A Show Like the Old Days

Wonderful weekend at the Northern Illinois Antique Dealer Association antique sale near Rockford at the Forrest Hills Lodge.  Like the old days.
By that I mean--the gangbuster selling shows are fewer and farther between over the past years.  More shows, longer hours and usually less sales.  Except this weekend.

The crowds were fabulous.  They came and they came--and there was very little let up on Saturday. The show is about 40 dealers--and is a terrific show.  Not pretentious.  Most of the dealers are good folks --who are out to have a good weekend--not create that faux snob nonsense that you can find in a few shows these days.

And they bought.  The show is heavy on the country primitive--but we did not sell a single piece of that.  We sold items all over the place--paintings-stoneware-lighting-garden-architectural--books--a wide selection.

At the risk of crowing--we are happy--and now setting our sights on this as a harbinger of a good show season.

We Will Visit Mr. Lincoln on Another Day

Dear Husbola and I headed to Springfield recently--combining a business trip for Himself and a tag along trip for me.

I have always enjoyed Springfield--a quirky quiet town--and as a tourist--very manageable and easy to negotiate through the historic sites.  This was no exception--and was even more enjoyable than anticipated.

We stayed at the President Abraham Lincoln hotel on Adams Street in the historic section.  This hotel has had many incarnations over the years--and at one time was even owned by the State of Illinois.  It has been fully redecorated and proved to be a great location.  Rooms are well appointed and very clean and quiet.  One caveat--don't bother to eat there..  There are other far better places.  When a restaurant can't get their act together for poached eggs on toast--you know you have a problem.

While Husbola was meeting occupied--I walked the 9-ish blocks to the Dana-Thomas House, a fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright open to the public for tours.  I happened upon a wonderful tour--just the docent and me.  What a treat--no bands of squirrely school kids.  No one but me.  The docent was fabulous.

Mrs. Susan Dana was a incredible Springfield socialite.  She had several husbands and spent her life spending her money--and the house is a gem. She hired FLW to "re-do" her victorian home--and the home retains 100 original furnishings and all of its windowns.  My tour was on a grey day--and the lamps were lit in the original wattage.  Perfect for the tour.

Charles C. Thomas, a successful medical publisher, was the second owner and custodian of the Dana-Thomas House in 1944-1981. He and his wife are credited with maintaining the house's original furnishings and design, and with selling the home and its furnishings as a unit to the state of Illinois in 1981 for $1.0 million, significantly less than could have been earned had the household been broken up.
The State of Illinois bought the house in 1981 and it became a historic site under the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and led a restoration effort in 1987-1990 that refitted the house to its appearance in 1910. It is believed to contain one of the most intact Frank Lloyd Wright architectural interiors in the United States. (credit wikipedia)

Yes--Springfield is the Mecca of All Things Lincoln--but do not overlook this antique gem.

Northern Illinois Antique Dealers Show Feb. 16-17 2013 TWO FREE TICKETS

Can a person have cabin fever if you do not have a real winter that keeps you inside your cabin?  Here in the upper Midwest--Chicago area we just got our first real taste of snow and winter.  Thank heavens the first really good antique show of the 2013 show season is almost upon us--the Northern Illinois Antiques Dealers Association on February 16 and 17 in Love's Park Illinois. (should there be a plural possessive on Dealers??  Oh never mind--)

The show is at the Forest Hills Lodge--1/2 mile east of route 251 on route 173.  The actual address is 601 West Line Road.  SATURDAY THE SHOW IS 10AM-5PM AND SUNDAY THE SHOW IS 11AM TO 4PM.  This is the 53rd year of this show--and will be our third year of participating.  I think there are about 40-ish dealers--and all are housed in a single level area.

How do you gauge what makes a good antique show these days?  I suppose it depends if your perspective is as a buyer or as a participating dealer.  This is a well run show--by real veteran dealers who give the net proceeds to area charities.  So there is no Big Bad Wolf Promoter who is trying to line their pockets on booth rentals and admission prices.  The association invites a few select dealers who are not members--like us--and the show ends up to be a great mix of primitive-formal-and our favorite--eclectic!!!  Dealers take care with their display--and it is well thought of as evidenced by the very long line of patrons waiting to get in on opening day.

Admission is $6.00 unless you have a dollar off coupon that can be found in antique publications or if you have picked up a show card someplace.

I HAVE TWO FREE TICKETS FOR ADMISSION THAT I WILL SNAIL MAIL TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO SENDS AN EMAIL TO  beth@littlebohemiaantiques.com.  Don't be shy--I don't want them to go to waste.

Beware of Dealer Dumping Grounds

This is an odd time to be an antique and vintage dealer.  But it is even odder to be a "collector of things" and then tire of or want to liquidate your collection.  What do you do when you don't want to collect what you have collected or want to get rid of some clutter or change the look of your house or shop?

Auction ads these days are filled with auctions of collections of yesterday's treasures.  While that sounds obvious--more precisely I mean that auctions are filled with huge collections of things that are no longer in general favor and people just want to get some money out of them.

Seen any decorating magazines that show 2013's tips using carnival or depression glass?  toy tractors?  primitive kitchen gadgets? salt cellars? majolica?  staffordshire figurines (or figurines of any kind for that matter?)  matchsafes?  pressed glass? ice cream scoops or chocolate molds?  flow blue? barbershop mugs? If so--you and I are reading different magazines.

