"'Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and hell itself
breathes out contagion to this world." ~ William Shakespeare

I think it is wonderful that Ruby Lane is "going green". My daughter was part of the Ontario Eco-Kids program last year and has truly proven that one person can make a difference.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. How have I come to this? Hanging on a Halloween rack with a graduation gown, a ballerina tutu, an old baseball uniform and a pair of lederhosen!

Back in the day I was a star, a designer gown, sparkling on the rack just waiting for the discerning lady with very, very deep pockets.

There are so many great shows on T.V. that focus on organizing your space and de-cluttering your home. These same principles can certainly apply to the way your jewellery is stored and organized.

From the earliest annals of history, the better idea, which evolved into the more affordable idea, has always been front and center in jewelry design. Whether it was the copies of Whitby jet Mourning jewelry in the glass known as French Jet or the wish to convey diamonds with Victorian paste, jewelry design has been at the forefront of innovation with crystal and glass as their medium of frequent choice. The mastery of crystal design and its hand cutting gave fame to the Czech, who crafted exquisite fakes.

This is part of a series of blogs about attending live auctions. We will address auction etiquette here.

When attending live auctions, there are a few basic rules that will help make the auction experience a comfortable and successful one for both new and seasoned attendees:

An Ohio reader’s e-mail begins: “As a soon to be 30-year dealer, I want to weigh in on [the issue of the death of antiques shows]. Our area is currently watching the demise of one of its premier shows. It is not the dealers or buyers that are to blame. It is the show promoter.

“An antiques show or flea market is not rocket science, so why is it so difficult for some promoters to ‘get it together?’ There is a saying in the show car trade: don’t go to a car show that is not run by a ‘car guy.’ This is also true in the antiques trade….

My mother may not be Einstein, but she always did have a stockpile of good solid advice. One bit of advice that has worked for me across the board in my antiques hunting has been a simple directive: "Ask. The worst they can say is 'No'."

You know that feeling that you get when you walk into an auction and there is so much stuff to look at? Stuff you collect or would like to resell. It's like an overly excited feeling that you try to keep from showing while you try to decide where to start.

It is a feeling that you must hurry to get that perfect seat, your number and make sure you have your pen and paper ready.

It's a feeling that you must turn everything over and examine it carefully but don't want the next person see you write down the lot number.

The lure of charm bracelets is timeless! Definitely a quintessential feminine collectible, the cache of twinkling charms tells the unique and very interesting story of the wearer and what is near and dear to her heart.