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
Brimfield, Massachusetts
Imagine for just a minute…
Doesn’t that sound like heaven?
I’m talking about Brimfield — the largest outdoor antique show in the US!
And after years of talking with vendors about the show and reading about it we finally took the plunge and decided to shop the July 2013 show.
Now if you know anything about me — I like to be prepared. So:
Think about it. 4,800 vendors. How do you shop a show with that many vendors? Where do you start? And how do you make decisions when just down the road there may be a better deal or a fantastic piece?
We spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to understand how the show works and trying to identify vendors that carry our specialties. Got to tell you — don’t bother. The Internet was NOT helpful. So what do you need to know before you take off for Brimfield?
Typical 1-Day Booth
Prior to Brimfield all of the shows that I have attended work the same way. The vendors are expected to be open for the entire show. So you would assume that since Brimfield is a six day show that the vendors would be set up for all six days. That is NOT how it works. In reality Brimfield consists of 21 individual shows that all happen to be in the same small town during the “same” time period. Each of the 21 shows are set up in a “field”. The field owner sets the schedule for their show. Some shows last six days. Some shows last just a matter of hours. So the first thing you need to know is what are the days and hours for each field.
http://www.brimfieldshow.com/showpr~.htm
Fields that are six day shows will be open all of the time. So you can visit them at your leisure. The one-day shows are another story. If you want to shop these shows don’t dawdle. We found that many vendors closed up shop within 3 hours of opening!
Waiting in line for the field to open
Are you a fan of Black Friday shopping? If so you are going to LOVE the one-day fields at Brimfield. This is how it works.
Even if you don’t enjoy the rush and craziness of Black Friday the one day shows are worth it. We found our best pieces and prices at these shows.
Best Price?
Transactions at Brimfield are not relationship based. The vendors that we met didn’t want to talk about the history of the piece or who made it. They prefer to deal with re-sellers versus collectors. And for them it’s a commodities exchange. So don’t expect a lot of conversation beyond best price. And remember this is the east coast. You shouldn’t expect a “Midwest Nice” experience. The vendors don’t intend to be rude — it’s simply a time issue. They want to sell as much as possible in as little time as possible.
Most vendors will take a check if you have a re-sale number. If you don’t have a tax number bring cash. To be honest we thought that was strange until we learned that the vendors did not want to file sales tax for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hmmm. Unlike Iowa and Minnesota I guess they don’t pay sales tax on any of their transactions.
Back Road to Brimfield
Don’t take the main road off the highway into Brimfield. You’ll triple your commute time. There are back roads that will take you directly into the center of Brimfield. Take the back roads and park in the center of town. You’ll save a few bucks by parking at either end of town — but trust me the $2.00 difference is not worth it at the end of a long antiquing day!
You don’t need to be there from sun up to sun down. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we shopped from 8am to 2pm. If we go again we’ll probably skip the weekend.
If we were to drive directly to Brimfield from Iowa it would take more than 21 hours to get there. So was it worth it?
Well I will admit that Michael and I had a gas. We antiqued all the way out there and back. We took the time to visit family. We shopped till we dropped. And we found some beautiful pieces — not only in Brimfield but in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana as well. Will we go again? We certainly hope so. And if you have the chance to go — send us an email. We’d be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Brimfield can be daunting — but the experience is definitely worth it!
Limoges Dresser Box
Intaglio Master Salt
Flysfor Heart Vase
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!
Nine Lives Antiques 