If you run an antique shop or antique mall, the winter months are the perfect time to reassess your business plan, make changes to the shop’s look and layout and offer deep discounts to clear out merchandise for an influx of new items.

If you have read my previous articles on running your antique shop or antique mall as a business instead of treating it as a hobby (here and here), you are light years ahead of your competition. If you read those articles, I hope to goodness that you have implemented a few of the tactics I set before you. If you have put into practice some of those tactics, then I feel pretty certain that your 2011 holiday season was not too shabby.

January, February and early March are generally pretty slow months for the business, which makes it a perfect time to put pen to paper and come up with promotions and special events for the year ahead of you. It is also a good time to:

• Do some pre-spring cleaning and offer discounts on inventory that has been sitting around for awhile;
• Attend local auctions and get new inventory;
• Take a day trip to a town you have not visited before, check out the antique shops and become inspired;
• If you cannot take a short trip, purchase a few magazines such as “Country Living,” “Martha Stewart” or “Victoria” to get inspiration and see upcoming and new trends in decorating.

If you have any employees, you need to make sure that they know the inventory, dealers and consignors. They need to have some authority to make decisions on prices or, at the very least, know how to contact dealers. In my shop, we had an automatic 10-percent off if someone asked about a discount. It was written into the dealer and consignment contracts. Ten percent is not going to break the bank, but it does show that you care about your customers and value their business. If your employees don’t know prices or how to reach dealers, this makes you look bad. I recently took a shopping trip across Kansas and, while I was looking forward to this trip, I was left with bad first impressions of a number of antique shops and it is all because of the people working the counter.

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: If you don’t have it in your budget to hire an employee or two, see if any of your dealers would consider working every now and then for a reduction in booth rental fees. You “pay” them as you would any hourly employee, except you deduct their “earnings” from their booth rental. How many hours they work is up to you; just make sure it is someone dependable.

Hold quarterly meetings with your dealers. It does not need to be a long meeting but you want to get feedback from the dealers. Ask for input and pay attention to what they have to say. Make sure that everyone is happy with the way the shop is running and, if you see areas where the dealers can make improvements to improve sales, be sure to offer up those suggestions. These meetings give your dealers a sense of ownership in your business and you never know what amazing ideas will come out of them. You have to remember that you would not have a business if it weren’t for your dealers and good, quality dealers are hard to find. We all adore our customers and cater to them, but you need to do the same with your dealers.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Make sure that all of your dealers have business cards. You can really make it interesting and tell everyone to put their dealer number on the cards as they hand them out, keep track of how many cards are brought in and which dealer handed them out. Offer a discount on the monthly rent or a small gift for the dealer who has the highest return on business cards. Also, be sure to give the card back to the customer!

The winter months are a perfect time to hold meetings with your dealers. It does not need to be a long meeting but you want to get feedback from the dealers. Ask for input and pay attention to what they have to say.

I have quite a few friends who rent space in antique shops and I have also visited with dealers on my shopping forays and travels, so I hear lot of antiques business talk. Some of that talk is about a trend that I find rather troubling. There is an inherent cost to doing business and I see more and more of these costs being passed on to the dealers who rent space. Your dealers might have a booth that is 8 by 10 feet, but more shops are cutting the size down to 5 by 7 and even 3 by 7. There is only so much stuff you can get into an area of this size. Yet shop owners are charging rent, a commission on sales, a fee for credit or debit card use and some shops even charge a fee for shopping bags and wrapping material. If your dealer makes a $20-sale, once all these fees are deducted, she’s not making a profit!

First off, I cannot imagine the accounting nightmare these extra charges create and second, if you are charging a commission and rent, the commission should cover all the extras. I hear shop owners complaining about the high dealer turnover and this little paragraph should explain that turnover. It does not matter that you can pull from your extensive waiting list to fill that spot, dealers talk to dealers and you will find that your waiting list has no more names on it and you have empty booths.

A few months ago I made the decision to rent a small booth to liquidate some inventory, but after checking around a few of the local shops and did the math, I found that I would be better off selling through online auctions and to other dealers. I was truly shocked and amazed at some of the fees being passed on to the dealer, and most of these shops had an abundance of empty booths. Everyone is struggling to make a buck right now and shop owners do not need to add to that problem. We all need to work together in this economy.

I have quite a few friends who rent space in antique shops and I have also visited with dealers on my shopping forays and travels, so I hear lot of antiques business talk. Some of that talk is about a trend that I find rather troubling.

To improve your sales, you need to frequently wander around your shop and make sure that the customers are finding what they need. One area where antique shops differ from traditional businesses is that while you are circulating, you need to also empty the customer’s hands of inventory and place it at the front counter. This serves two purposes; 1) the customer has both hands free to shop and 2) it reduces the theft risk. I recently read an article where the author was bemoaning this task but it is a necessary evil this also hinders customers putting items down in the booth of another dealer (something else this particular article was ranting about).

I recently visited a relatively large antique shop that had shopping carts available for customer use. My first reaction was “wow, this is what I have always said antique shops needed,” but upon further reflection—and in visiting with dealers in the mall—there is a high rate of breakage and theft. Think about it, a customer puts several glassware items in a shopping cart with no support or packing. They start rolling around and banging in to each other, which leads to chips, cracks and breakage. Even if the store has video cameras, when there is only one person working the counter, he is unable to keep a watchful eye on the monitors. When a customer gets to the back of the store, it offers ample opportunity to put things in her purse, coat or pants pockets. Even offering a small, hand-carried basket can have the same end result. It is easier to put the cash register key in your pocket and hit the aisles than deal with breakage and theft.

On previous articles you have left me some wonderful comments and questions especially on matters concerning your business. I hear that you want to do things in a different way but just don’t know what more to do. I hope to offer up a few more suggestions in this article and look forward to future comments, questions and helpful articles.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Electronic wizardry, 1980s style. Milton Bradley’s The Dark Tower is a close to a Holy Grail as there is for vintage game collectors.

These days, there are relative few Holy Grail-class collectibles or out-of-print collection showpieces for the board game collector. Over the past several years, reprints and reissues of sought-after titles have increased the availability of desirable games while also driving the aftermarket prices for original editions down. But one game that will likely always remain a valuable collectible is Milton Bradley’s The Dark Tower.

Dark Tower, an electronic board game with an amazing plastic tower housing a primitive computer that tracked all game information, made crude but charming sounds, and had some light-up features including stained glass-style illustrations and old fashioned LED counters. It was released to mainstream toy and department stores in 1981, and it will almost certainly never be in print or available again.

The game is classic 1980s fantasy fare, obviously influenced by the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a simple adventure game, wherein the players each represent a hero setting forth from a home citadel to find three keys—all of which must be found by exploring crypts in the other three regions of the board. Along the way, the players try to amass warriors to fight in the inevitable siege of the tower, accumulate food to feed that hungry rabble, acquire gold, ward off wandering brigands and visit locations such as a bazaar and sanctuaries, where you can recuperate when the tower decides that it’s time to kill off all of your warriors.

Once a player has the three keys, he returns triumphantly to his home citadel and can then march up to the tower. But before the final battle, the right sequence of keys has to be figured out. Once the door is unlocked, it’s a back and forth struggle between the attacking army and the defending brigands to the death. The winner gets to see a little “victory” image and hear some triumphant, tinny music.

It’s a gloriously old-fashioned relic of a time when electronic gaming was rarely available outside of arcades, first-generation video game consoles and early home computers. The thrill of playing a computerized board game might very well be lost on younger generations, but when I was a kid, this was some pretty exciting stuff. It’s definitely quaint, but it is actually a pretty good game by modern standards. It’s also an unusually good-looking product, with some very distinctive and unique illustrations by the great Bob Pepper, mostly known for his work designing science fiction and fantasy book covers.

Dark Tower wasn’t in print for long; Milton Bradley was sued shortly after it was on the market by some inventors who claimed that they had presented the company with the basic idea for the technology and the game sometime in the 1970s. They argued that MB had designed and produced the game without their involvement and, as a result, the game was pulled off the shelves forever. It has never been reprinted and will almost certainly never be reprinted for a number of reasons, rights issues and technological progress being chief among them. There is a Flash game available on the Web, but it pales in comparison to playing with the actual physical game. It’s a great option for those who want to see what the game is like, but a graphic of the tower just isn’t the same as the real object.

The Dark Tower itself, in all of its plastic glory.

A complete set, including the board and all the pieces.

But for today’s gamers, getting their hands on a copy of Dark Tower means putting up anywhere from $150 to $250 on average, with some really nice copies approaching $300 or more. Sealed or mint copies are almost unheard of—most of the kids who got these games for Christmas in 1981 abused the heck out of the boxes and, often, the contents—and that’s before they were stuffed into attics or crawlspace storage. I’ve never seen a copy that I’d rate above “good,” and I’ve seen many copies missing pieces or with a non-working tower.

That said, this is a game that most game collectors will buy, regardless of condition, often combining sets for completion or salvaging parts to upgrade or fix non-working towers. Some websites and retailers actually sell spare parts, including manuals, boxes and other pieces. For my part, I’ll buy just about any copy in any condition if the price is right, but I have yet to ever actually see a copy in any thrift store, antique shop or yard sale. Stories are out there, however, of folks who have bought these games for fifty cents at a swap meet to flip at auction for a couple of hundred dollars.

Dark Tower is very much an endangered board game. As time goes on, fewer and fewer copies are in circulation. Towers become irreparably broken or worn out and lights stop working. This is a game that will continue to get scarcer and scarcer in years to come. It’s definitely a “they don’t make ’em like this anymore” item, and both nostalgia and its reputation among game collectors and players remains high.

Michael Barnes is a lifelong game player, collector and enthusiast. He has parlayed his passion for games into several successful ventures, including a retail hobby store, two popular gaming Websites, and 10 years of widely read commentary and criticism about both tabletop and video games.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

A now-bearded Jimmy DiResta showing us a sign that he made. “Lord of the Fleas” is the original title for his show “Dirty Money.”

At it’s worst, reality television can be considered the lowest form of entertainment. Thankfully, Jimmy DiResta, an inventor, designer, builder and trailblazer in do-it-yourself reality TV, has never been interested in joining the D-list crowd. He is an educator, creator and third-generation trash picker, and it is these characteristics that shine in his TV projects. His latest show, “Dirty Money” features Jimmy and his brother John DiResta. Shown on the Discovery Channel, “Dirty Money” had a one-season run in the states and is now in syndication in countries including Vietnam, England, Switzerland and Germany.

We met with Jimmy DiResta recently in his lower East Side studio (and yes it is the same location where “Dirty Money” was shot). He gave us the skinny on how he broke into the world of do-it-yourself reality TV.

DeDe Sullivan: On the show “Dirty Money,” you repurpose found stuff, a.k.a. “junk.” How were you introduced to the world of junk?

Jimmy DiResta: My grandfather was a trash picker and so was my dad. My dad has been going to flea markets since I can remember. He always took my brothers and me. Everything we ever owned was from the flea market.

DeDe: When did you start developing your skills as a builder?

Jimmy: Ever since I can remember, dad was always giving me things to make stuff with, starting with LEGOs and blocks, and later with tools.

DeDe: What were you doing prior to television?

Jimmy: I went to art school and in 1990 I began designing toys for a manufacture at the same time. I designed toys up until my second TV show, “Hammered.” After that I was heavily into building furniture and custom woodwork. Now I can I build anything for anyone in pretty much any material.

DeDe: Did you design any toys that we might remember?

Jimmy: I was a part of the team that created a toy called Sky Dancer that was pretty popular in the ’90s. I am also one of the inventors of a squeezable toy called, Gurglin’ Guts. I share the patent with two other people, one being my brother Joseph. There is a chance the toy will be re-issued.

DeDe: You are highly motivated when it comes to putting yourself and your work out in the world and on the small screen. Can you tell us how you landed on TV?

Jimmy: The very first show we did was called “Trash to Cash.” John was in-between gigs as a comedian/actor so he had an idea. He was always finding junk and making it into tables. He still does this and sells them. So in 2000 he said let’s shoot a video of me making a table with found wood and during the process I will make jokes. So that is exactly what we did, we made a seven-minute video and called it “Trash to Cash.” At the time, Barry Katz was John’s manager. So Barry took our video to Fox FX to see if they were interested, which they were, so we had a meeting.

This is the area in his studio that often appeared in the show Dirty Money. You can learn how to make that giant vintage rope ball on Jimmy's YouTube page

It was my first TV meeting ever, so I showed up overly prepared. Originally, only John was going to be on camera and I was going to make the stuff behind the scenes. So, I came to the meeting with 12 episodes mapped out and I was telling the folks at Fox all the things I can do behind the scenes. The producer we met with asked if I had problem being on camera and I said no. The producer then decided that we would both be on camera. I would make stuff and my brother would crack jokes. So they ordered a pilot and we ended up shooting seven episodes of “Trash to Cash.”

When “Trash to Cash” ended, John and I decided to shoot another pilot on our own. This show idea later became “Dirty Money,” but at the time we were calling it “Lord of the Fleas.” This was nine years ago. We showed our video around and it received a lot of interest but no buyers. So we created another pilot called, “Making It.” I have the video on my YouTube page if you want to see it.

DeDe: Why did you always shoot your own pilots?

Jimmy: To me it seemed like a better idea than just going to networks and pitching a concept. Plus, I don’t like pitching. I would rather just show TV executives what we can do.

DeDe: What happened with “Making It”?

Jimmy: “Making It” became our second show, but the name changed to, “Hammered.” Home and Garden TV picked up the show. The introduction to the channel came from friend who is a hairdresser. One of her clients is an executive for the network so our friend mentioned us. We shot 28 episodes. Afterwards, there were a few more projects with Home & Garden and DIY Network through 2007 and 2008

DeDe: Tell us about your most recent project, “Dirty Money.”

