-- A Brief History of the Pendleton Wool Company -- 

Now that Fall is here and leaves are starting to turn, my mind always turns to Pendleton wool jackets and shirts for men and women.

Pendleton began production in 1909 in Pendleton, Oregon as a family owned company specializing in making jacquard blankets.  In 1924 Pendleton began manufacturing their iconic mens wool plaid shirts. In 1949, Pendleton introduced the woman's wool plaid 49er jacket. All of Pendleton's plaids are exclusive to them and were originally sold in high end department stores and specialty shops.

Celluloid is a highly flammable early vintage plastic which contains camphor. It is very lightweight and was later discontinued in favor of heavier more durable forms of plastic. Celluloid was one of the first plastics to be widely used in making jewelry.

I feel like I do pretty well it when comes to getting bargain prices at estate sales. I’m actually talking about what is commonly known as a “moving sale”, where in some cases, “everything must go”. There are also “downsizing sales”, where the seller is moving and has too much stuff to fit in their future place of residence. Normally those types of sales are conducted by the owner of the goods.

It seems the trend is that reference guides may be going the way of the internet and replacing printed versions. One recent example is the Antique Collectors Reproduction Newsletter by Mark Chervenka. These newsletters began in April 1992, with Vol. 1 No. 1, and with the January 2005 issue, ACRN was converted to an online database.

With the advent of so many individuals selling vintage jewelry online, there is a huge amount of either deception, at worst, or misinformation, at best, in the description of the age of the pieces being sold. I can't tell you how many times I've seen pieces described at being Early Victorian (1837 - 1850) which have locking C clasps that were invented in 1901. It is definitely the age of buyer beware when it comes to purchashing online, but where does one start?

Did you ever take a photo of something that has dimension to it (like a cut crystal bowl or a lovely bracelet) only to find the outcome is rather fuzzy – especially towards the back of the object?

Look at these two pictures of a bracelet. One has a somewhat fuzzy front and back. The other is very in focus on both the front and back details.

Recently I gave a presentation to a local business group that I thought would be a fun party idea for fellow antique dealers to do with their friends. I asked if members of the group could bring in items that they wanted evaluated. It could be antique, collectible or plain they just don’t know what the heck it is.

We welcomed our first grandbaby this summer. It was a wonderful event. He is two months old today, and yesterday I had him in his first "vintage" outfit! We were short a clean shirt, and so I dug through some of the vintage baby clothes I had and found a nice 1960's jump suit. He looked so cute in it. It fit perfect. I got to thinking this morning about all the things he will see in his life. From the new gadgets to clothing styles. All will be so fresh and new for this little mind. So what about some old stuff? I have a antique baby quilt that covers him while he sleeps here.

One of my favorite TV shows is "Cash in the Attic" on HGTV, and I'm often amazed at both the process and the turnout of the program. If you've never seen it, the homeowners have some project they want to complete, and have a certain dollar amount they are hoping to gain by selling items in their house that they no longer want or need. Then the items are taken to auction, and sometimes they make their goals or better, and many times don't even come close.

Solje is a style of jewelry which is considered the traditional national jewelry of the Scandinavian country Norway. The jewelry normally consists of a setting of sterling silver, or 800 silver, from which hang small round or oval tear shaped "spoons" in either silver or gold metal. The background piece will often have an interesting design, such as a crown top, or a scalloped edge design.