In time for 4th of July - add to your entertainment table this set of stemware made by Avon, circa 1970’s. One has George Washington and one has Martha Washington. Great condition.

Only $11.75 for the set!

Originally priced at $20.00/set.

Social Networking is at an all time high. As I wrote on another website recently, “People are reaching out more than ever on the internet and other avenues to belong, to discover, to meet, to draw upon…groups are formed continuously to assimilate and share information and to reinforce each others dreams.”

In the wide, wide world of antiques and collectibles, this trend is especially vibrant and alive. From sheer desire to research and learn more about specific collectibles or antiques, finding others who do the same is invaluable.

One of my favorite online antique and collectible social network sites is I Antique Online - a community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles & art.

I joined this site when there were just a few members and today 2,188 eager collectors and dealers share photos, swap stories, join specialty groups, ask questions, exchange information and most of all have fun!

I happen to moderate two groups on this site: China Chat - discussing elegant antique and vintage porcelain china.  And Vintage Holiday Collectibles - where we  share ideas, post photos, advertise sales and discuss any items of interest related to holiday collectibles.

I also co-moderate a third one, Everyday Pottery, Ceramic Cookware and Dishes with Barbara Crews, one of my favorite authors on collectibles who writes for collector newsletters and about.com.  I found out through chatting on this site, she lives almost next door to my family in Oklahoma! Now, that’s social networking!

I’m also a member of AVCOSA - Antiques, Vintage and Collectibles Online Sellers Association. Even though I haven’t been as involved in this one, it carries a productive element of professional advise and discussions that are unique.

Of course, there are social networks off line too. Your local clubs, collector’s organizations and an array of other ways to connect, learn, grow and be related to those who love antiques and collectibles.

What Antique and Collectible Social Network are you a part of? Tell us about it!

This past weekend, I reserved a table at a Ladies Retreat in Estes Park, Colorado and displayed my Vintage Jewelry. It was my first marketplace experience and it was so fun! And I sold quite a bit too.

Even though I love vintage selling online, I now have the itch to additionally take some of my products out where the people are. I noticed that many of those who stopped by my table began reminiscing about grandma’s screw-back earrings or a retro pair that was similar to what they wore in high school. Just holding them and sharing their memories, prompted many a sale. Others bought the jewelry as unique gifts to take home to a special friend or relative.

As part of my signage, I inserted a photo of myself at the age of three into a vintage reproduction frame. It was quite appropriate - since I am vintage too! 

Ahhhh….

So, share your experiences in marketplace buying or selling!

What would collectors do without Collector Reference Books? Identification and offering some kind of value is their most important use. Many collector books offer extra history on the collectible and give dating as well.

My Mom collected collector books. I remember when she had her store, I would purchase a collector book for her on special occasions. As the years went by, the collection grew. I related on Grandma’s Treasures Online, she ended up with over 500 volumes on hundreds of topics.

Therefore, I have a large selection for sale! Most of them are dated 1999-2005. I’ve realized that on many of the topics, subsequent reference books have not followed so they are still heavily relied on, especially for identification. However on value, that is always up in the air and continues to vary greatly with the popular auction sites to keep the prices fluctuating wildly. In reality, any antique or collectible is only worth what another will pay for it.

What’s your collection? Maybe you can match up a reference book for a bargain!

“Kitsch Kitchen” by Janet Hill - Janet Hill Studio

Shop more paintings at Janet Hill’s Studio Shop.

Kitsch is the German and Yiddish word denoting art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an existing style of art. The term kitsch was a response to the 19th century art whose aesthetics convey exaggerated sentimentality and melodrama, hence, kitsch art is closely associated with sentimental art.

Kitschy Frog courtesy of Aspen Country

I’m a little put off that someone would define the things I love as ‘inferior’ and ‘tasteless’ However, sentimental is a term I can accept. Sentimental art - bright Melmac dishes, art deco Pyrex, cloth calendars, painted tins, decals on glasses, green ceramic frogs…all the things that make up a fun, kitschy kitchen.