Jimmy: In 2010, a production company called Vidiots was looking for a project. I shared a YouTube link to the “Lord of The Fleas” pilot John and I made nine years ago. Vidiots liked it. They re-edited the pilot we shot and showed it around and Discovery Channel picked the show up.

DeDe: OK, so you have a TV career. You are also a brand ambassador for 3M and a teacher at The School for Visual Arts in addition to being a builder and designer. What best represents who you are?

Jimmy showing us an antique machine part he found.

Jimmy: The core of my business is making stuff for homes, restaurants and stores. I am good at solving problems and I work quickly. I will make anything. This sometimes gets me into trouble. But I always come out wiser. Right now, it appears that “Dirty Money” is over. So I am trying to post a video each week on YouTube for the curious fans of the show and new comers to my work. Each video features me making something new in a new way. This keeps me thinking.

DeDe: Alright. If you had to pick another career, what would it be?

Jimmy: Abstract artist. All sculpture. I am part-way there.

DeDe: Before we wrap this interview, drop a few words of wisdom on us.

Jimmy: This is what I tell my students:

“It is only hard because you have not truly learned how yet” (about anything).

“Never build anything you can’t move alone.”

“Always learn from the mistakes and remember the good one will be the fifth one you make, never the first.”

And finally, “Your brain needs exercise too; challenge it for a workout”

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Interested in seeing Dirty Money come back? Click here to submit a letter to revive the show.

You can also follow Jimmy DiResta online on YouTube, Facebook & Twitter.

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DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The Star ink stamp was initially used to mark Red Wing art pottery.

Red Wing Potteries used a variety of methods to mark their dinnerware, including ink stamps, paper labels or marks imparted to the item during the molding process. There are also many Red Wing dinnerware items that were not marked in any way, and some items marked “Red Wing” were not made by Red Wing Potteries.

Red Wing began producing dinnerware in the mid-1930s. The colorful Gypsy Trail line, which includes four distinct patterns, was introduced June 1935. Gypsy Trail items can be found with a wide variety of marking styles.

The Star ink stamp (right) was initially used to mark Red Wing art pottery. It was applied to only a few dinnerware items. It can be found on the earliest Gypsy Trail coffee servers and on some Wreath creamers and sugar bowls. Wreath is an undocumented pattern that we believe was Red Wing’s first attempt at dinnerware and thus predates Gypsy Trail.

Most Gypsy Trail items produced during the 1930s were not marked (below,next two photographs).

Some had “RED WING” pressed into the bottom during the molding process (below, next two photos).

Around 1940, “USA” was added to the mark (below, next four photos).

Later in the early 1940s, the catalog number was included on the bottom of most newly introduced Gypsy Trail items (below, next two photos).

Fondoso, one of the four Gypsy Trail patterns, had marks unique to that pattern (below, next two photos).

The mark directly below has the words “RED WING” within a wing-shaped mark. It is rare and has been found only on a few Chevron and Reed oval platters. The Gypsy Trail paper label (further below) is also rarely seen.

The Provincial Cooking Ware line of baking dishes was produced during the early to mid 1940s. This line had bisque (unglazed) exteriors (below). Most pieces were marked by impressing “RED WING PROVINCIAL WARE” on the side along with the item’s catalog number.

In the early 1960s a revival of Provincial Cooking Ware was introduced. This line was named Provincial Bakeware and it had glazed exteriors with a similar bisque color. However this 1960s line was marked on the bottom rather than the side (below).

Red Wing’s first hand painted dinnerware line was introduced in 1941. The ink stamp directly below was used from 1941 until the late 1940s. This mark is usually found in black, but green and blue inks were also early on. The ink stamp further below was used for only a couple of years in the late 1940s.

Town & Country was introduced in 1947 and is one of Red Wing’s more celebrated dinnerware patterns. It was designed by Eva Zeisel and features soft, rounded surfaces. The plates and bowls have a slight tilt. All Town & Country items were unmarked, but there is at least one known exception. Below is a chartreuse Town & Country teapot that is bottom marked with the late 1940s ink stamp.

Red Wing’s most well-known dinnerware mark was introduced in 1950 and was used until 1957 or early 1958. The name RED WING in seen in the “feathers” of this pinkish-red wing-shaped mark (directly below). A number is often found along with the wing; this number does not indicate the pattern but is simply a stock or lot number used in the manufacturing process. This stock number is found with most ink stamps from this point on. The greenish-black ink stamp further below is rarely seen and is a transition from the late ’40s stamp to the new wing stamp.

The Tweed Tex pattern, which was entirely white with no hand painted decoration, had its own unique variation of the pinkish wing stamp. A stamp without the words “HAND PAINTED” was used for this pattern (below).

In 1958, the pinkish wing was replaced with a rather drab black ink stamp that consists of only text that states the product is HAND PAINTED and OVENPROOF (below). It continued to be used to mark items in most patterns until Red Wing Potteries closed in 1967. But there were exceptions.

The True China line was introduced in 1959 and consisted of eight patterns. The following ink stamp was used to mark True China flatware items (below). The unique triangular stamp (further below) was used exclusively to mark individual ashtrays in the True China line.

Red Wing also introduced pattern-specific ink stamps for a number of patterns. Items from the patterns named in the following ink stamps can be found with either this pattern-specific stamp or the drab text stamp (next 12 photos).

Unlike Gypsy Trail’s mold-imparted marks shown earlier, Red Wing did not use this method for any of its hand painted-dinnerware when it was introduced in 1941. Patterns of the 1940s were either ink-stamped or not marked at all. This changed in 1952 when Village Green was introduced. The use of molds to mark items with “RED WING USA” resumed for accessory items such as pitchers, teapots, casseroles, salad bowls, gravy boats, etc. In any given pattern, the bowls and plates are often found marked with an ink stamp while accessory items used the mold to impart the mark (below, three photos).

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ernest Sohn Creations contracted with Red Wing Potteries to produce two lines of dinnerware items. Butter Mold is the better known line. Butter Mold items feature fern and leaves artwork borrowed from a vintage butter mold, usually with the letters “E.S. U.S.A.” This design can be found on the bottom, side or top of a given item (below, next two photos).

Red Wing also made Village Green-shaped items for Sohn glazed entirely in dark brown. These pieces had foil labels to identify them, but in many cases the label is now missing. All-brown Village Green shaped items marked simply “USA” were most likely made for Sohn (below, next two photos).

In the mid 1960s, an upright wing ink stamp was introduced to be used on the new Hotel or Restaurant dinnerware line, which was sold exclusively to the hotel and restaurant trade. This ink stamp is usually seen in black but green ink stamps can also be found. When the Potteries closed in 1967, the staff decorated the remaining greenware with whatever glazes remained, resulting in some unusual color combinations. Many of these post-production pieces were marked with this ink stamp (below, next two photos).

Finally, there are numerous pieces out there that are marked “RED WING USA” on the bottom but were not made by Red Wing Potteries. When the business closed for good in 1967, the assets of the company were sold to the public, including the molds used to form dinnerware and art pottery pieces. Since the company was out of business, there was no attempt to obliterate the RED WING USA lettering found on the bottom of the molds. Many of them were purchased by art schools and hobby potters. The users of these old molds often scratched their name or initials and a date into the wet clay when forming a piece. Red Wing workers did not scratch marks into the wet clay, even when making “lunch hour” items for their personal use. They used ink. Thus, any “Red Wing USA” item that has markings scratched into the bottom was almost certainly produced in an art school or hobby shop and has no real collector value.

The glaze can be another clue that an item is not an authentic piece of Red Wing pottery. Items glazed in garish colors or colors that were not uses by Red Wing Potteries at the time the mold would have been used are most likely hobby shop pieces. Experience always helps to discern such pieces, and even seasoned collectors can be fooled occasionally.

Larry Roschen and his wife Kathy have collected Red Wing pottery since 1980. In recent years Larry and his friend Terry Moe have sought out vintage Red Wing documents to research and expand our knowledge of Red Wing dinnerware. Larry currently serves as the dinnerware advisor for the “Ask the Experts” section of the Red Wing Collectors Society website and is a member of the RWCS Foundation board.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Repurposed glass dishware makes a nice vase of flowers. Whimsical items such as these, as well as tradition antiques and collectibles, can be found at Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market in Springfield, Mo.

I recently took a short trip to Springfield, Mo., to meet Mike Cook, the co-founder and co-owner of Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market. Mike has a very unique story about how he got into the antique and collectible business—one that is a prime example of doing what you have to do to survive these days.

The store was busy with shoppers strolling the aisles and dealers stocking their booths when I dropped in on Mike’s store the week between Christmas and New Year’s. I had the opportunity to look around while he assisted a few customers and I was very pleased at how clean everything looked, the width of the aisles and the overall spaciousness of the store. There is even a separate room for furniture and other large items, which makes the individual booths easier to see. Even though Mike and his business partner, Richard Green, have approximately 300 booths and showcases, the store did not look crowded and cramped.

When Mike and I finally had an opportunity to sit down and visit, my first question was how did this all come about? He took a slow look around the store and told his story:

After he did his time with Uncle Sam in the military, Mike spent the next 30 years of his life in the construction industry. As with many folks these days, his regional management position was eliminated and he was transferred to the corporate office in Colorado. A month in the Rockies was more than enough for Mike and he was ready to return home to Springfield, but the company had no open positions for him there. So what is a guy to do? Stay in a place and position he dislikes, go on welfare or find a way to create his own job?

Mike Cook (right), the co-founder and co-owner of Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market, with his business partner, Richard “Red” Green. Two years ago, these two out-of-work construction workers with no experience in retail and no experience in the antique, collectible or flea market business created their own now-profitable jobs.

When Mike was in the military, he had a friend who talked often about opening the largest flea market in the United States. Mike thought the idea sounded a little daft at the time, but he listened just the same. All these years later, he found himself recalling those conversations and thinking that opening a flea market might just be a viable solution to his predicament. So he set out on a mission to visit all the antique shops and flea markets he could find and began creating a list of the things he liked and disliked about each of them. He quit his corporate job, moved back to Springfield and was able to get a business loan to turn his vision in to reality. Along the way, he phoned a buddy of his, Richard Green, who he had just laid off from the job a year previous and filled him in on his idea. Richard thought Mike was nuts, but still kind of liked the sound of the project and got on board.

That is how two years ago, two construction workers with no experience in retail and no experience in the antique, collectible or flea market business created their own now-profitable jobs. I asked Mike if he had been in contact with his military buddy who had the original idea. He said that yes, and in fact, his friend has a very successful business putting on large flea markets around the Midwest.

Mike said it has certainly been a “learn on the job” experience, but added that he has been able to surround himself with people who are familiar with antiques, collectibles and memorabilia. Mike is also a subscriber to WorthPoint and says he utilizes the site’s Worthopedia Price Guide quite often when searching for information for himself and for his customers. When he buys out estates and storage units, her turns to WorthPoint iPhone app a great deal when he is in the field and needs answers quickly.

Depending on which booth you approach, your eyes will be hit with all kinds of unexpected treasures.

I asked how business has been for them since they opened the store and he said they are “keeping their heads above water.” They are looking to expand the business and open another location and Mike owns 10 percent of a similar store in my neck of the woods, Nellie & Nicos; An Antique Boutique, in Shawnee, Kansas. He calls this their sister store. It is located in what used to be a large grocery store and, while I have visited it, I have yet to make it all the way through the store. Mike’s Missouri is large, but this store is massive. I hope to do a story on them in the near future.

As far as inventory goes, Mike’s vendors have a little bit of everything, from flea-market finds to wonderful 1950s furniture, collectibles and a few antiques. I certainly spied a few things that I would like to have, but I am to the point that something has to go before I bring something else home.

I had the pleasure of visiting with one of the dealers, Bea Land, who has been a dealer for many years and stays busy with not only a booth in Mike’s store, but also a booth in a nearby town. Bea has a nice assortment of smalls (small decorative items), glassware, dolls, porcelain and other goodies and her prices are very reasonable. She said that she had not seen the market this depressed in all her years in the business. I assured her that it was hitting all of us hard but, hopefully, we would see things start to turn around soon.

Each proprietor at Mike’s Unique Collectible & Antique Flea Market sets up their booth to match their personality.

Mike thinks that if there were greater cooperation between the antique shops and flea market stores in the area, things might work out better for everyone. He might be right. The day I came into Springfield—the day before I visited with Mike—I noticed an abundance of antique stores and indoor flea markets in town, but many of the stores had signs out front looking for dealers to rent space. Mike, meanwhile, has a waiting list of 600 dealers. I think Mike is right. It would serve them all well to work as a more cohesive unit. But, as I can attest, there are often territorial issues among antique shops in many towns, as everyone wants to keep to themselves instead of working together as a group with similar interests and a common goal: drawing more customers and selling more antiques and collectibles.

It was a real pleasure to meet Mike. Good luck, and I’ll be back.

.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The subject of myriad songs, books, films, documentaries and even a musical, the Titanic has also spawned a healthy trade in artifacts and related memorabilia, with interest in these ratcheting up in this, the centenary year of the disaster.

Items from the Titanic were first salvaged in 1987 after the wreck was discovered in 1985, in an expedition led by oceanographer Dr Robert Ballard. From bars of soap, to menus, money and children’s shoes, they are poignant reminders of a terrible loss of life. One of the most interesting artifacts salvaged to date is the collection of perfume samples from perfumer Adolph Saalfeld, who survived the disaster. He left behind a leather pouch with some 90 bottles of scent, which was found, on the ocean floor in 2000. Although Saalfeld escaped, he was apparently haunted by the disaster for the rest of his life and he would ask his chauffeur to drive him around London at night, to try to him sleep.

