The Dutch Rose

"Nature does not hurry,

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yet everything is accomplished."
~ Lao Tzu I am trying to reorganize the shop, and I am hoping for the theory of nature to kick in...definitely not hurrying it, and, since the semester is in full swing, that seriously impacts my nature.

I found in my stash, some pretty "elegant" Depression sherbets. Traditional Depression glass was made in the central and mid-west United States, where access to raw materials and power made manufacturing inexpensive in the first half of the twentieth century. More than twenty manufacturers made more than 100 patterns, and entire dinner sets were made in some patterns.

Common colors are clear (crystal), pink, pale blue, green, and amber. Less common colors include yellow (canary), ultra marine, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt blue, red (ruby & royal ruby), black, amethyst, monax, and white (milk glass). The Quaker Oats Company, and other food manufacturers and distributors, put a piece of glassware in boxes of food, as an incentive to purchase. Movie theaters and businesses would hand out a piece simply for coming in the door. Depending on your age though, you may remember when banks and gas stations gave you "presents" for coming in the door...nowadays, you have to give them mega presents to get their attention!Often confused with Depression Glass is Elegant glass which was a better quality glass and was distributed through jewelry and department stores. A finer glass, it was often etched with intricate designs...few people think of what it takes to do the etching even on clear glass. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it was an alternative to fine china. Most of the Elegant glassware manufacturers had closed by the end of the 1950s, and cheap glassware and imported china replaced Elegant glass. (Note how many times in these articles, I talk about "cheap" replacing American made products. Anyone see the pattern to our current economic woes?) Some of the bigger "Elegant" glass manufacturers included Cambridge, Duncan Miller, Fenton, Fostoris, Imperical, Heisey, and Westmoreland.

So, while we wait for nature to unveil her spring etchings, as the poet Anne Bradstreet, New England's first published poet of the 17th century, wrote, "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant."

It is memory

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that enables a person to gather roses in January. ~ Author Unknown

At this point in the states where January is not represented by palm trees and coconuts, we residents are thinking spring. The garden catalogs are in the mailboxes daily, and, in the east, it has been a kind winter. The snowbabies are not happy, I am sure, but it has been a fairly mild winter. At auction the other night, I got a wonderful white ironstone pitcher and bowl, and I thought of spring and flowers...Ironstone china as we know it was first patented in 1813 by Charles James Mason in Staffordshire, England. It was an improved china harder than earthenware and stronger than porcelain. Freshly cleaved ironstone is usually grey. The brown external appearance is due to oxidation of its surface. Ironstone, being a sedimentary rock is not always homogeneous and can be found in a red and black banded form called tiger iron, sometimes used for jewelry purposes. Sometimes ironstone hosts concretions or opal gems.

Mason's patent lasted only fourteen years, and by 1827 a number of other potters had already experimented with his formulas. All of these wares were decorated with transfer patterns or brush-stroke designs.

Interestingly, plain white was not common. According to my research, an undecorated piece would find its way out of the factory, possibly because it was flawed in some way. But, in the 1840's, England began exporting the undecorated wares to the American and Canadian markets. The English potters discovered that the "Colonies" preferred the unfussy plain and durable china. (Boy, have we changed our tunes over the centuries!) Specifically, it was 1842 when James Edwards marketed the first white ironstone china in America.By the 1850's and 1860's, huge quantities of china were sold to the agricultural communities and called "thrashers' ware." These dinner, tea and chamber sets were embossed with wheat, prairie flowers and corn in order to appeal to the farmers who had to feed all the people that helped with the harvest.

Plain white was also used in 1878 by John Wanamaker of Philadelphia department store fame when he decreed January to be the time for a white sale. Bed linens, which were available in white only, were sold at a discount. It is believed he might have done so to keep linen makers in business during a slow time of year. Wouldn't it be nice if all retailers were so gracious in their ordering and sales today? But, for now, those of us who long for bouquets for the pitcher and bowls in our possession will have to dream of that spring day and of the roses of summer!"The first of all single colors is white ... We shall set down white for the representative of light, without which no color can be seen; yellow for the earth; green for water; blue for air; red for fire; and black for total darkness." ~Leonardo Da Vinci

"When women are depressed,

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they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It's a whole different way of thinking." ~Elayne Boosler

Throughout the year, I thought I would give you some insight on being a shop owner. If you are one, perhaps you can add some comments to my ideas, and, if you are not one, maybe it will give you some awareness of the behind-the-scenes world of our shops. Even as I write, there are thousands of buyers and vendors in Atlanta. According to their press, this "market" was founded in 1957 by world-renowned architect and developer, John C. Portman, and it is the nation’s leading gift, home furnishings and area rug marketplace and the largest trade mart/tradeshow complex of its kind in the world. More retailers, from more places, do business at AmericasMart than in any other U.S. wholesale market.
Since I am more antique/vintage than gift items, I do not go to the big shows, but, if you are not in retail, and you shop at a small retailer who has new inventory, perhaps that owner does go to one of the bigger markets to buy for you. New York City also has a large wholesale market. And...the shopkeeper truly does buy for you...ah, yes, she or he may like the product, but whenever we buy something, it is with the idea that someone will like it also.
I am trying to stay with American made products, and everyone knows the Chinese import stories. I went to the Philadelphia Gift Show last week, and it was a challenge to find something that was not made in China or even to find a product that was reasonably priced. Small shops have to compete with the likes of Home Goods, Marshalls, Ross--they have the buying power of quantity that makes the price far cheaper than normal wholesale costs. Not to mention, the wholesale companies have minimum order requirements that can average $500-$1000, and, for your small "Main Street" store that may be a chunk of cash.
I do order from one company who imports. The quilted throws, pillows, and paper florals I carry are made in China.
It is a small company though not one of the biggies. But, as a fellow retailer commented on a forum, "Everyone loves the idea of saving the planet and buying USA... but they don't want to spend the extra $$ to do it."

And, here is the problem of the small shop owner these days...even those who sell in a booth or in a co-op...to survive in the era of Home Goods or even Dollar stores...everyone has costs from liability insurance to utilities to bags, tissue, and price tags, not to mention operating costs like rent and credit card costs (which can be high...banks charge for every swipe plus a percentage and a monthly fee--then they get the consumer also). I am a rarity in that I do not accept credit cards, but I keep my prices low to compensate, and the resale market is kinder than pure retail. TV shows or articles encourage bargaining with the small shop owner, but they don't tell you to go into Macy's or Walmart and ask for their best price. I have been fortunate to find American made products...pillows made from old sweaters...handcrafted cards and gift tags...
beautiful silk and ribbon rose pins...And...I have a new charmer...handcrafted scarves in cotton for the spring...made in America!So there you have it...a little peek into the retail world. Many small shops have closed in recent years. Online sales are in vogue, but, as I wrote a couple weeks ago, isn't something missing in the shopping experience when you just point and click? Even for the shop owner, imagine the rush of going to the big trade show...or a flea market, an auction? There is no app or X-box experience for that!
"If you don't get what you want, it's a sign either that you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price." ~ Rudyard Kipling

"A waffle is

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like a pancake with a syrup trap."
~Mitch Hedberg

Do you know that we have the Arabs to thank for sugar? According to my research, cane sugar was first used in Polynesia, and, in 510 BC, the Emperor Darius of what was then Persia invaded India where he found "the reed which gives honey without bees". The secret of cane sugar, as with many other of man's discoveries, was kept a closely guarded secret since the finished product was exported for a rich profit.

When the Arab peoples invaded Persia in 642 AD, they found sugar cane being grown and learned how sugar was made. As their expansion continued, they established sugar production in other lands that they conquered including North Africa and Spain.
Until the mid 1800s, refined white sugar was a scarce expensive luxury. Coarse brown sugar, molasses, sorghum and maple sugar and syrup were the sweeteners of the everyday housewife. According to some old catalogues, syrup pitchers (called "syrups" for short) were originally called molasses cans, or syrup jugs. Syrups came in a variety of colorful containers in a different styles of glass products both blown & molded as well as the porcelain beauties pictured here. This is why "antiques" can be fascinating...they hold the secrets of the past...but, for some reason, we tend to fear learning, but it can be so revealing. That is why when I buy something, I have to research...it is not good enough to think, "Oh, I can mark that up." I have to put it in perspective...and so here is the perspective of the Victorian syrup.Maple syrup was first collected and used by Native American Indians. No, the New Englanders did not discover it! It is traditionally harvested by tapping a maple tree through the bark and into the wood, then letting the sap run into a bucket, which requires daily collecting. Molasses, sometimes called sorghum, is a thick syrup by-product from the processing of the sugar cane or sugar beet into sugar.During the Victorian times, which is when these syrups were popular, treacle would have been the generic word in Britain for any syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane, and it can range from very light to very dark. In practice, the lighter syrup which is produced when the sugar cane juice is first boiled, is called light treacle or golden syrup. As you can see in the ad, the product came in a can, and, in better households was transferred to the syrup pitcher.The second boiling produces a much darker syrup, which British cooks call treacle (or dark treacle) and we call molasses (or dark molasses). The third boiling produces what we both apparently call blackstrap molasses, which is very dark and somewhat bitter, and which health-food advocates think is heaven on earth although it is more often used to feed cattle.

The sugar industry in some countries is highly protected. The United States, for example, maintains a domestic price for sugar well above the world price and controls the amount of sugar imported. The European Union protects its beet growers, and the industry in India is carefully regulated to control production and domestic prices. Clearly, interventionist traditions in the industry established long ago remain very much alive. In most countries there are stocks of sugar held against sudden shortages and increases in price. And you thought it was oil?!
“The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.”
~John D. Rockefeller

"Everything old

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is new again."
~Peter Allen

A new year...2011 was not my favorite having lost my best friend to the big "C", but life goes on...and so, as Alexander Pope wrote in his "Essay on Man": "Hope springs eternal in the human breast."

I like the lyrics I opened with. For some reason, things old have been taking a back seat to the newly made in China stuff, and I think it is about time to reconsider old...antique...not necessarily the museum antique, but just those things that have been loved for decades. The traditional "antique" shops have been closing or changing their names so as not to turn off the younger consumer, but perhaps it is time to discuss the value of things that have been shunned by the microwave diswasher safe, throw-it-out when I am tired of it, bargain seeker.

Every day I see more and more people with their faces in their 2 X 4 boxes...this New Yorker cartoon is indicative of the new world...Maybe this year could be one where people not only think outside the box but also look up from the box. I was reading a review in the NY Times the other day about the revival of restaurants in the department stores in New York City. Shopping used to be an event...a day to get together with some friends...have some lunch...some tea...talk...shop...enjoy each other's company. And, there was no "App" for that!

I look at things I am unpacking to put in the shop. Consider these syrups/honey pots (more on these in a future blog)...can you imagine having one of them on your breakfast table with maple syrup or honey...beats this...and, since buying is so good these days, no need to price it in the stratosphere. That is another issue...younger buyers think antique=expensive. Yes, in some shops where the dealers are happy to have things become still life pictures or where their market is the high end decorator...perhaps...but sometimes the antique is actually cheaper than the made in China. Take furniture, for example...older furniture is made from real wood not some exotic rain forest wood or pressed sawdust. And...you don't need every piece to be old...just one neat old table or chest will ground a room.

Perhaps if each one of us who loves to repurpose, reuse, recycle would show someone who does a scrunch face when someone says antique, we could bring over converts to the "everything old is new again" mentality. I know I try to have my shop been one of those places...reasonably priced...smells good...escape golightly...not only have we been McDonald-lized in restaurant dining, but we have also been Walmartized by shelves and stark lighting. A day roaming in and out of small shops...or even a day in a big city in the big old department stores (what is left of those)...a nice lunch or afternoon tea...because as the song goes:

"Don't throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When ev'ry thing old is new again..."

Happy New Year to my faithful readers!

"I heard the bells,

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on Christmas Day,
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

December is the twelfth and final month

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of the Gregorian calendar and the first month of winter. It derives its name from the Latin word decem, meaning ten, as December was the tenth month of the oldest Roman calendar until a monthless winter period was divided between January and February. The Latin name is derived from Decima, the middle Goddess of the Three Fates who personifies the present, and she measured the thread of life with her rod. She is the goddess of childbirth (not married either), and with Nona and Morta she forms the Parcae (the three Fates).
Originally it was a single goddess named Parca meaning create or give birth, but the Goddess of Fate eventually became the triple goddess Parcae. The first Triple Goddess Nona, the spinner, means ninth month, the second Decima, translates as measurer, and the third Morta, cutter of the thread of life, means death. Interesting that the one translated into a trinity...and that women then controlled the fate of the world.

December begins on the same day of the week as September every year because there are 91 days separating September and December, which is a multiple of seven (the number of days in the week). It ends on the same day as April every year also.

So, just a little bit of trivia this week...I had essays to read, grades to calculate, and so my mind needs to recharge!And now as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, I shall "sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind."

"How did it get so late so soon?

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Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?"
~Dr. Seuss
I went out to get the paper this morning, and the moon was bright in the sky across the street...the air finally had a winter chill...the bird bath had iced over...and Harry was a bit upset with the frosty leaves...But, I thought this is what winter holidays should represent. Not the madness of buying stuff, but especially for us in the areas where the climate changes, the calm of a chilly morning...the frosty feel...the peace and quiet.

Enjoy the old fashioned holiday spirit...I can remember going with my father to Woolworth's to buy my mother something for Christmas. I usually picked out a figurine...
These are the Erich Stauffer figurines. I call them "Hummel-wanna-bes"...although in today's market, the Hummels are not bringing the money they used to, and Hummmels are no longer the expensive figurine.

Still, I love the Stauffer figurines. According to my research, Erich Stauffer designed fake versions of Hummels and Kalk figurines for Arnart from 1953 to 1970 under the brands Arnart Imports, 5th Avenue, ArMark, Royal Carlton, Royal Chintz, and Royal Crown.Arnart is known by its crown and crossed arrow symbols on the bottom, some of which are printed with numbers in a series in porcelain or on a sticker. Erich Stauffer, a traditional German name, may even have been invented to make it seem as though the Arnart imports were from Germany. This could explain why it is so hard to find out information about Erich Stauffer, the designer. After World War II, Arnart was part of the influx of cheap Japanese imports flooding the US market. Arnart’s imitations began to tarnish their brand so in 1957 Arnart changed their name to “5th Avenue” after securing their 5th Avenue office in downtown New York and stopped using a printed stamped “Made in Japan” pottery mark, replacing it with a “Made in Japan” sticker. In 2000, 5th Avenue changed their name again to Arnart Imports Inc.Many think these figurines are 1940s since the war would have prevented imports from Germany, but that is not true since production began after the war. It was simply a matter of producing inexpensive items for the 5 & 10s (now the $1.00 stores!). There is something old-fashioned about them though...nostalgia got the best of me this morning!!!

I still have more flower frogs to show you, but that full moon this morning took me down a different path.

"A full moon hangs high in the chilly sky,
All say it's the same everywhere, round and bright.
But how can one be sure thousands of li away
Wind and perhaps rain may not be marring the night?"
~Li Qiao, The Mid-Autumn Moon

"A bird is three things:

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Feathers, flight and song,
And feathers are the least of these."
~Marjorie Allen Seiffert

The flower frogs...birds...this week are from Czechoslovakia...and again...history is so crucial in understanding the origins of these treasures.When porcelain was first produced in Bohemia, Bohemia was a part of the Habsburg Monarchy in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There were several mines in the area of Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria). Another area with several factories is Trnovany, Czech Republic (Teplitz, Bohemia, Austria). These areas became the center of porcelain production, especially Karlovy Vary. Bohemian porcelain made before 1918 may be marked with the country of origin as Austria. Most of the factories were founded when the area was still under Austrian rule. Thus, the town and village names are the German/Austrian names. Once Czechoslovakia became a country, the towns and villages did not always mark with their old Czech names.

At the end of World War I (November 1918), the Paris Peace committee created a new country with the Bohemia, Moravia & Austrian Silesia sections of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a northern strip of Hungary. The committee named the new country Czecho-Slovak Republic, with a hyphen. In 1920, Ruthenia was made a part of Czechoslovakia. Most of the people in the new country were the Czechs (Bohemians) and Slovaks, thus the name Czecho-Slovakia. However, there were great differences between their cultural and religious traditions. (Does it ever strike anyone as odd that civilization cannot move beyond culture and religion? Guess there is no "APP" for that either!)

Anyway, the country's pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair had the spelling Czechoslovakia and Czecho-Slovakia.

At times, you will see the German spelling with a "w" instead of a "v," Czecho-Slowakia, or an "e" at the end instead of an "a," Czecho-Slovakie. Another spelling is Tehechoslovacia. During Hitler's control of Czechoslovakia, the country was part of Germany; therefore, some Bohemian porcelain states Germany as the country of origin. This is marked Bavaria, but it has that lustre that the Czecho-slovkian porclain is so well known for.In September 1938, the Bohemia borderlands (the former Sudetenland) were ceded to Germany. March 1939, the Nazis occupied all of Czechoslovakia. In 1945, after World War II, the country of Czechoslovakia was restored to its original borders, except the Ruthenia section was ceded to the USSR. After this time the hyphen was not used in the English spelling of the country. During the communist rule, it became Ceskoslovenska Socialisticka Republika (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic). Czechoslovakia ceased being a country January 1, 1993, when it was divided into the Ceská Republika(Czech Republic) and Slovák Republika(Slovak Republic). The Czechs and Slovaks always wanted to be independent entities.

