Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,

Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween!"

- - - Dexter Kozen

Accumulator and collector are not synonymous. While there are some similarities, the differences far outweigh them.

The accumulator and collector are committed to the joy of collecting. They are passionate and enthusiastic, bound by the act of collecting and not what they collected. There is no limit to or prejudice toward what is collected. Watermelon-theme objects are as acceptable as antiques and collectibles. It is all égale.

I call it the" little old lady syndrome". You know what I mean. A seller states "I bought this from a 90 year old woman and she said this belonged to her mother, so it's an antique". Really? I've got an orange and white cat figurine from the estate of a 97 year old woman. It was given to her years ago by her 98 year old mother who remembers playing with one just like it as a child. So that makes it... 25 years old. That's right. My great-grandmother died about 25 years ago at 98, my grandmother died last year at 97. The figurine was bought at a big box store in the mid-1980's. I know.

We asked Harry Rinker: "What are some of the common reasons antiques and collectibles fall out of favor?" Here is his response:

The reasons are many and growing. There are endangered antiques and collectibles collecting categories. The guarantee that once a collecting category is created, it will continue indefinitely, has vanished.

Whether you are a buyer or seller there are those things that you always seem to forget that make the experience a little challenging.

-- 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.

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.

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.

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.