Wow! What a Farewell!

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After last weekend, the entire family feels humbled and extremely blessed!

  • We UNDERSTOOD that we sent everyone an invitation to our last show.
  • We HOPED that a few people would drop in to say goodbye.
  • AND never in our wildest dreams did we believe that ALL of you would be there!

It was AMAZING!

Even though the show officially opened on Saturday morning at 9am on August 31st — our first forever customer sneaked in around 8:30am.  And from that moment on — it was a non-stop, fun-for-all that included helping folks find their final Nine Lives piece, storytelling, hugs, tears, laughter, wrapping and of course, coffee & cookies.

Forever customers came from Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois and the great state of Iowa.  Some people even changed their Labor Day plans — just to come and join us for a few hours.

UNBELIEVABLE!

What did people take home?

  • Steuben blue & gold Aurene vases
  • RS Prussia — from Schooner cake plates to cobalt bowls & tankards
  • Moser, Loetz & Rindskoff vases, decanters and flower frogs
  •  Nippon & museum-level Moriage
  • Epergnes that dated from 1810 to 1930
  • Old, Old, Old Vaseline pieces
  • Victorian Glass
  • Red Bohemian & Czech Glass
  • American Hand-Painted Porcelian
  • Mid-Century Modern from Flygsfors to Orrefors to Blenko
  • Salts & Cruets
  • And even some Toothpicks, Pin-ups & Christmas from our own private collections!

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What did WE take home?  That’s not easy to explain…

Nine Lives Antiques was a business…  It was a business we always wanted to build on relationships.  We wanted to get to know our customers.  We wanted to learn who our customers were, what was important to them and what they loved to collect.  We wanted to move beyond business — to friendships.

And we learned Labor Day weekend — beyond a shadow of a doubt — that Nine Lives Antiques not only has forever customers — Walt & Lois and Michael & Tammy have made forever friends!  And the way that you helped us close this chapter of our lives will forever be stamped on our hearts.

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Some VERY BIG News!

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We have loved meeting fellow antiquers, learning about their passions and finding special pieces to add to their collection.   And after 20+ years, our last show will be Labor Day weekend at the Expo Center in Spirit Lake Iowa.

Please come see us.

We truly want to spend our last show talking, laughing and reminiscing with all of you! And… if you’ve had your eye on something for a while, EVERYTHING left in our inventory will be 40 –75% off.

 Tammy & Michael

Lois & Walt

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Oronoco Gold Rush!

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Hi Everyone!  Are you looking forward to Oronoco Gold Rush Days?  We are!!  We get to see lots of friends we haven’t seen in awhile.  As well as a few we saw in Walnut.  😉  Just be sure to check the weather ahead of time so you can be prepared whether it is Hot, Rainy, or PLEASANT – which is the option we are praying for!  See you there!

Walnut, IA!

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We are looking forward to seeing all of you this weekend!  PLEASE NOTE: The Walnut show this year is only TWO DAYS – Friday and Saturday.  It is not open on Sunday this year.  And, Michael has decided to reduce the number of Pin-Ups he owns by 3/4 and will be bringing them to this show for sale.  See you there!

A New Show Season!

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Welcome to our 2019 Show Season!  Please check your calendars and find time to come see us!  It starts out at Spirit Lake over Memorial Day weekend.

As always we have a variety of new things for you to ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’ over.  Also, Tammy did have her other knee replaced last fall, and all went well.  And just like last time, she had it done as outpatient surgery.  My wife (and Walt & Lois’ daughter) is a rock star!

 

ORONOCO!

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It’s a great day to come see us at the Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days!  The weather is fantastic, the tents are up, the beauties are out, Tammy is almost done merchandising everything and talking with everyone, Lois is busy wrapping some purchases, Walt is taking money, and I am staying out of the way!  😉

More Rainbows!

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Traveling home to West Des Moines from the Memorial Day show in Spirit Lake, Tammy and I got to play ‘tag’ with several thunderstorms.  First we got to see a beautiful sunset!

 

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Then came the rainbows.  Check it out – I’ve never seen horizontal rainbow before!  Look closely just above the horizon.

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Then we caught up to one of the storm cells…

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But we made it home safe and sound – and all the bugs got washed off the windshield and grill!

We Love Rainbows!

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Many of you know that Walt and Lois live in Spirit Lake – which is why we do two of our shows there.  Many of you also know that they actually live on Big Spirit.  While there, we were treated to some pretty cool rainbows Saturday evening as some storms passed by.  If you look real close on the fourth picture you can see the very faint second rainbow to the left of the bright one!

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Steuben Aurene

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This year a beautiful Steuben Blue Aurene vase adorns our annual postcard.  And if you’ve ever stopped by our booth – you know we LOVE Steuben Aurene Glass.  But just what IS Steuben Aurene Glass?

Let’s start here:  Aurene glass was made by Steuben Glass Works – which was an American art glass manufacturer.  The company was founded in 1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes. 

Gold Aurene Vase

You might know the name Hawkes – he was the owner of the largest cut glass firm in Corning, New York.  As for Fredrick Carter – he was the head designer for Stevens and Williams (based out of England) and when they passed him over for a promotion, Hawkes convinced him to become the artistic designer, production supervisor, and marketing director of the new Steuben Glass Works factory – located in Corning, New York – in the county of Steuben (pronounced with the accent on the last syllable) – hence the name! 

When Carder arrived, he immediately began to produce crystal blanks for the artisans at the Hawkes factory to cut – which ensured his success.  But his passion was colored glass – and in 1904 he invented Gold Aurene.

The name Aurene comes from the Latin word for gold and the English word sheen.  It is produced by spraying clear malleable glass with a metallic chloride – and then heating it in a patent-protected process – which caused the glass surface to “crackle into millions of tiny lines that reflect light like a layer of oil floating on water” — creating a luminous and iridescent finish.  In 1905 Carder added additional colors including cobalt blue, green, red and brown.    

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Around the same time Tiffany Co. was producing a similar iridescent glass called Favrile.  Both Carder and Tiffany thought “their” recipe or process was the victim of corporate espionage and took one another to court.  The judge personally went and observed both “secret” processes and found that while the glass looked similar – the methodology used to create Favrile and Aurene glass were indeed very different.   And if you take the time to feel the finishes – you can tell the difference yourself. 

We have both Steuben and Tiffany pieces on our table.  But to be honest – Steuben Aurene is our favorite.  You should stop by and test feel it for yourself!