"There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before." - Robert Lynd

“Frogs have it easy,

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they can eat what bugs them.”

Well, I have been buggy the last couple days...Black Friday crazies...but pepper spray aside (a woman actually pepper sprayed people at a Walmart!!)), back to some interesting auction treasures...here are some of the flower frogs I mentioned on Facebook a week or so ago. I did some research on flower frogs...there is even a book out on them...and it seems the author is not sure of the origin of the term. Her feeling is that it is slang perhaps for having "frog-like" characteristics...sitting in shallow water all day...but company catalogs never referred to the items as frogs. They were flower holders, arrangers, or blocks. Only rarely did the term "frog" occur in a patent.

Ancient Egyptians had vessels that held flowers in arrangements, and the Persians made vases with side spouts in the 13th century. What I love about this business is that one truly recognizes how amazing the ancient civilizations were without the aid of modern equipment not to mention a cell phone!

Although flower frogs reached their heyday in the United States in the mid-twenties and thirties during the flapper era, they can be traced back to the 16th century in Europe where it was customary for pottery and china houses to mark their pieces. Glass flower frogs were not generally marked prior to 1870, the year it became possible to record patents and trademarks on glassware.

The oldest known record for a U.S. frog is a patent issued to S. Van Stone in 1875 for a conical shaped flower stand with concentric rings of holes stacked pyramid fashion.
Another early creation is the mushroom-shaped, Mt. Washington condiment server/floral holder . A patent for this holder was issued to Andrew Snow, Jr. in 1893.
The first group are birds...these are German, and most were imported between the two world wars. In her book, Bull says that these were not of the "finest design" but by today's Made in China products, these are like fine pottery!
So, for the birds...enjoy...these are from an amazing collection...more next week...

Birds of a feather truly flocking together at The Dutch Rose!
“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”

"Not what we say about our blessings,

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but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." ~W.T. Purkiser
Short and simple this week...in the midst of all of the pre-Christmas hoopla...Black Friday...now Black Thursday even...soon November will just be "Show Me Your Money Month"...I just decided to let this holiday breathe on its own...the number of Americans living below the official poverty line this year, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the Census Bureau has been publishing figures on it. (The poverty line in 2010 for a family of four was $22,314.)

We'll talk about "stuff" next week...this week, be grateful for your stuff and stuffing!
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!
–Unknown

“Kindness is a language

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which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see”
~Mark Twain

World Kindness Day evolved from a series of conferences in 1996-1997 in Japan by a group known as the World Kindness Movement.

These conferences brought together groups interested in promoting more kindness around the world. It culminated in the "Declaration of Kindness" on November 13,1997, and November 13 became the celebratory day. So, since my blog posting day coincides, I thought it was appropriate to remind everyone that a random act of kindness is never wasted.

Those who read my blog know I have been following the plight of Jack the Cat, and I had posted on my Facebook page about the passing of Jack the Cat...his 2 months without adequate nutrition caused his body to deteriorate and antibiotics could not help him...as sad as it was, it was an act of kindness to let him go.But, good is going to come from it with a movement to prevent animals from being treated as cargo.

I think sometimes the objects that I sell in the store were loved with kindness in their time. Imagine the woman who wore this sweater 60 years ago...it is in excellent condition. It must have been treated with such kindness...

and old books that were read and loved...
and imagine the act of kindness to share a cup of coffee or tea with someone...and not in a styrofoam cup!As a native Pennsylvanian and one who did graduate work at Penn State, it has been a difficult week...the kindness that the students showed for the victims was impressive.
So, just a random act of kindness today...smile at someone for no reason at all...hug someone...pet your furry friend or friends for a couple extra minutes...he does love it...Deuteronomy just has one of those faces!I just happened to see my morning paper delivery guy this morning...told him that he was the best we have had (really true!) and watched a big smile come to his face. So, from a beautiful fall day in New Jersey, have a good day! Be nice!"Kindness trumps greed: it asks for sharing. Kindness trumps fear: it calls forth gratefulness and love. Kindness trumps even stupidity, for with sharing and love, one learns." ~Marc Estrin

"A house is just a place

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to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff."
~George Carlin

If you are a regular reader, you know I lost my "BFF" of 35 years in August. This past week I talked to her husband about "stuff" that she had accumulated over the years. We laughed about the George Carlin bit where he goes on about "stuff." I deal in stuff so I know the trappings of stuff. But, many times the "stuff" only has meaning because of the person who owned it.

Sometimes stuff can be wonderful...I am now selling two more magazines in the shop...this one is full of ideas about what to do with stuff~Romantic Country (I still have Romantic Homes)and Vintage and Victorian...which I really love! They will be available quarterly, and I am offering them at a discount...which brings me to an interesting topic...pricing...the antique market is a crap shoot at best. All of this is technically "used" merchandise, and prices used to be determined by averaging auction prices and asking prices from a variety of sources with price guides as a grounding force, but now prices are all over the place. People see things online...ebay was the best of times, the worst of times. It did level the playing field, but then you have someone for whom money is no object...and now a $10 item is suddenly "worth" $100!

A friend and I did a "busman's holiday" the other day...by the way, when I said that to someone in one of the shops, I could tell by the look on her face that she had no clue...it dates back to 1893 in the UK. The idea is that a busman, to go off on a holiday, would take an excursion by bus, thereby engaging in a similar activity to his work. Anyway, I was a bit overwhelmed by the prices.For example, a pretty Victorian plate or a simple wine glass...I saw similar items priced anywhere from $35 and up for similar plates and stemware ranged from $10 each to $20 each. Now, I know this is a market where a suggested retail price might be based on maker...provenance...from the French provenir, "to come from", referring to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object, but we are in an economy where the prices of the 1980s and 1990s are no longer valid. Face it, nothing is worth what it used to be, including that house to put the stuff in!

I think many younger buyers have been scared away from the antiques and vintage items because of prices and just the feel of an antique mall-just merchandise with tags on. Yes, TJs Home Goods is just merchandise on shelves, but it is cheaper even though it is from China. They want the look...they do not care about "provenance." Fair prices though can be put on items without treating them as museum quality merchandise. Perhaps, the prices reflect people who are in this business for the fun of it, not to make money. I confess that I am in it for both...but I love to buy so I have to price to sell! How many antique shops or malls have turned from the wonderful old stuff to made in China, or shops that simply closed rather than try to fight it?

But, down off my soap box...and speaking of priced to sell, my elf has created a round of bird houses for the little guys this winter...here is the new section of the porch also...And the transformation is just about complete...
I am trying to keep the shop fun...with no sticker shock...for many "antiquers" the fun is in the hunt...but what fun is it if once you find it, you cannot even think of buying it...still as this quote embodies...

“An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.”

Fear is that little darkroom

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where negatives are developed.~ Michael Pritchard

We don't need Halloween to scare us these days...there are plenty of distractions from economy to ecology. But, negatives do feed fear. Consider my post a couple weeks ago about Jack the missing cat at JFK...the Facebook group never gave up hope...a huge group searched the airport last weekend, and on Tuesday Jack literally dropped in...he was in the area where he had disappeared, but he had made it into the duct work and fell through the ceiling tiles. It was an area where American Airlines had not really allowed the searchers into...He is suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, and some other minor cuts, but he is getting top notch care. American was flying his "Mom" in this weekend to see him, but he will have to stay in the hospital for awhile it seems. Anyway, the power of positive...

The painting continues...again...I wanted to make people smile when they pull into the parking lot. Not done yet...but it is so bright and cheery!
"Occupy Wall Street" has people talking about the economy. On one of my business blogs, this was posted...The small shop does not have the buying power of the big boxes...companies set minimums for purchasing...most of the time $200-$500. Now, for the Maxxinista buyer that is petty cash, but for the small business owner that may mean a big chunk of cash. And, banks do prefer the top 1%...ask anyone with a small business about getting a loan! So, Occupy is more than kids with art degrees and college debt. Again...think positive...not negative...America does have protesting carved into the Constitution...but maybe we all need some gold...I have some Stangl "Black Gold."I thought this was appropriate for Halloween...22 kt. gold brushed on black...it is from 1968. Rather dramatic for the late 60s, I think. It is sad that so many of the USA potteries are gone...it would be interesting to see what a Stangl artist would create for today's decor.I know this week's post resembled the falling leaves of autumn, but at least here the leaves were not covered with snow! I just had a swirl of thoughts that needed to escape!"From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!"
~Scottish Saying

“Those who shun the whimsy of things

2011-10-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

will experience rigor mortis before death.”
~ Tom Robbins

As my shop is being transformed, no one can accuse moi` of not being whimsical--loosey-goosey all the way! Here is one side that is still a work in progress...

And, that whimsy struck big time at auction this weekend. Years and years ago I became fascinated with doll making. Not the porcelain types...but the old fashioned cloth dolls...rag doll. Of course, the most famous is Raggedy Ann, made in 1915 with brown hair and shoe button eyes. Other popular rag dolls sought by collectors are two-headed Topsy Turvy dolls, Babyland Rag dolls from the early 1900s, and faceless Amish examples. They are one of the most ancient children's toys in existence; the British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from 300 BC.

Dolls have always been an important confidante for a little girl. Sure, batteries and bells and whistles are replacing so many of the imagination-driven toys in the 21st century, but I am sure in beds around the nation...and world...little children still have a soft cuddly toy by their pillow. (Just like curling up with a good Kindle doesn't connect for me.) But, rag dolls were a great money saver for families in the 17th and 18th centuries. Instead of purchasing an expensive doll at a store, rag dolls were a creative craft to make at home. Oftentimes, mothers would save scrap material from other sewing projects to be used for rag dolls.

Even though Raggedy Ann is one of the more famous rag dolls, Babyland Rag cloth dolls were sold by FAO Schwartz, Macy 's, and Gimbel Bros. ranging in price from 24 cents to $2.00 in the early 1900s (about $45 today). They were 13-28" tall, white or black, all cloth with a flat simple with little detail, painted face, mitt like hands; some have mohair sewn to top of head, clothing is removable, marked: Genuine Babyland Trade Mark or unmarked. Some may have the date printed on the lower edge of the head plate, PAT'D JULY 8th 1901; it is believed these were made by Albert Brückner for the Horsman Co.

But...back to auction...and cloth dolls. When I first started making dolls in the 1980s, I was fascinated by a doll designer, Gretchen Wilson. It seems her inspiration was the same as the mothers of the past...young and poor and in search of a doll for her daughter. She found a few scraps of muslin, an old hat, toddler's shoes and hand-me-down clothes. She sat at her kitchen table with a needle and thread, and a doll was born.

Years later, along with a friend, Colleen Charleston, she founded Little Souls in 1986. According to an article in 2001 People, "their plump-cheeked creations, which sell at stores nationwide for between $180 and—for custom-made models—$3,000, have shown up on Oprah and, according to Wilson and Charleston, in the collections of Demi Moore, Whitney Houston and Susan Sarandon. The fiber-stuffed muslin dolls 'have big feet, and some are having bad-hair days,' says Richard Bloom, who sells them in his Portland, Ore., store. 'They have an emotional impact because they're not perfect.'"

The dolls were made in their factory in Bridgeport, Pa., and they had a 28-member production crew that included ex-welfare mothers, a former homeless person and immigrants from Nigeria and Cambodia.
The article also noted that Charleston and Wilson "imported doll clothes made by underprivileged women in places as far-flung as Tibet and Ghana, providing daycare programs for the seamstresses' children. 'They're generating a higher quality of life for people in developing nations,' says Christopher Gallagher, president of the not-for-profit Social Venture Network, a group of philanthropic entrepreneurs."
In a New York Times article from 1991, it talks about how the company was now up to 40 artists who designed the dolls and helped scout flea markets for buttons, tin brooches, toys, handmade socks, overalls, sweaters and shirts. "We try to find toys and hats that are old, and new clothes that have some texture and character," Ms. Wilson said. "We try to see things with a different eye." It mentions that they bought 2,000 hats made in the 1920's. Wool meant for making rugs is used for the dolls' hair, and odd-lot shoes in toddlers' sizes serve as footwear.
So...flash forward to auction Friday night...there they were...lined up...and so, my whimsy took over. I had not seen her dolls since the days when we admired them in the windows of unique shops in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia...she is still designing, but she does them in true designer fashion one of a kind now. These are from earlier production, but they are signed and have a tag with a number. Here is Eve, designed for 2000, and then Mother Goose interpreted as a Little Soul.

So, as this quotation from Heather Kent says, "It has to be fun. Whimsy and wonder are important. Keeping things light makes it easier for people to look at them."

How beautifully leaves grow old.

2011-10-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

How full of light and color are their last days. ~John BurroughsI have found it interesting in my 20 years in the business to watch things change and evolve. For those of you who are not just cyber friends, the shop is going through change also...
I wanted to brighten things up for the next 20 years!

I will not change what I buy though...American made as much as possible in the decorative items...and antique/vintage or things recycled with those characteristics. Lately, it seems that so many are stepping away from "antique store" labels because it is not "in." Well, then someone better tell the cable networks...from Picker Sisters to American Pickers...Pawn Stars to Storage Wars...Cash in the Attic to Auction Hunters...they all celebrate the world of antiques & vintage.

Everyone is bemoaning the weak economy, but manufacturing was the focus of the middle class...and with no manufacturing, it is only logical that the middle class fades into extinction. Not to mention our massive throw it out society.

Take these milk bottles, for example.
My latest auction stash...two carriers of them!

The New York Dairy Company is credited with having the first factory that produced milk bottles, and the first patent for a milk container is held listed as the Lester Milk Jar on January 29, 1878 - US patent number 199837, filed on September 22, 1877.

This photo shows some of better bottles.Lewis P. Whiteman holds the first patent for a glass milk bottle with a small glass lid and a tin clip (US patent number 225,900, granted March 23, 1880, filed on January 31, 1880). The next earliest patent is for a milk bottle with a dome type tin cap and was granted September 23, 1884 to Whitemen's brother, Abram V. Whiteman (US patent number 305,554, filed on January 31, 1880. This bottle has been found with cream line marks and is very valuable. The Whiteman brothers produced milk bottles based on these specifications at the Warren Glass Works Company in Cumberland, Maryland, and sold them through their New York sales office.

The Original Thatcher is one of the most desirable milk bottles for collectors. The patent for the glass dome lid is dated April 27, 1886. There are several variations of this early milk bottle and many reproductions. During this time period, many types of bottles were being used to hold and distribute milk. These include a pop bottle type with a wire clamp, used by the Chicago Sterilized Milk Company, Sweet Clover, and others. Fruit jars were also used, but only the Cohansey Glass Manufacturing plant made them with dairy names embossed on them.

The common sense milk bottle with the first cap seat was developed as an economical means for sealing a reusable milk bottle by the Thatcher Manufacturing Company around 1900. Most bottles produced after this time have a cap seat.

Milk bottles before the 1930s were round. In the 1940s, a square squat bottle become the more popular style. Milk bottles since the 1930s used pyroglaze or ACL (Applied Color Label) to identify the bottles. Before the 1930s, names were embossed on milk bottles using a slug plate. The name was impressed on the slug plate, then the plate was inserted into the mold used to make the bottle - the result was the embossed name on the bottle.

In my auction stash are local bottles like this one from an Atlantic City dairy.

By the 1960s, in the United States, glass bottles had largely been replaced with paper cartons.

And so the end of another group of made in USA companies are gone...the glass manufacturers, the sterilizers-since the bottles were returned, the cap producers, the folks to facilitate all of that...now it is a paper box and into the trash...the end.

Oh, well...as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote..."All things must change...To something new, to something strange."

“I would rather sit

2011-10-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
~Henry David Thoreau
It is that time of the year...pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins. I love fall...and the colors of fall...there is something invigorating about the oranges, yellows, and reds this time of the year...the fireworks of autumn before the quiet colors of winter.

Did you know that the pumpkin was not always the traditional "veggie" of Halloween?

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. On All Hallow's Eve, the Irish originally hollowed out turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. In the mid 1800s when the potato famine hit Ireland, nearly a million Irish came to America (good thing their "taters" are doing better now-they might be left floating out there these days). Anyway, the legend revolves around Stingy Jack, a miserable old drunk who played tricks on everyone, but the trick he played on the Devil was his downfall.

He tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died, and once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.
Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to Heaven, but Saint Peter said that he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was sent to Hell, but the Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he was always stealing. From that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern".So, the Irish hollowed out turnips,rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets, placing a light in them to ward off evil spirits and particularly Stingy Jack.
Jack O' Lanterns were placed on porches and in windows, in hopes that Jack would take the light if needed instead of bothering anyone.

