because you love it!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Above is a picture of my Dad and Mom(L) and my aunt in 1945…3 years before he knew he was going to be a Dad!

Father’s Day…my Dad died almost 10 years ago, but my Mom says as long as I am alive so is my Dad. I was an only child, and, even though I was supposed to be a Michael, my Dad persevered! He even asked the doctor if he was certain, and the doctor told my Dad that I did not have a stem winder!!! Unknowingly, my Dad raised me in the feminist tradition…be strong…look out for yourself…don’t let any man take advantage of you! This was in the 1950s! My mother though was the traditional mother.

The first Father’s Day was held in 1908 in West Virginia. A service was held to memorialize 361 miners killed, but the same time frame saw a Mother’s Day service 2 months earlier, also in West Virginia, so it may have influenced by that.

In Washington, a woman wanted to honor her father who raised 6 children alone after hearing about the movement to create an official Mother’s Day.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The holiday was not officially recognized until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Americans are expected to spend $11 billion on gifts for Father's Day in 2008. This is about $7 billion less than the amount spent on Moms for Mother's Day.

In keeping with our June themes here, I thought the pearl, this month’s jewel, would be an interesting topic. Every woman used to have a good set of pearls although to be called a pearl has some strange connotations since the pearl is produced when a foreign material enters an oyster and the creature tries to get rid of it by secreting an organic substance which coats over the foreign body. This substance is called nacre or mother of pearl. The resulting pearl may take years to develop. A cultured pearl (which the Japanese perfected in the early 1900s) is the result of implants by man. We are not a patient lot, are we? And we do have a thing about implants!
I found some fascinating information about the history of the pearl. Until early in the twentieth century, the principal oyster beds lay in the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and in the Red Sea. Chinese pearls came mainly from freshwater rivers and ponds, whereas Japanese pearls were found near the coast in salt water. These regions dominated the international pearl trade for more than forty centuries, yielding the famous pearls belonging to Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Marco Polo. Now, in the realm of cultured pearls, China and Japan dominate.
Before the creation of cultured pearls in the early 1900s, natural pearls were so rare and expensive that they were reserved almost exclusively for the noble and very rich. A jewelry item that today's working women might take for granted, a 16-inch strand of perhaps 50 pearls, often costs between $500 and $5,000. At the height of the Roman Empire, when pearl fever reached its peak, the historian Suetonius wrote that the Roman general Vitellius financed an entire military campaign by selling just one of his mother's pearl earrings.

The color of a pearl is complex as its origin since it depends on of the water. Supposedly white pearls are formed in deep water, and the dark pearls are formed in surface water bathed in sunshine. Each pearl is an intricate layering of color. Experts describe the color of pearls as a combination of the predominant color and a secondary color, the overtone or tint. To observe the overtone in white pearls, experts recommend viewing the pearls on a white background under direct light. In contrast, black pearls should be viewed under diffused light.

Pearls were commonly dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, who according to mythology, emerged from a shell in the sea.

Mother of pearl comes from the clam or mussel shell. Best know as a button, it can also be designed into jewelry like the bracelet below.


Errors like straws, upon the surface flow,
He who would search for pearls must dive below.
-John Dryden, Prologue to All for Love, 1678.

"O, my Love's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June."
Robert Burns (1759-1796)


Ah, June…weddings…I love the English tile in the picture above…I was married in June…32 years this month…in the tradition of weddings and white…although that symbol has faded a tad…I decided to collect some milk glass for this week’s “show and tell” although milk glass is not always white since it can be turned blue, pink, yellow, brown, and black. It is made from the white oxide or dioxide pigments and can glow in UV light like white clothing will glow violet under a black light.

Milk glass dates at least to ancient Egypt(1500 BC), but “beaders” will enjoy learning that it was produced in Jamestown as beads to use in Indian trading as early as 1609.(Hey--maybe we could offer the gas station attendant some white beads!!!)

It did gain popularity in the 1800s both here and in England, and all kinds of items were made from milk glass. Dresser sets, pin trays, water bottles, candy containers, and trinkets were popular. The glass was not ultra white but had a ivory tone.

As far as collectors, milk glass reflects a love/hate relationship. Many baby boomers grew up with the milk glass candy dishes, compotes, and hens on nests since these were popular shower gifts for our mothers. I know I have a piece my mother received as a wedding gift.

The best milk glass was produced by Westmoreland (PA). In business from 1890-1985, they maintain a current following. Fenton Glass (W. Va) still holding on for dear life, also is know for their silver crest line…the milk glass with a “clear” trim...to the right of the tile in the first picture…and their hobnail…the sugar and creamer below.
The earliest pieces here include the basket weave compote with the hand painted moss roses…a popular Victorian line…and the Victorian mantel vase.

I do believe we can credit Martha Stewart for upgrading milk glass…even Fire King’s…the basket weave plate in the picture…it is so versatile. It can blend with anything, and it works even in the winter…winter whites, you know!

The marked pieces of the big lines bring good money, but Fire King(Anchor Hocking), like the lace-edged piece under the Fenton sugar, is often found in thrift shops, and they do not book high either. Still most milk glass can be acquired for under $50 if not less in this current economy. But…no matter…buy it because you love it not because you think it will be valuable!

