Who Was Herbie?

Dear One and I have a new addition to the family.  Meet Herbie.

Herbie is the name of our new  rhinestone and jewel encrusted 1920s vintage accordion made by the Chicago firm P. Del Pricipe and Company.

Herbie is one  incredible piece of bohemian jewelry,  that is for sure.  He is a full sized accordion, absolutely covered in interesting marbled bakelite keys and buttons and faux gems like you would not believe.  We bought this treasure for a song (Lady of Spain perhaps? HA!)  Think of the Czech version of an accordion if played by Liberace.  Actually--I think Liberace DID play the accordion--but I digress...

Anyone who knows Dear One and me knows that this little treasure MIGHT eventually make its way into the shop--but most likely WILL NOT.  He fits right in in our living room--and glitters better than a night light!

Inheriting Stuff and Guilt

When a collector or a dealer finds themselves inheriting family antiques or vintage items--it is not necessarily the wonderful windfall it may first appear.

While many of us lovers of history and family and genuine neat old stuff spend a big chunk of our time with vintage and antiques,  dealers must have a disconnected sort of affection for what they buy and possess.  If a dealer plays the "should I keep it or should I sell it" game with everything purchased--there would be no money  made and overstuffed houses. (actually that IS the plight of some dealers, but Never Mind That Now!)

I am a dealer and I am WAY too sentimental about stuff.  If something catches my eye that I am buying to sell--it is not unheard of that it spends some time in our home.  Because there is no personal connection to these items, it is not hard, after a time, for the goods to find their way into the shop.

Not so easy and clear cut with personal inherited items.  In the past couple of years--I have "come into" quite a few items belonging originally to my grandmother and great grandmother and before.

What to do?  Keep it all?  Stuff it in our house?  Fill closets or bins in the garage?  Keep it or donate it?  Sell it?  Guilt abounds.

But Grandma used that biscuit cutter!!  Grandpa used the camera!  Great Aunt Can't Spell Her Name hooked that rug!  Hobnail glassware will come back in fashion!  I don't know what that tool is, but Great Grandpa used it!

Now the guilt.  I am a person who will walk an extra block to the crosswalk to cross a street safely.  I have NEVER been stopped by a police officer for a speeding ticket.  I draw the drapes when I cut the Do Not Remove tags from mattresses.  And I am supposed to GET RID of inherited stuff??  That Just Is Not Done!

Yes--yes it must be done.  If you are a dealer or collector or just a plain old person--chances are your house and shop are filled with items that did not start with your family--but started in someone ELSE'S family.  Things must move on.  I do not make biscuits.  I will not use the camera.  I can use one but not eight hooked rugs.  Hobnail glassware will NOT come back in style.

For me--it has just meant prioritizing.  I have culled through and kept special pieces for entertaining that I really have and will use.  A few.  Not 100. I have kept the bread and butter plates from Grandma's dishes--because I will use them for hors d'oeuvres at parties, not the whole set.   I have kept a few tools with real patina or character--not the tool box full.  The memories of all the stuff are still there--but there comes a time.

Give yourself permission to keep what you love, and let the rest move on.

Housekeeping Yoga

This is a curious book—and you need to be in the right frame of mind to read it.  Spark Joy by Marie Kondo is the second book by the Japanese anti-clutter/organization giant.  This book promises to help the reader cull out the mess of all categories of things in one’s living space—and surround yourself with order and only things that “spark joy.”  It calls itself the master class on the art of organizing.  I think it could be titled “Housekeeping Yoga.”

Some reviewers might poke fun at Kondo’s way of having conversations with the objects of clutter.  The author recommends being respectful of what you are tossing or giving away, thank it for the place it has had in your life, and move on.  She recommends saying good bye with gratitude before you move on.

The book has a very calming pace about itself—the author does impart a Japanese style to her writing—this is not a frenzied plan to  sort and purge.  Much of the book describes the KonMari method of tidying.  She has developed a plan—and requests that you follow her order for discarding items that do not give you joy.  Tackle clothes, then books, papers. Komono (everything else) and sentimental items.  She spends much time with her much reviewed way of folding clothing—which I found of least interest.  American’s use hangers and dresser drawers—rolling and folding clothes like you are packing a suitcase is over the top. 

This book is a very fast read—the 291 pages go quickly--and I am not sure I found any novel tips for tidying and getting rid of clutter.

