Many reproductions of Art Nouveau lamp forms are available from modern companies. Confusion can easily arise when these copies are marketed in concert with the names of the original designers who created them in the Art Nouveau period.

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I drove down to the final giant outdoor show of the year, hoping to find amid the boats and buttons, the clutter of the pilers and the tents of the specialists, that elusive early indicater of man's reaching for the heavens. As he grasps the sky, here in the land of leaderless capitalism, you can be sure promoters saw potential.

Serendipity is a delightful event which can offer amazing opportunities for those who pursue the possibilities. I completed a commissioned oil painting in November 2012 to be presented as a Christmas present from a husband to his wife, depicting their favorite stop on a trip they took to Europe in September 2011. Here is the story of how this came about in hopes others will act on ideas to make dreams come true.

In the past few years pieces of authentic antique majolica by companies like George Jones and Sons, Minton, Holdcroft and Wedgwood have been copied by unscrupulous manufacturers. Reproduction examples of valuable pieces of note now exist in shapes such as cheese keepers, pitchers, compotes and large decorative bowls.

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A few days ago my 9 year old great niece told me that her school teacher had the class chew peppermint gum before their weekly spelling list test. I said, "What?! Are you sure?!" She said, "Sure I'm sure!" I told her in my day if you got caught with gum, you either had to have enough for the whole class, or you had to walk up in front of everybody and spit it out in the garbage can!

The world of collecting can become a good investment. The photo accompanying this blog was taken recently at The DC Big Flea Antique Show near Washington DC. The vendor at this booth has collected hat pins since 1979. Once she began collecting, her passion for hat pins became a treasure hunt. Her vacations were planned treasure hunts to search for antique hat pins. Her hat pin collection is huge.

I have always found it quite ironic that the most 'uncomfortable' part of the online shopping process, seemingly, for my clients is handling their item's shipment. The bulk of questions I received were not about the authenticity of the listings or concern about paying online but about how to work out the additional cost of shipping.

We recently purchased a lot of turn of the Century jewelry at our local auction house. One of the pieces was a small gold plated pin with the celluloid photo of a beautiful baby. The lovely twisted frame and simple C clasp dated it to the early 1900s—just a tiny little memento, but it touched my mother’s heart. My second baby, a boy, is due in just four weeks.