This 17-ton section of the RMS Titanic, recovered from the ocean floor during an expedition to the site of the tragedy, is among 5,000 other items will be auctioned as a single April 11, 100 years after the sinking of the ship.

The scarcity of Titanic artifacts has made them prohibitively expensive for most collectors. Previously, a deckchair —one of only six remaining intact (they were thrown to passengers as life preservers) —was sold at auction for $46,000. A pincushion, brought onboard the liner by Fr. Francis Brown, who subsequently disembarked at Cork, Ireland, fetched $26,000, while a letter written to his niece while onboard also sold for $26,000.

Enter the search term ”Titanic” on eBay and more than 63,000 results are returned. Earlier this year, a sketch from the James Cameron film ”Titanic” (drawn by Leo DiCaprio’s character in the film but done in real life by Cameron himself) sold for $16,000.

Binoculars found among the debris of the Titanic wreck.

This cherub once adorned the grand staircase of the RMS Titanic.

This April, one of the most significant collections of Titanic artifacts goes under the hammer. While there have been Titanic auctions in the past, the thousands of items that go on sale on April 11 have all been salvaged from the wreck. Included among the 5,000 diverse pieces (the result of seven expensive and often dangerous trips to the wreck) are reading glasses, diamond bracelets, a 17-ton slab from the hull and even hairpins, as well as a bronze cherub that once adorned the Grand Staircase. The strict class divisions that governed society are apparent in the contrast between the third-class dining room service cup and the first class ”Special Service” demitasse, which are also included.

The collection, which is valued at $189 million, is being sold at Guernsey Auctioneers & Brokers in New York.

“Who on this planet doesn’t know the story of the Titanic and isn’t fascinated by it?” asked Guernsey’s president, Arlan Ettinger. “Could Hollywood have scripted a more tragic or goose-bump-raising story than what actually happened on that ship?”

Also included is intellectual property, such as a detailed map of the ocean floor where the Titanic finally came to rest.

However, only serious buyers are being entertained at this auction. The conditions of sale are that the collection is purchased in its entirety and that its new owner is committed to preserving the collection and ensuring that at least some of it is on display at all times. The sale is also subject to court approval and, according to the auction house, several buyers have already expressed an interest.

This bracelet was recovered from the RMS Titanic.

Relatively more affordable is a postcard which goes on sale on Jan. 21 at an auction house in Dublin, Ireland, where it is predicted to sell for in excess of €5,000 ($6,400). Written by a 35-year-old plumber, Andrew Johnston, it is addressed to his father, William Johnston of Aberdeenshire in Scotland and apologises for not writing before he sailed and that “we don’t get to New York till Wednesday next so I will write when we get there.” Johnston died alongside his wife and daughter. The family, who were set to start a new life in the United States, had been booked on another ship the previous year. That sailing was cancelled and they subsequently rebooked on the ill-fated liner.

David MacDonnell, of MacDonnell Whyte auction house, said there has been an extraordinary amount of interest in the postcard from all around the world. “People want to know more about the family but all we really know is that they were in third class steerage and the entire party perished,” he said. “We’ve even had inquiries from people in Aberdeenshire to say that Johnston without an “e” is an unusual surname and that there is no record of anyone with that name in the area, but it is possible the family died out.”

MacDonnell reckons that the €5,000 estimate is a conservative figure, given that this is the centenary year. The Ship of Dreams still continues to sail in our memories, it would appear.

Prospective auction bidders must be pre-qualified and agree to comply with all covenants and conditions attached to the collection. Those wishing further details should contact Guernsey’s, the auction house selected by RMS Titanic, Inc. and Premier Exhibitions for this unprecedented offering, at 212.794.2280.

Claire O’Mahony is a Dublin (Ireland)-based freelance journalist and is a regular contributing writer for WorthPoint-UK. She writes about a varied range of topics, including travel, health, beauty, fashion, interior design and food.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

A pair of pretty-in-pink 1950s Royal flagship portable, fully restored by myTypewriter.com.

Sure you can get a beat up vintage manual typewriter pretty easily. I must have seen hundreds over the last year at various flea markets cheaply priced. But if you want a reconditioned working model that actually types, it will cost you. Recently, I reached out to three businesses that focus on rescuing, restoring and selling these office relics so I could understand why these refurbished writing machines cost more than a basic PC laptop.

One of the top pros in the biz is Charles Gu, the founder of myTypewriter.com, based in Fairfax, Va. Gu’s company is the largest source on the Internet for classic American- and European-made typewriters. Every vintage machine on his site is meticulously restored in appearance and function. But returning these contraptions to their original condition, as Gu explains, is time-consuming and expensive.

“Most people do not realize that manual typewriters are very difficult mechanical devises to repair and restore. There are thousands of parts in each machine. If any pieces are broken or missing, they are impossible to replace unless you “cannibalize” from another machine or you make your own parts. Besides the parts, select machines need to be totally stripped down just so you can access and repair one mechanism. Then, there is the rust you have to deal with. I can go on and on. When customers ask why our typewriters are so expensive, it is because of the labor costs involved to repair each machine. A skilled technician may take up to 20 hours to restore one typewriter.”

[Interested in collecting vintage and antique typewriters? Check out this collector who was bitten by the typewriter bug.]

One of the “work horse” vintage typewriters sold by Brady & Kowalski.

Another reason for the expense is that few people are actually capable of fixing typewriters. Brandi Kowalski—one-half of Brady & Kowalski Writing Machines, based in Brooklyn, N.Y.—states, “. . . the typewriter repairman is of a dying age and won’t be around forever, so if you should have a machine that needs to be fixed, I think you should do it sooner than later.”

However, for those who want to take on the challenge of restoration on their own, Brady & Kowalski posted two articles on their website that originally appeared in a 1977 issue of Reader’s Digest that will help DIYers get a grip on basic cleaning and troubleshooting.

Also based in Brooklyn NY is Kasbah Mod, the biggest retailer of ace-quality vintage typewriters in NYC. It takes restoration and customization to new levels with signature pieces that include their artist series and its blingly metal collection of chrome- and gold-plated machines.

Chase S. Gilbert, chief creative officer for Kasbah Moderne, believes typewriters are timelessly fashionable, and they provide a tactile/analog experience that improves creative focus for writers. When asked what inspired him to get into the restoration business, he explains: “In the same way that Steve Jobs was fascinated by transforming the iDevice from simply being a content-displayer to a content-creator, I believe typewriters have a long creative life ahead of them. And the next generation of 20-somethings—with their affinity for Apple-branded good looks and Apple-engineered simplicity of use—are going to make that happen.”

This is an interesting thought, especially since the cost of a beautifully restored Kasbah Moderne typewriter carries the same price tag as a tricked out iPad. But Gilbert has a unique marketing plan that positions his company as an aspirational brand. Kasbah Modern is available through invitation-only flash sales sites that laser-targets young affluent consumers.

A very glam, gold-plated vintage typewriter by Kasbah Mod.

Interested in learning more or where to shop? Read on:

• myTypewriter.com, the classic typewriter store, is only available online. They are the gold standard when it comes to fully restored machines. They also sell ribbon, pads, instruction manuals and vintage keypad jewelry.

• You can peruse Brady & Kowalski’s current inventory on Etsy and weekends at Brooklyn Flea. Restored with writers in mind, function is more important than form with these dealers so you can expect to find “work horse” typewriters.

• You can take a peek at Kasbah Mod’s signature pieces on its website. Once per month, its collection is available for purchase on the invitation-only flash sale site: Fab.com and occasionally on larger deal sites, including Gilt Groupe.

Below is a list of additional sites that sell restored vintage typewriters:

Vintage Typewriter Shoppe
www.vintagetypewritershoppe.com

Brooklyn Retro
www.etsy.com/shop/BrooklynRetro?ref=seller_info

Mr Typewriter
www.mrtypewriter.tripod.com/smithcoronamainsale.htm

DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Magic: The Gathering cards. Some of the early cards, issued in the early 1990s and were discontinued, could be worth some major money. If you come across some of these cards in the flea market or estate sale searches, it may be worth the two dollars to buy them up. There may be a $500 card in there.

When I was in college back in the halcyon days of the early 1990s, I remember sitting in a literature class waiting for the professor to arrive. A couple of students were talking about a new card game that they had been playing, describing mechanics and how it was packaged kind of like baseball cards.

You had to buy a “starter” deck and then smaller “booster” packs to build up your collection, and from that collection you made a custom deck with which to play the game. It was called Magic: The Gathering, designed by Richard Garfield and published by a then obscure company called Wizards of the Coast, now a subsidiary of Hasbro.

Being a game player, I had to check it out for myself. I went to every comic and game shop in town and it was sold out everywhere—not necessarily due to blockbuster sales, but also because the initial print runs (now referred to as the “Alpha” and “Beta” sets) were small. My birthday arrived after a couple of months of fruitless searching, and my girlfriend at the time gave me a pile of Japanese comic books. I told her about the game, and she said “oh yeah, they had that on the counter at the shop when I bought these books. I raced to the store and sure enough, they had both the mythical starters and boosters. I bought everything they had.

Over the next couple of years, my group of friends became completely enamored with the game, as did many game players and even some folks from outside of the hobby. Magic became a hot commodity, not just for those who actually used the cards, but for those who saw them as a valuable collectible. Certain cards out of the initial sets that were discontinued—namely the fabled “Black Lotus” and “Mox” stones, along with a few other rarities would become known as the Power Nine—and were fetching prices into the thousands of dollars for full sets. Speculation was rife, and shops that typically traded in traditional collectibles, such as sports memorabilia and coins, were selling cards with a gold-rush mentality, often marking up packs well over retail. New expansion sets were released and quickly sold out, driving the price of individual, sought-after cards through the roof.

The Black Lotus card.

The Mox Sapphire card.

A tournament scene developed, along with an online community that sprung up right around the time that the Internet broke big into the mainstream. Demand for specific cards and combinations of cards exploded as competition flourished. Shops could often make more profit by breaking open the packs and selling the cards individually. A $3-pack of 15 cards might have had a single card worth $25, $30 or even $50 in it. I used to play on Friday nights at a local Denny’s restaurant and the manager of a local game shop would come in with binders filled with singles for sale. He’d leave with more cash in hand than his business likely made that day.

It was an exciting time because the game was red hot and anyone playing games was at least playing casually. I recall going to games and comic conventions in the mid-1990s and there would literally be people sitting in the floor, lining the hallways of the venues, playing the game or engaging in the commerce that it engendered. The money that was changing hands over it was thrilling, and trading cards with other players was as much of a game as the game itself. It was a new frontier for gaming, a completely new concept: the collectible card game (CCG).

Other collectible card games rushed to market. TSR promoted Spellfire, its attempt to move Dungeons and Dragons into the CCG market, but it was badly designed. Fly-by-night publishers shilled any number of CCGs with garish fantasy art and crude game-play, all attempting to convince retailers, the collectors market and game players that these were the next Magic. None were, and not even Richard Garfield’s follow-up games—a CCG based on the popular Battletech property and the brilliant William Gibson-esque Netrunner—failed to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle that was Magic.

Magic 2011 Core Set boxed sets. Will any of these cards be worth more than any others? Probably not, but players and collectors will be buying them anyway.

Very few collectible card games have managed to come anywhere near the sensation or long-term viability that Magic created. Kid’s games, like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, have had success, but their popularity in recent years has waned along with the rising popularity and accessibility of video games and other digital surrogates. When I was running my game shop from 2004-08, there were still publishers trying desperately to convince me and other retailers that their game was the next Magic. I’ve seen so many CCGs—some very good, most very bad—come and go, but none will ever have the lasting impact or long-standing value that the original article had. Magic is still widely played every day in game shops, in dorms and on dining room tables.

For the collector, yard-sale picker or attic excavator today, Magic cards can still command surprising value and shouldn’t be overlooked. Early sets, such as the aforementioned Alpha and Beta print runs—along with the subsequent Unlimited printing—are very sought after, expensive and rare. Likewise, cards from early expansion sets that haven’t been reprinted in the game’s nearly 20-year history of publication can be quite expensive. The card that some kid used as a bookmark in that book you found at a thrift store could be worth $500. But more common cards—and there are millions of them likely in circulation—could be literally worthless.

Watch this space over the coming weeks for some tips on how to collect, assess and evaluate Magic singles and collections. There could be gold in them thar cards!

Michael Barnes is a lifelong game player, collector and enthusiast. He has parlayed his passion for games into several successful ventures, including a retail hobby store, two popular gaming Websites, and 10 years of widely read commentary and criticism about both tabletop and video games.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This ring, made from a piece of silverware, may be rare, if you are considering it only as a piece of jewelry, made by a specific person. But the pattern was mass-produced and there may be hundreds or thousands of these rings out there. You just don’t know.

How can you tell a true antique dealer with years of experience from someone who is just trying to make a buck under the antique dealer label? One tip-off is how often they use the words “rare,” “one-of-a-kind” or stating that everything in the shop is an “antique.”

I remember reading an article by Harry Rinker in a 2007 that included some wisdom that struck me, so much so that I have incorporated it into my list of things to consider when buying; whether for my myself or for my store. He said that anything made from 1950 on is not rare, although I can’t remember the phrase, exactly, to directly quote him.

It is a real pet peeve of mine when people use “rare,” “one-of-a-kind” and “antique” to describe an item for no other reason than to use the terms. I guess it is possible that they really don’t know what they have, what decade or era it is from and are clueless in general, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. I also see these terms used all the time in an online forum relating to antiques and collectibles I frequent. Many times, the customer has been fed these terms by an appraiser, sometimes it is a friend or their own online research.