As the Irish settled into America, they discovered the pumpkin. They realized that pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out, and so the pumpkins became the new traditional Jack O'Lanterns. Pumpkins are believed to have originated in Central America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico, dating back over 7000 years to 5500 B.C., but native American Indians used pumpkin as a staple in their diets centuries before the Pilgrims landed. When white settlers arrived, they saw the pumpkins grown by the Indians and it soon became a staple in their diets, too.But, back to Thoreau and the velvet cushion...you can have the best of both...pumpkin and velvet...although I would not recommending sitting on them! Made in America too!“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.”
Jim Davis (American Actor. 1915-1981)

“If we go on the way we have,

2011-10-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

the fault is our greed [and] if we are not willing [to change], we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.”
Jacques Cousteau

I have been on a globe trotting buying spree...not traveling just trotting around buying globes and globe influenced merchandise. So, that brings me to history as usual. Around 250 BC, the Greek mathematician Eratosthenes noticed that a post in the city of Alexandria, Egypt cast a shadow at noon on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. But at the same time in Syrene, a town due south from Alexandria, a similar post did not cast any shadow. Why was this? Here comes the geometry!

Eratosthenes figured the sun must be shining its light at these two towns from different angles. The sun was directly above the post in Syrene, so the post did not cast any shadow. But the sunlight was shining toward Alexandria at an angle. This was because the earth's surface was curved, Eratosthenes reasoned.

By knowing the distance between the two cities and by calculating the angle of the pole to the shadow, Eratosthenes was able to apply geometric theory to determine the size of the earth. He figured out the diameter of the earth was 7,850 miles. He was only off a little. The earth's actual diameter is about 7,926 miles at the equator.

Many Greeks knew for sure the world was shaped like a globe. However, most of them didn't have any idea how this globe fit into the rest of the universe. Aristarchus, who lived in the 200s BC, said the earth revolved around the sun, but not many people believed him. Instead, they believed Claudius Ptolemy, an astronomer who said in 150 AD that the earth was at the center of the universe. Ptolemy said the moon, the sun, the planets and stars revolved around the earth in a series of circles. For another 1,400 years, many people mistakenly believed that this was a true picture of the universe. (Still there are those who think everything revolves around them also!)

In 140 BC, a Greek known as Crates of Mallus built what may have been the first globe in history. It is hard to picture what was on that globe, since the Greeks only knew what a small part of the planet looked like. They had never traveled to China, Australia or the Americas, so none of those places could have been on the globe.

Before European explorers and conquerors sailed across the oceans in the 1400s and 1500s, cartographers in Europe made globes. In 1492, Martin Behaim, a German cartographer, made the oldest globe that still exists today.
Behaim's globe is just under two feet in diameter and has six colors and over 1000 place names. The equator is shown divided into 360 degrees and the ecliptic is labeled with the signs of the zodiac. Also present are the tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Christopher Columbus was a mapmaker and during his four voyages he charted numerous maps of the lands he saw. Years later, the Dutch would become famous for making the best globes and maps. (Aha...my ancestors were good for more Heineken!)When the kings and queens of Europe gazed upon these wonderful spherical maps, they still imagined the rest of the universe circling around the earth. But in the 1500s and 1600s, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, German astronomer Johannes Kepler and Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei debunked the myth that the earth was at the center of everything. They showed that the earth was actually a planet moving around the sun. Many religious leaders refused to believe these new ideas, and these men were cast out...and science still has a hard time being accepted all these centuries later.Sir lsaac Newton, came up with the first theory that explained the movements of the stars, the sun, the moon and the planets. Newton realized the force that causes an apple to fall from a tree to the ground is the same force that attracts the moon to the earth. Newton explained how this force called gravity holds the solar system together. Today, scientists are still getting more information about the universe and the laws of physics, but the rules discovered by Newton still give a good, basic description of the universe around us.

And I think the insects are preparing for their takeover. The spiders are obviously the early predators...check out this web in progress in the back yard!And the next time you see a globe, remember this planet we live on with kindness...like Mark Twain said, “Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first.”

Until we extend our circle of compassion

2011-09-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

to all living things, humanity will not find peace. ~Albert Schweitzer

A little different twist for the blog this week. Every now and then we need to pause and remember it is not about the "stuff." Sometimes a human interest story catches me more than a piece of McCoy pottery or a bakelite bracelet. I have been following on Facebook the story of Jack the Cat who was "lost" by American Airlines a month ago today (August 25). A little background from the story on the FB site...Jack The Cat was rescued from the NYCACC by Karen Pascoe several years ago (along with Barry, who has become his brother). After 22 years of living in NYC, Karen got a great new job offer in California, and decided that it was time for her and the boys to go out west. And so the story begins...

Karen, Jack and Barry were supposed to take flight 177 on 8/25/11. Jack was in his kennel along with the other cat Barry. They cleared security and Karen said goodbye to them as the American Airlines handler was putting the plastic ties around the kennel door.

Karen went back to the passenger area to get something to eat. She received a call at 6:04 pm from an American Airlines employee letting her know that one of her cats was missing. Now, in my mind, I am thinking that although cats are bright, they would have a difficult time getting the carrier open since they all seal from the outside.

Initially, American Airlines was concerned, but as the weeks pass, it seems as if they have tuned out. Of course, you always get the responses on comment boards that it is just a cat...but those of us who are animal lovers know better.

What fascinated me was how quickly thousands of strangers came together to show support and compassion for this little cat. Would it be that easy for our leaders to do the same!If you are interested in following the story, it is on Facebook under Jack-The-Cat-is-Lost-in-AA-Baggage-at-JFK.

Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ~Robertson Davies

"Find yourself a cup;

2011-09-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things. ~Saki
I bought a stash of teapots at auction the other night. Of course, it got me thinking about tea. A little research pproduced some fascinating information. Tea is among the world’s oldest and most revered beverages. It is today’s most popular beverage in the world, next to water. The word “tea” was derived from ancient Chinese dialects. Such words as “Tchai,” “"Cha,” and “Tay” were used to describe the tea leaf as well as the beverage.

Tea drinking has long been an important aspect of Chinese culture. A Chinese saying identifies the seven basic daily necessities as fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. According to Chinese legend, tea was invented accidentally by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong in 2737 B.C. Emperor Shen Nong was a scholar and herbalist, as well as a creative scientist and patron of the arts. (Wouldn't we love to have those kinds of people in today's culture?)

The emperor believed that drinking boiled water contributed to good health. By his decree, his subjects and servants had to boil their water before drinking it as a hygiene precaution. On one summer day while he was visiting a distant region, he and his entourage stopped to rest. The servants began to boil water for the skilled ruler and his subjects to drink.Dried leaves from a nearby camellia bush fell into the boiling water. The emperor was interested in the new liquid because it had a pleasing aroma in this new brew interested the emperor, so he drank the infusion and discovered that it was very refreshing and had a delightful flavor. He declared that tea gives vigor to the body, thus. That was when tea was invented, but it was considered as a medicinal beverage. It was around 300 A.D. when, tea became a daily drink.

Teapots usually have an opening with a lid at their top, where the tea and water are added, a handle for holding by hand and a spout through which the tea is served. Some teapots have a strainer built-in on the inner edge of spout. A small hole in the lid is necessary for air access inside to stop the spout from dripping and splashing when tea is poured.
Early teapots are small by western standards because they are generally designed for a single drinker and the Chinese historically drank the tea directly from the spout. The size reflects the importance of serving small portions each time so that the flavours can be better concentrated.At the end 17th century tea was shipped from China to Europe as part of the export of exotic spices and luxury goods. (And you thought Chinese imports were new!) The ships that brought the tea also carried porcelain teapots. The majority of these teapots were painted in blue and white underglaze. The porcelain withstood sea water without damage so the teapots were packed below deck, and the tea stayed on top in the dry quarters.Tea drinking in Europe was initially the preserve of the upper classes since it was very expensive. Porcelain teapots were particularly desirable because porcelain could not be made in Europe at that time. It wasn't until 1708 that Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus devised a way of making porcelain in Dresden, Germany, and started the Meissen factory in 1710. When European potteries began to make their own tea wares, they were naturally inspired by the Chinese designs.

And so as Willaim Gladstone (19th century Brit Prime Minister) said:

"If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated; it will cool you;
if you are depressed, it will cheer you;
if you are exhausted, it will calm you."

“Pleasure is the flower that passes;

2011-09-11T07:11:00.000-04:00

remembrance, the lasting perfume”
~Jean de Boufflers

It has been over a year since my best friend and I went down to "ground zero." I thought it was only fitting to spend today with some of those photos. I was captivated by the small church that would have been dwarfed by these towers.
Opened in 1766, St. Paul's Chapel is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use - a place where George Washington worshiped and 9/11 recovery workers received round-the-clock care.
While the church's organ was badly damaged by smoke and dirt, the organ has been refurbished and is in use again, and you can see how close it was to "ground zero" (where the orange webbing is).For eight months after the attacks, St. Paul's Chapel served as home to a volunteer relief effort, "becoming a place of renewal and inspiration for Ground Zero's physically and spiritually weary," a Trinity Church press release said.

As someone who sells pieces of the past, not just for money but for remembrances, I am always touched by displays/collections that people create to connect to the past.

These are patches from first responders and rescue personnel from all over the world. This is called "Healing Hearts and Minds", which consists of a policeman's uniform covered with police and firefighter patches sent from all over the country and the world. An altar displays the photos of those who were lost on that day...

The chapel has been turned into a museum, and, although I did take some pictures, I felt uncomfortable. Sometimes things just need to be part of a personal memory.

A pilgrimage is not about the souvenirs...

Ouside though I loved this bell the British gave us...
The bell will ring today...at 8:46 AM in remembrance of the victims, the Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector of Trinity Wall Street, will ring the Bell of Hope in the pattern of the four-fives, the firefighters’ salute to the fallen. It will ring again as part of an Interfaith Ringing at 7:14 PM. Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector of Trinity Wall Street, Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue, and Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid of The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, will ring the Bell.

Beginning in 2002, family members who lost loved ones in the attacks and support groups began to seek a forward-looking tribute to honor the sacrifice of those who were lost and pay tribute to those who rose in service in response to the tragedy.

By encouraging Americans to participate in service and remembrance activities on the 9/11 anniversary, family members wanted to provide a productive and respectful way to honor those who perished and rekindle the spirit of unity and compassion that swept our nation after 9/11 to help meet the challenges we face today. It is strange that we have become so polarized over the past years...they not only brought down the towers, but it seems they also brought down our ability to work together. We can have differing views, but we had always found common ground...that was hijacked with those planes.Because of their efforts to build support for this idea, September 11 has been designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance. The September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance was established into law by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009 and is consistent with President Obama’s overall call to service, United We Serve. So, as the sun sets today, remember, as Anne Frank said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Choose a job you love,

2011-09-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

and you will never have to work a day in your life.
~ Confucius

Happy Labor Day weekend...for those of us in the shore communities, it is the "official" end of the season. Here summer does translate to jobs. Jobs...the buzz word for the U.S. economy. I try to supplement the vintage/antique in the store with products made in the U.S.A., and I attempt to find the artisan who is not a big production company. I know these people are doing what they love...

These sweet little pillows come from a woman in Iowa.
Halloween is going to be fun with these handcrafted bags, tag, and cards.

In previous weeks I have featured soap from New Hampshire, origami from California, wreaths from Chicago, and stamped spoons from New Jersey.So many retailers have to depend on China for their inventory, but I read a report from NPR that less than 3 percent of personal spending in the U.S. goes to China.

We buy a lot of cheap stuff from China so we notice the volume of stuff, but not the fact that it accounts for a small chunk of our overall spending. The article also considered food, health costs, housing, and durable goods like cars and furniture. Companies in China produce about 80 percent of the world’s wheat gluten, common in most breads, cakes and cookies, and 80 percent of its sorbic acid, a preservative used in just about everything.

Chuckled over this line: "The classic capitalist board game Monopoly still qualifies, though with a caveat. 'Made in the USA with dice and tokens made in China,' the box reads."

There is a book called A Year Without Made in China.She discusses how difficult not to mention expensive it was to try to eliminate Chinese products. In an interview, she said that she learned "that we are so closely connected to the rest of the world for what we want and need. And as you know from reading the book, sometimes there's ambivalence about that, but there's also big part in me that likes that and wants to embrace our connections with the rest of the world. So I found it very satisfying, I guess, to find out how connected I am to this big, fuzzy concept to the global economy."

It seems that Americans innovate, but Chinese manufacture. The middle class made up the manufacturing class in America...we have lost that...I try to find the artist crafting in a spare bedroom or in a studio. It is difficult for them to compete with Chinese products because Americans have been turned on to cheap product. Look at antiques...produced in America by Americans...where are the McCoy potteries of today?
From 1948 until 2010 the United States' unemployment rate averaged 5.70 percent reaching an historical high of 10.80 percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953. (Note how unemployment was high during the 1980s global recession and greed grab like today's times...and how it was super low in the 50s as we built roads, bridges, infrastructure?)

But, I must confess that I do love something that was made in China ...granddaughter Paige...
Still I like repurposing...reusing...like my jewelry elf's creations...
and it seems the magazines provide ideas and highlight the work of others who are trying to survive in the new economy. Thank goodness there are still printed words and pictures!

So, perhaps on this Labor Day when the unemployment rate in the United States is at 9.1 percent, we can appreciate why writer bell hooks wrote: "Work makes life sweet".

Irene, good night!

2011-08-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Irene good night
Good night Irene Good night Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Well, obviously living at the Jersey shore...the southern end, not the Snooki end...I did not have time to set up a post for this week...so I thought I would do a quickie on Irene...

"Goodnight, Irene" or "Irene, Goodnight," is a 20th century American folk standard, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932.

A legendary singer and guitarist, he was raised near Shreveport, La., worked on farms in Texas, and began performing in Dallas, Texas, as a protégé of Blind Lemon Jefferson in the 1910s. (Leadbelly got his own nickname because of his deep bass voice.)

In 1917 he was sentenced to prison on a murder conviction; eight years later he literally sang a plea of mercy to the Texas governor and was pardoned. A similar episode occurred in 1935. In 1930 he had been sentenced to ten years for wounding a group of men with a knife; in 1934 Leadbelly composed a song for the Louisiana governor, and, with the intervention of the folklorists John and Alan Lomax, won a reprieve. Over the next year, Leadbelly traveled with John Lomax and recorded hundreds of songs that formed a cornerstone of the Library of Congress folklore archives. In 1938 he moved permanently to New York City, where he recorded for Columbia Records and became a celebrated figure in literary and political circles. His best-known songs include "Irene, Good Night," "Rock Island Line," and "Midnight Special."

As recent as 2005 and 2008, there were movies with the same title
...so the name Irene will never be the same for those of us who "survived" the hurricane, but I still say that I dislike blizzards more...I don't have to shovel "Irene"!

“Some painters transform the sun

2011-08-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

into a yellow spot; others transform a yellow spot into the sun.”
~Pablo Picasso

Well, I am getting ready to brighten up the exterior of the shop...the painters are coming...the painters are coming...see this set on the porch...that will be an accent color...we are going pure whimsical cottage look...building will be white...touches of green and yellow as accents.I have been thinking about the current times and reflecting on the 1970s...the set above is pure 70s. We sat in gas lines...odd/even days...mortgage rates went from 8% up to 13%, and President Nixon even put price controls in effect (no Federal Reserve in those days). Research shows that the country's inflation rate was running in double digits and the cost of borrowing money reflected this fact. Novelist Tom Wolfe coined the term Me decade in his article "The 'Me' Decade and the Third Great Awakening", published by New York Magazine in August 1976 referring to the 1970s. Wolfe describes this abandoning of communal spirit of the 60s and turning to New Deal politics as "taking the money and running." The oil crisis was front and center. We were still in Vietnam, the Soviets were fighting in Afghanistan, and the Mideast was in turmoil as was Africa. (History always explains things, doesn't it?)

But, in these times, color was everywhere...disco was in...
Somehow, despite the trying times, we managed to enjoy! As a writer commented, "Amid war, social realignment and presidential impeachment proceedings, American culture flourished. Indeed, the events of the times were reflected in and became the inspiration for much of the music, literature, entertainment, and even fashion of the decade."

Colors were bright green and blue, black and white, yellow and white, pink and purple, yellow and orange, yellow and green and also pink and green. Despite the shabby white, colors are creeping back into the decorating scene. Chenille bedspreads were hugely popular. Mushrooms, flowers and geometrics were popular themes and were always printed in bright or bold colors.

I still like the mix...and the new Flea Market Style magazine (available in the shop)is reflecting that.So, as we get ready to revamp the outside, the treasures inside will still be that unique mix of whatever strikes my fancy!

“Not to wax nostalgic about the 1970’s, but back then people got upset when they saw injustice. They got tired of seeing our air, land and water polluted. They were shocked when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was polluted so badly it caught fire. And on one great day 20 million Americans marched all across this land. Politicians had no choice but to take notice.” ~John Kerry

"What's in a name?

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That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
~Romeo and Juliet(II, ii, 1-2)

Ah, so said Juliet to Romeo...and this week's topic came from a question on a business forum about what constitutes an "antique." Is it antique, vintage, retro? Or, repro or repurposed? The current economy is bringing new life though to "used" merchandise, and many consumers are realizing things like older furniture made out of real wood may be a better deal than new pressed sawdust pieces from China. Or, you can have unique vintage or retro jewelry that does not cost big money, and it is made from safe metals and materials.
Ebay was responsible for leveling the "antique" world playing field. Opening its cyber doors in 1995, it also distorted the reality of the antique world. No longer was something "rare" since there may be 1000 of the item 3 states over. As long as one was willing to pay shipping, it was all there in that new antique mail order world.