I do like that she is respectful of folks with clutter and problems with too much stuff.  So many books and programs about clutter and hoarding have an element of shame to them.  Not Kondo.  Her plan is methodical—and after reading it—I have no doubt it works. Her plan is a little dodgie on how one defines joy.  That is a big word for me— the little paperweight my grandma gave me makes me smile everytime I look at it—is smiling the same as joy?

You can’t argue with success.  Kondo has created an empire—but I am not sure there is a third book needed to make a trilogy.

Too Much of a Good Thing

We just finished  a marathon of shows and shops in "the land of Oz" where we have visited for more than 10 years each March.

Thousands of people converge on a few small towns for  up to  five days and scurry from shop to show and back again searching for the elusive fabulous antique for collection or to resell.  Dear One and I have cabin fever at this time of year--the daffodils are still hiding--and the brown-ness of northern Illinois makes us want to see the brown-ness of another part of the state.

We are all crazy people as we traipse from show to show--stand in line and race around in  overheated overcrowded rooms.  We remember the days when there was just one show on the weekend--now there are six.  By the sixth one--Dear One and I have battle fatigue.

We found a few good finds.  We also look at it as a research trip--what is selling-what are people charging-what are the new fakes on the market.  Since we are seeing many things we do not collect or sell--I used to be a bit intimidated by the sea of early American antiques--and the amount of knowledge I did NOT have.  Not any more.

This trip--I watched a woman purchase a step back cupboard that was easily painted with "old" paint last week--no wait--maybe last month.  I wanted to rush over to her--talk to her about "honest wear" and how this piece was missing it.  Old cupboards were not painted on the backside.  Where are the decades and decades of greasy finger marks and bumps and bruises and character?  That blue color is NOT old paint.  Use your nose--SMELL it.  Feel the surface.  Look closer lady!! 

I asked a dealer about a  sign they had. I asked my usual "what can you tell me about this piece?"  I happen to come from the part of the county where the product originates.  While the sign had a folk art look I liked--something was "off".  How does a sign come off a tavern if it has no nail holes, no  indications it was in a now missing frame, and no weathered wear? Signs in the outdoor  elements  have tell tale markings.  Not this one.

Then again you find a dealers who knows their stock,  one who is selling something you do not see in booth after booth after booth--and is selling like gangbusters.  After a million of these shows--we know have learned where you stop and where you don't bother.

We found some treasures,  had a stock up from our favorite country grocery store,  our lungs are full of crisp not Chicago air--and we have  a whole lot of enthusiasm for a good selling spring ahead.

HOT Peanuts Anyone?

We have for sale one of the neatest pieces we have ever had.  A Buffalo Candy Company Uncle Sam Peanut Warmer from 1880s. 

This incredible piece would sit on a store counter--or maybe in a tavern.  It contained a kerosene hurricane lamp--and an ingenious patent from a Charles Quick.  https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US261762.pdf

Our piece contains most of its original paint and scrolling.  It has been outfitted long ago with a light bulb socket--so the HOT that is built out inside the piece lights up when it is on.

It has been living in our dining room as a conversation piece.  Now we are selling it on.  Sometimes the most simple inventions are the most interesting.

A Honey of a Book

While the American Midwest is still gripped with frigid temperatures, and any sign of spring seems a very long time away--I was happy to see a terrific new offering in the garden book landscape,  The Bee Friendly Garden by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn.

Because my husband and I are honeybee keepers-(well actually HE is the beekeeper and I am the apiary assistant!) a detailed book on how to plan your yard with bees in mind seemed like the perfect read.  This book did not disappoint.  The author duo are a combination of an  experienced famous garden designer and professor of biology--so I expected a good balance of practical and sophisticated advice.

The book is a visual gem.  It is 212 pages of beautiful photographs and is well laid out.  The photos do not show out of reach ideals of bee gardens--but are practical and attractive and help the reader feel that some garden changes are very attainable.

Who knew there are 4000 different types of bees in the US.?  Who knew that bees are really not interested in humans and will sting only when startled or defending themselves or their nests?  That said, Frey and LeBuhn lay out ideas to attract bees of all kinds to your environment--and provide lists of annuals, perennials, and shrubs and trees that will attract bees looking for nectar for energy and pollen to provide for their offspring.