Dear Husbola and I are finding so many auction ads that contain loads of merchandise that are obviously collectors or dealers that are trying to sell items that are totally out of current favor.  Dealers who sell mostly in malls may find themselves over run with inventory that is not moving these days.  Not at any price.  Nineteenth and twentieth century collectibles that were mass produced at the time are not on anyone's list of "must haves" right now.  I am not sure they will be on anyone's list again in my lifetime.  That does not mean these are not quality items--or that they do not have decorative value.  Some people payed big money for these items in years past.  The price of majolica in the 1980s was staggering.  Not so anymore.  Big time not so anymore.

Antique malls fall into only two categories--those with dealers who keep and continue to try to sell their outdated items NO MATTER WHAT--and those with dealers who take their lumps and move out the dreck and try to keep things fresh.  As dealers we have to be careful when buying at auction--the "Dealer/Collector Dump" can be inexpensive and lull us into purchasing someone else's unpopular items.

Rest in Peace collectibles.

Blood Oranges EAT NOW!

Do you remember when you could only eat fruit that was in season?  California green grapes in the summer--plums and peaches only when ripened on the tree--not by tanks of some kind of lethal gas and let's not even go down the strawberry path let alone the tomato.  And bing cherries?  They were only available for a few weeks in the summer.

I have a theory.  People who love antiques also fondly remember the seasonal fruit days and would welcome them back in a heartbeat. Antiquers have an appreciation for the past and history and a slower time when we could savor life more.  Not hurry through it to the next thing.  I have found this generation's seasonal fruit to slow down and savor--blood oranges.

I came on to them years ago while living in England--in the incarnation of blood orange marmalade.  I contend that any marmalade purchased in England tastes better than that purchased elsewhere.  Blood orange marmalade is the color of a sunset and when made by a small batch kitchen or purchased from a stall at an English country church or jumble sale--all the better.  Dear Husbola and I stayed at at a swank townhouse hotel in London years ago--and a dense chocolate cake was accompanied by a dollop of yorkshire made blood orange marmalade.  Incredible flavor combination.

How can you not be intrigued by the flavor of a fruit that looks like this?

They are only available in northern Illinois in January.  I haven't a clue where they come from.  Yes--they increase my nasty footprint on the earth because I am not eating only local fruit.  But try one--you will be hooked.

Make More Room for Fresh Living

This time of year makes me smile--especially when I am standing in the grocery line reading the covers of the latest magazines.  Every magazine in January/February has ideas for losing weight, redoing your house on the cheap and generally for making fresh starts.

Dear Husbola and I have just completed a room and porch renovation that took longer than the building of the pyramids of Egypt.  Happy with the results, we are combing our home looking for items to use in the new spaces and generally trying to get the house to feel like our own again.  I am trying to think creatively--an antique desk that was in our bedroom is now in the garden room.  A piece of artwork that was in the guest bathroom in now having a fresh start in there as well.

But in amongst all the rooting around closets and cupboards--I am finding an awful lot of dreck.  Stuff that we have not touched in years, and in some cases do not like or want anymore.  Let's not talk about the outdated shoes or that skirt that hits me at the "bad place to hit a 53 year old leg" place.  Some of this stuff just has to go.

So--I made up a rule for 2013.  I did not have to buy a magazine or watch HGTV to come up with this one.  For the entire year--every day--five things have to be sorted and either thrown away, given away, put in our  shop to sell or repurposed in some manner.  That's right--FIVE things.  And old magazines do not count.

But what does count?  Expired bottles of herbs or spices--old underwear that could be cut up for rags--books that will never be read again--VHS tapes of favorite movies but the tape has become too dark for good viewing--tupperware--anything that hits me above the knee-stacks of recipes that I can find again on the internet-you get my drift.  Yesterday I went through 5 drawers and cupboards in our kitchen.  The newly organized space is SO great.  Makes me smile.  Even Dear Husbola is buying into this.  He is reorganizing his desk and a bookshelf--the desk will become workable again and his unusual assortment of memorabilia and treasure is now visible on the shelves.  Looks good.

Antiquer's homes can be cluttered and way too stuffed.  We fill our space with things we love and things we paid too much for and cannot sell--and we are just accumulators.  I am sticking with the "Get Rid of Five" rule.  No backsliding--I promise.

Making Soup Not Money

While enjoying unseasonably warm January temperatures here in the upper midwest--I should be taking full advantage and tackling the garage.

We have a big show coming up in February--the Northern Illinois Antique Dealers Association show near Rockford on February 15-16.  I have loads of inventory that needs to be processed-and I need to plan the booth look and other details.

But--instead I made soup.  Not just any soup-- A delicious barley vegetable soup that moves from my unsorted pile of recipes to the vaunted designation of "Keeper".

I don't know the origin of this recipe--and would give full attribution if I knew.  I just know that the combination of spices and veggies and barley makes a particularly piquant soup.  Today I will have a cup for lunch. Then I will tackle the garage.  I promise.

Procrastination Barley Soup

2 quarts beef broth (lower sodium kind--could use vegetable broth-but I used beef)
3/4 cups uncooked pearl barley
2 chopped carrots
2 ribs chopped parsley
1 can chopped tomatoes in juice
1 chopped zuchini
1 can drained garbanzo beans
1/2 large onion chopped
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon EACH  garlic powder, sugar, salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon EACH  dried parsley, curry powder, paprika and worchestershire sauce

I chopped all the veggies in my food processor.  Put everything in a big pot.  Simmered for 90 minutes.  Total yum.