However, like the economy of the real estate madness, it drove prices into areas that showed no common sense. Ebay is an auction, and all logic be damned at an auction. Granted the true illustrious high end antique world still exists at Christie's or Sotheby's, but I am talking about the little shop down the road or the antique mall on the highway.

But, some dealers still think the market is in the stratosphere. I got this bangle in an auction lot, and, since it was signed, I looked it up.
Kirk Stieff was in Baltimore and was America's oldest silversmith, but it seems in the 1960s they made a line of pewter cuff bracelets like the one above. I saw them listed from $30+ up to the hundreds!

Here is the problem - just because something is old does not make it worth big money. Technically this Limoge pitcher is an antique, but it is not priceless in the antique world. The term antique equals the 100 year tag, but that was simply to set up for import fees. If it came in at 100 years or older, no duty had to be paid. The wealthy were importing antiques and did not want to pay taxes. (I will say nothing!) An official definition of an antique is stated in the Tariff Act of 1930. According to Paragraph 1811 of that Act, antiques are "works of art (except rugs and carpets made after the year 1700), collections in illustration of the progress of the arts, works in bronze, marble, terra cotta, parian, pottery or porcelain, artistic antiquities and objects of ornamental character or educational value which shall have been produced prior to the year 1830."

This statement is clear in its application to imports and the payment of duty on them. But the year 1830 is more than an arbitrary date in the classification of American antiques. It was about this time that mass production and factory manufacture began to displace the making of individual pieces entirely by hand. Glass began to be pressed into forms by machine instead of being hand-blown. Chairs were the first piece of furniture to which assembly line methods were applied. Although the cabinetmaker, the glassblower, the blacksmith, and other craftsmen were not put out of business immediately, each succeeding decade brought an increase in mass manufacturing. Can you say Made in China?

Vintage was coined to fit those items that are Depression era up the the 1950s where "retro" kicks in. All style can co-exist though. Here is an antique Victorian blouse, a vintage straw hat, and retro pearls.

If you are looking for unique, the antique/vintage/retro/resale shop can provide that more than TJ Maxx can, and, in the long run, that merchandise still has more intrinsic value than new made in China products. But, as in life, all things in moderation and balance make for sensible living.

As a well spent day brings happy sleep,

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so life well used brings happy death. ~
Leonardo DaVinci

I normally don't go personal on this blog, but today "stuff" is irrelevant. My best friend of 35 years lost her 20 year battle with cancer on Friday. But, she truly had a life "well used" and surely had a "happy death," but those of us left behind are dealing with the pieces of our hearts that have been pulled out.
Peggy and I were like sisters, and, even though 20 years ago we both moved to opposite ends of the coast...she went to Florida, and we came to New Jersey, every week the phone kept us connected, and over the years, we would get together in New York City. One of the memorable times was when it looked like the cancer had finally been controlled. Her daughter Dana is as wonderful as her mother...Peggy did a marvelous job raising a wonderful woman...although she had some of my traits...super animal lover! When she would rescue another critter, Peggy would call and tell me that "my" daughter had done such and such... Peggy was very active in the political scene. Our trip last year to New York made a Kodak moment in front of a window display. She and Dana had to strike a pose!

The last event Peggy and I attended was Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity in our old stomping grounds in D.C. Although it was apparent the cancer had returned, she made the trip alone, and she even organized our hotel arrangements.
She was excellent at setting things up, and she and her husband, Marty, and Dana had all kinds of adventures.As she constantly reminded me in the last year, "I have had a wonderful life." And so have we because you were on this earth...but now I have to remember lines from a poem...
Do not weep for me for I have not gone.
I am the wind that shakes the mighty Oak.
I am the gentle rain that falls upon your face.
I am the spring flower that pushes through the dark earth.
I am the chuckling laughter of the mountain stream.
Do not weep for me for I have not gone.

I am the memory that dwells in the heart of those that knew me.
I am the shadow that dances on the edge of your vision.
I am the wild goose that flies south at Autumns call and I shall return at Summer rising.
I am the stag on the wild hills way.
I am just around the corner.

Therefore, the wise weep not.
But rejoice at the transformation of my Being.
Give your best friend a call today just to say hi...as for me, I am not being wise...the tears come in waves, but even as the memories fill the emptiness, I will miss you so much, my BFF.

"Hot July

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brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers."- Sara Coleridge, Pretty Lessons in Verse

A little footnote to this week's quote~Sara Coleridge (1802-1852) was an English author and translator. She was the fourth child and only daughter of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his wife Sarah Fricker. In 1834, she published her Pretty Lessons in Verse for Good Children which were originally written for her own children but became very popular. We definitely need the cooling showers in August...apricots...why not?
And gillyflowers...which look a lot like carnations to me!

Anyway, July has been hot, and maybe August will give us a break, but who knows? I have been rearranging in the shop, and, as I moved things around today, I was thinking about a former student's current Psych paper on hoarders. This week she asked for volunteers to complete a survey (needless to say, I was proud...I had her in my Comp 102 class where I teach research), but I volunteered to answer her questionnaire.

One question gave me pause as I was resetting displays...
"When do you think a person stops becoming a collector and becomes a hoarder?" I have never watched the TV show Hoarders so I went to the web site to check it out where I found previews of their new season which included:
A doll enthusiast whose hobby has gotten out of control – she has tens of thousands of dolls that fill nearly every room in her house.

A man who has a collection of hundreds of mannequins modeled after him, as well as buckets of his actual hair.

A memorabilia collector whose massive stash of games, action figures, books and novelties has made it impossible to move through his home.An automobile lover who is facing $20 million in fines for littering his property with hundreds of junked cars.

So, here I am in my shop with a stash of glass frogs (flower holders) - the shelf is full of them!
How about chicken dishes? I cannot resist them! But, how cute are they for serving chicken or egg salad?Or shelves of McCoy...I am a dealer...am I a hoarder enabler? I buy McCoy pottery whenever I see it...but it is for the shop...am I a "closet" hoarder?

Sometimes I get a theme in my mind, and I buy things in that theme...like dogs...I am a cat person, but these "dog" days of summer are getting to me!When I first started in the business, I was annoyed by the term antique "dealer" which implied wheeling-dealing. I did not want to do that. I wanted to put a fair price on something and move on. Anyone who thinks that they get a "deal", think again...people indeed mark up to mark down. Now, though, with this hoarder craze, we are dealers...we deal in things which, to some people, are no different than drugs. Maybe cheaper...although not always...

I did come to some discoveries. Many of the new buyers into the antique/vintage market want things they can use, not simply value. I am not talking aout high end...these are not the folks calling in at Sotheby's bidding on Monets, but the days of 400 Hummels in a china cabinet are rare. Maybe a few on a mantle...

So, if you sell or if you buy, are you a collector or a hoarder? Is it all in the usefulness of the items? Or, is it in the design? If I arrange 50 flower frogs in a unique way, am I creative, not hoarding? Something to think about as you enjoy a cool shower, an apricot, and a gillyweed!

“Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector's passion borders on the chaos of memories.” ~ Walter Benjamin

In summer,

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the song sings itself. ~William Carlos Williams

It is actually singing at the top of its lungs here in the east...a million choruses of Martha & the Vandellas' Heat Wave!

But, life goes on...and I am constantly unwrapping treasures...like a stash of bird vases and wall pockets. Some colorful pottery birds from Royal Copley and Czechoslovakia (before it was split).
Royal Copley was made by Spaulding China in Sebring, Ohio in 1942. The research shows that "they sold assortments of birds, vases, figurines, and wall pockets and named the assortments with fancy names like Regal Assortment, Essex Assortment, Lennox Assortment, and Crown Assortment. Department stores loved this marketing tool and bought and sold thousands of these assortments. The Spaulding Company used the slogan 'Gift Shop Merchandise at Chain Store Prices'." I chuckled at the last line...chain store prices...what goes around... They became the second largest producer of art-ware pottery in the United States. After the end of World War II, due to the re-emergence of imports, sales at the Spaulding declined. In 1957, Morris Feinberg, the President and Owner of Spaulding retired. Another company, China Craft filled the remaining orders and contracts for the next two years. However, production of Spaulding China ceased with the retirement of Feinberg. So many companies seemed to have closed when the owner died, but, in a way it is bittersweet because it is more human than the corporate megatrons we have today.

The Czechoslovakian birds are difficult to track to a specific factory. It reflects the shattered history of that area. In November 1918, at the end of World War I, the Paris Peace committee created a new country with the Bohemia, Moravia & Austrian Silesia sections of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a northern strip of Hungary. The committee named the new country Czecho-Slovak Republic, with a hyphen. In 1920, Ruthenia was made a part of Czechoslovakia. Most of the people in the new country were the Czechs (Bohemians) and Slovaks, thus the name Czecho-Slovakia. However, there were great differences between their cultural and religious traditions. The country's pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair has the spelling Czechoslovak and CZECHO-SLOVAKIA. At times, you will see the German spelling with a "w" instead of a "v," Czecho-Slowakia, or an "e" at the end instead of an "a," Czecho-Slovakie. Another spelling is Tehechoslovacia. During Hitler's Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, the country was part of Germany; therefore, some Bohemian porcelain states Germany as the country of origin.

Internal and external political and economic conditions had a major effect on the stability of the factories. The factories went broke and changed hands frequently, as well as merging with one another. The factories were renamed and made changes to their marks often. The founders, financiers, decorators, and others seemed to wander from one company to another. Still they produced some amazing pieces of pottery...these birds are examples of their fine work. I also have a wonderful flower frog in the shape of birds. This one is from US zone Western Germany. Again a mark that represents an historical earmark. This mark dates to 1945-1949.
Then, there are the unmarked pieces of pottery...the orphans in a land where people want to know who made what...so many factories did not realize Antique Roadshow would be crucial in the future. This little planter is one of those sweet unmarked treasures.In my 20 years in the antique business, I have never been taken by a name. Interestingly, the values of things have dropped as the economy dipped, so it really does not matter. If you love it, and if you have a use for it, buy it.

Thanks for flying in!

“The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.”
~William Blake

Ah, summer, what power you have

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to make us suffer and like it. ~Russell Baker

It appears we are looking at another heat wave in the coming week...but, alas, summer...and nothing like a cool drink to soothe that heat, right? A couple of old bottles I got at the flea market have an interesting history to them. One bottle is from a Camden, NJ, bottling company that appears to still be in business according to my research. Looks as though they are distributors...found a link on Facebook although it does not appear to be very inviting.

I am always fascinated more by the history of the company as much as the bottle although the bottle design does have its own story as well.

This neat bottle is from a Staten Island, NY brewery-Rubsam Hormann. I found an archived article from The New York Times detailing a fire that destroyed the brewery in 1878. It gave the address as "on Cannl-street, Stapleton, Staten Island." It said the furniture was imported from Europe, but, because the firemen threw it out the doors and windows, that it was badly damaged! They obviously rebuilt because it was still being operated in the 1960s by the Piels Brothers company.

Another bottle was labeled "Italian Balm"--way before Jersey Shore too!The Campana Company, Illinois, was incorporated in 1927. Its first product was Italian Balm, a hand lotion. The formula was purchased from a Dr. Campana, hence the company name. The Campana Factory had to change the name of its popular lotion to Campana Balm after World War II due to growing anti-Italian sentiment (because of Mussolini, for those not familiar with history). The Campana Company was sold to the Purex Corporation of California, which itself was later bought by the Dow Chemical Company in the 1960s. Dow relocated the workers and shut down Campana operations (and you thought outsourcing was a new thing?).

Then there is a Zanol bottle.I found that they had a factory in Cincinnati in the early 1900s. They sold home remedies, cosmetics and home specialties through dealers direct to the home--sounds like the old door-to-door sales.

This one was for "consumption" - ha! welcome to the 21st century...we consume with the best of them!
But, bottles like this make me think of the future...what will someone in 2081 have to look at from our times? Since we do recycle, that is a good thing...but I guess times are changing...Bob Dylan was right..."You better start swimming or sink like a stone, cause the times they are a-changing."

My candle burns at both ends

2011-07-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light.
Edna St. Vincent Millay, "A Few Figs from Thistles", 1920

Had one of those weeks where life was a little hectic, and it made me think of this phrase...but, then I did get in a wonderful new candle line in...Votivo...so let's talk about candles burning.

From my research on candles, Egyptians were using candles with wicks in 3,000 B.C., but the ancient Romans are generally credited with developing the wicked candle before that time by dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted tallow or beeswax. The resulting candles were used to light their homes, to aid travelers at night, and in religious ceremonies. It is funny how so many things we take for granted were invented thousands of years ago.Historians have found evidence that many other early civilizations developed wicked candles using waxes made from plants and insects. Early Chinese candles were molded in paper tubes, using rolled rice paper for the wick, and wax from an indigenous insect that was combined with seeds. In Japan, candles were made of wax extracted from tree nuts, while in India, candle wax was made by boiling the fruit of the cinnamon tree.

Candles played an important role in early religious ceremonies. Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights which centers on the lighting of candles, dates back to 165 B.C. There are several Biblical references to candles, and the Emperor Constantine is reported to have called for the use of candles during an Easter service in the 4th century. Most early Western cultures relied primarily on candles rendered from animal fat (tallow). A major improvement came in the Middle Ages, when beeswax candles were introduced in Europe. Unlike animal-based tallow, beeswax burned pure and cleanly, without producing a smoky flame. It also emitted a pleasant sweet smell rather than the foul, acrid odor of tallow. Beeswax candles were widely used for church ceremonies, but because they were expensive, few individuals other than the wealthy could afford to burn them in the home. Colonial women offered America's first contribution to candlemaking, when they discovered that boiling the berries of bayberry bushes produced a sweet-smelling wax that burned cleanly. However, extracting the wax from the bayberries was extremely tedious. As a result, the popularity of bayberry candles soon diminished.

The growth of the whaling industry in the late 18th century brought the first major change in candlemaking since the Middle Ages, when spermaceti -- a wax obtained by crystallizing sperm whale oil -- became available in quantity. Like beeswax, the spermaceti wax did not elicit a repugnant odor when burned, and produced a significantly brighter light. It also was harder than either tallow or beeswax, so it wouldn't soften or bend in the summer heat. Historians note that the first "standard candles" were made from spermaceti wax.

Numerous manufacturing improvements were made over the decades, and the 1990s witnessed an unprecedented surge in the popularity of candles, and for the first time in more than a century, new types of candle waxes were being developed. In the U.S., agricultural chemists began to develop soybean wax, a softer and slower burning wax than paraffin. On the other side of the globe, efforts were underway to develop palm wax for use in candles.

There are many independent candle makers in the US now, but I have always carried Greenleaf, and now I have their upscale sister, Votivo. They are made in South Carolina.
From their press, they note that since its inception in 1994, "Votivo has built a reputation for its quality fragrances and distinctive packaging. At the heart of every Votivo candle is a unique fragrance meticulously formulated and layered to reflect depth, richness, and complexity. As one of the very first domestically made luxury candle lines, Votivo passionately pursues excellence in the art of candle making."

I have concentrated on their travel tins since we are a tourist area, but I like these tins because you can easily extinguish by popping the lid on the candle.The scents are amazing. One I was skeptical about because of its name...Bright Leaf Tobacco...but here is their description..."centered around cured tobacco leaves and rooted with Tonka, Vanilla and Patchouli notes that add strength to the familiarity of an Amber and Lavender top for a unique twist on an American Classic." It turned out to be an appealing scent.

Their best seller is Red Currant...the description is as yummy as the candle...A savory blend of tart red currants and golden fruit glaze ladled over coarsely ground vanilla bean ice cream and served along side of raspberry filled sugar cookies.I have also brought in a couple of the fragrance mist flavors also. They also have a wonderful lasting scent.

I still have Greenleaf...and they have new scents also...

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

So, hopefully, my new line can give you some pleasantly scented happiness!

“As Mankind becomes more liberal,

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they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.”
~ George Washington

Wonder what George would think these days? I have been thinking of trends in our country...I am sure every reader of this blog is dealing with the economy...but the famous words on the plaque for the Statue of Liberty proclaims...

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

We don't want any tired let alone poor based on some of the commentary in the press these days, but this quote comes from Emma Lazarus' sonnet, "New Colossus," which she wrote for a fundraiser auction to raise money for the pedestal upon which the Statue of Liberty now sits. The poem did not receive much recognition and was quite forgotten after the auction.

In the early 1900s and after Lazarus' death, one of her friends began a campaign to memorialize Lazarus and her New Colossus sonnet. The effort was a success, and a plaque with the poem's text was mounted inside the pedestal of the statute.

I have a collection of Statue of Liberty souvenirs and a few others!The term souvenir, like our Statue of Liberty is from the French meaning for a remembrance. It is mass produced "stuff", but I like that the definition says that "the object itself has no real significance other than the psychological connection the possessor has with the object as a symbol of past experience. Without the owner's input, the object's meaning is invisible and cannot be articulated." So much for getting money for those shot glasses, Wilbur!