The terms “rare” and “one-of-a-kind” are should be used very conservatively and only when one is beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt-positive that this is accurate information. This is generally not something that your 8-to-5 seller can say with all certainty. Even with my decades of experience and study, and attending as many auctions, shops and sales as I do, I can’t recall the last time I used these three phrases to describe and object, other than for a one-of-a-kind item I personally created (thus, I know it’s one of a kind).

Author’s Note: In the Tariff Act of 1930, the U.S. Customs defined an antique as an object that was made before 1830, when mass production became commonplace. In 1966, the standard of 100 years old was adopted as the defining characteristic to determine if an object was an antique and its import would be duty-free. Before this standard was implemented, importers often claimed all types of objects as “antiques” to avoid the tax. On Dec. 8, 1993, Title VI of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), also known as the Customs Modernization or “Mod Act,” became effective. These provisions amended many sections of the Tariff Act of 1930 and related laws. One key change to the Act concerns restoration. “Provided they retain their original character, the heading includes antique articles that have been repaired or restored. For example, the heading includes antique furniture incorporating parts of modern manufacture. However, if the essential character is changed, or more than 50 percent of the item has been repaired or restored, the item is no longer considered an antique and is subject to duty.”

A vintage photograph date 1909 of a female dentist performing a tooth extraction in her office. The photo is described as “rare.” Is the photo rare, or is the female dentist in 1909 rare?

The word antique is batted around more than the birdie in a game of badminton. It is used and abused and in this age of mass-reproduced “antique” items that it misleads the novice collector and buyer. There are other words that can be used and are probably more appropriate in most circumstances; vintage and retro are two quite nice descriptive words. If an item is really a “collectible,” that too is a suitable word to describe an item.

OK Michelle, what set you off on this tangent of terminology? Why, thank you for asking; it has been building for awhile. What pushed me over the edge, though, was “A Rare, One of a Kind, Antique Elephant Figurine” that popped up on to my Facebook page from a supposedly reputable antique shop site.

Curious person that I am—and one always open to learning new things—I went to the page to see this magnificent specimen. For the love of Mike, it was a 1970s ceramic elephant figurine of unmarked origin. It was cute, but that is where it began and ended. Of course, I left a comment for the seller stating that her description was way off base and the war of the words began.

Part of what I love about my chosen profession as an antique dealer is educating people. I believe that it is part of my job to educate new collectors and the new generation of buyers. I admit to not knowing it all, but I do know quite a bit and I am always striving to learn more.

If we continue to sit on our laurels and let misinformation like this continue, we are not doing the industry any justice what so ever. We are perpetuating the lies and misinformation online but it’s being told and sold to people in antique shops.

I searched for “rare” in the antiques category on eBay and had 30,025 items show up in the search results. This included a “rare” Wallace Silver-plate Charger; photocopies of “rare” vintage and antique photographs (the quantity of five or more is a giveaway); and “rare” 1970 Gorham Snowflake ornaments (three others on eBay). Anyway, you can see where I am going with this (and I only looked at one page of the search results). Granted, there may be some very rare items up for sale, but overuse of this term can lead new collectors to not trust anyone. The same thing happened with Depression and carnival glass because of all the reproductions being sold as “antique.”

The listing says “This is a huge white enamelware pot with original lid. It has two great big handles on the kettle and a big handle on the lid. One of a kind!” If it was mass-produced, it’s not one of a kind.

Now, for a “one of a kind” search, I only hit on 420 results—most of which are works of art. But there was some furniture, too, all without provenance. If you have a one-of-a-kind piece, at the very least offer up some provenance. I did recently do an appraisal on a moondial crafted by the customer’s father. He had only created five of these award-winning pieces, and besides being functional, they were absolute works of art. She wanted to sell one, and she had lots of provenance on the piece (official a one-of-five-of-a-kind) but I could not give her an appraisal value because nothing like it had been sold on the open market. I anxiously await the auction results.

I do not mean to be catty or hateful with this article; I just want to draw attention to a matter that has become epidemic in the sale of antiques, collectibles, vintage, retro and memorabilia items. Know who you are buying from and get a written certification or rarity. Do your homework and please correct people if you see these terms being misused.

Happy shopping!

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

While some people believe themselves above shopping in a thrift store, I have found that you can find great antiques and collectibles for great prices.

Oh, how I love the thrill of the hunt in a thrift store. It is almost as good as a big church rummage sale. My multiple decades of thrift-store shipping have garnered such items as a Coach handbag for 50¢, a beautiful Lladró figurine $5, antique drop-front and roll-top desks for less than $100 each and a wide variety of items that sell quickly and bring a nice profit. Not everything I purchase ends up for sale, as I do hang on to quite a few thrift store purchases. Even hubby has been bitten by the thrift store bug, as he finds name-brand clothing for himself that is new with tags or barely worn.

Thrift stores have been given a pretty bad rap:

• Some people feel that thrift store shopping is “beneath” them;
• Thrift stores are dirty;
• They sell nothing but cheap, broken junk;
• Stores are disorganized and good items are impossible to find.

While some thrift stores do meet some or all of the above criteria, it is certainly not apply all of them; I cannot speak for those who feel they are too “good” to enter the doors of a thrift store. Many thrift stores are nice and clean with no funky aroma, clothing has been laundered, inventory is clean, electronic and mechanical items have been tested and any chipped or repaired items are noted as such. As you begin thrifting in your area, you will learn which thrift stores meet your specific criteria and which don’t. I personally have no criteria when it comes to thrift stores: I just put on my big girl panties and make my way through the doors; I have found wonderful items in stores that few people would have the gumption to enter.

Generally, there are two types of thrift store: non-profit (religious organizations, charities) and for profit (owned by individuals to turn a profit). My experience has been that the charity stores have a higher turn-over in inventory and, with a couple of exceptions, their inventory is of a higher quality and the prices are lower. For-profit thrift stores (once again, this is my personal observation), tend to have higher prices, lower quality goods and inventory so old that the price tags themselves are probably worth more on the collectible market than the item they are on.

Blackwell’s Thrift Shop in Kansas City, Mo., offers great finds in a nice, clean and appealing store, despite its location in a run-down part of town.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. One of my all-time favorite thrift stores is an amazing family owned shop in Kansas City, Mo., called “Blackwell’s.” While in one of the worst parts of town, it is as neat as a pin, very organized and the prices cannot be beat. Over the past 27 years, I have furnished more than one kitchen and dining room for my daughters as well as secured many wedding gifts with items purchased from Mrs. Blackwell. She has a big oak barrel in the back filled to overflowing with lids. You name it and she probably has a lid for it.

I especially like hitting thrift stores when I travel. If you are going out of state, you stand the chance of finding nice, inexpensive regional items. On a recent trip to Colorado I went to the Nazarene Thrift Store in Monte Vista. Besides the words “Thrift Store,” what caught my eye was an amazing window display of colorful ski boots and skis. Since I was not really in to breaking my neck on the trip, I was not in the market to purchase such items. But I was extremely interested to see what they priced in a thrift store. I know that ski items can be extremely expensive when purchased new, but the thrift store had them priced at significantly less than half of retail (I had my laptop in the car to look-up retail prices). They even had a pair of vintage Ski Pees for $29.99, these resale for around $125.

This particular part of Colorado supported several turquoise mines through the 1970s and I am always in the market for turquoise and silver jewelry, yet the retail store prices were beyond ridiculous. All of the thrift stores I visited had a nice inventory of turquoise and silver pieces, although, sadly, nothing really caught my eye. Still, the prices were amazingly low.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: When you travel, be sure to seek out a thrift store for great regional purchases, inexpensive souvenir items or items you need just for the trip. On a recent road trip I needed a humidifier and headed to the thrift store to make the purchase. The cost was $5. On my way out of town, I re-donated the humidifier and received a store credit for the purchase amount and used it to purchase some books. Two of them were Christmas gifts.

One of the things to keep in mind when you shop at a non-profit thrift store is that the money you spend is going to a good cause. I

One of the things to keep in mind when you shop at a non-profit thrift store is that the money you spend is going to a good cause. I visited with Deborah at the Nazarene Thrift Store and she told me that they opened the shop four years ago. The money the store brings in goes to services the church provides to the local community, local charities, food banks and worldwide missions. To date in 2011, they have given away $85,000 in goods and services. We were in the back storage area of the shop while we visited and straight away I noticed how neat and clean even the back of the store was. Deborah pointed to two large, overhead storage areas piled high with large trash bags brimming with an assortment of items. She indicated that the store worked with another local business who sent the items to impoverished and developing countries. It makes you feel pretty good about shopping when you know that your money is going to help others.

You do have to practice a certain amount of restraint when thrifting, as it is very easy to buy items you will never use or sell just because the price is low. It is also helpful if you know the retail prices on new items. There is a large chain of non-profit thrift stores intended to “save” you money and on a recent visit I noticed a very worn Old Navy T-shirt priced at $12. If purchased new, this very shirt is only $5. This particular store is no longer on my list of shops to visit due to their overall high prices. Be sure to check your purchases over really well for tears, chips, cracks and other defects as most stores have a no refund policy. You can try to haggle on prices but those days are pretty much gone. If the item you want to purchase has a defect of some sort it doesn’t hurt to ask if they can give you a discount.

Get on out and visit your local thrift stores you might be very surprised (good or bad) at what you will find.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Do you have a daughter or niece who is in college or just starting out? A dinner set of mismatched china is a fun way to help her get started on her own and might also get her started as an antiquer or collector.

I know it’s getting late, but if you still have some shopping to do, please rethink shopping the big box stores for your Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and other gift giving occasions. There are wonderful and unique gift items to be found in your local antique shops. Not only would you be giving a gift that is unique and personal but you would also be helping your community by spending money in a locally owned business and the tax money generated would stay in the community.

NOTE: From the 3/50 Project; 1) Pick three local independently owned businesses you would miss if they were gone. Drop in, say hi and purchase an item or two; 2) If half of the employed people in the U.S. spent $50 a month in locally owned, independent small businesses it would generate approximately $42.6 billion in revenue; 3) Pick 3, spend 50, save the local economy.

Most modern day antique shops/antique malls are not filled with musty, dusty, grandmother stuff. Let me rephrase that: you may see items that your grandmother had in her home, but hopefully the musty and dusty is gone. It is possible to find something for everyone on your shopping list and the recipient will know that you really gave their gift some thought and chances are pretty good that the gift will be something that will be proudly displayed, worn or otherwise utilized and not relegated to a closet or be regifted next year.

I gave my mamma a first-edition of “Racketty-Packetty House” that she loved as a child. When she opened it, it brought her to tears. If your gift can bring the recipient to tears, you know you have made the perfect gift.

If the recipient is a collector, this makes finding a meaningful gift so much easier. If they are not a collector, then hopefully they have a hobby and you can find a hobby-related item. If your gift recipient does not fall in to either one of those categories, then let the fun of antique shop browsing begin. My mamma was always the easiest person for me to buy for because she collected paperweights, elephants, dolls, antique baby feeding dishes and books. She spoke often about a book that she loved when she was a child titled “Racketty-Packetty House.” I thought it would be an easy book to find, but all I could find were recent reprints. It took a local book seller seven years to find an old copy for me. It happened to be a first edition and it brought mamma to tears when she opened it. If your gift can bring the recipient to tears, you know you have made the perfect gift.

If the giftee collects something that is easy to find such as elephants, turn finding the perfect elephant item in to a personal challenge. Don’t purchase just another figurine look for something unique with the animal on it.

• With minimal sewing skills, you can turn a vintage handkerchief in to a sweet pillow;
• Frame a vintage hanky for a wonderful wall hanging ;
• Find a unique piece of art, works of art do not have to be expensive, find a nice lithograph or print;
• Find a piece of jewelry that incorporates the collected item or hobby;
• You can rarely go wrong with books.

Here are a few alternative ideas:

Put together a nice gift basket with a variety of items for the table and kitchen with a vintage set of salt and pepper shakers, a couple of old kitchen utensils and a vintage apron or tea towels. What about a shadow box collage containing old ephemeral items, or vintage golf balls and tees for a golf enthusiast? This same concept works well for any sport or you can combine items from all sports for someone who is a general sports enthusiast. While it is not a good idea to purchase old toys for kids—even though most of us survived playing with them—the collage concept is a good great item for children just find a variety of items that show the interests of the child. I have made several baby shower gifts using an inexpensive shadow box, old feeding spoons, vintage baby shower cards and other small baby-related items. Let your imagination run wild with this it is a fun gift to create, unique and from the heart.

If you are close to the gift recipient and know that they are in need of small tables, lamps or even a matching set of dinnerware, these too make wonderful gift items and will not break the bank. We have gifted a couple of sets of vintage china and continue to get feedback when they find a new piece to add to their set of china. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

NOTE: If you purchase an electrical item from any type of secondhand store, please get it rewired. A friend of mine bought a great vintage TV lamp and one evening, while the lamp was turned off still but plugged in, she saw a flash and the little lamp caught on fire.

Instead of a unimaginative cardboard box, wouldn’t any gift be twice as nice if presented in a vintage candy tin, such as this?

Antique shops are also wonderful places to find non-traditional ways to wrap gifts. For small items, you can find a beautiful old tin or line a vintage canning jar with tissue paper and place the gift inside. Old baskets are terrific for gifting multiple items. I have even used beautiful old pillowcases and hankies to wrap gifts. This way you are essentially giving two gifts in one.

I am not trying to persuade you to never buy online again. Heck, I have an online antique shop and would never do that. Big box stores are here to stay, even though it is very easy to find what you are looking for without setting foot in one. I just believe that it is important during these economic times to spend money with local independent small businesses and the holiday season is the perfect time to put that in to practice.

