Happy Halloween!

from our Sunday bulletin at Christ Church Unity of Rochester NY.

Shifting Gears

A long time ago, back in the mid 1970s I got interested in the auction scene around our area.  Not really sure why because I wasn't collecting anything particular.  But summer auctions in western NY in the 70s were an entertainment venue for sure!  Hot dogs, coffee, sometimes soup or chili (especially good in fall) filled the day along with farmhouse treasure after treasure.  I was learning something new every minute.  I know my husband had a megga heart palpitation when I came home with a van literally stuffed full of green house clay pots because I bought "the contents of a shed" at one local farm.  Those pots started my very first business venture, called Pots & Knots,  for macrame plant hangers!

Fast forward and Another Time came into being in 1978 as an antiques business!  (That craft market was a tough sell!) Co-ops were the order of the day and I joined a local one in an old grain mill.  I can still taste the grain dust we battled with every time the shops opened for the weekend! Just like with internet malls today, every time a new co-op opened, everyone thought "that was the place to be" for the best antiques sales! Boy did I move around!

Like all good antique dealers, flea markets and shows were a must and boy did I do my share! Besides running shops and raising young children, I did 13-15 antique shows a year at my peak!  My kids still lovingly remember soup and sandwich weekends with Dad!  (He still makes a killer pot of soup!

 

Starting in 1993 I went into the sole proprietor store owner stage!  4 stores in 15 years and all within 10 miles of each other!  Next life I may just hire myself out as a Mover!

Last but not least..... ??  Hey, ya never know!

 These stores will forever remain precious in my heart.  Talk about maximum output in creativity, education and endurance!  Being a single store owner is the best education I ever could have given myself.  The numbers of degrees I earned far outweigh anything I could have earned through the college route!  Talk about student loans!  I have so many skills to play with it's mind boggling.  Work never gets dull.

Also in 1998 I joined into the wild and wooly eBay scene!   Wow - a whole nuther' world and a whole new adventure in antiquing and sales.  It was that venture that made my decision to close down the main street store venture in 2008.  Shortly after though I left eBay sellling around 2010 to try the online store venue.  The clientele truly has become worldwide.  Oh my how "my little corporate" entity has grown!  Same hats to wear but definitely a different desk to sit at and manage from.  But the creativity and education remain, so onward I go.  My passion is fulfilled.  Sometimes I think about retirement, but not too often!

And bottom line ...  recently I went to some good old barn auctions again because I missed all that great entertainment and surprise!  Still some great soups and chili to be had too!  Definitely hot coffee flows.

Last but not least, you guessed it, I decided to give eBay a whirl again.  If I didn't some other young lady might wind up buying "the contents of a shed" at my own estate auction some day! LOL  Amazing how the circles just keep on a keepin' on!

Once Upon a Lady's Travels

Some of the jewelry I featured below came from one estate.  The woman was known to travel and she collected jewelry where ever she went.  Her tastes range from very traditional to sleekly modernist abstract designs.I thought it would be fun to show you the kinds of travel she visited by putting together one photo album of some of her jewels.  I now have it posted on my Facebook fan page.  Please stop by ... and I hope you "Like" the page while you are there!

Here I go again...

Feels like it's a time to claim "the devil made me do it"...LOL.  But actually I have been drawn to head back to the auction world for a while.  So tonight I listed a few pieces of older glassware and Blue Ridge Red Nocturne to start up the ol' board again.  Remember, my trading name is boycetime on eBay:

Vintage Clothing Auctions November

Always like to help spread the word for the advancement of vintage clothing & accessory collectors! 

Vintage Clothing & Accessories Auction

November 5th 

Horsham V.F.W. Banquet Room

324 Sawmill Lane

Horsham PA.

Click below to see what's already arrived.

 Auction Zip Listing

And of course do NOT miss the opportunity of Karen Augusta's fabulous specialty fashion and historic textile sale. Wednesday, November 2.  It is the 25th!   The 412-lot auction will be held in New York City at St. Pauls Auditorium on Columbus Avenue (at 60th Street) and will begin promptly at NOON.    You can view the auction catalog online

November is a great month for vintage fashion!

Estate Clues

Moss Agate Brooch

The fun part of working with vintage items is doing the research for the items and the estate from which they came.  Over the years I have always made private estate buying my main mode and getting direct information was much easier!   But now that the B&M shop is closed, I find myself intrigued by the auction world again. It's a fun way to keep up with the happenings in the business.  Thanks to the internet, product identification is possible goal! 

A recent auction showed an abundance of very nice jewelry so I had to go.  The auctioneer mentioned only one fact about the woman's estate:  she traveled extensively.  One region for sure she traveled to is in the UK, Scotland, Ireland region!  How can I tell?  Take a peek at these wonderful jewels from her collection!

Robert Allinson

Moss Agate - Cornish Stone Co.

The two moss agate brooches are still in their original purchase boxes from Cornish Stone Co which I located at the Cornwall tourish region of UK.  The upper left sterling two piece Celtic pin comes from RA jewelry of Scotland.  The lovely thistle pin is enameled sterling silver.


My lady traveled even further north into the Baltic Seas around Norway and Sweden.  The next pin has very faint etchings on the back.  I can make out: Finn and also Made in Norw... (Norway)

Norway

Another region she traveled was in the American southwest.  These Native American silver jewels are still under research, but surely the Zuni and Hopi artists were obviously favorites of hers!