But, let's consider Miss Liberty---she is 151 ft. from the base to the torch. With the pedestal and foundation included in the measurement, the full height is 305 ft. She sits atop the 65 ft. tall foundation fashioned in the shape of an eleven-point star and an 89 ft. stone pedestal. Her feet are 25 ft long, making her a US women's shoe size 879. She also has a 35 ft. waist, and her face is more than 8 ft. tall. Her right arm, which holds the ever-lit torch, measures 42 ft. Her nose is 4 ft. 6"!

The crown has seven points, representing the seven seas and seven continents. Each individual ray of the crown weighs about 150 pounds and measures up to 9 ft. The total weight of the Statue of Liberty is 450,000 pounds (225 tons). The copper alone weighs around 100 U.S. tons and is 3/32 of an inch thick—a little less than the thickness of two pennies. It was hammered by hand into plates, which are attached to the interior iron frame.

There are 354 steps inside the statue from the pedestal to the crown.

The Statue was closed after the September 11 attacks, but, even though she was in sight of the Towers, she was not hit which, if one thinks of it, is interesting.
She was reopened in 2004, but the security is tight.
So, today and tomorrow as the fireworks go off, think about those who sailed into that NY Harbor....I know my grandparents are on Ellis Island manifests...think of those who still come here for things we take for granted...owning a business, food galore, and souvenirs!
If you did not realize the famous Statue of Liberty lines were from a sonnet, here is the complete sonnet.

The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

“I wonder how much it would take

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to buy a soap bubble, if there were only one in the world.”
~Mark Twain

I do love bubbles...
and neat soaps are right there with those bubbles!

I am on a Buy American kick...and buy from the those who are trying to survive in this economy on their own. I realize that not everything can be purchased that way, but even if we all try to buy that way every now and then, it will support an American. So, this week I am featuring a new soap that I have brought into the shop. It is made in New Hampshire. Did you know though that the Babylonians were the first to make a soap product? The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to Ancient Babylon where a recipe for soap was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC. It consisted of uḥulu [ashes], cypress [oil] and sesame [seed oil].The Ebers papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates that ancient Egyptians bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like substance. Egyptian documents mention that a soap-like substance was used in the preparation of wool for weaving.

The word sapo, Latin for soap, first appears in Pliny the Elder's Historia Naturalis, which discusses the manufacture of soap from tallow and ashes, but the only use he mentions for it is as a pomade for hair; he mentions rather disapprovingly that among the Gauls and Germans men are likelier to use it than women. Aretaeus of Cappadocia, writing in the first century AD, observes among "Celts, which are men called Gauls, those alkaline substances which are made into balls, called soap."

According to research, soap-makers in Naples were members of a guild in the late sixth century, and in the 8th century, soap-making was well-known in Italy and Spain. Soap-making is mentioned both as "women's work" and the produce of "good workmen" alongside other necessities such as the produce of carpenters, blacksmiths, and bakers.In France, by the second half of the 15th century the semi-industrialized professional manufacture of soap was concentrated in a few centers of Provence— Toulon, Hyères and Marseille— which supplied the rest of France. Finer soaps were later produced in Europe from the 16th century, using vegetable oils (such as olive oil) as opposed to animal fats. Many of these soaps are still produced, both industrially and by small scale artisans. Castile soap is a popular example of the vegetable-only soaps derived by the oldest "white soap" of Italy.
In modern times, the use of soap has become universal in industrialized nations due to a better understanding of the role of hygiene in reducing the population size of pathogenic microorganisms. Industrially manufactured bar soaps first became available in the late eighteenth century, as advertising campaigns in Europe and the United States promoted popular awareness of the relationship between cleanliness and health.
Many people assume soap is soap, but many a bar of soap may not be labeled “soap.” Most body cleansers on the market today are actually synthetic detergent products and come under the jurisdiction of FDA. These detergent cleansers are popular because they make suds easily in water and don't form gummy deposits. Some of these detergent products are actually marketed as "soap" but are not true soap in the common and legal definition of the word.If the bar you use for bathing does not claim to be a soap, it's probably a synthetic detergent product. FDA defines a cosmetic as an article intended to be used on the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance; thus, a nonsoap product intended for any of these purposes is automatically classified as a cosmetic.

So, if you see hand crafted soap and wonder why it is not dollar store priced, it is indeed the real thing, and, above all, it is made by hand in small batches with quality ingredients!

Old as she was...

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she still missed her daddy sometimes. ~Gloria Naylor

My Dad was not big on having his picture taken...so I have very few in my stash...and he died before the digital camera came along...everyone can snap pictures 24/7 now. Still there is something about going through boxes of photos that tugs at my heart and stirs my memories. I don't get that feeling pressing little buttons...but then I was born way before remote controls, cell phones, and even...yikes!...computers.

Today is Father's Day.The National Retail Federation reports that Americans will shell out an average of $106.49 on dad this year, compared to $94.32 in 2010. Mothers, however, still raked it in in May with $140.73 spent on them for Mother’s Day.

According to the National Retail Federation, we’re going to spend $1.4 billion on greeting cards, $2.1 billion on activities, such as golfing, dining out or heading to the movies, $653 million on sporting goods and $593 on automotive accessories. We will spend $1.3 billion on electronics, $1.4 billion on clothing, $1.4 billion on home improvement, gardening tools and appliances, and $598 million on books and CDs.

When it comes down to shopping, more than one-third of us will head to dad’s favorite department store, and nearly as many will shop at discount stores. Twenty-two percent will shop online.

And while most half of us will shop for our dads or stepdads, the other half will also treat husbands, sons, grandfathers, brothers and/or friends to Father’s Day card and gifts.

The first observance of Father's Day actually took place in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. It was organized by Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton, who wanted to celebrate the lives of the 210 fathers who had been lost in the Monongah Mining disaster several months earlier in Monongah, West Virginia, on December 6, 1907.
It's possible that Clayton was influenced by the first celebration of Mother's Day that same year, just a few miles away. Clayton chose the Sunday nearest to the birthday of her recently deceased father. Unfortunately, the day was overshadowed by other events in the city, West Virginia did not officially register the holiday, and it was not celebrated again. All the credit for Father's Day went to Sonora Dodd from Spokane, who invented independently her own celebration of Father's Day just two years later, also influenced by Jarvis' Mother's Day. Clayton's celebration was forgotten until 1972, when one of the attendants to the celebration saw Nixon's proclamation of Father's Day, and worked to recover its legacy.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972. Those were the days when the 2 political parties understood compromise.

In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 for men and boys who are not fathers. So...no "stuff" today...just memories...and they are worth far more than stuff any old day!

"Don't it always seem to go

2011-06-12T11:00:00.000-04:00

That you don't know what you've got til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"
- Joni Mitchell

And for those of us at the Jersey shore this week, it felt as though the ocean had been paved over...100+ degree heat, and it is not July. My shop is not air conditioned so it was not really a place anyone wanted to be.

It did make me wonder how folks in earlier times managed to survive with no electric cooling...or was the heat not as oppressive because there was more vegetation? This extreme climate change does make...or should make...one pause. It has paused my getting inventory into the shop, I will admit that.

I am trying to restock...I have all kinds of neat treasures to get out. This depression era refrigerator dish got me to thinking about all the neat functional items that came out of the "big" Depression (unlike our current "little" Depression).
Speaking of that era, I came across the funniest excerpt from a 1932 book, Bamberger's Cook Book For The Busy Woman by Mabel Claire: "There is no good reason for the millions of ugly kitchens in the world. Nor is there any good reason for kitchens that look like white tile lunchrooms." She also writes that "Cook book collecting is one of the most fascinating hobbies in which a woman can indulge." I can help you out with that! The shelves are stocked and more to come!

More from her essay..."One must not lose sight of utility while satisfying the desire for color and charm...Jolly flasks of Venetian glass contain vinegar and oil.The tiniest set of shelves holds the spices and colors for decorating and garnishing."
She ends the article with this: "Above my stove I have hung a mirror in a green and gold frame. It reflects the jolly kitchen as well as the cook. A cook should consult a mirror often. For what use is a decorative kitchen without a decorative woman in it!"

Little tidbits from the past...have we really advanced all that much even with all the gadgets. But even in 1932 Mabel longs for the past..."In many houses that have been restored and kept in memory of another day, the kitchen is a most interesting and delightful room."

But as President Truman cautioned, "If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen."

“It is the supreme art of the teacher

2011-06-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
~Albert Einstein
I have been teaching since 1969, and I have become acutely aware of the firestorm teachers have been sucked into lately between No Child Left Behind and being implicated in the ills of budget deficits. Then, there is a current discussion in academia over the value of college...are we merely career training? Or, as I attempt to do, are professors responsible for igniting something more than multiple choice answers or fill in the blanks?

Where will the artists come from? The musicians? The writers? The creative spirits to look at something and see beyond...which brings me to this week's post...my jewelry elf~Sharon~returned from Florida with a new way to look at broken and vintage jewelry...the ultimate repurposing. I did not realize how much time and effort goes into this art until I had to repair a watch with a beaded band! Wow!

She has designed more of the bracelets with a mix of old and new... In my research I found that bracelets date back 7,000 years to ancient Egypt and throughout Africa in the cradle of civilization as well as in ancient China. Bracelets in Egypt and Africa were made with wood, stones, bones, and plant fibers and later copper and bronze. China produced the first known innovation to this popular jewelry with jade bracelets and elaborate gold bracelets starting in 2,000 B.C. (China has been manufacturing since the beginning of time, it seems!) Mesopotamia followed with gold bracelets as the pharaohs and emperors throughout the known world saw the need for more detailed bracelets which led to the invention of charm bracelets.

It seems the Victorians were the ones to personalize the bracelets and create themed charm bracelets...funny how things revive...like scrapbooking...very Victorian!

These bracelets that Sharon created are showstoppers...just filled with all kinds of vintage baubles and beads!

Interestingly, earrings are the number 1 jewelry accessory, and then bracelets are number 2. They outrank necklaces, pins, and rings.

So, as John Lennon said, "Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.” {1963, at the high point of the group’s set during the Royal Variety Performance before members of the British Royal Family.}

Memorial Day

2011-05-29T10:00:00.002-04:00

...a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May, it commemorates men and women who died while in military service to the United States. First enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War, it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end. Here at the Jersey shore (no, not the Jersey Shore), the events celebrate the return of the tourists with all kinds of events...like in Ocean City, folks dressed well wade out into the ocean to unlock it...hope they did not toss away the key in case a hurricane comes, and they have to lock it up again. There are parades, traffic, barbecues, traffic, entertainment, traffic...well, you get the idea.

But, in a weekend where American flags fly proudly, I want to bring up supporting Americans as you think of these patriotic holidays. Soldiers serve and give their lives so that we can all be who we want to be. On that note, I want to feature a friend with a small shop in his garage. I know many people love the big co-ops or boxes...but it was the small shop that allowed the big ones to develop.
A small shop reflects the owner...sure, you can say a booth in a co-op represents the owner also...but you usually never see the person. In small shops, you are not just a "buy it, bag it, have a nice day" consumer. If you have been reading my weekly treatises, you know I love to feature special shops and made in America goods.

Today I want to introduce you to White Whale Antiques in Cape May Court House, NJ. George Carlson, the owner, is a surgical nurse, but he is an excellent treasure hunter...and the ultimate repurposer! ...Treasures are lined up just waiting to be adopted...and, the biggest selling point...everything is reasonable...not always the case in the big co-ops.
Behind the doors of the shop that has been created with all recycled parts...in a area that is probably smaller than some of the island houses' walk-in closets, more treasures.

The bay window features ironstone...In the smaller "back room" crystal sparkles...He shares my love of bowls...

He also finds great little pieces of furniture...check this small hutch...just a wonderful display piece...

There is the traditional collectible...Stangl...well known in the New Jersey area...check the label...scrabble tiles...he's clever also...he could have been my brother!He is also quirky...among the art hanging on the wallsare some wonderful paint by number masterpieces!

Imagine how proud the artist of that piece was to highlight the mountain scene with such a wonderful old frame.

Then, there is Fiesta and other retro dishes as well as some Blue Willow...
Again, the advantage of the small shop...you never know what you will find! For many years, George had cornered the market on diner china. He still has some choice pieces.
Vintage jewelry sparkles in a glass display case.

This summer...or whenever...if you are in the area...stop in...27 East Pacific Avenue, Cape May Court House...

George has been a great friend since we moved here...and I value his friendship as I know many in the area do...even though he would not let me take his photo!

"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in." ~Theodore Roosevelt

George makes it a good place!

"Rich widows are the only secondhand goods

2011-05-22T10:00:00.006-04:00

that sell at first-class prices." ~ Benjamin Franklin

Well, I beg to differ with one of our "illustrious" founding fathers...being in the antique/vintage/retro...all really secondhand businesses...it is fun to find treasures to sell...true not necessarily top dollar...but survival dollar...and in this economy, survival dollar is good! Now that the semester is over, we can head back to our favorite flea market for buying...Cowtown. It is about an hour away, but we always leave early so that we can have breakfast at the Point 40 Diner...

although the market is also on Saturday, the "flea" folks come out on Tuesdays.

I am not one of those flashlight flea market buyers...I figure there is always "stuff." So, why not enjoy the early morning breakfast special, and then move on!

Flea markets actually originated in the Middle East, but there outdoor markets are common...no Walmarts or supermarkets cloud their retail visions. Paris was the first place to have an actual flea market in the 1860s.

In Europe, the writers during the time of Emperor Napoleon III handmade goods for the flea markets. The dealers in Europe sold second-hand goods to merchants in order to make money. As time passed, the dealers of Europe moved to Paris and were allowed to sell in alleys and slums of Paris; this is where flea markets were established.

The most famous flea market in Paris is the one at Porte de Clignancourt, officially called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, but known to everyone as Les Puces (The Fleas).
It covers over 17 acres and is the largest antique market in the world, receiving between 120,000 to 180,000 visitors each weekend. Be still my heart! Flea markets are named after the well-known insect, due to the fact that for the most part, the poor were most commonly found at these events.

Today, flea markets are more commonplace. They are now a worldwide business that make over one million dollars as a worldwide industry. The amount of flea markets that exist are about 5,000 nationwide, with many more outside the country as well. If anyone desires to find new items at inexpensive prices, some markets do resemble a modified dollar store, but there are flea markets that try to maintain a more vintage/antique style like Alameda, Rose Bowl, Shipshewana or Brimfield.

So, since the world did not end yesterday, I will be back out on the quest for "stuff"! Remember to wear comfortable shoes and have your tote bags ready...don't forget small bills...do not overwhelm the folks with MAC money 20s!

Lady Madonna, children at your feet

2011-05-15T11:00:00.001-04:00

Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
~Lennon/McCartney

Do you know that song goes back to 1968? Wow! Some days it just hits you how fast time does go. I never know what a little bit of research will lead to...what idea it will invoke...what emotion it will call up...that is what happened with my foray into rosary beads which celebrate the Virgin Mary...Madonna. In the piles of vintage jewelry I buy, sometimes there are rosary beads. I did not give it too much thought until I had customers asking for them, and I started to sell them.

The rosary (from Latin rosarium, meaning "rose garden" or "garland of roses") is a popular and traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads that consist of repeated sequences of the Lord's Prayer followed by ten prayings of the Hail Mary and a single praying of "Glory Be to the Father." Each of these sequences is known as a decade. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall the life of Jesus Christ, but the Hail Mary is the key prayer, and May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church, dating back to the 13th century as the Church tried to Christianize the secular feasts in the spring.

I did not realize until doing this research that the beads are being worn as jewelry, and that has many of the devout Catholics upset. But, prayer beads originated with the Hindus, and other religions including Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Bahá'í Faith use beads for devotions, as well as meditation, protection from negative energy, or for relaxation.

This trend started in 2004 when David Beckham was shown on the cover of Vanity Fair with rosary beads around his neck. Not sure I really focus on the beads to be honest...Perhaps wearing the beads could provide a sense of serenity...many wear crosses...again...it is a matter of respect...respect for one, for one's religion, for one's well-being...let it be...

Mothers are fonder than fathers

2011-05-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

of their children because they are more certain they are their own. ~Aristotle

Do you know that Mother's Day was not invented by Hallmark or FTD, but the idea was created by Julia Ward Howe, the author of the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic. She was horrified by the carnage of the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War and in 1870 tried to issue a manifesto for peace at international peace conferences in London and Paris. Julia began a one-woman peace crusade and made an impassioned "appeal to womanhood" to rise against war. She composed a powerful plea that same year (generally considered to be the original Mothers' Day proclamation) translated it into several languages and distributed it widely. In 1872, she went to London to promote an international Woman's Peace Congress. She began promoting the idea of a "Mother's Day for Peace" to be celebrated on June 2, honoring peace, motherhood and womanhood.

Howe rigorously championed the cause, holding meetings every year in Boston on Mother's Peace Day. The celebrations died out when she turned her efforts to working for peace and women's rights in other ways. Howe failed in her attempt to get the formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace.

