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!
Then came the rainbows. Check it out – I’ve never seen horizontal rainbow before! Look closely just above the horizon.
Then we caught up to one of the storm cells…
But we made it home safe and sound – and all the bugs got washed off the windshield and grill!
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!
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.
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.
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!
Are you ready? We almost are. Just some few last minute details to complete then we’ll be ready to roll out the welcome mat! Remember, our first show is just 9 days away in Spirit Lake, Iowa in the Expo Building at the Fairgrounds. We look forward to seeing your smiling faces there!
We’ve had our fair share of rotten weather at outdoor shows.
At Oronoco Gold Rush 2016…
And then finally the sun decided to bless us on Sunday.
OK. The weather was BAD. But let me give you the good news. The volunteers…let me say that again, THE VOLUNTEERS at Oronoco Gold Rush SAVED THE DAY!
The ground was pretty much saturated before we got there. So there really wasn’t anywhere for the water to go. So when it started raining on Thursday — it only took about 10 minutes before the water in our tent was mid-calf!
We were devastated. We knew we couldn’t expect customers to walk through 8 inches of water to shop! And with so many friends that we only get to see at Gold Rush — the idea of having to shut down was — well — horrible.
But it didn’t take long before the Oronoco Gold Rush Committee Volunteers swooped in. The fire department pumped the water out of our booth yet that evening. Our soaked tablecloths were washed and dried by a kind-hearted volunteer. Friday morning (at 5am) Skyler & Beau were at our booth — armed with a electric pump — to ensure that we would be ready for business at 8am. And then the whole committee checked back on us, regularly, all weekend long.
Yep. It rained. And it rained long and hard. The support we received however from the Oronoco Gold Rush Committee allowed us to be open and serve our customers — without having to “wade in the water.”
So a BIG THANK YOU goes out to the Oronoco Gold Rush Committee. Those folks take a lot of grief, don’t get paid, and in 2016 had to deal with unbelievable weather — and they do it year after year with patience and a smile. We’ll never forget 2016 — not because of the weather — but because of the good people of Oronoco, Minnesota.
I had to laugh. I wrote a blog post yesterday during lunch at my day job. I logged on tonight to type it in. I happened to look at the ‘most recent’ post. It too was from this same time period – last year! And to top it off, half of what I wrote yesterday repeats what I wrote a year ago. LOL So instead I will just say that we were happy to see everyone we did in Spirit Lake and look forward to seeing everyone who will come to visit us in Walnut! And be safe driving to see us.
Michael, Tammy, Lois & Walt
Hi Everyone!
We just wanted to say Thank You to everyone that stopped by our booth in Spirit Lake, IA over the Memorial Day weekend! We enjoyed visiting with you and catching up. We also look forward to visiting with everyone that will have a chance to stop by this coming weekend – Father’s Day weekend – in Walnut, IA. We still have lots of new stuff we found over the winter for y’all to ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’ over! And the weather looks to be nice (so far) for most of the weekend. So put on your walking shoes and c’mon out!
Michael, Tammy, Lois and Walt
EAPG cake stands
I turned 50 this year. Yep – half a century old. And instead of worrying about “getting old” I decided to celebrate with a “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First” party!
We hired a bartender to make ice cream drinks. We had 3 chocolate fountains with a gazillion items to dip including strawberries, marshmallows and homemade potato chips. And we topped it all off with a ton of finger desserts including cake balls, mini cheesecakes, brownies, dessert bars and cookies. Of course, I didn’t even think about setting the food out until it arrived…
Ah – Salvers to the rescue!
So what’s a salver? Salver came from the Latin word salvare’ which means “to save.” And in Europe during the 17th century a salva tray – filled with samples of the food that was going to be served – was given to the “taster” before the King took his first bite.
The popular name for a salver is cake stand. And although cake stands were first mentioned in 1620 – in the United States they were manufactured around 1770 when prosperous families began serving extravagant dessert courses that often included a pyramid of footed cake stands filled with candied fruits, nuts, puddings, cakes and tarts.
Cake Stand Pyramid
English author Hannah Glasse describes an example in her 1760s recipe book, The Compleat Confectioner:
“In the middle a high pyramid of one salver above another, the bottom one large, the next smaller, the top one less; these salvers are to be fill’d with all kinds of wet and dry sweet-meats in glass, baskets or little plates, colour’d jellies, creams, & biscuits, crisp’d almonds and little knickknacks, and bottles of flowers prettily intermix’d, the little top salver must have large preserv’d fruit in it.”
Now – I admit I had not read Hannah’s book before my party. Nor was I trying to re-create a 1770 dinner party (I’m not THAT old!). I just wanted to find a way to put out all of my desserts AND make the table look nice. And since I had recently purchased a collection of cake plates – thank heavens – all I had to do was unwrap them, wash them and set the table.
Now I’m hooked. I LOVE cake stands! And I’m searching for them on all of my antiquing trips. So far most of the cake stands I’ve been able to find are round – but I’ve found a few that are square, hexagonal and even octagonal. And I’ve even snagged a purple slag cake stand and two Vaseline salvers.
Square Milk Glass Cake Stands
Green Depression Glass Cake Stands
Ceramic Ruffled Cake Stand
But don’t think for a moment that cake stands are only for cake – just ask Martha Stewart. She suggests that you can use them as
centerpieces, candelabras or even flower stands.
Hmmm. A functional — usable antique. Imagine that!
I’m not just an antiquer — I’m also a golfer. So when the Kansas City Metro Chapter of the EWGA (Executive Women’s Golf Association) invited the Des Moines Chapter to join them for a golf outing in Grove, Oklahoma — I jumped at the chance.
The carpool picked me up bright and early on Friday morning and we headed south on I35. We had a 6 1/2 hour drive ahead of us — and I had antiquing on my mind!
I love to drive I35 because Missouri has this antiquing thing figured out. Every 45 minutes there is a GOOD antique shop — just off the highway. So you can drive 45 minutes — and then shop for 45 minutes. Drive 45 minutes. Shop 45 minutes. Yep — it takes a lot longer to get to Kansas City — but it’s worth it!
Now, if I had had my way — we would have stopped at every antique mall in every small town between Des Moines and Grove, Oklahoma. But alas — I was a passenger on this trip. So I had to strategize. When would we require gas breaks? When would nature call? How long would our knees last? And if I could only convince them to stop once — what would my 1st choice be…
I love this place. They have great dealers with beautiful merchandise. But the one thing that makes them stand out is that the people behind the counter really know their dealers and are more than willing to call them and negotiate for you! And if you are looking for something specific — they know just where to look. Did I tell you I love this place?
My golf mates were very kind — and agreed to stop. To save time I had planned to just shop 3 of my favorite dealers — but the gal behind the counter suggested I look in two additional booths. And that ended up being good advice. I found an unusual RS Prussia Hidden Image Shaving Mug for one of our regular customers.
And two pieces of Czech glass that I know will draw a lot of attention in Oronoco.
I admit I wanted to spend more than 30 minutes shopping. And for the rest of the trip — every time I saw a sign for a mall or spotted that antique flag flying — my heart fluttered and it broke my heart to drive right on by. But I know I’ll be back.
Earlier this year we decided that it was time to do a little picking in Oklahoma and Texas. And now I have a travel plan in mind. I-35, US-71, I-44 — here we come!
Nine Lives Antiques 
