There were several auctions in this area, years ago, that were a weekly event. Every Thursday many people, including myself, went to the auction that was held in a huge old factory building. Due to the size of the building, the auctioneer was able to rent space for a flea market, a snack bar, and also have a huge display area for items that would be offered in future auctions.

Like so many collecting categories, stamp collecting is facing an aging collector base. The average age of an American stamp collector is over 60. The American Philatelic Society constantly surveys its members and aggressively works to attract new collectors of all ages. The efforts have met with mixed success. While the percentage of annual decline in membership has slowed, the bottom still has not been reached.

Have you ever noticed that in the world of design there is a lot of copying going on? If one designer starts making feather earrings with gemstone dangles and they become popular, suddenly others will appear.

Have you ever watched an artist painting in the great outdoors? If so, you were watching "Plein Air" art being created. This is a French term which means 'open air' and it refers to the practice of an artist painting on site instead of in a studio. The Italian term for this is "alfresco".

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On January 20, 2012 the world lost one of the all time great rhythm and blues singer, Etta James. She was probably one of the most overlooked R&B musicians not receiving the recognition she deserved until the early 1990's. She received 6 Grammy Awards starting in 1994. Her most well known song “At Last” was given the Grammy Hall of Fame Award. And in 2003 she was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. These coming with a list of other awards were all given to her late in life.