Another woman, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, attempted to improve sanitation through what she called "Mothers Friendship Day". It was Jarvis' daughter, Anna Jarvis, who finally succeeded in introducing Mother's Day in today's tradition. Anna graduated from the Female Seminary in Wheeling and taught in Grafton for a while. Later she moved to Philadelphia with her family. Her mother died in Philadelphia on May 9, 1905. Anna felt children often neglected to appreciate their mothers enough while the mothers were still alive so she campaigned for a designated Mother's Day to honor mothers.
The Mother's Day International Association came into being on December 12, 1912, to promote and encourage meaningful observances of the event. Anna's dream came true when on May 9, 1914, the President Woodrow Wilson declared the 2nd Sunday of May to be observed as Mother's Day to honor the mothers.

"Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said Joint Resolution, do hereby direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."

As a result of her efforts the first Mother's Day was observed on May 10, 1908, with a church service honoring the late Mrs. Reese Jarvis, in the Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where she spent 20 years taking Sunday school classes. Grafton is the home to the International Mother's Day Shrine. It was here in the first observance that the carnations were introduced by Miss Jarvis. Large jars of white carnations were set about the platform where the service was conducted.
At the end of the service, one of these white carnations was given to each person present as a souvenir of Mother's Day. All this was done because the late elder Jarvis was fond of carnations.
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Interestingly, Anna Jarvis was horrified at the commercialism that quickly took over the day. (Truly American...) In 1934, the first stamp was issued...Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States. And so I am off to take my Mother out to dinner...Happy Mother's Day.

"Sweet April showers

2011-05-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

Do spring May flowers."
~Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry, 1557

Bet you did not know that little phrase dated back to the 16th century? But the flowers of early May are purple...ever notice that? In contrast to the yellows of the April daffodils come the purples of May. I love purple. When I first started teaching, I wore purple because we were forced to copy via the carbon of the mimeograph...pause here for those under 50 to contemplate what that was...you typed on a very purple carbon sheet and then took the carbon onto a roller and cranked your copies.If you tried to wear light colors, they would soon reflect the pale purple of the carbon...so instead of waiting until I grew old to wear purple, I started at age 20!

Just walking around my yard, I have violets...traditional...

and some variants...

There is wisteria and periwinkle vines and...

of course, the traditional lilac...But the purple brings me to this week's lesson...early American pattern glass (EAPG) was not created in a light purple color. It did come in sapphire pale blue, ‘apple’ green, vaseline (canary), amber, and later some cobalt blue, deep amethyst and emerald green colored glass.

In the 1860s the formula for most EAPG began to change with glass companies using soda lime instead of lead oxide because, as the story goes, lead was needed for other purposes during the Civil War. Actually, soda lime in the ‘new’ formula cost 1/5th as much as lead. Manganese dioxide, was used as a decoloring agent until WW I when selenium was substituted. Glass made from this formula (called “soda lime” or “non-flint” glass) is now known to discolor or turn purple when exposed to UV rays such as from the sun or a germicidal lamp. Because of this tendency to discolor and because EAPG that has discolored is highly devalued as an antique, it is recommended that the glass not be displayed or stored near a sunny window.

In recent years EAPG which has become discolored has become popular for a couple of reasons. People like the light purple color and some believe that buying a light purple piece of glass insures that they have purchased a genuine American antique.

Some glass makers are now making glass dishes in a color that simulates the
“sun purple” color of light amethyst so the color is no longer a guarantee of age of the glass. Responding to the market for light amethyst glass, some are now hastening the color change in EAPG by exposing thousands & thousands of pieces to germicidal UV lamps or even to radiation. So, be wary of light purple...dark purple is the true amethyst...

'Twas Easter-Sunday.

2011-04-24T08:00:00.001-04:00

The full-blossomed trees
Filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Rules of Chocolate Easter Eggs

If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

Diet tip: Eat an Easter egg before each meal.
It'll take the edge off your appetite, and that way you'll eat less.

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?

If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.

Money talks. Chocolate sings.

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

The problem: How to get two pounds of chocolate eggs home from the store in a hot car.
The solution: Eat the eggs in the car park.

Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous?
Because no one wants to quit.

Enjoy the day!

Painting is very easy when you don't know how,

2011-04-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

but very difficult when you do.
~Edgar Degas

The Fine Arts club on campus was setting up an exhibit as I was leaving on Friday. I love to look at the work of new artists. Art tends to drop to the bottom of the list in school budgets along with music. With the world of modern graphics and musical equipment, the traditional painter or musician tends to become lost in the cyber winds. But, I am always attracted to primitive style painting...those done on inexpensive canvas or even good stretched canvas. Sometimes the colors are dramatic, or the perspective is just a little off to make you look.

In the art world, naive or primitive painting is a term used to describe artists who create without formal training. Folk art also falls into this realm as well. I think it would be neat to have a grouping of various folk art paintings of a particular subject...like florals or landscapes.

Most probably would categorize Grandma Moses as one of the more famous primitive painters. In the post-World-War-II years, Moses was one of the most successful and famous artists in America, and possibly the best known American artist in Europe. Some art critics label her as the first artist to become a media superstar. In 1940, Moses went from exhibits in rural fairs and local drugstores to exhibits in fine art galleries in Europe and the United States. Self-taught, a widow and mother of ten (only five of whom survived infancy), Grandma Moses became an American celebrity.

Technically, the work of primitive painters is distinguished by a conceptual rather than a visual approach to painting. Its strength lies in the feeling for pattern and the charm of the mood that is projected.

Here are 2 landscapes from a recent purchase...oil on canvas (Grandma Moses painted on heavy cardboard!). There is just something appealing in their simplicity.

Flowers are always a typical subject for the primitive paper...if one loves to paint, how can one not look at pansies in spring and not think painting?
I do love when I find good folk art done on things other than canvas. These water lilies are painted on a pottery plate...the plate was probably created for the painting.But, then you have those florals lovingly done and professionally framed. You can imagine how proud the artist was when these were hung in the living room!

So, the next time you are at a shop, flea, or yard sale, consider one of those paintings that you know came from the heart not merely from the brush.

For the person for whom small things do not exist,

2011-04-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

the great is not great.
~ Jose Ortega Y Gasset

At times I feel like the cheshire cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland .This illustration is from the 1866 edition drawn by John Tenniel(1820-1914). The cat constantly raised philosophical points vexing Alice, but then he had a way to twist humor into his ideas. The world today does require thought provoking ideas, but we sure do need a dose of humor also. And, then again, it is perhaps the small things that give us pause...which brings me to this week's "lesson."

I received a shipment of these wonderful wreaths made from folded pages from old books...and I have them with sheet music also. I am seriously promoting American made...these are created by a woman from the midwest...
Anyway, she packages them with a nice large bag clipped at the top with a clothespin, a clothespin that has been stamped with French--don't ask...I learned Spanish!.

I got to thinking about clothespins...curiosity gets the cat, you know. In 1998 The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History had an exhibition titled “American Clothespins,” which consisted in part of displays of patent models of clothespins from as long ago as the 1850s. In America, 60% of households have automatic dryers, so I am sure there are younger children here who have no idea what these are for.
From the Smithsonian exhibit it was noted that the earliest American patent for a clothespin, issued in March 1832, described a bent strip of hickory held together with a wooden screw. It was impractical. Rain or even dampness would cause the screw to swell, rendering the pin inoperable. It took 21 more years for an improvement to emerge that would be deemed worthy of manufacture (if briefly): the “spring-clamp for clotheslines,” invented by David M. Smith of Springfield, Vermont, in 1853, and made of two wooden “legs” hinged together by a metal spring.

This was the beginning of the end of the uncontested reign of the straight wooden clothespin, a cylindrical strip of wood with a slit up the middle. People had either carved those themselves or purchased them from traveling peddlers who had crafted them by hand. (Frequently these clothespins were given decorative knobs that served well as heads when children turned them into tiny dolls.) Smith’s invention, the earliest incarnation of the clothespin in most common use today, was to be tweaked and modified endlessly: 146 new patents were granted in the mid-nineteenth century alone, most modifying the shape or material of the spring or hinge in order to either improve performance or simplify manufacture.

Philadelphia is known for its Liberty Bell, but also in the downtown area, you can see a giant clothespin...Claes Oldenburg’s 45-foot-high, 10-ton sculpture stands in front of the Center Square Building at 15th and Market Streets, near City Hall.

By the late 1950s the Penley Corporation, founded in 1923 by three brothers in the logging business, was turning out 120 spring clothespins a minute. Richard Penley, the grandson of one of the company’s founders, says the clothespin has always been surprisingly difficult to make. “The disadvantage of working with wood is that you can cut a hundred boards of a particular log and every one of them has a different grain structure. When you cut it into small pieces and dry it, you have a great deal of variation from one piece to the next.”

By 1970 Penley was one of four companies still making clothespins in the United States; the others had either closed or begun importing. In 2001 Penley, too, shut down its clothespin operation and turned to Chinese suppliers. That left the National Clothespin Company in Montpelier, Vermont, the only manufacturer in the country; it gave up the following year. Wooden clothespins are now assembled exclusively in China. Rising manufacturing and labor costs, and dryers, are not the whole story. “Disposable diapers probably did as much damage to the industry as anything else,” Penley says. “Prior to the invention of a diaper you could throw away, families were washing diapers all the time.”

Then, there are the homeowner communities who forbid hanging clothes out to dry. But, bottom line, another little thing done in China, another little simple energy saver turned over to big utilities.

See...philosophy hides under every thought...anyway, maybe you want to hang out...unless you live in one of those socialist neighborhoods!

Stressed is

2011-04-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

desserts spelled backwards.

And considering it is tax time, planting time, spring cleaning time, end of semester time...well, serve up the goodies!

What is funny is that Google already had my topic set up for today in their search icon...April 3...which today is a Sunday...happens to be the birthday of the ice cream sundae! On April 3, 1892, after services at the Unitarian Church in Ithaca, New York, the Rev. John M. Scott visited the Platt & Colt Pharmacy – and its owner Chester Platt. Platt served up two bowls of vanilla ice cream but decided to jazz it up with cherry syrup and candied cherries. They were so pleased with the creation that Scott suggested it be named after the day it was created, and the "Cherry Sunday" was upon us.

By April 5, the pharmacy was advertising its 10-cent Cherry Sunday in the Ithaca Daily Journal.My research classes have been working with the topic "only in America" this semester, the ice cream sundae is pure Americana.

According to my research, after the 1929 stock market crash, one of the few luxuries that average folks could afford was the democratically-priced sundae. During World War II, patriotic "Victory Sundaes" included a Defense Saving Stamp with every purchase, while the Navy commissioned floating ice cream parlors - refrigerated barges with ice cream plants - to boost troop morale. In wartime and in hard times, home refrigerators were stocked with ice creams that, with a dash of imagination, provided the basis for an irresistible sundae. There are even books written about the creations!

As well as...

Of course, there is the traditional tulip shaped ice cream sundae glass...I do have an area dedicated to glasses for goodies in the shop...but you can use any interesting dish for ice cream...just as you could make a breakfast sundae with oatmeal, fruit, granola, and whipped cream...but, who am I kidding...here is the ultimate sundae for Sunday....
So, you have a reason to celebrate with a sundae today...enjoy!

“If a woman rebels against high-heeled shoes,

2011-03-27T11:00:00.000-04:00

she should take care to do it in a very smart hat.”
~George Bernard Shaw

I have to seek out some smart hats because last fall I dropped a stash of pewter plates on my foot, and I have had to give up the spikes because they put pressure right over the big toe, so, I am returning to my foot roots...the klompen...the clog...although people tend to think the Dutch all wear wooden shoes, it really is the accessory of the farmer or the garden/nursery worker.
If you wear any "clog" styled shoe, you fit the Dutch definition.
The wooden shoe was an easy project since carving woods like willow are abundant in the Netherlands. The wooden shoe worked well since it protected the foot from sharp instruments or moisture.The long association of Dutch with wooden clogs can be traced to the traditional creation myths of ancient Germanic tribes who originally occupied modern Holland. Think Birkenstocks...
The French "clog" - "sabot" has a neat tale...in the 18th and 19th century it was associated with the lower classes. During this period, the years of the Industrial Revolution, the word sabotage gained currency. Allegedly derived from sabot, sabotage described the actions of disgruntled workers who willfully damaged workplace machinery by throwing their sabots into the works. However, according to some accounts, sabot-clad workers were simply considered less productive than others who had switched to leather shoes, roughly equating the term "sabotage" with "inefficiency."

My pickers or at auction seem to look to me to buy the Dutch items because of the shop's name...and I do buy...my favorite is the McCoy Dutch shoe...

The wooden shoe will forever be linked to Dutch decor though. If you think clog, it has a broader appeal. Any way you look at it, my foot will be clogged not heeled...let me go check on some hats now...

"Lest I should be old-fashioned,

2011-03-20T11:00:00.000-04:00

I'll put a trinket on.
~Emily Dickinson

Because I am adding more jewelry to the store stock, nothing precious, mind you--anyone looking for gold or silver~move on, but I am adding some of the accoutrements that go with jewelry.
Trinket boxes are one of those little accessories. Jewelry boxes of any size were only for the wealthy until the Industrial Revolution enabled a middle class to become consumers (interesting how we may be on a reverse trend these days...but I digress). Trinket is a funny little word, and research shows there is no origin for it, but it was used in the 1500s to label a thing of little value or a small ornament as in jewel or ring...I think I would take a trinket from Tiffany's any day though!
Between 1904 and 1918 the mass production of jewelry boxes began, and Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs of the early 1900s offered jewelry boxes of all sizes and shapes at prices the average family could afford. Jewelry stores started to market the boxes with their jewels.This box is an old Chinese enameled piece...interesting design...Many modern pieces are done in design of animals or other objects. I have been buying the older pieces...these are early Japanese...they modeled their designs after the higher end Bavarian and French boxes...much like China is known for today...copy the better pieces.

Glass was popular during the Depression and WWII when imports from Japan were halted.

In the 50s and 60s, metal alloys were used.
So, if you want a little treasure chest to keep your treasure in, consider one a trinket box...perhaps you can even capture a little bit of a spring day!

In our rich consumers' civilization we spin cocoons

2011-03-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

around ourselves and get possessed by our possessions.
~Max Lerner
It takes only a second for us to realize how quickly "stuff" can be washed away as we watch the images coming in from Japan. Being in retail, it is my business to sell, but sometimes it pays to take a moment to appreciate all that we do have and not dwell on what we don't have.

There is no doubt Japan will recover...the term tsunami comes from the Japanese, meaning "harbor" (tsu, 津) and "wave" (nami, 波). They have endured mother nature's temperamental days as well as man's. At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers from 1945-1951, led by the United States along with Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

When they were occupied, their manufacturing process required them to mark it "occupied; however, despite having to do that, they organized Japan's first ever trade union law protecting the rights of workers to form or join a union, to organize and take industrial action. There had been pre-war attempts to do so, but none were successfully passed until the Allied occupation. Fascinating that we allowed and encouraged that--what a difference 50 years can make.

A new Trade Union law was passed on June 1, 1949, which remains in place to the present day. According to Article 1 of the Act, the purpose of the act is to "elevate the status of workers by promoting their being on equal standing with the employer". There's a thought that would create a business tsunami in this country.

But, whenever something like this happens, it always makes me stop and think...and I know looking at a Japanese collectible will remind me of this time...

It also makes one realize how quickly possessions can be swept away...not to mention lives lost...none of us would trade our possessions for those we love in our lives.

Above all, despite the destruction that the people of Japan are facing and considering that they recovered from the world's worst manmade disaster, I do believe they will face Mother Nature with the same resilience. After all, it is Nippon...the land of the rising sun.

Antiques are things one generation buys,

2011-03-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

the next generation gets rid of, and the following generation buys at auction at amazing prices.

But, I am not sure the future auction goer will follow that mantra. Change has slowly crept into the antique world...antique being an antique word itself so much so that shop owners are afraid to brand their shops with the term antique...now it is vintage or retro or repurposed or recycled. The days of collecting 100 dolls or 200 glass hats or 300 salt and pepper shakers seem to have faded along with china cabinets and walls of "stuff." Not that minimalists are in, but it seems as if the new generation of collecting wants to see a purpose in an item beyond sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

And, in that es spirit de corp, the company that guided both sellers and buyers in their purchases, Collector Books, will no longer publish price guides. I received a letter announcing this, and it gave me pause...Schroeder's Antique Price Guide is a wealth of information along with suggested prices. I guess the internet has become the source for information...must be an app for that? But, with no "guide", what does that say about prices? And, if no one cares about worth based on research and market values, will it be buyer beware? Ever wonder why antique shop owner are called "dealers"?

But, beyond a book publisher going out of business is the underlying change in the antique/collectible world. It started with ebay years ago, and then, as the internet reproduced sites faster than Peter Rabbit, shops were facing the choice of selling online or closing. I have never sold online...I am not into mail order...I am into people...real live people...not emails and boxes. Many of the small shops like mine closed and dealers went to malls. Now, even malls have lost some of their glamour as TJs/Home Goods & Marshalls have caught on to the look without the cost of antiques. And, for the more upscale look, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, and Anthropologie will easily fit the decor.

But, I have always believed in researching the items that I offer for sale-it is the librarian in me. I hate going into a antique shop where the tag simply had a price. What justifies that price on that piece? Just because it is old does not mean it is worth money...if that were the case, I am approaching big bucks!