NOTE: For every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 is returned to the community in taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If the same amount is spent at a national chain, only $43 stays local. (Source:The 3/50 Project)

Sure, it is easier to shop online. But getting to know a local antique dealer is always an excellent idea. You never know when you will have questions about an item you own or are looking for something special. If you are a good customer, it is highly probable that the local shop owner will be more than happy to help you in any way possible.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

Ki Nassauer’s in her natural habitat; the junk yard. No wonder she’s been called the “Martha Stewart of junk.”

Here is the dirty truth; Ki Nassauer has made a career out of junk. Her talent for reinventing curbside castoffs and flea market finds into stylish and clever decorative items has resulted in Ki being dubbed the “Martha Stewart of junk.”

Nassauer first established herself as a tastemaker with JunkMarket. a monthly sale she stocked and merchandised that featured vintage and repurposed items. The event attracted thousands of shoppers. Soon after she co-authored two books—“Decorating JunkMarket Style” and “Junk Beautiful” —which resulted in guest appearances on HGTV’s “Country Style” series and the “TODAY” show. Now, Nassauer is the editor and chief of Flea Market Style magazine, a glossy quarterly that is brimming with vintage and antique shopping tips, repurposing projects, and home decor ideas.

But wait, there’s more. Ki’s additional projects include her partnership with Etsy, the world’s most vibrant handmade and vintage marketplace. Together, they power Junk Bonanza, a juried, three-day vintage market event known as the best junk roundup in the Midwest. And, if that was not enough, Nassauer also created Junk Revolution, the only online community for junk enthusiasts who believe in the power of rescuing, reusing and re-imaging stuff that has been kicked to the curb. Recently, Ki took a little time out of her schedule to tell us more about her junk empire.

DeDe Sullivan: How did you get the junk bug?

Ki Nassauer: For as long as I can remember, I was always attracted to neighbor’s garages, hardware stores and free stuff along the side the road but had no idea that was a sign of a career in the making. It wasn’t until I had my own garage sale did I realize how much fun it could be and the income potential sealed the deal.

Sullivan: Tell me more about the garage sale that changed your career path.

Nassauer: I had a garage sale. We were moving and downsizing so we had lots of junk to get rid of. I spent weeks getting ready for it, which included merchandising the stuff. After the three-day sale we sold almost $11,000 dollars of stuff. A light bulb went off.

Sullivan: So, based on your first garage sale, you had the big idea for JunkMarket, a monthly vintage sale you put together. Can you tell us more about how this got started?

Nassauer: I heard about Rose, a woman in a town nearby having vintage furniture sales once a month in her shop called Second Hand Rose. What a great idea! I could spend the month buying, fixing and merchandising and open for three days just like my garage sale. I rented a warehouse one mile from my home, bought a small trailer and sent out a postcard to 50 friends and family.

Sullivan: What were you doing before you became the “Martha Stewart of Junk?”

Nassauer: I owned a women’s clothing store for 25 years. When I closed my store, I freelanced as a designer for several large retailers, which proved to be difficult since I was used to being my own boss.

Sullivan: Did your previous career help prep you for what you are doing now?

Nassauer: Absolutely! Working in retail helps you develop and refine your skills in communication, merchandising and design. I draw on that experience every day.

Sullivan: Tell us about Junk Revolution.

Nassauer: I wanted to offer a free place for like-minded junkers and vintage enthusiasts to share their stories, ideas and tricks of the trade. Junk Revolution community members are knowledgeable, friendly and supportive. They constantly remind me of why I love junkers so much!

Sullivan: You also have another project called Junk Bonanza.

Nassauer: Junk Bonanza is a juried vintage, antique and junk sale in its seventh year. The Bonanza has more than 140 vendors and is held at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, ever September. [Click here for a great video]

Ki’s living room. Note the shelves she created using discarded vintage suitcases. Brilliant!

Ki Nassauer’s in her natural habitat; the junk yard. No wonder she’s been called the “Martha Stewart of junk.”

Sullivan: What are the criteria for being a vendor?

Nassauer: It is important to offer our attendees a balanced selection of styles, products, categories and inspiration. All items must be 40 years old or older, which eliminates reproductions and new flea market merchandise. We are fortunate to have a long vendor wait list and are able to maintain superb quality from year to year.

Sullivan: Are you going to take Junk Bonanza to other cities?

Nassauer: We are actually considering expanding Junk Bonanza to other cities. We are just in the initial research phase, so it will take some time to determine, where, when and how.

Sullivan: Do you have an overall retail and pricing philosophy for Junk Bonanza?

Nassauer: Since I don’t have control over vendor pricing, I try to make sure we have vendors that sell merchandise in all price point categories. You can find something for 50 cents or something for $1,000 at the Bonanza. We are known for having good prices, as proven by the number of stores and dealers attending from across the country buying and shipping product back to resell.

Sullivan: Let’s talk about Flea Market Magazine. Home décor magazines have taken a beating over the last several years. Many magazines, including Domino and Country Home, have folded. What is your recipe for continued success?

Nassauer: If you stop and think about it, magazine content is just a vehicle to deliver ads. Sad but true. When businesses cut back on advertising, magazines, even the good ones couldn’t sustain the financial loss. Flea Market Style does not depend on advertising dollars to maintain profitability. It just needs to sell on the newsstands, so keep buying! Every issue we put together must have original ideas, tons of useful content and inspiration on every page.

Sullivan: When will the next issue be available and how can people pre-order?

Nassauer: Our spring issue should be on newsstands the end of February and preorders will be available on our blog sometime in January.

Sullivan: Do you sense any upcoming junk trends brewing?

Nassauer: Industrial is selling strong right now, but I predict a cleaner, more modern and simplistic style will be the next big thing.

Sullivan: OK, if you had to pick another career, what would it be?

Nassauer: Florist.

Sullivan: Before we wrap this interview, drop a few words of wisdom on us!

Nassauer: Here is one from my Dad: “Don’t just sit there, do something, even if it turns out to be wrong!”

To purchase back issues of Flea Market Style, click here.

DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

When you walk into the Cure Thrift Shop on East 12th Street in New York City this month, you will be greeted by a Christmas tree placed behind what looks like a child’s tea party waiting to happen.

This Christmahanukwanzakah season, New York City’s Cure Thrift Shop makes doing good as you shop as simple as counting one-two-three. First, every purchase made benefits the Diabetes Research Institute, an organization solely devoted to curing diabetes. Second, if you don’t live anywhere near NYC, where this store resides, no worries; you can shop online. And third, it stocks the perfect gift for any picky retrophile on your list: gift certificates.

Liz Wolff, the shop’s founder took a little time out her busy holiday retail schedule to tell us more about Cure Thrift Shop and its retail mission.

DeDe Sullivan: First off, how did you get the junk bug? We understand you are a fourth-generation thriftie?

Liz Wolff: I am a fourth-generation garage saler/garbage picker. My mother dragged me around to garage sales in our small community in Rockaway Beach, Queens, every Saturday morning for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I didn’t realize that my friends didn’t rearrange furniture in the middle of dinner or move mirrors, art and tchotchkes around each week to make room for the new “finds.”

I didn’t necessarily love it, but it was all that I knew. When I was 17 years old, I moved into my own apartment in Manhattan and began attending Hunter College to study stage design. That’s when my obsession began. In between classes, I scoured all of the Manhattan thrift shops to find items to decorate my apartment. I learned the bulk garbage collection nights in my neighborhood and would run around, moving chairs, lamps, seven-foot Christmas soldiers—anything that I could find—into my tiny, third-floor walk-up studio. I lived for the thrill of the hunt.

Sullivan: We are kindred spirits. I memorized the garbage collection schedule for the entire West side. Why did you start Cure Thrift Shop?

Wolff: I realized pretty quickly that I was finding extremely valuable merchandise in the local thrift shops and in the garbage. Without any training in antiques and collectibles, I turned to eBay to learn the value of items. I would constantly visit the “completed listings” section on eBay and search keywords like “vintage T-shirt” and “Mid-Century chair” and sort the listings by highest price first to find the most sought-after and valuable items. At 19 years old, I began to sell my finds on eBay.

Although I held “regular” jobs at the 92nd Street Y and Origins during the day, I spent my evenings for the next two years making eBay my focus. I eventually started selling stuff for my friends and neighbors in my building for a commission of the final sale price. Coming from a business-driven family, I knew that I had to take my passion for buying and reselling further than my laptop and eBay. I wanted my own storefront. But, I had to be realistic. As much as I loved thrifting and was good at it, I knew absolutely nothing about the business behind running a thrift shop.

In December of 2005, I applied to one of Manhattan’s top non-profit thrift shops to become its store manager. I worked there for a year and a half, learning everything that I possibly could about the charitable thrift industry. In the spring of 2007, I decided that I was ready to open my own shop. As a Type 1 (juvenile) diabetic since age 11, there wasn’t a second thought about opening a thrift shop to benefit juvenile diabetes research. At 23 years old, I incorporated, took a deep breath, and began my journey. Exactly one year later, in July of 2008, Cure Thrift Shop opened its doors on East 12th Street.

Owner Liz Wolff set up Cure Thrift Shop to feel homey and cozy. We think she did a great job.

Sullivan: I can tell that you really love what you do. The store is so warm and inviting. Plus you really have fantastic merchandise in the store and online. Do you edit what gets sold here?

Wolff: We absolutely edit what gets sold at Cure Thrift Shop. We receive thousands of incredibly generous donations each year, but we are occasionally forced to turn down items. We sift through every single donation carefully to ensure that our customers are purchasing clean, quality merchandise.

Sullivan: Is the entire inventory only from donations?

Wolff: Ninety-eight percent of the merchandise at Cure is donated. My sister and my mother still enjoy their Saturday morning routine at garage sales. But now, they bring their finds directly into the shop and not into their homes. I like to say that the store has been our “cure” for the thrift obsession.

Sullivan: Do you have an overall retail and pricing philosophy for Cure? How do you determine pricing?

Wolff: We don’t have a set pricing system like “vases are $3, dressers are $19.99, etc.” We like to make everything extremely affordable, but profitable for the shop. Most of our items are researched on WorthPoint’s Worthopedia and eBay. These are both extremely reliable pricing sources because they let us know what merchandise is actually worth to buyers and what they are willing to spend. Then, we generally price items a bit below that level. Occasionally, I will throw more valuable pieces onto the floor for a very low price to let a fellow thrifter have the ultimate “find.” I think of it as thrift karma.

Sullivan: I love it! Every thrift store should put a little thrift karma out there! How do you define success at Cure?

Wolff: Success is working towards our mission to cure juvenile diabetes and the atmosphere that we work hard to create here in the shop. We try to make the store feel like a dream or a memory. All of our furniture and collectibles are set up like real-life homes and not neat, squeaky-clean showrooms. You will often find us sitting on a couch, chatting with our customers with a cup of coffee, as if we were in our own homes, catching up with friends. The store is my entire life. It’s my home.

Sullivan: How do people find you? How do you promote the shop?

Wolff: We have not advertised Cure Thrift Shop at all. We have solely relied on word of mouth and our blog. We blog daily on Tumblr and are about to reach 20,000 followers, gaining 100-200 new followers each day.

Sullivan: Your Tumblr page is a lot of fun. The images are great and it really captures the spirit of the shop. This leads me to ask, who is your customer?

Cure Thrift Shop is located in NYC’s East Village in a whopping 6,000 square foot space.

Wolff: Our customer is literally everyone. From junior high school girls looking to buy Forever 21 dresses for a few bucks, to little old ladies who are looking for Capodimonte, to recent college grads looking to spruce up their converted two-bedroom share, to A-list celebrities. We have them all. Since we have such a huge selection that is so easy to navigate, we literally have something for everyone. Often times, people do not even realize that they have wandered into a thrift shop. On the clothing floor of the shop, our merchandise is hung on wooden hangers. Customers will often ask if we have a particular item in a different size or color, as if we are J. Crew or the Gap. It makes us giggle and feel proud about what we have created.

Sullivan: What was the “oddest” thing you ever sold?

Wolff: We have sold plenty of “odd” things. But, the standout item was a book. No, not just any old book. A woman who had recently lost her boyfriend approached me in the shop. She asked if we could come by and pick up some furniture and several boxes of books. We picked everything up and brought the donation into the shop. Since there were so many boxes of books, we were not able to get to them all immediately. After about three weeks, we got around to pricing the last box. As I lifted one book out of the large cardboard box, I noticed that it had a little heft to it. I opened the book to discover that the pages were carved out to house a 9mm handgun. Of course, I immediately turned it into the police and spent the next two hours being interrogated about my discovery at the local precinct.

Another store vignette that features what we and guarantee is not one of Santa’s reindeer.

Sullivan: Yikes! And I thought you were going to say you had a first edition “Gone With The Wind” with the original book jacket. Do you sense any upcoming vintage trends brewing? Do your customers come in asking for a specific style?

Wolff: The items that we are selling the most of right now are industrial pieces. Old, heavy floodlights, tin boxes, old tools, etc. The industrial look is really in right now. I am really enjoying this trend because I’ve loved decorating with these objects for years.

Sullivan: What vintage trend that is not really happening now would you like to see bubble to the surface?

Wolff: I would love to see younger people decorate with arts and crafts pottery more. Just a few simple pieces added to the Mid-Century/industrial look can really add something special. I often try to incorporate older pottery into these scenes, but most people just don’t get it. I think that they would prefer a modern Jonathan Adler vase to a Roseville any day.

Sullivan: Personally, I have both! OK, if you had to pick another career what would it be?

Wolff: As a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist. Thinking about it now. I guess that’s what led me on my path because the “thrift hunt” is just like an archaeological dig. If I could choose another career, I would absolutely be an archaeologist.

Sullivan: Thanks Liz and happy holidays to you and the entire Cure team!

.

DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

One of my planned stops was at The Old Hardware Store—the oldest hardware store in Kansas—but it was closed . . . on a Tuesday morning! (photo courtesy of The Old Hardware Store)

I recently went on a two-week trip to south-central Colorado. The reason for the trip was two-fold; 1) to visit my youngest daughter; and 2) to visit as many antique shops as I could and try to gauge how the shops are faring and what the owners have in inventory. This was my first trip to this particular area of Colorado and I was venturing in to new antique territory in Kansas, as well. I was up for the adventure.

The rubber hit the highway early on a Tuesday morning. I figured I could get a few hours on the road before my first antique shop stop. I was taking two-lane county roads out of my home city of Kansas City, Kan., so that I would be traveling through small towns, thinking it should increase the probability of finding some antique shops.

My tried and true shops in Emporia, Kan., were all closed! I’m not sure what the deal is on that, as I got to Emporia around 11 a.m., and it was on a Tuesday. So on down the road I went. I really wanted to visit the The Old Hardware Store—the oldest hardware store in Kansas—in Halstead. The last few times I have been to Halstead, the hardware/antique shop has been closed and—of course—it would be no different on this trip. I was once again relegated to peering through the windows, admiring the few items I could see.

It was time to start heading west on Highway 150/50. I have previously traveled only a short distance down this stretch of road and it is absolutely beautiful, driving through the Flint Hills with sprawling ranches on either side of the road. One can’t help but think what went through the minds of pioneers as they crested some of these hills that seem to roll on forever.

Finally I enter a small town—the name of which escapes me now, as I passed through so many—but this one looked promising. Sitting almost side-by-side are the cutest old homes that had been converted to antique shops. I entered the smaller of the two buildings and began my browsing.

After you have been doing this for a few decades, it is easy to do a quick scan and have certain items just pop out at you. There wasn’t much popping going on in the first shop. I have a thing for chairs and small bookcases and the few I saw were pretty beat-up with big prices on them. There were also some nice crocks but no prices, and I could not find anyone to ask for prices. I did the polite, “excuse me, hello,” thing, and not receiving a response, went to the louder, “hey is there anyone here” loud voice.

If I had been able to get into the Hardware Store, this is what I would have seen. (photo courtesy of The Old Hardware Store)

So I be-bop on over to the second shop, still with great hope in my little shopping heart, and what did my eyes fall upon but sloppily painted furniture . . . antique furniture with white paint all over it, brush marks and drips plainly visible. I don’t mind tearing down a nice piece of antique furniture to refinish it but I am not going to pay $350 for a sweet bookcase that is semi-slathered in white latex paint!

I must have made some type of audible gasp as the young woman working the shop said, “It is called shabby chic.” I know the definition of shabby chic, and this is one of two things: 1) the bookcase was in poor condition and the seller has no clue how to refinish furniture; or 2) there is a huge misconception that slathering a piece of antique furniture in white paint makes it “shabby chic.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: “Shabby chic” is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear, or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique. At the same time, a soft, minimalistic and feminine feel is emphasized to differentiate it from regular vintage decor; hence the “chic” in the name. Items are often heavily painted through the years, with many layers showing through obviously time-worn areas. The style is imitated in faux painting using glaze or by painting and then rubbing and sanding away the top coat to show the wood or base coats. (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

The shabby was there but chic is not the word I used when I saw this wonderful bookcase and the price that went with it. I continued to browse, but I think I was shell-shocked at this point and despite seeing a few items I had some interest in; I could not get the vision of the beautiful Art Deco-style bookcase in white out of my mind.

I am sad to say that the majority of my shopping stops followed in the same vein. There was more than their share of white furniture, extremely high prices or no prices, and new items and reproductions. I did see vintage wares, retro items and a few antiques but nothing I could not live without. The stores I visited in Colorado did fare somewhat better, but I was really hoping to find items that I cannot find at home. I did see a substantial amount of new western-motif items, and I love vintage western, especially dinnerware and fabric with cowboys and Indians on it. Give me Red Wing Rancho or Wallace China Chuck Wagon any day.

With great hope in my little shopping heart, eyes fell upon a sloppily painted bookcase, doused in white paint with brush marks and drips plainly visible.

The really sad thing about my shopping experience in Western Kansas, after getting over the painted furniture, is that these little towns are dying due to people and businesses moving elsewhere. Here are these folks who have been able to keep the doors to their antique shops open, but due to the quality of their wares, the way they run their businesses and the prices, no one is buying. No money spent in small businesses equals no tax money for the town. The situation is so desperate that these towns will give you land on which to build a home so that you are shopping local, paying taxes and generating income for the towns. I drove through one ghost town that looked like when closing time came one day, everyone loaded up their cars and moved along.

By no means did I hit every single antique shop in every city and town. I did stop as often as possible—I passed a lot of stores with “Closed” signs visible. On my return trip, I drove on I-70 and got off the freeway several times to visit small town and shops after spotting their billboards on the side of the road. I returned home having purchased nothing in an antique shop during the entire trip . . . and in my world, that is virtually unheard of. It certainly shocked my hubby.

I already have plans to further explore Western Kansas, so please hide all the white-painted furniture, dust a little, price your inventory competitively and hire people who seem semi-interested in making a sale. I hope to make several purchases, but I’ll need some help from you.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

The cover of “Helen LaFrance / Folk Art Memories” (S & S Publishing) wraps one of the artist’s paintings around the book.

I recently entered a postpartum period, which usually refers to the time beginning immediately after the birth of a child and extending for several weeks beyond. This is actually pretty miraculous, since my oldest child is 38 years old! The postpartum period I’m speaking of began after I submitted the manuscript of the book I had just written for layout.

I had spent the last few months writing “Helen LaFrance / Folk Art Memories” (S & S Publishing) with Bruce Shelton, who introduced me to the self-taught Southern artist almost 20 years ago. Now, I find myself feeling somewhat up in the air, not knowing what form the actual book will take, and fantasizing ways to promote the finished product beyond its automatic placement on Amazon.com.

Helen LaFrance

The book is an intimate glimpse into the life and work of Helen LaFrance, whose specialty is visually recording a way of life that is fast disappearing. Born in Western Kentucky in 1919, LaFrance is the rare artist who is able to work deftly in more than one medium. She is an accomplished painter, quilter, wood carver and Biblical interpreter, however her real skill is her exceptional ability to connect with the viewer emotionally through the memories they share. She paints scenes of a time and place that many recall, but others respond to as well. These paintings fall into a category of American folk art known as Memory Painting.

With more than 200 photographs, the book introduces us to LaFrance and illustrates the range of the her work. Some of you may have met LaFrance in a chapter of my previous book, “Outsider Art of the South” (Schiffer Publishing) or already seen her evocative memory paintings. But, if you don’t know her, you will agree she is a remarkable artist whose boundless talent is becoming known beyond the prescient collectors and museums which have always been enthusiastic fans of her work. In the book, the art speaks for itself.

We spent July through October contacting people who owned the art we wanted to illustrate the book and then photographing it. Signed permissions had to be obtained from the owners to feature their collections in the book. Bruce Shelton made all the calls and did the legwork for these steps. On my last book, I had done pretty much everything myself, so it was great to have so much help this time around. John E. Orman, IV photographed most of the art and did a super job. They drove as far as Lexington, Atlanta and the mountains of North Carolina to get pictures. When the images I had previously photographed proved to be unusable, my dear friend Rozanne Folk of Historic Works happily traveled to Western Kentucky to shoot Shelton Chapel, LaFrance’s family’s church and cemetery, and Mayfield Cemetery’s famous Wooldridge Monuments, whose life-size statues influenced the artist as a child.

There were people who lived far away who agreed to photograph the paintings professionally or do it themselves, but some had trouble setting their cameras to the highest resolution necessary. There were some multiple attempts at this process because the size of the digital file was too small, resulting in an image that was no bigger than a postage stamp. I applaud the persistent ones who kept trying while I anxiously awaited their e-mails.

For me, the writing was the easy part. My first job was as a reporter for a daily newspaper, and writing was an integral part of every subsequent stint, from museum director to historic preservationist to art and antiques dealer. I had known the artist a fairly long time, enough to give her work in a sense of place, but I was not an intimate and she didn’t gush about herself or anything else. She was a somewhat reticent interview. Luckily, I was able to rely on a close family friend who had known her since childhood to fill in the blanks. To this day, this woman brings paints to the nursing home where the artist now resides.

“Church Picnic,” oil on canvas, 12 x 24 inches. (Courtesy of Shelton Gallery)

I also interviewed others who are true experts in the field of folk art. Their comments underscored the points I wanted to make as I recreated the artist’s context. One person I really wanted to speak with was Dr. Dennis C. Dickerson, Vanderbilt University professor and historiographer of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, for background on black churches. Shelton Chapel was on that circuit, and luckily for me, Nashville was the A.M.E. headquarters. But I had spent weeks trying to reach Dr. Dickerson by phone and then missed his sincere voice message that he’d been very busy with the annual conference and was just now returning my call.

I was crestfallen as our self-imposed deadline approached, but I noticed that this telephone number was not his office phone he gave in the message, but I called it anyway. Of course it was his home, and his wife answered. I had actually spoken with her before and had explained what I needed. I had probably convinced her that I wasn’t some deranged stalker because she told me that her husband was on his way to his office as we spoke. I immediately hopped in the car and drove downtown and waited until he arrived. Dr. Dickerson looked a little unnerved when I jumped up and said, “Sorry to ambush you, but I’m Kathy Shelton, and your wife told me you’d be coming in.” We had the best afternoon visiting.

Next came the tedious task of assembling the images. I had a table of contents, so I printed out the images and put them in envelopes according to each chapter, then I stalled . . . for weeks. I had to number the images in the order of where they would be placed, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. For some reason, this kind of work makes me gnash my teeth! Last minute images arrived and I worked at refining my writing . . . anything to keep from finishing this task. Finally, I just had to begin cataloging, assigning each image with a specific identifying number, and putting each one in its proper place in the text. I created a separate file for all the captions which corresponded with these numbers, noting the title of the work of art, the medium and dimensions, and the name of the person who owned it. So, in the end, there were at least three references or identifiers for each work of art. Grrrr!

I then had to ask a few highly respected people to provide some praise for my last book for the back jacket of this book. Embarrassed that I hadn’t kept in touch with one of these key people for almost a decade, I made the call anyway. Fortunately for me, he generously responded with, “What can I do for you? You can have whatever you want . . . even my body!” I told him it was the best offer I’d had all day. I am so lucky we have that kind of relationship and can enjoy good humor.

“Wash Day,” oil on canvas, 2 x 4 feet. (Private Collection, Miccosukee, Fla.)

I asked a few trusted editors to look over the manuscript for inconsistencies and errors and to offer suggestions for improvement. Then, on D-Day, I had to submit the manuscript without the Foreword because the person who was writing it and had written the Introduction to my last book is a gentlewoman and a scholar, but she is also a perfectionist. Lee Kogan, curator emerita, American Folk Art Museum in New York, was acquainted with Helen LaFrance and could have written a brilliant treatise on her and the entire genre of memory painting. Over several months, she asked me to send her countless images to illustrate her points and, like me, kept tweaking her writing. I gave gentle reminders that I had a deadline, but it had to be a certain way for her, as she said, before she would hit the send key. And so it is. What she wrote is both everything and more than I could have hoped.

Our layout people, Gwyn Kennedy Snider and Tessa Marshall of GKSCreative, “got it.” They understood exactly what I wanted the book cover to look like. Instead of planting a painting on the front jacket and maybe another one on the back, I wanted to take one painting, blow it up to 11 x 18 inches and wrap it around the hard cover book. I would sometimes preface expressing myself by saying, “This may be a little weird,” and Gwyn would say right away, “That’s OK. I like weird.” It never was that weird. We were thrilled with the book jacket and know their design will be wonderful. And then we will await the production of the finished book.

A favorite reminiscence about Helen LaFrance concerns one of my last visits with her, this time in a nursing home. LaFrance had commandeered a corner of the day room and made it into a studio. A nurse led us down a winding corridor and, when we reached her, said with some awe, “I didn’t know we had such a famous artist in residence.” LaFrance, with paint brush in hand, replied matter-of-factly without missing a beat, “You don’t.” Helen LaFrance looked no different from the way she did when I first met her almost 20 years earlier. She was still painting.

Bruce Shelton’s inventory may be found on the Shelton Gallery website and his GoAntiques store.

Kathy Moses Shelton, based in Nashville, Tenn., is owner of Just Looking, which specializes in American antiques, accessories and art (19th century to Modernism), silver, folk and outsider art, and whimsical things. She has also been a guest on Martha Stewart Living Television. You can also view her inventory on GoAntiques.com.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

This is the crock with fake Nebraska advertising that Red Wing dealer Bill Prock bought back in 2009.

Ever since a butter crock with a fake “Goodhue County Co-Operative” advertising stamp showed up at a chapter meeting a few years ago, Red Wing Collectors Society Trails West Chapter President Larry Birks has made it his mission to learn as much as he can about fake stamps and share his knowledge to help prevent people from buying a faked piece.

Although there are a few ways in which new advertising is being applied to old pieces of stoneware, such as laser engraving and paper labels, Birks says the most convincing fake ads are applied as an ultra-thin vinyl transfer. In many cases, these pieces are covered with a clear coat to give the appearance that the advertising stamp is under glaze.

This reproduction advertising stoneware is so well done that it’s fooling even the most advanced collectors. Back in 2009, after seeing some photos, longtime Red Wing collector and dealer Bill Prock purchased a one-gallon crock with Nebraska advertising for $2,000. He had never seen or heard of this particular advertising before, so when it arrived in the mail and looked good, he called up one of his best customers and sold it for a fair profit.