In the early 1970’s, I decorated my kitchen in yellow and white with touches of avocado and tangerine orange in the wallpaper. In the corner underneath the frilly lemon yellow curtains sat my white and yellow ice-cream table set for two, with yellow rod iron and white leather seats and Formica top. Perched prettily in the middle of this setting was my Avon salt and pepper shakers in…yes, yellow and white.

Everywhere I turn these days, I see the term “kitsch” or “kitschy” to describe sentimental items and decorating style inherited from a previous era.

e.how even describes how to create a kitschy kitchen, explaining, “Some people dream of a shiny, newly remodeled kitchen. Others have a nostalgia for the kitchens of their parents and grandparents. Fortunately, retro style is back en vogue and kitsch is a big part of that style. The good news is you don’t have to forgo modern conveniences to create a kitschy kitchen of your own.” This article offers some great tips on putting together your own kitschy kitchen.

Need some reference to specific kitchen items that may not be in current use? Grandma’s Treasures Online offers this great book of 300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles, an Identification and Value Guide by Linda Campbell Franklin.

I also created a category this week, just for fun kitchen collectibles. I’ll be adding to it as I go, so check back often.

So, what’s in your “kitschy” collection? What trail does your sentimental art follow?

Photo courtesy of Bauer Pottery 2000

J. A. Bauer Pottery Company created simple, yet beautiful stoneware from the late 1880s to the early 1960s.  Starting in Louisville, Kentucky, and then flourishing in Los Angeles, California, with lines ranging  from flowerpots to brilliantly colored dinnerware, Bauer Pottery was a popular staple in American homes for many decades.

It wasn’t until after the Depression in the 1930’s that Bauer introduced new, richly colored styles with huge success. Not surprisingly, all the major pottery companies in the United States began to follow with their own interpretations of Bauer’s style and vision.

Today, the work of J.A. Bauer has been reintroduced by a ceramics studio in Los Angeles, located just minutes from the original plant.  The new Bauer line, Bauer 2000, is being produced using original pieces as models, with an emphasis on items originally manufactured by Bauer in the 1930s - 1940s.

In Bauer Pottery History and Information by Schiffer Books, Books for Collectors, this interesting history is given, “Among collectors, vibrantly colored California pottery is one of the most popular collecting disciplines of the last ten years, and perhaps none is as highly desired as Bauer Pottery. The story of Bauer didn’t begin in California however, but rather in Paducah, Kentucky where J. Andy Bauer ran a ceramics factory which manufactured stoneware crocks, jugs, whiskey jugs, and pitchers. During the early years, the factory evolved to produce an ever more decorative  variety of kitchenware and inexpensive ceramics for the home such as redware versions of the crocks, jugs, and pitchers produced earlier but also decorative vases, a popular line of flower pots, milk jugs, mixing bowls, and other utilitarian pieces common in American homes. Bauer’s work was sold mostly in the Midwest from his base in Kentucky, for cost effective transcontinental distribution networks were still in their infancy. Sensing the limitations of this geographic dependency and thinking the California climate would be beneficial to his asthma, Andy Bauer opened a second manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, California in 1909. This was an area similar to the Zanesville area of Ohio, where there were groupings of talented potters and designers to draw upon. Los Angeles had the benefit of being the western terminus of the transcontinental rail lines, but it also offered inspiration in the emerging American Arts & Crafts movement. Bauer produced designs reflecting this new design aesthetic, and in 1916 they introduced a new line of hand thrown art pottery mostly in a matte green glaze reminiscent of Grueby ceramics. As California grew, so did Bauer pottery which sold their wares both at retail as well as wholesale to garden centers and nurseries.