This company provided beautifully printed books. I am getting into vintage jewelry, and last fall I ordered books from them so that I could learn about the pieces. I know there is the mentality...like it, buy it...but with the Chinese being so clever at creating, I want to know what I am buying for resale. So, for example, here is one of the books I purchased.The price guides not only give you an idea of worth but also history.
And, yes, you can probably search online, but I am still attached to paper. Every book this company released had pages and pages of valuable information. At the back of this book is a detailed Appendix with manufacturers.
Kovels'...another price guide company is still in business, but they did not have near the variety that Collector Books had. Behind Kovels' was a husband and wife team, and Ralph Kovel died in 2008; his wife Terry has kept the guide going along with a newsletter, but for how long? So, as the end of the 20th century witnessed the demise of the small antique shops, the 21st century may witness the same for antique business itself. Or, maybe the going green generation will see the value of roaming through small shops, in buying furniture made from real wood, and, above all, in saving the creative spirits of the past. As life affirming and changing as they are, there some things a PC or Blackberry cannot do. Can you hear me now?

I don't want to own anything until

2011-02-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

I know I've found the place where me and things belong together. I'm not quite sure where that is just yet. But I know what it's like.... It's like Tiffany's.... Not that I give a hoot about jewelry. Diamonds, yes. But it's tacky to wear diamonds before you're forty... ~Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1958, spoken by the character Holly Golightly

Tonight is the Oscars, and I can place a safe bet that there will be many "tacky" women coming down that red carpet. But, as I am sorting through bags and bags of jewelry from auction,
I thought a Breakfast at Tiffany's quote was a good lead in...even though no turquoise boxes in my bags of jewelry!I do have sparkles...rhinestones...and so I thought I would give you a little background on rhinestones. Many think of the 50s when they see rhinestones, but rhinestones trace their origin to Czechoslovakian or Bohemian glass dating as far back as the 13th century. In 1891,in Austria, Daniel Swarovski (of crystal fame)created a new glass cutting machine which could cut faceted glass, producing finely finished product in a very short time. Prior to this invention it would take a very long time for each stone to be hand cut and finished. Swarovski’s background in glass making, combined with his glass cutting machine soon found him producing rhinestones with a lead content of over 30% creating a brilliant stone. Then, he created a vacuum plating for the backs of the stones with silver and gold, reducing the need for hand labor. Still today Swarovski rhinestones are recognized as the highest quality in the industry. Over 80%of rhinestone jewelry manufactured in America use Swarovski rhinestones.

In America, during the Victorian period common motifs for jewelry included snakes, flowers, and hands most often adorned with rhinestones.
The Depression also created a market for rhinestone jewelry. Inexpensive jewelry was a way to update an outfit. Dogs, birds, or cats with a rhinestone eye were common place. The jewelry during the 1940s once again became big and bold with rhinestones being produced in every imaginable color and large stones set on large bold settings was the norm.

The older rhinestone jewelry was set by hand, but, as time went on, and companies mass produced, the "stones" were glued in. The jewelry made during WWII does not have the sheen that later pieces have...metals were scarce. Perhaps you can see the difference among these pieces...the duller pin is 1940s era.
By the 1950s there were two very distinct looks – elegant and sophisticated for the more mature woman, and casual and fun for the younger woman.
The 1950s saw jewelry made completely from rhinestones. For the younger woman, jewelry was more fun and flirty and pieces for the older woman were more sophisticated with elegance.
Rhinestone parures (complete set of three or more matching pieces; two matched pieces are sometimes referred to as a demi-parure) became extremely popular. In 1953 the aurora borealis rhinestone was introduced to the market with its fabulous array of color.
The 60s did buy into rhinestones--the Mother Earth crowd was into the long beaded necklaces and natural styled accents, but the Disco era brought the rhinestones back, and the rhinestone has maintained its place in the jewelry box ever since.

So, despite the fact that the red carpet will see the real gems...in more ways than one...you can thank "The Academy" of costume jewelry makers for your glitter.

"Use it up,

2011-02-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

wear it out, make it do, or do without."

So, the proverb goes...we in the antique/vintage/retro business are are about that...a comment on a business forum got me thinking about what it is we in this part of the retail world do. The "I am not into antiques" is something we hear often when one learns of the type of store we own. But, I never feel surrounded by old stuff...I always view it as giving something another chance to give pleasure. Like these vintage serving plates...imagine the goodies that were served on these over the years...far more appealing than tupperware or paper plates...

I am trying to find things for store accents that are not made in China, or, if they are made overseas, they are fair trade items. You want to know how hard that is!!! For those who are not aware of what fair trade is, here is the definition...Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate, flowers and gold. (Side note...things the unions in this country fought for in the 19th century.)

And, of course, things made by Americans are not going to be priced like the dollar store either. Everyone complains about unemployment, but, at the same time, does not understand we have put each other on the unemployment rolls.

Check these bunnies out...made out of old cashmere sweaters...
This little one is featured with hand felted eggs...both of these products are from women in the good old U.S. of A.
Of course, some may remember the pillows made from repurposed sweaters...

So, the shop is getting its spring face on...and even though winter sunsets can be appealing...from the past week...I am busy getting into the colors of spring...

Some more made in America creations. Check out a piece of moulding with clothespins for a unique memo strip...
Here is a recycled cranberry carrier...I see a sign like this at a wholesale cash & carry show, and I am right on it...
And, for pages of inspiration, the latest issue of Flea Market Style is available in the shop, and it is packed with all kinds of wonderful ideas for the reuse, recycle, repurpose fans!And above all, remember...

Love your job

2011-02-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

and you will never work a day in your life.

So, for Valentine's week, I am featuring someone who loves her new job.
Meet Julie Petrella.A graduate of George Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania, you will notice she is not behind a desk, and you cannot miss that smile...she is now doing what she loves. She recently opened Home Made down the road from me.

For those of us who are sole proprietors of brick and mortar shops, it is, in many cases, pure love that draws us to the business. Unlike a co-op, we are the CEO, CFO, manager, clean-up crew, maintenance, supply clerk, and, unlike a web site, if you are not there, you are not selling. In this fast paced-there's an app for that-world, we tend to forget the people. So, when I meet someone who is special, I just have to feature their shop. She lives above the store, and, with the help of family and friends has created a welcoming interior. Some of the walls have been chalkboard painted, and check the striped ceiling!
Julie has stocked beautiful yarns and fabric.

There is no comparison to buying quality yarns and fabric...and, if you are going to take the time and put in the effort, don't you want to use the best? Just look at the colors of these felt squares...you will not see that richness in a big box craft store, not to mention the feel of quality.
She also carries unique patterns and supplies...

One of the specialty products she carries is Eucalan...a no-rinse laundry detergent.

There are patterns and projects around also.

Speaking of projects, she has a class schedule...check her blog...
http://behomemade.com/studio/classes/
Here is a creative project in the works...a bulletin board out of wine corks...think you need to get some folks to help...cannot imagine if you were to drink all that wine that you would need a bulletin board for reminders because you probably are not functioning for a long time!
Here is a small finished board...not too many wine coolers here...

So, if you are in the area, please stop in...she opens at 11 AM...closed Mondays...
You can take a class or host your next special event in her craft studio. Even if you don't sew, knit, or crochet, just stop by for that smile...and to soak in the colors of the artisan...remember...small shops built this country not the big boxes...

"Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”

"Why, what’s the matter,

2011-02-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?"
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing
I am sure many of us around the country have some serious February faces! It does seem as though February is not only short on days but also on sun! So, I decided to bring in some sunshine colors for the spring. I have new shipments of paper florals in. They look like dried flowers...far more dimensional than the silks. I also collected the amber depression glass in the shop, and I am working on a French expose` for spring...thinking springtime in Paris.
Amber/yellow glass is the lost soul of the depression glass in today's collecting market. Crystal is often overlooked in the market also. Pink, cobalt, and green are better sellers. Many unique colors were also made during this time period. The demand for "carnival" glass had disappeared although some companies still produced a small amount of that type of treatment. There was a short time when several of the companies, Heisey being one, competed with an "alexandrite" type of color (lavender, changes color in different light), but the color did not prove popular in those times. Heisey also produced a bright orange color which was definitely a slow seller and was discontinued after a short run. Those short-run colors now command hefty prices in the collector market due to the limited production runs.

Amber was the decorator color for the depression era so it exists in greater quantities than other colors. Many of the patterns of what we call "Depression Glass" were distributed as promotional items during the lean years. The glassware would appear in soap or cereal boxes, or might be given away at a local movie theater or gas station to encourage patrons. I read that one glass manufacturer was saved from bankruptcy during the Depression when it received an order from Quaker Oats for five Railroad Cars of glass. I have not been able to track down who that was...maybe Federal Glass.

Despite the fact that this glass was not finished elegantly, there were pieces in the collection that appealed to finer tastes like the cream soup below.
The cream soup bowl looks like a wide, shallow cup with two handles. Soup can be messy and the handles made it easier to hold as well as decorative. The wise hostess would put a 7 inch plate under the cream soup bowl to provide a place to put the soup spoon after use. Cream soup bowls were certainly not must-have pieces and not everyone who owned a pattern had a full set. Because of this, today they tend to be among the pricier place setting pieces in many patterns.
Another item is the "biscuit" or cookie jar. Most of the time we think of pottery cookie jars, but the glass ones came to the market at the same time...again a Depression era item. The first ones were clear jars with screw on lids. You can imagine how many of the Depression glass containers saw their lids slip through the hands of a youngster in the household!

So, maybe a touch of amber...yellow...to get us through the month...because as the proverb goes...no matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

Rotten Pot

2011-01-30T11:00:00.001-05:00

Got your attention on that one, didn't I? And, depending on your age, that could represent some unique things...but it is actually the literal translation for "potpourri." I am reworking the shop for spring...and spring cannot come a minute too soon. I know, I know...winter...winter...winter...enjoy, but I preferred the less white winter. Anyway, I am trying some potpourri handcrafted by a woman in West Virginia...I am trying so much to support Americans. Anyway, it got me thinking about the origin...

It appears that potpourri was created in the 12th century to freshen the rooms in castles. Spices or herbs were placed in huge cooking cauldrons after the meal tasks of the day had been completed. People then took these herbs and spices and placed them in containers with lids, moistened them with spirits, and left them to rot. This process created a pungent perfume which was released each time the lid was lifted. Flowers were then placed in handsome bowls and baskets with these fragrant herbs and spices to beautify rooms throughout the castle.
Another method mentioned that semi-dried rose petals were layered with salt. It's basically the same method as making sauerkraut, a process of fermentation. It seems that jars of rose petals have been excavated from ancient sites in Egypt, so perhaps potpourri actually goes back that far.

Potpourri jars -- opaque, with a solid cover to keep scent in and a pierced cover to let it out -- date back a few hundred years. I found this jade one from China that had sold at auction for several thousand dollars.
Dry potpourri is usually fortified with essential oils, and essential oils don't go back further than steam distillation, which is late middle ages. Research indicates that growing flowers in the quantities needed for essential oil production is a product of the industrial revolution, with railroad transport and the prospect of using farmland for growing specialty cash crops.

During this era, the convenience of bathing and washing clothing was not as accessible, so wooden vessels were constructed to contain these lovely mixtures, and were hung inside of women’s heavy petticoats.

The art of making potpourri is now extremely varied. Commercial varieties depend on imitation oils, which are applied to leaves and mixed with some of the original ingredients used for potpourri.

The potpourri I have introduced to the shop is made in small batches. She uses high-quality oils and the finest natural botanicals, bringing scent to life by adding clean, fresh, fragrant oils to real dried flowers and herbs. All the flowers and herbs are in their naturally dried state. Nothing is artificially colored, there are no dyed woodchip fillers or fake perfume-y scents. She avoids using large pod-like ingredients used by many modern potpourri companies which only serve to bulk up potpourri and add nothing to the quality and longevity of the fragrance.

Varieties include "Sensuality"~Soft, lush and feminine, pink and red with roses and pepperberries. Sensuality has flowery notes highlighted with jasmine, rose and sandalwood; "Belle du Jour"~Abundant with the prettiest flowers combines glorious multi-colored roses with the heady scent of gardenia and fresh lilac; and "Blue Lilac"~Shades of blue, with highlights of green ferns and red roses. It has a fresh, clean, open lilac fragrance.

Selling by the scoop, you can fill a little bag for yourself or for a special friend.

"Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them."
(Chinese proverb)

“I have received no more than one or two letters in my life

2011-01-23T13:00:00.001-05:00

that were worth the postage.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Of course, we know "Henry" was not thrilled with much in his modern world, but he may have appreciated our modern world where the letter is going to be an unknown along with said postage!

I just started the semester, and I teach Composition...basically the art of research...but every semester brings students more attuned to the text message so...
?4U(question for you)...is the letter going extinct?
We look to the ancients for the art of writing since the pen and paper as we know them today were developed by the Greeks. They employed a writing stylus, made of metal, bone or ivory, to place marks upon wax-coated tablets. The tablets made in hinged pairs, closed to protect the scribe's notes. The first examples of handwriting (purely text messages made by hand) originated in Greece. The Grecian scholar, Cadmus invented the written letter - text messages on paper sent from one individual to another.

According to my research, the Chinese invented and perfected 'Indian Ink'. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk. (I cannot even imagine what that smelled like!)The ink invented by the Chinese philosopher, Tien-Lcheu (2697 B.C.), became common by the year 1200 B.C. Other cultures developed inks using the natural dyes and colors derived from berries, plants and minerals. In early writings, different colored inks had ritual meaning attached to each color.

The invention of inks paralleled the introduction of paper. The early Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Hebrews used papyrus and parchment papers. One of the oldest pieces of writing on papyrus known to us today is the Egyptian "Prisse Papyrus" which dates back to 2000 B.C.
The Romans created a reed-pen perfect for parchment and ink, from the hollow tubular-stems of marsh grasses, especially from the jointed bamboo plant. They converted bamboo stems into a primitive form of fountain pen. They cut one end into the form of a pen nib or point. A writing fluid or ink filled the stem, squeezing the reed forced fluid to the nib.

By 400 A.D. a stable form of ink was developed, a composite of iron-salts, nutgalls and gum, and it remained in use for centuries. Its color when first applied to paper was a bluish-black, rapidly turning into a darker black and then over the years fading to the familiar dull brown color commonly seen in old documents. Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in 105 A.D., but the Chinese kept it a secret (wonder what they are keeping secret these days?) until the Japanese found out about it around 700 A.D. It was brought to Spain by the Arabs in 711 A.D. Paper was not widely used throughout Europe until paper mills were built in the late 14th century.

So, with that illustrious history, shall letter writing fade away to the cyber message? The voice mail? Nothing to save...no handwriting to ponder...

I am going to encourage writing...even if it is just a few lines in a card! I have handcrafted cards in the shop...getting ready to order more...the inside is blank, allowing you to write...not someone penning words in a cubicle in Hallmark...and I am going to search for some neat old ink pens this spring when the flea markets start up again...a little corner in the shop for the writer.
Even if you write a letter to yourself, it might help you sort through ideas. Or, I read that Elizabeth Edwards wrote a letter to her children throughout her final years...maybe just a letter with a tidbit of sage advice or miss you...wish you were here...imagine the look on someone's face when they open their mailbox and see not form letters, but a hand written envelope.

“Twenty years from now

2011-01-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain

The week has been newsworthy with the Arizona shootings. I was especially moved by the story of the 9 year old, Christina Green. Her parents showed great charity in the midst of unbearable tragedy to donate her organs. And then you had the story of Daniel Hernandez who practiced the first aid he was taught and may have saved the Congresswoman's life. All lessons learned, and, by comparison, talking about "stuff" seems so small in the big picture, but life goes on, doesn't it?

I think key in the lessons learned is to do what you love...to collect what you love...to use what you love. This business facilitates those who buy things because they will be worth money or "I can sell this on ebay and cash in." I am starting year 20, and I have to say that I have never bought anything that I did not like myself. I know that probably goes against retail rules, but so be it. I go back to teaching this week...spring semester...and I love it. I have been fortunate to do what I love...not making big bucks...but after seeing what can happen in a moment at a grocery store, money did not save anyone.

So, with the sail on metaphor...here is this week's highlight. I have a large collection of cobalt blue Depression era glasses, pitchers, and ice buckets in stock. By now, those of us in the snowy east are ready to set sail on the ocean blue!
Hazel Atlas produced this series, the “Ships” or "Sportsman's Series" line of glassware. These pieces are decorated with white decals featuring sailboats, skiers, Spanish dancers and even fish. These were primarily cocktail and occasional sets rather than complete dinnerware patterns.By the 1930s, Hazel-Atlas had fifteen plants (plants included those in Clarksburg, WV; Zanesville, OH; Ada, OK; Montgomery, AL; Oakland, CA; Pomona, CA) and was the largest glass manufacturer in the world. Their mark gets confused with Anchor Hocking, but it is an "A" nestled underneath an "H". The mark was reportedly first used in 1923, and it was used until 1964 when they were bought by Brockway Glass. Of course, not every piece was marked, but, if you see the mark, you will know it is Hazel Atlas.
So, as Longfellow wrote,
"...sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O UNION, strong and great!"