About a week later, however, the customer forwarded Prock an e-mail he received from someone who told him the crock was a fake. Prock still had the crock in his possession at this point, so he grabbed his jackknife and scratched at a small corner of the advertising. Sure enough, the advertising scraped off.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Prock says. “I’ve been buying and selling stoneware for many years, and I’ve never seen anything like it. Even looking at it right now, I wouldn’t know it was fake unless my customer hadn’t received that e-mail. It’s got that shiny glaze over the advertising that all Red Wing pieces have.”

Prock refunded his customer, who graciously offered to split the losses. But Prock wouldn’t hear of it.

“This was my problem—not his,” Prock says. “I just want people to learn from this.” (Bill later got his money back from the person he bought it from, although it took awhile.)

This jug with a fake “John Treber” advertising that showed up at a South Dakota auction in late January 2011. The close-up photo below shows where an alert Red Wing Collectors Society member easily scratched off part of the ad. He informed the auctioneer and an announcement was made before the piece sold, stating there were no guarantees whether it was authentic or fake. Perhaps a more noble decision would have been to pull the piece from the auction altogether, as it still sold for $250.

Notice the scratch through the "R."

After doing some digging, a source told me these pieces are being made in Nebraska, but they didn’t know the name of the person making them. To date, most of the pieces with fake advertising are showing up on eBay, at antique malls and flea markets or on auctions. The faked “John Treber” and “Oliver Chilled Plow Works” jugs shown on this page were recently sold at auctions held near the town stamped on each respective piece. So, it’s possible that the people who are making these pieces are consigning them to general-line antique auctions in areas where the advertising is from, in hopes of targeting a high concentration of people seeking local advertising.

So how can you identify these pieces as being fake? If you have the advantage of looking at an item in-person and you doubt its authenticity, the advertising will usually scrape off if it’s not original. Applying advertising over original glaze is much like painting a piece of glossy glass . . . the paint might stick just fine, but if you scrape it with a razor blade, it will come off with little effort.

Before you start scratching a jug in front of its owner, however, explain to them that scratching at the glaze won’t damage the crock or the advertising if it’s original. The glaze on original zinc-glazed Red Wing stoneware pieces is extremely strong, and provided the glaze hasn’t pitted due to acid damage at some point in the past, scratching it with a knife will not harm the piece.

This jug with fake advertising was listed in a March 12, 2011 auction that took place about 40 miles away from South Bend, Ind.

When presenting a seminar on fake advertising to the Collectors of Illinois Pottery and Stoneware this fall, Birks learned about a new technique. Apparently, at least two fakes made using rubber stamps and ink have shown up in Western Kansas.

“The kicker is that running a knife over the ‘inked’ label did not damage the label and therefore the faked pieces were deemed ‘good,’” Birks reports. “It was only after the pieces were being cleaned up (both were very dirty) that the ink began to run and disappear, leaving the stoneware without part of the label. So, now we have a new way to check for fakes besides scratching the surface. Wet a thumb and rub it over the label. The ink supposedly is water soluble and will break down and come off.”

If you only have photos to look at when deciding whether to buy a piece, as is the case when bidding on eBay, you might notice that something about the advertising stamp just doesn’t look quite right. Some collectors of advertising stoneware note that pieces with fake ads can usually be identified by the appearance of the font used in the ad. Some of the fake advertising pieces pictured here are good examples of stamps that simply don’t look like they were done by Red Wing due to the fonts used. In some cases, the size of the type and shape of the ad is different than on original Red Wing pieces. While particularly well-done fake ads have fooled advanced collectors from time-to-time, newer collectors are the ones who are especially vulnerable to buying a fake advertising piece because they have limited experience to draw from.

Also, think about what the advertising says and where it’s from. If you consider yourself to be well-versed in the advertising that Red Wing and other stoneware companies made, but have never seen this particular advertising stamp before, it might be too good to be true—the “Oliver Chilled Plow Works” jug pictured here is a great example. Sure, rare pieces exist that you have never seen before, but you might be able to verify the level of rarity by reaching out to fellow collectors and asking them if they’ve ever seen examples of the advertising in question. If you talk to 10 of the most-advanced collectors you know and they’ve never seen it, it doesn’t mean it’s a fake, but it should at least make you proceed more cautiously when making an expensive purchase. This is another example of when being a member of a club like the Red Wing Collectors Society is beneficial; it helps you network with other collectors.

Many are concerned that this fake advertising will affect the value of original pieces. I believe that while it’s possible the values of original advertising could dip slightly, the more we educate collectors about fakes being out there, the less chance that values will decrease.

More examples of old stoneware with faked advertising and the authentic versions.

Keep in mind that a piece of stoneware that’s bottom-signed by the manufacturer doesn’t make it immune to having new advertising placed on it. If anything, the person who’s making these pieces might be more likely to place new advertising on signed pieces, because buyers would be more likely to believe they’re real.

Nobody likes getting ripped off, so if you see these pieces at auctions, tell the auctioneer that they’re fake; he or she will often announce this when the piece is being sold or pull it from the auction completely. And don’t be surprised if you find one of these pieces covered with dirt at a farm auction . . . a shifty seller trying to trick you into sinking your hard-earned cash into one of his pieces might try to consign it to a sale and do everything they can to make it look old.

Also, don’t be afraid to inform dealers and “eBayers” when they’re selling a piece that might have fake advertising. Most of the time they’re honest people who don’t want to deceive their customers . . . they just don’t know the piece is fake.

Finally, some people decide to destroy a piece when they find out it could be a reproduction. If you’re one of those people, don’t give it a thought until you’re able to confirm whether it’s a fake or an original. If it is deemed a fake and you’re unable to return it for a refund, consider keeping it and using it to help educate others on what to look for.

For more photos and to download RWCS Member Larry Birks’ list of advertising stoneware pieces that are known to have been faked, visit the RWCS website.

Rick Natynski is the editor of the Red Wing Collectors Society Newsletter. The Red Wing Collectors Society was founded in 1977 in Red Wing, Minn. and is devoted to educating people about all American pottery. There are more than 5,000 members worldwide. The Red Wing Potteries had diverse pottery lines that included stoneware, dinnerware and art pottery. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 800.977.7927, e-mail membership [at] redwingcollectors [dot] org or log on to www.redwingcollectors.org.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

You need one of these “paddles” to bid. Also shown is the $45 catalog (a.k.a. my future coffee table book) that documents all the lots in the auction. On the cover is Oscar Bluemner’s modernist landscape “Illusion of a Prairie, New Jersey.”

November marks the start of the fall auction season in New York City, so it is fitting that the month went out with a bang with Christie’s Important American Painting, Drawing and Sculpture auction on Nov. 30. The event featured art from the 19th and 20th century and included works by Georgia O’Keefe and Oscar Bluemner whose modernist landscape, “Illusion of a Prairie, New Jersey,” sold for a world record for the artist.

Overall, the auction was a tasteful mish-mash of representational works that included pretty landscapes, realistic sculptures, still lives, portraits and abstract art.

The mood at the event was upbeat—maybe too much at times—as any who attended cheerfully chit-chatted during the entire auction, with a grande Starbucks in hand and some even had a breakfast pastry (Christie’s was also serving coffee). [Note to self: you can bring take-out to a fine art auction.] This is not a jab at Christie’s, and its gracious staff who were all impeccably dressed, very helpful, genuinely sweet and, on top of all that, very attractive. However, I came to the realization that upscale auctions are no longer considered insider events where only members of the art world attend. Gone are the days when auctions were attended by men with mid-Atlantic accents and women in white dainty gloves who sat in silence and made small gestures when they wanted to bid (oh wait, that might have been a silly notion stuck in my head).

The gallery space at Christie’s where art from the auction was displayed for bidder’s perusal.

The screening room for bidders who could not fit in auction room before auction began; the calm before the storm.

Christie’s staff is shown working with phone bidders.

Auctions are now a spectator sport, much like Fashion Week or The Interior Design Show in NYC. And, unlike the city’s museums—where one can pay up to $20 to see fine art—auctions and their previews are free to attend. Buying the full color, coffee-table-worthy catalog for $45, so you can easily follow the bidding process, is optional. I am not implying that the crowd that attended was not well-heeled. That was not the case at all. But I believe a good number of folks who were in attendance can be considered art groupies, and they came to see a good show while catching up with friends.

The auction ended on a positive note. Every lot sold. Many of the days purchases were made by high rollers who opted to compete by phone or online. The bidding war of the day was for the Oscar Bluemner painting mentioned earlier, where the crowd had the opportunity to witness two phone bidders duking it out for the prize. When the dust settled, the winner earned the right to pay $4,700,000 (or $5,300,000 when you add in the 12-percent buyer’s premium) to own “Illusion of a Prairie, New Jersey.”

New York City Skyline as seen from the 20th floor at Christie’s.

Frederick William MacMonnies’ “Nathan Hale,” with a spectator’s cup of coffee provided by Christie’s. A guard quickly whisked the cup away shortly after photo was taken. The hammer price on the statue, $120,000 (with buyer’s premium, $146,500).

A personal favorite of mine did not make its presale estimated selling price. Lot 18, Milton Avery’s “Sitting Hen” was estimated at $80,000-$120,000 but fell short at $55,000 not including the buyer’s premium. There were, however, a few surprises, including Lot 35, Alexander Phimister Proctor’s bronze figure, “Indian Warrior” that was estimated to fetch $30,000 at best, but incited a small bidding frenzy and sold for $130,000 not including Christie’s fee.

It was reassuring that every piece at the auction found a home, but you could sense collectors were reluctant to really pony up and spend big on this day. That could be a reflection of the unstable economy or perhaps it’s because the auction lacked big-ticket works that would demand an eight- or nine-digit price tag. Either way, it was a wonderful way to spend the morning, the auctioneer Christopher Burge was charming and the auction space and gallery was warm and welcoming.

Plus, I learned a lesson: Whenever I need a fine art fix, I will skip paying double-digits in order to go to a NYC museum. I will pack a snack, grab a few friends and seek out a gallery preview or auction instead.

DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

No matter what you may find outside of Billy’s Antiques & Props on East Houston Street in New York that interests you, you’re bound to find more inside.

Billy’s Antiques & Props has staying power, and in NYC, that is no easy feat. Big-box stores and over-inflated real estate prices have made small, privately owned shops practically obsolete. Even so, Billy’s—located on East Houston Street—has managed to outlast the other eclectic antique and prop stores on the Bowery.

The shop, which is actually a large green tent, first opened in the rough and tumble ’80s, when junkies, alcoholics and a smattering of hookers ruled Houston Street. At that time, the place was called Lot 76 and William Leroy, Billy’s current owner, worked for the original proprietor. In 2003, Leroy took over the business, and the establishment became Billy’s Antiques & Props.

Folks from all socio-economic backgrounds have crossed the threshold at Billy’s, including celebrities & celebutantes, and well, me. I decorated my first apartment in the mid ’90s with inexpensive odds and ends that I purchased there. But don’t judge a tent by its cover. Sure, you can find affordable no-name mid-century furnishing and a range of quirky oddities at this shop. However, the joint is also brimming with classic antique treasures, including items that existed when Christ walked the earth to souvenirs from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.

A few weeks ago, we photographed Billy’s Antiques & Props, and the owner William Leroy—who the Huffington Post recently dubbed the Defender Of The Old New York—was kind enough to respond to our questions . . .

Just one corner of the interior of Billy’s Antiques & Props. The place is patronized by folks from all socio-economic backgrounds, including celebrities & celebutantes, and well, the author.

DeDe Sullivan: When did you get what I like to call the “junk bug?”

William Leroy: In 1986 I bought a painting for $2,000 and sold it at Christie’s for $12,000. The painting was such high quality that I bought it without researching it. After I bought it I discovered what the painting was worth. I am not a collector; I am a dealer. If I see profit, I sell.

DeDe: I heard about that. It was a French military painting, which I find interesting because your ancestor’s were prominent in French politics and one in particular—Pierre-Nicolas-Louis Leroy—fell victim to the Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris and unfortunately was guillotined. On your website, you allude to it as the family’s dark secret. Anyway, do you have an overall retail and pricing philosophy?

William: Leave yourself room for negotiations. Start high.

DeDe: Who is your customer? Is there a particular person who comes to Billy’s?

William: The human race.

DeDe: Do you do shows or attend shows?

William: I love Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market. I will walk through there on occasion. Hell’s Kitchen opened in 2003, when the 26th Street Market, where I got my start in the ’80s, closed.

DeDe: Explain the eclectic mix of merchandise in your shop. Is there a particular look or style you adhere to when you are “picking” for inventory or this all a happy accident?

Billy’s Antiques & Props from across East Houston Street.

William: I pick on the dark side; I don’t want people feeling too comfortable. Billy’s ain’t Crate and Barrel.

DeDe: Thankfully! What was the “oddest” thing you ever sold?

William: A giant meteorite, from before recorded time to the Hollywood star Gerard Butler, and an electric chair.

DeDe: How did you get your hands on an electric chair?

William: It was a working reproduction from a sex freak. It was made to stimulate rather than kill, but it sure did look real. I was offered a real electric chair from Auburn state prison that had 12 executions in it. I could not get the funds together so it was snapped up by the late extraordinary Canadian dealer Billy Jamieson.

DeDe: Not sure I want to own either one, but there is something alluring about “dark” collectibles. Do you consider yourself an expert in a certain antique category?

William: I’m very good in militaria but I consider myself a generalist.

DeDe: Are there items that sell immediately when it hits the sales floor?

William: Leather Chesterfields.

DeDe: Where are you from?

William: NYC ‘s upper eastside.

NOTE: William Leroy was once a prepster. He went to boarding school in Switzerland and played touch football with John-John. He was destined to join the upper echelons of corporate America, but the allure of antiques was too hard to resist.

DeDe: What do you love and hate about the antique business in NYC?