After Andy Bauer died and was succeeded by Louis Ipsen, Ipsen designed the Bauer Ringware line, incorporating concentric circles, or “rings”, into a form that could be mass produced and sold at modest prices. Ringware was sold in a vibrant rainbow of colors and contrasted markedly from primarily white dinnerware common during the period and reminiscent of colorful Fiestaware which followed 7 years later and was designed by Frederick H. Rhead for the Homer Laughlin Company. Bauer pioneered innovations in glazing and ceramics manufacturing which they used to create the vibrant colors of Ringware, capitalizing on the talents of engineer Victor Houser who joined the firm in 1928 and revolutionized  Bauer manufacturing techniques. They produced hundreds of pieces to complement any table setting including plates and bowls of various sizes, cookie jars, oil jars, pitchers, teapots, mixing bowls, and table accessories. Many talented artists and designers created lines for Bauer over the years, with the most famous lines in addition to Ringware being Russel Wright, Fred Johnson, Speckleware, Monterey, Matt Carlton, Tracy Irwin, Gloss Pastel, Atlanta, Garden Ware, and Cal Art.

Bauer survived the years of the depression where many other early 20th century manufacturers did not, maintaining tight cost controls and efficient production methods to be able to price their wares affordably. The Bauer lines and innovation blossomed in the 1930s with their California lines, most of which incorporated textural variation with natural glazes in all the colors of the rainbow. Bauer pottery was noteworthy for its design but also sturdy in form, making it perfect for both indoor use as well as outdoor picnics and gatherings.

In the 1940s, Bauer opened a plant in Atlanta, Georgia where art pottery for their famous Russell Wright line was produced. Bauer had many imitators  which are now collected in their own right such as Metlox and Vernon Kilns, but Fiesta achieved the most success of all through the marketing savvy of Homer Laughlin. Only about 50% of Bauer pottery was marked, so there are a number of pieces on the market which are period authentic but unmarked. There are also a significant number of reproductions, but Bauer is easily recognizable to dealers familiar with their work. Marks they used included “Bauer” and “Bauer Los Angeles” used in the 20s and earlier and “Bauer Made in USA” or “Bauer USA” on works produced in the 1930s.”

Grandma’s Treasures Online offers two original Speckleware bowls by Bauer circa 1950’s-60’s. These were discovered in the cabinets of our 1950’s guest house and were probably passed down from the parents who originally lived out here. I love that these cereal/soup bowls are filled with history and yet can still be filled with oatmeal and yummy homemade soup today in someone’s mid-century decorated kitchen. So kitschy - as they say.

Recently, we decided to sell our turn of the century barn on our little ranch in Northwest Colorado. This decision has lured me into research about other vintage barns and on into the world of recycled history. From preserving barns to re-purposing barn wood into new homes, art and furniture - all options assure recycled history.

Dismantling and recycling old barns, barn boards and timbers is an environmentally friendly use of existing resources - rich with our American history. Today, there is a strong trend to try to recycle the old barns that are scattered over our American landscape. Aged timbers and planks, rusty corrugated tin and hardware are in high demand to those who cherish recreating history in their own environment.

Photo courtesy of Woodland Creek Furniture

From the plains of Oklahoma come two heartwarming stories of barn preservation.

One story hails from Arcadia, Oklahoma where the famous round barn was a part of where my path crossed from time to time in days gone by.

Located on Route 66 in the heart of Arcadia, this barn is one of America’s landmarks. It was built in 1898 and after serving it’s farming purposes also became a place where dances were held for the townspeople. When new interstates were built and traffic declined on Old Route 66, the town of Arcadia and it’s famous barn declined with it. In 1988, after years of neglect, the immense 60′ diameter roof finally collapsed.

Luther “Luke” Robison (a retired building contractor) who had long admired the Round Barn, decided he would save the historic landmark from utter ruin.  With the help of his ‘Over the Hill Gang’ (retired carpenters), he tackled the project and after four long years and lots of donations and support was able to declare victory for one more barn saved in our nation.

Another barn just outside the town I lived in for 23 years, Yukon, Oklahoma, is another story of near fatality but glorious rescue.

As reported by the Daily Oklahoman, “This old Yukon barn was about to go the way of many farm buildings that empty out, fall down and return to the soil they served. Its lines showed a dignified past, and its skin showed an aging process. It was topped by a hip roof, graceful wings spread tensely by the width of the barn. A pulley and grapple hooks could be seen from a window. But shingles were flapping and roof tiles falling, and the barn was bending over and slumping. The weather vanes were clinging with rooster claws at a different angle from the building tilt. Then, a crew of master carpenters that knows barns best stood it up straight again.