Time out...

2011-01-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

I am taking this week to regroup...as you can see the shop is in shambles...along with the weather. But, I am getting a sense of where I want to go as far as "the look" for the coming year.

But I do have some wonderful additions
So, after a short time out, we will talk next week about this Depression find......
In the meantime, I will be shoveling and hoping for a thaw!

“People are so worried about what they eat

2011-01-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.”

I am always fascinated by the way people think...long term seems non-existent these days. If I had a dollar for every time the auctioneer says, these used to bring X dollars, I would be basking in some island sunshine today. Markets change. Life changes. Tastes change. Even the weather...a week ago we were looking at a blizzard;

today the snow is transforming into fog.

Since New Year's always seems to be a key in the diet revolution, I thought I would give a little insight into how we have grown along with the size of our dinner plates. The diameter of a typical new American dinner plate is 11 inches; the diameter of a typical European dinner plate is 9 inches. That 2-inch difference amounts to the 11-inch plate having 50% more surface area than the 9-inch plate. If you fill your plate, you’re putting 50% more food on it than a person with the 9-inch plate.

This means we’re eating 50% more food, since we usually eat whatever is on our plates (you know those starving children in {feel free to pick your country--I always heard China}). Or, to look at it differently, we feel full when our plate is empty. Restaurants gravitate to the 13-inch plates, which means it’s twice as big as the 9-inch plate.

If you look at these vintage plates...Limoge and Johnson Brothers from mid-century, you can see where the food would be is small compared to the plate size itself since you would not pile food up to the edge (unless you are in one of those buffet lines where people manage to create food drifts!)

So, maybe in your diet plans, you may want to consider a vintage dinner plate. They may provide a good alternative to that huge plate with your "Lean Cuisine" portion on it.

Remember also these words from Lewis Carroll: "That which chiefly causes the failure of a dinner-party, is the running short—not of meat, nor yet of drink, but of conversation."

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments

2010-12-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." ~Thornton Wilder

I would like to take a moment to wish you the best for the coming year. It has been a fun year for me, and, as we go into year 20 with the shop, I am grateful for all who have passed through the shop's door. I hope the treasures you have purchased have given you pleasure, and for those who just stop by here and read, I hope you have learned something about treasures...and learning really is more valuable!

Enjoy the final week of 2010! And all the best for 2011! I will be back next week for Show & Tell...have some wonderful costume jewelry to discuss!

Remember~during the winter the shop is open weekends! I will be teaching Tuesday/Thursday/Friday this semester, so, if you are around Monday or Wednesday, give a call, I can open by appointment also.

“A good book on your shelf...

2010-12-19T11:00:00.002-05:00

is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend.”

I purchased several pairs of bookends at auction Friday night...and I thought how it was a neat metaphor for a year...in between January and December, we have all the chapters in another volume in our personal encyclopedia of life...then I thought of the new Kindle world...no bookends needed...the gadget needs no bookends. Will bookends and book shelves go the way of the TV antenna?

What is funny is that there is a neat book about books called The Book on the Bookshelf, and I could not remember the author's name - it is Henry Petroski - and, when I went to Amazon, only the Kindle version is available.

Petroski calls bookends "curious constructions that are supposed to hold books back as a dam does water." He says, "They may or may not support the slender or the squat." Having been trained as a librarian, there is a logic behind arranging books vertically. The boards that form a book's cover can warp if placed horizontally and if the surface isn't flat, or there are heavy books stacked on top.
Even if books are placed vertically, the same can happen to both the cover and the spine if they are packed too tightly or too loosely. Ideally, books should be packed just tightly enough to keep them upright but not so tightly as to invite damage when removing them. Also, if they are allowed to lean for extended periods of time, spine deformation will almost inevitably occur in the form of twist, slant or lean.

Bookends can help prevent all of these problems. Petroski also quotes a Victorian guide that claimed the most effective bookend ever was a simple wooden block cut in half diagonally. Strange coming from the ornate Victorians! Technically, bookends were created to keep books from falling on people's heads!

During medieval times, books were really only found in monasteries and a few other scholarly locations because as books required a great deal of time and special skills to produce. Books were chained in study areas (ye olde reference books must be used in the library)and read on slanted surfaces in carrels. The outside of the reading seats had lists attached to them, showing the books to be found in that particular seat. Each row had a specific topic and a list of books assigned to that desk. Need to use a different book? You had to change where you sat.

During the Renaissance books became available to more and more people. Those lucky enough to have collection of books, generally kept them together, as they were still quite valuable.

Before books became so much more regular, a small pile of books might be stacked flat, or horizontally; but as the quantity of books increased, forming mountains of books didn't seem to make much sense, even just considering safety reasons. Shelves and book chests came into use; eventually books began to be stored vertically by the end of the 16th Century.

As libraries and collectors formed categorical systems for arranging books, and shelves grew taller and more accommodating, bookends became a means for keeping books neatly horizontal on an otherwise unfilled shelf. Bookends of sufficient weight would keep the shelved books safely in place and reduce book avalanches, making vertical book storage and the use of bookends a definite improvement over horizontally stacked book mountains.

Bookends can be found in many different shapes and sizes. It was not uncommon for bookends to be made from bronze, brass or solid marble. Here is a solid marble set that I bought at auction.
Bookends made of solid pewter and silver plate were common around the turn of the twentieth century. There has always been a decorative use for bookends, mostly as accents for a theme. Cast iron bookends come in a variety of themes and styles. This pair is cast iron.
As the years have passed, and fewer people kept personal collections of books, bookends lost some of their utility. It was not uncommon for out of work bookends to find new uses as doorstops and other mundane functions.

Famous pieces of art and sculpture have been the inspiration for bookends. Replicas of The Thinker by Rodin, busts of the great Caesars grace some of the world's great book collections. There are even bookends that are images of the collections owner. Public libraries' bookends are utilitarian, often just stamped metal bent at a ninety degree angle, literally holding the accumulated knowledge of human history.

The professions have Attorney bookends and Physician bookends. Animals are popular when it comes to bookends. Other wildlife that people celebrate in this form are eagle bookends and frog bookends. Lucky animals include elephant bookends. Many people believe that elephants are lucky, especially if their trunks are facing upwards.

Sports are popular in this field especially golf bookends. Bookends are a great way to decorate the house with a theme. One popular home decorating theme is a throwback from our great beach vacations, the nautical theme and the nautical bookend.

But, the librarian/English teach in me cannot ignore books or bookends! Like a bloodhound, I will seek and find!

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle,

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and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~ Buddha
In the spirit of sharing, which the holiday season is all about, I am lighting a candle for a co-op in Cape May, NJ, The West End Garage.
My shop is north of Cape May...about 15 miles...but you know when I find a neat place, I will feature it here...like Bittersweet Farm, Etc in Salem, NJ, or even Anthropologie. Many in retail are not into sharing...I believe small shops in particular need to hold on to each other in these times when Walmarts, Targets, and TJs are constantly taking aim.

We took a night off from auction to go to Cape May for a Holiday Art Extravaganza in the ballroom at the Wilbraham Mansion. I believe it is important to support the American artisan in these days when Made in China is so prevalent.

There were wonderful treasures...I got a new hat, a wonderful necklace, and a neat print reproduced on a card.
When we came out, we looked across the street and saw a shop all lit up.
Not one to pass up a shop, we wandered over, and here was the home, The West End Garage, for these artisans who were a part of the extravaganza. In the front of the shop are the artists' booths...

Then, as you wander through the rest of this converted building (a former car dealer & garage), small booths mix old and new treasures.

How about picking a vintage outfit off the rack for that holiday party?

Or, some old ornaments for your tree?

How about a unique piece of furniture - real wood - not pressed sawdust!
Some of the accessories have been replaced...but handles that were grabbed for decades do wear out. The purists when it comes to vintage may not appreciate the piece where some care has been taken to restore it, but, in my mind, that is what this business is all about...giving something a chance to live again. Would we be so lucky to be renewed for another 100+ years!

I think these kinds of places and events are what the season of giving should be all about. Not the madness of a "black" Friday or camping out all night-or week-for a piece of electronic equipment. Just strolling about and when something catches your eye, it invokes a reason for the season. I found a neat scarf for my best friend who is politically wired
...it will be neatly tucked into her Christmas box...a wonderful last minute find...it was karma that I did not have the box ready to mail! Here are the scenes from the little shops within the West End...far more appealing than stuff on metal shelves and end caps!

So, wherever you live, maybe you could search out that little shop
...or take a drive to town instead of to the mall.
You can still go to the big box or the mall, but for a touch of the spirit of Christmas past try lighting a small candle for that little shop down the road or in town.

How did it get so late so soon?

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It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon? ~ Dr. Seuss

I always think of December as a month where everyone is rushing to get to the end, and the holidays play a big part in this hysteria. As a college teacher, I am looking at finals and grades mixed in with cookie making, card sending, and gift wrapping.

Every now and then, it is just fun to remember life before all that growing up took place. Whenever I pick up some vintage ornaments or decorations, I am 6 not 62.

I love the faded paint on these 40s-50s ornaments.

Then, you have the boxes that are proudly labeled "American Made." Lots of luck finding a new box of balls with that label on today!
I love this box and contents...

And I also love the boxes when the previous owner carefully wrapped each ball in tissue before putting it away. Something about that gesture says caring...
Then you have the Santa planters...they held candy or a plant...the faces on the Santas are comforting...
The 50s brought all the plastic accents also...these little boots originally held lollipops or candy canes, and after the candy was eaten, they became ornaments. The cotton batting around the top has disappeared with time, but they are still charming.
So, as you march into December, consider a piece of Christmas past...

"Even if something is left undone...

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everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
~~Elizabeth Lawrence
There is something about this time of the year in the colder climate areas that brings the feeling of country to decorating...the smell of the wood burning fires, the leaves floating around, the soft gray skies overhead...

I have noticed that some of the big companies like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware are getting into the "old school" country decorating...

So, I thought I would feature a couple old country collectibles...items that tend to fit with winter better than summer...a touch of pewter...a little copper lustre...

Antique pewter is 85-99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. In early America, colonists only had the pewter they brought with them since there were no tin mines, but, as Americans are known to want to be "upscale," silver eventually replaced pewter. Most people think of tin cans when they hear the word tin and that makes them think "Cheap". Tin cans were in fact made from iron that was dipped in tin to prevent rusting. Today's "Tin foil" is actually made of aluminum!

Pewter gained an audience during the Art Nouveau and Art Deco period. Pewter pieces like clocks, inkwells, candlesticks for example are highly sought after. Collectors find prices starting $500 for some pieces, depending on maker's mark and condition.

Antique marked pewter is generally worth double that of unmarked antique pewter. Values for antique pewter can be confusing because there were so many different types of items made from pewter, from so many different makers and regions. Collectors understand the criteria of the pewter they collect. They may choose only plates or tankards, for example. Pewter is still being made in America, and lead is no longer part of the alloy.
Copper lustre in its varied forms of decoration was made in Staffordshire and other English potteries from about 1800 to 1860. Some of it is marked with either an impressed name or letter; much of it bears no mark. Dating to ancient Persia, lustre glazes were applied to pottery in Mesopotamia in the 9th century; the potters in England managed to duplicate the technique with Wedgwood being the company to perfect the style. The base under the glaze is a good earthenware...similar to ironstone in many cases.Very dilute amounts of powdered gold or platinum were dissolved in aqua regia and added to spirits of tar for platinum and a mixture of turpentine, flowers of sulfur and linseed oil for gold. The mixture was applied to the glazed ware and fired in an enameling kiln, depositing a thin film of platinum or gold. Platinum produced the appearance of solid silver and was employed for the middle class in shapes identical to those uses for silver tea services, ca. 1810-1840. Depending on the concentration of gold in the lustring compound and the under slip on which it was applied, a range of colours could be achieved, from pale rose and lavender, to copper and gold.

"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand shadow less like silence, listening
To silence."- Thomas Hood, Ode: Autumn, 1827

As we express our gratitude,

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we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I do want to thank everyone who stops by here to read...some of you comment...some of you email...some quietly read and move on...I do this not so much for responses but to teach; after all, that is what I do...have done...will do until the day I die.

I think Thanksgiving does get lost in the pre-Christmas shuffle. It used to be that we would take it a holiday at a time, but, in our commercially driven world, that was tossed in the discard pile. The first Black Friday was September 24, 1869--a stock market disaster (history repeats and repeats). Now, it is related to stores going into the black supposedly,and, despite statistics that show the most shopping is done the Saturday before Christmas, the Black Friday myth continues to flourish.

The history of the day after Thanksgiving being the official start of the holiday shopping season is linked with the tradional parades and Santa coming to town to take orders.In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Santa parades or Thanksgiving Day parades were sponsored by department stores. These include the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, in Canada, sponsored by Eaton's, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade sponsored by Macy's. Department stores would use the parades to launch a big advertising push. Eventually it just became an unwritten rule that no store would try doing Christmas advertising before the parade was over. Therefore, the day after Thanksgiving became the day when the shopping season officially started.

After the Depression, the fact that this marked the official start of the shopping season led to controversy. In 1939, retail shops wanted a longer shopping season as they recovered from the Depression, but no store wanted to break with tradition and be the one to start advertising before Thanksgiving. President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date for Thanksgiving one week earlier, leading to much anger by the public who wound up having to change holiday plans (Lincoln had declared the last Thursday as the official Thanksgiving). Some even refused the change, resulting in the U.S. citizens celebrating Thanksgiving on two separate days. Some started referring to the change as "Franksgiving."

So, this Thursday, enjoy your day...shop if you must...but remember to live thankfully!

“At the punch-bowl's brink,

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let the thirsty think, what they say in Japan: first the man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes the man!” ~Edward Rowland Sill

The entertaining season tends to bring out the infamous punch bowl. There are 2 theories about its origin. It could be a short for "puncheon" which refers to a wooden cask that holds 70 to 80 gallons.....now there we are talking about some serious punch!

The other theory is that the word punch derived from the Hindustani word "panch" which is defined as "five". This traces back to the "rule of five" that states that a punch must have at least five ingredients: sweet, sour, bitter, weak, and alcoholic.

In my research, I found a poem that Samuel Mather (son of Cotton Mather), sent in 1757 to a friend with a box of lemons:

You know from Eastern India came
The skill of making punch as did the name.
And as the name consists of letters five,
By five ingredients it is kept alive.
To purest water sugar must be joined,
With these the grateful acid is combined.
Some any sours they get contented use,
But men of taste do that from Tagus choose.
When now these three are mixed with care
Then added be of spirit a small share.
And that you may the drink quite perfect see,
Atop the musky nut must grated be.

Even if you do not make punch, these large bowls make wonderful salad bowls or decorative centerpieces filled with a variety of ornaments.

I found an ironstone punch bowl at auction the other week. I have never seen one outside of the books, so it was a neat surprise. It is showing its age...130 years or so...but a real treasure for an ironstone lover.
Many of the Victorian bowls are pressed glass. You don't always find the cups or the stands with them, but I never pass them up, and, in today's current marketplace, they are incredibly reasonably priced.
The punch bowls came with either a pedestal to elevate the bowl on the table or a large underplate where the bowl would rest in the centre. Each set came with a set of punch cups. If a pedestal was used, the cups were hung around the bowl using metal hooks. If the punch tray was used, the cups were displayed around the base of the bowl resting on the tray. So, for those who get a little punchy...not to mention paunchy around the holidays, at least you know folks have been punchy for centuries!

"Eat butter first,

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and eat it last, and live till a hundred years be past."
Old Dutch proverb

I am sure the health conscious cringe at that proverb, but I remember the highlight of the coming holiday season was the "butter cookie," a recipe my Dutch grandmother and mother made.

But, butter is one of the things on the agenda today, specifically, butter pats. As the indoor eating season begins, the casual entertaining becomes a little more formal. I love these little plates.

In the Victorian era (late 1800s, the table was lavishly decorated. a well appointed table was not complete without individual butter pats. One of the reasons that the Arts and Crafts Society revolted against the Victorians was the frivolities like the butter pat. Formal Victorian tables were always set with great opulence and excess utensils. While the traditional table of the time was set with bread that was unbuttered and placed in the folds of the guest’s napkins other courses required a good buttering. The pats of butter were served on small plates, about 3 inches in diameter, placed left of center of the service plate. You can see the size of the pat in relation to a dinner plate...many people think these small dishes are from children's sets because of their size.

Another dish on this frivolous Victorian table was the bone dish. Designed to hold fish bones, they work nicely for any small bones. The design wraps around the plate, and it is better than having bones piled up on a dinner plate.
Keep in mind these folks had no KFC or piles of chicken wings. Sometimes the little extras are good things as Martha would say (and I bet she uses all these "frivolous" pieces---and, of course, she is not washing everything either I would guess!)

Still, looking at these small dishes, you realize how much our eating habits have changed. I am always fascinated by antiques/vintage for that reason; yes, we are preserving the past, but does it mean anything if we simply collect things and stash them in display cabinets? Even if you do not use these little dishes for butter or bones, they can hold a ring or loose change. Or something like cranberry sauce could nestle in the bone dish...does not have to be a bone, you know! So, recycle, reuse, repurpose.