The book provides pages of ideas for planting and organizing your garden or yard--whether you want to change up a few plants, or kill off all your grass and turn it into a bee smorgasbord.  The authors provide suggestions on voiding chemical herbicides and pesticides  that are bee killers.

The Bee Friendly Garden provides enough advice for novices and more detailed technical advice for the advance gardener.  I  know that I will bee keeping (sic!) my eyes open this spring and summer for some of those 4000 varieties and hope to identify a few who come by to nosh.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Twice Is Nice Resale Shop--A Secret Stop

You can put this little treasure shop on your radar.

Last summer, a  paragraph in the church newsletter  asked for volunteers to work at a church owned resale shop at 883 E. Geneva Road in Carol Stream Ilinois.  The timing of the request matched perfectly with a piece of my week that I wanted to fill with some "outside of myself" volunteer time.  This shop donates all proceeds after expenses to the Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream.  A win-win in my book. http://www.outreachcommunityministries.org/

Before I signed up to work--Dear One and I drove by this shop nestled in a strip mall between an independent grocery store and a bank.  What really caught my eye was the small but adorable front shop windows--they were colorful, seasonal, and showed a variety of merchandise.  I saw a  great vintage beaded purse.  It was on my radar to go back the next day--introduce myself to the manager, see what kind of help they needed and buy the purse.

One out of two isn't bad.  I met the manager Paress Hampson (this woman defines the word upbeat) and I signed up to work every Monday afternoon.  But the purse was already sold.

The merchandise sold in the shop is all donated--this is not a consignment shop.  The items are on a revolving color coded price tag system--three colors of tags--yellow-blue-pink.  Nothing stays in the shop longer than three months--and most times one color is 50 percent off and possibly another color is 20 percent off.  The clothes are clean and fresh--and current.   Did I mention very reasonable prices? The shop is light, bright and the music system is upbeat.   I am amazed at how from one week to the next, the windows have changed and items I have helped process the previous week are quickly sold.  The donations come primarily from the Wheaton Illinois area. (READ: big bucko donors)

Throughout the store are special displays and more often than not there are good vintage pieces  sprinkled throughout.  The store sells housewares,  clothes, furniture, books, records, toys, and on and on.  Over the past few months I have seen vintage musical instruments, typewriters, 1800s leather bound books,  toy trains, seriously good jewelry (organized by jewelry maven Denise)  child's scooter, leather horse collar, vintage sheet music,  vintage jewelry, collectible dishes and glassware, vintage suitcases,  Burberry raincoat, north face jackets, ice skates in the original box,  vintage record albums. Gurley figural candles, and incredible in the box 1950s Xmas ornaments, vintage beauty shop chair,  etc.  I know alot comes in on the days I do not work--but I have picked up a 1930s tailored men's opera coat, Austrian crystal costume jewelry, American flyer trains,  a1950s Pendleton wood jacket and some of those vintage Xmas ornaments.  Did I mention VERY reasonable prices?

In addition to Manager Paress, the shop is regularly staffed by Ken Black, who tells me his official title is Supervisor, but my observed reality is that he is Assistant Manager/Jack of All Trades..  In addition to making sure the shop runs smoothly, Paress and Ken, who have each been with the shop two years-ish,  are occupied with managing the small but mighty legion of volunteers--no easy task. Volunteers can be low or high maintenance--and this duo knows how to handle worker situations with aplomb.  (THINK:  scheduling issues and worker opinions on EVERYTHING oh joy oh rapture)

It is a pleasure to work with the varied clientele.  The double whammy here is that proceeds stay in the community to help folks via the Outreach Center--and the items sold help folks who can use the well priced merchandise.  The clientele covers all ages and varied nationalities.  There are are plenty of "regulars" who more often than not come it to see Paress and Kan and shoot the breeze.  These two special folk remember names and situations and   engage shoppers in conversations about their family, job searches and illnesses.  It does not take long to see that the shop attracts some folks who are just looking for some friendly conversation in a pleasant place.  There are always folks who eagerly shop resale--and then there are  the folks who seem uneasy or maybe embarrassed to bargain shop.  Without exception--this shop is upbeat, bright, dignified and provides a "we are happy to be here and serve you" vibe.

Big commercial resale shops have their place.  But trust me folks--this little independent resale shop Twice Is Nice has it all over her big sisters.  Did I mention the reasonable prices??