Summer 2009, offered me the opportunity to paint with many wonderful artists where I observed new ideas as well as being reminded to use tried and true techniques. I visited private studios and new galleries and even one of the oldest art clubs in this country. All in all, I came away with some basic conclusions of what makes a compelling painting that attracts our attention from across the room, drawing us to it above all others with real excitement.

When I first starting handling antiques with my husband in December of 1959, I must say he was more of a historian than I was. Through the years, however, I have learned many helpful hints to correctly identify and date merchandise. Here are but a few. If the article is of interest, there are plenty more where these came from!

ZIP CODES

The successful film Julie & Julia was fun to watch but left us all asking the question “Why didn’t Julia like Julie’s blog?” Julia Child, the ultimate foodie, simply said that she didn’t think Julie Powell was serious and that the project was more of stunt. Others who knew Julia elaborated saying that Julie Powell’s blog seemed to be more about the process and not at all about the food, that she didn’t describe the food, that she didn’t detail how it tasted, how it looked, how it felt.

The other week I went shopping for a dress to wear on one of the formal nights on an upcoming cruise. Having no luck at the mall, I stopped off at a local secondhand shop where I often find items to sell. There it was - a sweet 50s Chanel styled little black number and in my size too! Standing in front of the mirror in the fitting room I excitedly thought, oh yes, that gorgeous black iced Weiss set in my shop will be perfect for sure.

We all know with the tough economic times that it has been a struggle to sell antique furniture. The bigger ticket items have been a hard sale to push. Customers will tend to go to shows and spend a small amount of money on a treasure but are hesitant to spend a larger sum of money. We need to educate the public to recycle and reuse and put that thought to use when making a purchase toward furniture.

There's nothing better than someone making a purchase from your store. It makes you feel like someone else appreciates your taste and effort in presenting an item in its very best light. What's even more fun is having someone make an offer and bargaining back and forth until both of you are ready to conclude a purchase.

So now the fun begins. Before packaging I go over the item with a fine toothed comb to make sure I've not missed anything. If I see a button loose, a seam opening or anything else that is taken care of and the item is either steamed or ironed.

I was "chatting" with a customer recently about Vintage jewelry.  And we were lamenting about the new jewelry.  Oh I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with new costume jewelry, but there are some areas of concern. 

I am sure I can say, with some accuracy, that everybody has someone on their gift list that collects something; whether it be a particular Glass or China pattern, a favorite color or animal, or some memorabilia of a long past piece of history. Sometimes the collectors on ones gift list can be easy to shop for, especially if you live in the same house or share an interest.

For me Loretta Young had a magical appeal. She was one of my all time favorite stars of the silver screen era. If you don't know Loretta Young then shame on you.

She was born Gretchen Young in Salt Lake City in 1913 moving to Hollywood in 1916 when she starting appearing in films at the age of 3. Her career continued as did her fame. In 1947 she won an Oscar for The Farmer's Daughter. Every holiday season you can see her in The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and David Niven.

From 1953 to 1961 she hosted the Loretta Young Show. This is where she came into my life. Her trademark appearance at the beginning of each show introduction was to appear in a new high fashion evening gown each week. Sadly these shows will never be seen because she made it a legal stipulation in her contract that they not be rerun. Always fashion conscious she didn't want to be seen in outdated clothing...if only she knew how her appearance on these shows would be so admired today by vintage clothing collectors.

My fascination with “Occupied Japan” collectibles was piqued one day while accompanying a friend to a local flea market. While browsing, I happened upon some small children porcelain figurines marked Occupied Japan. Upon arriving home I began researching the term “Occupied Japan.” I discovered that items with this marking were made at the end of World War II between the time period of 1945 until 1952 when Japan was once again considered an independent state.