Kids and bugs, antiques and appraisers, oh my!
Take a moment to think about the household you grew up in. Was it modern, with the latest and greatest of everything? Or were things a bit older, perhaps showing their age, and included items that you rarely see nowadays?
When you’re driving down the road and see a roadside sign for an antique store or flea market, do you turn into the driveway? Do you make a mental note to check it out later? Do you keep driving? There are no right or wrong answers; this is just food for thought.
Many households have a comfortable blend of the old and the new. I’ve seen households with all the latest gadgets and modern furniture, then noticed an assortment of vintage figurines in a display case. Or a single oil lamp on a bedroom windowsill. It doesn’t take much.
Sometimes a purchase comes home, and it just doesn’t work with your particular household. That doesn’t mean that it’s junk. It just means that it hasn’t yet found the right home.
This was the case in my own household. A vintage 50’s Italian brass bug ashtray with hinged wings just wasn’t working. Off we went to Karen Glenn’s great treasure house, Country Side Antiques, and I left Bugsy on a table.
By day’s end I received the most adorable photo: Bugsy had found his new owner! Colleen Whitteker and her youngest child, Asher, came searching for decor for his room. They also found a lovely framed poster, and Asher found Bugsy. Love at first sight 🙂
Colleen’s parents were passionate about antiques, which cultivated her love and appreciation for old items. Clearly this passion has taken root in Asher, and his older sister will save up her birthday money for small antiques.
This is the kind of story, and photo, that gives me hope for the future of antiques.
A quick aside on being someone who is both an appraiser and a very minor antique dealer. Sometimes, in my role of appraiser, I see items that I personally find interesting and may want to buy. But I am bound by a stringent code of ethics while appraising; being impartial during the appraisal process is crucial so that an item’s value is not artificially altered.
However, once the completed appraisal report is handed over to the client, I can then safely don my antique dealer hat and make an offer, especially if they have expressed an interest in selling.
And that’s all, folks! Have a great and safe remainder of the long weekend 🙂