The barn was built in 1935 by H.I. Grimes, who called his estate Avondale Farms. Bob Funk, chairman of Express Personnel Service and owner of a Limousin ranch, bought this piece of adjoining land four years ago on Wilshire Boulevard near Yukon. was nostalgic. “I grew up on a farm that had a barn like this. I hauled and stacked many a bale of hay in it.”

A local engineering company quoted him a prohibitive fee just for straightening it, but a cattle customer recommended an Amish “barns builder” in Indiana. Bob Funk found David Bontrager and invited him to Oklahoma. Amish people are prohibited by their religion from driving and generally don’t take well to airplanes. But when Bontrager was on vacation, his group stopped in Oklahoma to look over the job.

Funk, who wears a white cowboy hat with curled brim, and Bontrager, in his flat, black, straw hat, discussed the battered barn. “It was about to the point of beyond help,” the Amish carpenter told the worldly executive. “I told him to tear it down. It will cost more to fix than to build a new one.” Funk shared a personal side. “There’s a lot of history here,” he said. He hears of it often, when a neighboring farmer or rancher pulls into the driveway and climbs out of a pickup into the drive to check the progress and pass on some stories. This is how Funk learned that in the barn’s younger years, it served as a community gathering spot for dances in the hay mow, the loft that spreads across the top of the barn. “The neighbors come by and say, ‘Please don’t tear down the old barn.’ There are so many memories.”

So, Mr. Funk made a decision to restore the barn in spite of the challenges and formidable costs. As they say, the rest is history. Today, a beautiful restored barn stands on the site with magnificent Clydesdale horses in it’s stalls and free tours for those who wish to visit.

Whether preserving or re-purposing - recycling history is the right thing to do.

Turn of the Century Barn for sale in Grandma’s Treasures Online/Vintage Living.

As most people know, Miriam Haskell began selling jewelry in 1926 but didn’t start signing her pieces until 1949 when her brother took over the business side of the company - said to be due to her mental instability. That left 23 years of unsigned pieces for people to wonder, “Do I have possibly have a piece of Miriam Haskell jewelry?”

I would say her style and craftsmanship is so distinct, she probably didn’t need to sign any of it!

Lots has been written about Miriam Haskell but the book, MIRIAM HASKELL JEWELRY INFORMATION and HISTORY (Schiffer Books Books for Collectors), offers the best summary of her life and work: “Like her design predecessors in the Art Nouveau era, Miriam Haskell sought to design and manufacture jewelry that evoked nature in their subjects and construction. Haskell first began making jewelry commercially about 1924, and intensively began to create the unique flowers, animals, and other organic materials in her jewelry. Frank Hess joined her in the company as the lead artistic designer, and he was a master of new and technically complex production techniques that allowed their vision for the jewelry to come into being. Hess worked as the lead designer until he retired in 1960, and he was succeeded by Robert Clark who continued the traditions but incorporated some of his own ideas into production and used new materials such as mother of pearl. Lead designer Larry Vrba joined the company in 1970, and he more than his predecessors introduced completely new and more exotic designs that reflected the times of the 1960s and 1970s. Millie Petronzio became the first woman to lead the design department at Miriam Haskell in 1980, continuing to make some of the old designs, often with archived older materials, but as those before her continues to introduce new designs and design elements in their lines.
Miriam Haskell jewelry has always been noted for the detailing, which directly translated into the time it took to make and thus the cost, and for the asymmetry of many of their designs. In the early years, Haskell jewelry was not marked and production was limited, suggesting that the proliferation of “unsigned” Haskell jewelry is questionable as to authenticity. There are of course distinct characteristics an expert looks for, including the design itself which often incorporates surprises or irregularities that one looks for. Quality was always evident, with finer quality materials and all prong set in the design. Haskell jewelry is known for its use of elaborate filigree and careful wiring, all handmade and accommodating a variety of designs. Haskell filigree was typically electroplated goldtone metal in an antique gold finish. She purchased her beads mostly from France and Venice, Italy, while most crystals came from Bohemia. The advent of World War II forced Haskell to sometimes use alternative materials including for the first time plastics, and she purchased more of her beads and crystals from sources closer to home. However, production did continue during the war years, and she introduced patriotic designs to contribute to the war effort.
After the war, styles changed as soldiers returned from Europe and Asia and the women of the country awaited. Clothing once again could be made of more luxurious materials, and the designs became more vibrant, colorful, and feminine as the 1950s approached. Haskell designs also became more elaborate to include larger pieces, necklaces of multiple bead strands, the use of pearls imported from Japan, and other looks largely impractical during the war. In the late 1940s, Miriam Haskell jewelry started to be marked for the first time, as fashion returned to the pages of the newspaper and designers began actively marketing their creations and growing their businesses. Several styles were used according to the design including an incised “Miriam Haskell” on the hook, “Miriam Haskell” in a crescent shaped cartouche, and an oval stamp “Miriam Haskell” on the clasp. Some designs during the fifties were incredibly elaborate, combining stones, pearls, beads, and filigree in new and exciting ways. The company was sold to Frank Fialkoff in 1990 and is still producing today, making some of the older designs such as the Retro line introduced in the early 90s as well as doing custom work.”