A vintage flapper doll and assorted broaches. You never know what you’ll find at Billy’s Antiques & Props.

William: I like the hunt, but I can pass on the bottom feeders and hunchbacks.

DeDe: How has the business changed over the years?

William: Business has changed for the worse. The rent is higher and things are more expensive. Plus, I miss the artists that use to inhabit the Bowery, where we are located. But I don’t miss the junkies.

DeDe: Tell me about your best find ever.

William: A mummified bog baby from the Viking era. The bog baby just had a great leathery look about it so I bought it and sold it to Billy Jamieson, who had it DNAed for his TV show.

DeDe: Do you sense any upcoming retail trends brewing; are customers starting to inquire about a certain style or item?

William: I think it’s time for Victorian antiques to make a comeback. I’m so sick of Mid-Century Modern.

DeDe: OK, if you had to pick another career what would it be?

William: I have another career acting. The film about the store is coming out this winter. You can check it out at www.dirtyoldtownmovie.com. Plus, I just got booked on a new TV show as a co-host for the Travel Channel. Details to be announced soon.

DeDe: Congrats on both projects. Before we wrap this interview, drop a few words of wisdom on us.

William: Think Yiddish, dress British.

If you missed some of William Leroy’s many TV appearances, no worries; view them here:

• Cash Cab
• Billy’s Antiques and Props, TV Spot
• American Picker’s episode, “A Banner Pick”

.

DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

A window-chalkboard is one of the hot sellers at Sunday Love in Brooklyn, N.Y. The quirky, vintage finds and repurposed furniture store has been helping to establish the new cool.

While a good number of my fellow New Yorkers are still entranced by the “Ikea effect,” I am happy to report that a growing number of compadres have snapped out of their stupor and are now seeking vintage furnishings. Enter Sunday Love, a small retail establishment based in Brooklyn, N.Y., that can fulfill a retrophile’s home décor needs.

What’s to love here? Quirky vintage finds and repurposed furniture that’s been created in a workshop cleverly placed on the sales floor. We recently chatted with Greer Keeble, one of the owners of Sunday Love, to learn about her retail mission.

DeDe Sullivan: How long have you been in business and what motivated you to open your doors?

Greer Keeble: We have been open for two years. It started with my husband, Scott Martin, myself, and his father Ned Martin, who is an artist. We all wanted to be in business for ourselves. Currently, Ned is solely concentrating on his art so now it’s just Scott and me running the show.

DeDe: What’s the story behind the store’s romantic name?

Greer: Scott and I were in a long distance relationship for a long time and Sundays were the day that we dreaded because we had to leave each other for the week. When Scott moved back to NYC we decided to open this business and Sunday Love was a name that I thought fit perfectly. It represents us being together. It sounds cliché, but Sundays are about love for us now.

DeDe: And don’t forget work too since, you are open on Sundays. OK, when did you get the “junk” bug?

This chair was made in the Sunday Love workshop and goes nicely with other vintage items co-owners Greer Keeble and Scott Martin have managed to scare up. Because they try to keep prices reasonable, items don’t stay in stock long.

Greer: The great thing is that both of us have been shopping vintage since we were teenagers. Well before we knew each other, we both were frequenting thrift stores. Mostly, it was clothing, but as we grew older furniture and other small home décor caught our interest.

DeDe: Was anyone in your family in a similar business?

Greer: Sort of. My mom used to work with an interior decorator in Cleveland and she refinished furniture for her to decorate homes. I learned a lot of different techniques from her.

DeDe: So that is how you learned to upholster furniture—I can see you put those skills to great use by looking at some of the items you repurposed for the shop. Do you have an overall retail and pricing philosophy?

Greer: Sure. We started Sunday Love with a goal to combat the whole New York expensive vintage idea. We wanted to say “hey, you can have an amazing apartment, even if you’re a normal person.” Our philosophy and goal has always been to have the coolest product at the best prices. If we get something cheap, we sell it cheap.

DeDe: Explain the eclectic mix of merchandise in your shop; everything is so kitschy and fun. Is there a particular look or style you adhere to when you are picking inventory or is this all a happy accident?

Greer: No, our product is no accident. We are very picky and purposeful with everything that goes on our floor. We both have very similar styles and ideas of what is “in.” We like color and patterns. Everything in our inventory needs to be special in some way. We will spend a good chunk of change on a Hoof Canteen because we know that customers will talk about it while in the store with friends or after they leave. People know that they can find strange things in our store and unique gifts. We also make a lot of our product too, so we are selling our idea of cool. We just hope that people out there agree with us.

DeDe: I love your idea of cool. Like the great table you created (see photo below) that pairs finished blond wood with a rusty, chippy green base. The contrast is great. What is the “oddest” item you sold?

A table created in the Sunday Love workshop repurposed an old cast-iron stand with a top.

Greer: The oddest thing we have sold is . . . whew there’s so much. Maybe a complete top set of human teeth mounted on a hard, cardboard backing. A dentist’s daughter bought them. Every time we shop for the store we try to find what we call the “Wow Item.” Something that people see and say “wow!” We also have an old breast pump here right now dates back to the ’40s/’50s . . . Its’ hilarious.

DeDe: I would think being a small, independent retailer in New York City is tough; you have to really have a fresh perspective, which Sunday Love does have. What is the magic bullet item that sells as soon as it hits the sales floor?

Greer: Yeah, there are things that we know will sell right away. We used to make anatomy tables. As soon as we put them on the floor they were gone in a week, tops. Basically, it was a refinished side table with an early century anatomical drawing. Urban Outfitters now sells the exact same drawing so we stopped making them. We are convinced one of their spies came in and took a picture of one of our tables. Who knows, but we had to stop and keep reinventing the wheel. Our chalkboard windows are a top seller, too . . . shhhhh.

DeDe: How do you keep the shop stocked? What combination of things do you do to keep the merchandise fresh? Is it hard keeping things affordable?

Greer: We shop constantly and we are always making furniture and small décor. It’s hard to keep things affordable, but we try our best and usually get compliments on how reasonably priced our stuff is. You have to constantly stay ahead of the trends. Things we used to be able to buy are just too expensive to resell in our store. Old Crates were cheap two years ago. We could sell them for a decent price. Those days are gone.

DeDe: Where are you from? Why Brooklyn?

Greer: I am from Cleveland, Ohio, and my husband is from Baltimore, Maryland. I moved here working in fashion and Scott for music. There’s no way we could’ve made this happen anywhere else and people would’ve liked it.

DeDe: That is what I appreciate about Brooklyn. Brooklynites make an effort to support local businesses if it offers a great service or product. Where do you source the materials for your repurposed creations? Do you dumpster dive? Work with other businesses that salvage pieces?

The current “wow” item at the shop is the Hoof Canteen. Almost every customer that comes into the store has stopped and talked about it.

Greer: We don’t dumpster dive. Although we are not about to pass up any old wood someone’s tossing from an old Brooklyn brownstone there renovating. We have a few secret people we get some of our odds and ends from. We buy a lot of furniture in bad shape and fix it up. We also buy anything that catches our eye and inspires a design. If we see something that would make a cool top for table, we snatch it up. You really have to look for the right pieces. I may find something that Scott thinks is a piece of crap. But after I turn it into an amazing coat rack, he changes his tune.

DeDe: Tell me about your best find ever—the how and why.

Greer: I would have to say it was the first Hoof Canteen. I just knew right away that this was special and people would talk about it. I was in Seattle shopping and I stumbled upon it. Almost every customer that came into our store stopped and talked about it. The crazy thing is . . . a woman ended up buying it for her 5-year-old son. Not sure which is odder . . .

DeDe: She must have been preparing him for the zombie apocalypse! How totally bizarre! Do you sense any upcoming retail trends brewing; are customers starting to inquire about a certain style or item?

Greer: If I told you I would have to kill you.

DeDe: OK, if you had to pick another career what would it be?

Greer: A professional lottery winner.

DeDe: Amen sister! Me as well! Before we wrap this interview, drop a few words of wisdom on us!

Greer: A dream starts with a simple idea and ends with motivated action. Grow balls.
.

To see more photos from Sunday Love, visit DeDe’s website Vintage and Flea.

.

DeDe Sullivan is a retrophile with a particular fondness for junktiques; discarded vintage treasures whose aesthetic worth far exceeds its monetary value. Her blog, VintageandFlea.com, documents her junking and antiquing adventures. This includes sharing her favorite places to score unique items, the history behind unusually finds, along with display and upcycling ideas. Have a question or story to tell? Shoot her an e-mail at dede [at] vintageandflea [dot] com!

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

I have been a life-long collector and an antiques and collectibles dealer for 27 years. Actually longer than that, if you count my college years, when I would pick and sell my finds on the drag in Austin, Texas. I am a skeptic at heart and even though I love a good horror movie, I never expected, nor really wanted, to have a brush with the paranormal. I know that there are people who collect items that were supposedly “haunted” and there is even a TV show dedicated to such a collector, but my personal opinion about the way this person amasses the items for his collection have no bearing on this article so I won’t go there.

The sleeping baby doll. I never felt comfortable with this doll and eventually needed to put it in storage out in the barn.

Now, on with my story. In your day-to-day handling of antiques and collectibles, have you ever picked up an item and wondered about the person who originally owned the piece? Especially when dealing with items that tend to be very personal, such as a vanity, comb and brush, precious antique doll, jewelry and certain articles of clothing such as a wedding dress. Who was that person? What was their life like? How did I end up owning the item?

I took in a consignment from a lady who had recently married a man whose wife of 40-plus years had passed away from a long bout with cancer just six months previous. The consignor had been relegated with the job of getting rid of the deceased wife’s possessions, so she brought them to me. In the beginning, I did not know the full story, but within a month I asked for an account of the items.

The woman brought in a few contemporary dolls—I have been a lifelong doll collector so dolls generally do not freak me out—but one of these dolls looked like a sleeping infant and from the moment I first picked her up I felt very uncomfortable holding her. But I took her upstairs anyway and placed her in a beautiful wood cradle near the other dolls. The next morning, when I came into the shop and was going around getting ready to open for the day, I noticed that most of the dolls were out of place. I put everything back where they belonged and went on about my business. Throughout the day I heard noises coming from upstairs, even when I knew there was no one in the shop but me. This continued on pretty much every day, as did the disarray of the dolls and toys.

I also had a beautiful vanity upstairs and items were always being moved around on the vanity. A silver-plate brush and mirror that were on the vanity seemed to be the items that were moved the most. They would actually go missing and I would think someone stole them but then they would be found in very unusual places.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Attend a Titanic exhibit. See if you don’t feel a little different surrounded by display after display of personal items and objects from the ship. It is a very emotional and eerie experience.

Other strange things occurred throughout the shop and I finally felt compelled to call in some experts on paranormal activity. Yep, I called in some “Ghostbusters.” They spent several hours in the shop doing their thing and, sure enough, they caught evidence of things we could not explain. I took the evidence they found, the stories that customers told me, my personal experience and that of my employee and came to the conclusion that the shop was haunted. I still did not associate the activity with any of my inventory, so I did some research on the building and the land and we based our investigation on the structure itself.

The activity continued to increase, so another paranormal group was brought in. I was determined to get to the bottom of things and get some answers. As they were investigating, I was sitting on a beautiful chaise lounge, and behind me was a clock that my consignor had brought in that day and I just placed it on the chaise until I could get some batteries for it. I noticed that the clock started to tick. This was strange because 1) it did not have batteries in it, and 2) it was lying flat so the pendulum could not move. All of the sudden a spot on my back began to burn and sting like crazy. I said something about it and one of the investigators looked at my back and three scratches were forming. They reviewed their audio recorder and just before I said something about my back burning there was a female voice that said “Get off my bed.” It was as clear as if she was there in the room with us. Ha, I guess that she probably was.

The front room of my antique shop. Occasional crying and one particularly spirit jealous of her chaise lounge has been investigated by “Ghostbusters.”

One day I heard crying. I immediately went outside to see if someone was in need of help but there was no one around. When I went back into the shop I noticed that the crying was much louder, so I started to go from room to room. I got to the room where the antique vanity was and it was as if someone were standing right in front of me sobbing: the air was very cold around the vanity and when I looked into the mirror I could see the upper body and head of a woman. It was very faint and vanished quickly. I felt compelled to talk to her and I told her that everything was OK, I understood her distress, but please do not sit and cry when customers are in the shop. The weeping continued off and on until the vanity was sold a few weeks later.

Later, the gal who worked for me on occasion finally told me that she felt very uncomfortable when she was around the sleeping doll, as she also had heard the noises from upstairs when she was alone in the shop. She had recently been cleaning up in that area and felt like someone was watching her the entire time. I still had not overcome the eerie feelings I had when I was near the doll and no one showed any interest in purchasing her, so I put her back in her box and took it out in the barn for storage.

Many other things happened in the shop on a daily basis, but you finally get used to most of it and eventually ignored. The deceased spouse who owned these items had been ill for a very long time and she surrounded herself with dolls and other beautiful items, as these things made her feel better. She had a lot of money, time and emotional attachment to these items. I had enough experiences with certain items that I now believe a person can attach emotion to inanimate objects. That person can be living or dead, but they have so much emotion invested in an item that it is infused with that emotion and it stays with it as the item passes from person to person.

The next time you purchase an item or are handling your inventory, take just a moment to hold the item, think about the life history of the piece not just who made it but who owned it and cared for it when it was new.

If you are interested in reading more about one of the investigations at the shop and the few photos that were taken you can view these on my Haunted Antique Shop blog.

Michelle Staley, who insists that collectors are the happiest people, is an antique collector and dealer. Her shop, My Granny’s Attic Antiques, Collectibles and Memorabilia, is in Lenexa, Kansas.

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