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!
Nippon
Tammy’s on TV! : Thousands anticipated to flood Oronoco for annual Gold Rush Days – KTTC Rochester, Austin, Mason City News, Weather and Sports
Shake It Off!
A small fender-bender adds up to $5k
I haven’t been in an accident since I was a teenager… So getting hit was quite a shock. But I think it was worse for the young woman who hit us.
But here’s the good news:
- No one got hurt.
- The other driver took full responsibility.
- The Traverse was still drivable.
So all we had to do was wait (45 minutes) for the police to show up to write a report. And file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company. While we waited we got to know the young woman who was driving the other car. She’s 17, just learning to drive and made a rookie mistake. I think that’s happened to all of us. And before we finished up with the business side of the accident we met her sister, her mother and her boyfriend — all who came to support her! Pretty nice, huh?!
By 8PM Friday night we were finally back on the road and headed to Oklahoma City. We had another little adventure that night at the hotel involving a different young lady — dressed in a very tight, very small black dress coming out of a hotel room. But I’ll leave the details of that story out of our G-rated blog!
The next day was Saturday — and I have to admit that it was not our best day. There wasn’t a problem with the people we met that day or the places we visited. I just think we were still a little shook up from the day before and some of the fun had worn off. So after one stop at 23rd Street Antiques where we purchased a lovely flow blue pitcher and a Blue Aurene Steuben vase we headed back north.
Sunday we stopped by the Overland Park Antique Show. Wow. Okay let me say that again. WOW!
- Okay, it cost me $6 bucks a person to get in.
- And Yes, there were only about 50 vendors.
- BUT Talk about high end. I’ve always said WE carried high end, but these vendors REALLY had HIGH END
- AND the vendors were willing to deal!
We saw more Tiffany, Steuben, Loetz, Pairpoint, Flow Blue and Brilliant Cut Glass at this show then we’ve seen in ALL OF OUR BUYING TRIPS PUT TOGETHER. It was magnificent! And as I walked the aisles I kept finding things that took my breath away. Honestly — this show is worth the drive — even if all you are going to do is ooh and aah. The vendors were VERY knowledgeable and the education itself was more than worth the door fee!
Don't Let the "American Gothic" look fool you. These two are a HOOT!
I have to admit at first glance we assumed everything was going to be out of our price range. WE WERE WRONG. Yes, there was a lot of high end art glass. And high-end art glass is not cheap. But we found that the majority of the vendors were very reasonably priced.
- Mom found out that this was the place for a Good Deal and a Good Time!
We also assumed that prices would be “firm” in this kind of venue. Once again, WE WERE WRONG. We found that with very little haggling we were able to negotiate a discounted price.
This show was GREAT. And no doubt about it…we WILL BE BACK in 2011!
So that’s the story of our 2010 Fall Buying Trip.
- We spent 5 days on the road together.
- We opened the door to build relationships with 4 more dealers.
- We learned a ton.
- And we purchased 97 new items.
All-in-all, even with the Wham Bam I think it was a valuable way to spend our time and money!
Antiquing over the Weekend
Last weekend Michael and I had the opportunity to do a little antiquing on our way to and from a family reunion. YEAH!
We drove the back roads and stopped in every small town along the way. When you do that — it’s always a crap shoot. Is there an antique store? Is someone having a garage sale? Or will you meet someone at the diner that thinks you should call Uncle Ed because he inherited Aunt Mabel’s stuff and doesn’t know what to do with it? You never know. You might find a treasure — or it might be a total bust.
We were fortunate last weekend. We stopped at 9 places. At the first stop we walked through a HUGH warehouse. Now I’ve got to admit that I am not like American Pickers. I don’t enjoy wearing gloves and fighting my way through piles of junk. So this stop was tough for me. There were three levels of bad garage sale merchandise with a few good items tucked away in dusty corners. We left with some hand painted butter pats and a couple pieces of amberina.
Royal Nippon Tankard
A few hours and 4 stops later we made the purchases of the weekend. This time we were in an antique mall about 15 minutes from the Mississippi River. We had walked the entire mall without much luck – and then at the last booth Michael spotted a hand painted Royal Nippon Tankard. With a phone offer going to the dealer — we had a few minutes to kill — so we headed back around.
That was a good decision!
Moriage Cobalt Crescent Vase
For some reason — on the second pass we found two more treasures. I found a beautiful piece of cobalt moriage. And Michael found a gorgeous 1949 Esquire Calendar. He says it’s not for sale — but as Walt says — everything is for sale!
Nine Lives Antiques 