Grandma’s Treasures Online offers this unique piece of unsigned Miriam Haskell- a vintage brooch.  The back particularly denotes Haskell design and the pin length indicates pre-1950. This photo shows how the cascading white art glass beads form a cluster to culminate in a lovely vintage brooch. 

Are you a Miriam Haskell collector? We welcome any comments and questions on this topic.

[Mariner Compass Quilt from the 1800's]

These past two weeks, I’ve been introduced to the world of antique and vintage quilts! My cousin, Tanya, asked me to help her get a website going for her collecting love: old quilts. It is called Tanya’s Divine Design Quilts.

As I wrote content and posted quilt tops, applique tops, wedding ring quilt pieces and this beautiful Mariner Compass Quilt from the 1800’s as shown above, I realized these collectible treasures represent the fabric of life. Each stitch, each quilt block, tell a story not only of their creation but their use during generation after generation! They have lived with families, wrapped babies, warmed the elderly, snuggled the children, caught a few tears in it’s folds and whipped merrily in the wind on many a clothes line.

I’ve heard my grandmother say about an old house as we would pass by, “I bet that house could tell lots of stories.” Well, if quilts could talk, I’m sure they could tell their fair share of stories too!

Today, I read a post on a discussion forum in a quilt group about a lady in Tennessee who said when she got married almost everyone gave them a handmade quilt and they received twenty four in all! She added that for the last forty two years of their marriage, her mother in law had given them from one to three quilts every year! That’s quite a collection without even having to purchase one.

Personally, I think I may only have one or two quilts in storage but I do have a lovely old quilted pillow that my grandmother gave me years ago that was given to her by her mother that has a special place nestled in the corner of my wing back chair in the library. It’s rather threadbare as it would be from the 1800’s. But, I love it and am quite certain it could tell it’s share of stories…a perfect example of the fabric of life.

You know all those vintage spittoons (or cuspidors as they are also called) that are adorned with pink roses, decorated optic glass or shiny iridescent glass, no man would dare to use them as they are too pretty! So, I am convinced the feminine spittoons were reserved for “ladies only” who could spit in style!

Back in the day, these fancy cuspidors were placed around hotel lobbies, in train cars, in parlors of homes and anywhere a ‘chewing/spitting’ lady might need such an accommodation.

Today, I’m thankful the scene has changed. We can collect tobacco memorabilia and use these pretty containers for flower pots or jewelry holders rather look down into a pool of black juice.
Grandma Treasures Online offers an unusual Vaseline Opal cuspidor made by Fenton in Carnival glass. The pattern is Frolicking Bear and it was the ’souvenir’ of the 35th International Carnival Glass Association convention. It is quite rare as there were only enough produced for the attendees that year.

Do you have personal stories about a vintage spittoon? Or do you know any more history about ladies in the past and their spitting habits? Share with us!