Memorial Day marks the traditional opening of the "season" here. I imagine by now the people who do not live in this area are starting to dream about summer. They look at that jar of shells they took home or that silly stuffed bear from the Wildwood boardwalk and fondly remember their brief week’s respite from the daily grind.

What is fun, though, is to look at the variety of souvenirs that exist, and especially intriguing are the items from the post WWII era. Families packed everyone into the station wagon and headed out to see America. We had won the war; we were moving to the suburbs, and all was right in the world.

It is intriguing to think of them stopping at the Delaware Water Gap and buying a plastic Indian, or going to Washington, D.C. and buying a souvenir plate with all the monuments pictured.

Of course, there are the ubiquitous salt and pepper shakers, the mini spoons with minute emblems of the tourist site unceremoniously glued on, and don’t forget the embroidered silk pillowcases. Shown here is an oil/vinegar set with hand painted roses and Wildwood, NJ proudly named. I am sure these existed for several resorts in the 60s.
In part, it is a look into another “time zone” even though it is only 40 or 50 years ago. How different those vacations were compared to the Disney cruise or the island jaunt that families take today? Even the car trip is a traveling entertainment center with its swivel chairs, DVD players, and food consoles. I remember having a pillow, a book, and pencil and paper--you never knew when you wanted to play the state license game. Speaking of license plates, you would have to be a graphic arts genius to identify some of the plates today! Yet, these “tacky” souvenirs in their own way represent a “kinder,gentler time.” Of course, current gas prices could bring a return to the lazy hazy days of summer under the boardwalk!

The earliest known glass salver, or server as it was sometimes called, was modeled after silver. It was created in England to serve beer or liquids and the "tray" kept it from getting "the Carpit and Cloathes." In the 17th century they are often shown supporting one or more wine glasses.

The most popular style was the molded pedestal stem. After 1800 the edge of the foot is usually folded upwards & most had solid tops. The most spectacular role of the salver was in a dessert pyramid comprised of two to five salvers of graduated diameter set one upon the other to create a pyramid effect. Each layer bore an arrangement of glassware (syllabubs) filled with jellies, creams, & sweetmeats. The smallest salver at the top was usually crowned with a 'Top Glass' for preserved fruit. And you thought Martha designed that look????

Interestingly, these stands were first made in America in the 1770s in Philadelphia. South Boston Flint Glass Works listed the form among its products in 1818; their salvers ranged from 8-15 inches in diameter and cost from $1.67 to $6.00 each. The following year, the firm extended the range down to 6 and up to 17 inches.

In the 1800s these stands were in everyone's homes. And...now...face it...even a stack of Twinkies would look good on them. I use them in my shop for display pedestals as you can see.

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle."
Paulo Coelho

That was my daily email quote...and my miracle today was that I managed to get a new keyboard to work with my computer...should have been an easy task...but nope.
All is well ~ I think ~

I love auctions. When I first started my shop nearly 18 years ago, I was petrified. I was sure a sneeze, a hand movement, a blink would result in my buying some ugly pot or painting. But, alas...I mastered the auction~~thanks to mentors~~even earned a permanent number at my weekly haunt~~~~this is a picture of some treasures from last night...a wonderful gallery framed print...and Japanese piece...hand holding the shoe...and some post cards...doing well at auction is like finding the pot at the end of the rainbow...it just makes life a little golder!

It just struck me as I was responding to a post on Make Mine Pink about a quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson that we have slipped so far in our abilities to be self-reliant.

We want everything done for us...not my fault...not my responsibility...not in my backyard. Not to mention his line "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"...change is the one thing that can make aging difficult. I have noticed that people do make fun of me because I keep up with modern culture, but it does work well in my college teaching. I think it keeps me young...at least mentally...hard to stop the other issues...but, when we refuse to change, it does throw up the negativity. I can see it in some of the people who have been interviwed through this primary election process. Some of the responses border on frightening.

You know, this is a good thing...blogging...it is good to vent...

I have been reading about retail and the push to get people to spend their stimulus checks with them. Although I am a retailer, I would never want someone to buy something if they really could not afford it. That is why I have kept my prices reasonable...for under $10 you can find some real treasures to make you happy.

Rich smelling soaps...candles to light and soothe the soul...perhaps a small pottery vase or an old book...a beautiful cup and saucer tied with pretty ribbon...little touches to make you smile...a little stuff pillow hung on a door or a hook...all under $10...$5 even!

This is Mount Pillow in my shop...I sold an iron bed, and, until I get another one set up, I have this pile. I figure if it collapses it won't hurt anyone though! I truly have a pillow fetish...have 10 on our personal bed!

I am trying to rework the shop for the new season. It is difficult to compete with the big boxes in my little box, but I try to give people value and variety. So much of the antique/vintage world overprices merchandise thinking they are dealing with museum treasures. In reality, everyone who sells used merchandise is part of the new "green" movement. Antique dealers were the first recyclers!

WELCOME!

The new world of promotion brings me to the blog...I keep thinking blob...but, alas, the web log somehow became blog...this is an alternative to the web site, and at least I have control here...or do I? Hope springs eternal...