Check it out:

Old Native Jewelry and Beadwork To Be Focus of Events April 25-26 at Mitchell Museum
 
EVANSTON, Ill. —  Special events for seasoned and novice collectors of old Native American jewelry and beadwork — and anyone curious about these genres  — are scheduled for Saturday, April 25,  and Sunday, April 26, at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central St., Evanston.

Tom and Deborah Begner, of Turkey Mountain Traders, Scottsdale, Ariz., will make presentations, conduct an informal appraisal session, and exhibit a diverse collection of items for sale. Ten percent of sales proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Mitchell Museum.

The Begners will give a presentation on “Antique Eastern Woodlands Beadwork” at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, focusing largely on beadwork made by members of the various Iroquois tribes from about 1800 to 1930.

At 2:15 p.m., they will offer informal identifications and appraisals of old Native American jewelry and Eastern beadwork brought in by the public.

They will speak on “The Top 10 Things to Look for in Old Indian Jewelry” at 3:15 p.m.

The Begners, who founded Turkey Mountain Traders 20 years ago, will stage an exhibition and sale of old jewelry and antique Eastern beadwork from 4-7 p.m. Items for sale include beadwork items priced from about $100 to $3,000, including beaded bags, souvenir “whimseys,” and hats from the late 1800s.  The jewelry is principally of Navajo and Zuni Pueblo origin, with items priced from $125. A noteworthy piece is a $12,000 Zuni fetish necklace made of shell and stone by the celebrated carver Leekya, who worked in the 1940s and 1950s.

Antique Indian beadwork and old jewelry also will be exhibited and sold from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, April 26.
 
Admission to the events is included with museum admission. Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students, teachers (with valid school ID), and children. Maximum suggested admission per family is $10. For information, phone (847) 475-1030. On the Net: www.mitchellmuseum.org.

Looks like an interesting opportunity ...

Here's a sneak peek:

The other day, I blogged about "What's in a name?"

This morning I read an article that moved me to comment because it ties in with that "name" question. The article is about a Florida antique shop named "Wish You Were Here."

'Wish You Were Here' antique shop named for lost son

If you're a "sensitive type" and a parent like me, you may want to have a tissue ready before you read it.

It's a great way to commemorate a lost loved one ...

— Posted by Karen

Antique Blog | Antiques Blog | Antiques Blogs

I paid more attention to usernames while perusing Twitter this morning (by the way, you can follow Antique Trader on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AntiqueTrader), catching up on all kinds of news and happenings.

And it occurred to me that I don't put any effort into my usernames when I open a new online account somewhere, whether it's for a forum or a merchant site. People with businesses, however, have to put a bit of effort into naming their "brand."

I would imagine the first thing you need from your business name is you need it to be memorable.

But what else do you consider when you pick a name? Do you just pick something that sounds good?

What do you think? Can you help out and answer this question for me? How did you come up with your business name, or how do you come up with your user names?

By the way, some Twitter names that I really like because they seem to say it all and are memorable: gypsytrading, bookbrowzers, fleapirates, thepickerpages, oldpixels.

— Posted by Karen

This week's Question of the Week:

Does your collection have a family connection? Does it cross the generation gap or are you a “first generation” collector?

Post a reply here, send one to Sandra.Sparks@fwmedia.com, or post a reply on the Antique Trader message boards HERE.

From a reader via e-mail:

I think your readers who collect china and pottery would want to know that April 6 was the last day of production for Syracuse china ware made in the USA. Libbey, Inc. of Toledo, Ohio has closed down the plant. You'll still be able to buy on line, but after the 6th thier plates will be made in their China china plant. You can get more info on this at http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/syracuse_china_to_close.html. Please pass along to others J.C.P., via e-mail

— Posted by Karen

Every week, “Ask Antique Trader” receives scores of inquiries from readers, seeking more information about a recent find, a gift from a friend or relative, or an oddity that’s been sitting on a shelf for years.

We pass all of these questions along to our panel of experts, but once in awhile, we get a question about an object that stops us in our tracks. We want to share these unusual treasures with readers in the hope that they’ll offer their opinions and perhaps enlighten us all.

“Ask Antique Trader” will feature these oddities on a regular basis in the print and online editions of the magazine.

Send your comments to AskAT@fwmedia.com or post a reply here on the Antique Trader blog.

I found this cast-iron duckling in a Minnesota antique shop several years ago. He’s about 10 inches tall. My wife thinks it’s an architectural fragment but I say it’s the remains of a sprinkler. Do you know where it may have come from?





— Posted by Karen

Everyone wants to get something for nothing, and now that's possible, thanks to Collect.com’s free classified ads.

“The classified ads are completely free — no gimmicks, no strings attached and no limit to the number of classified ads that can be placed,” said Dianne Wheeler, the community leader for collect.com. “This is a great way for collectors to sell the items that they don’t love anymore — and shop for new ones that they will — without pricey consignment fees or drawn-out bidding wars.”

Placing an ad is easy. Just visit www.collect.com, click on the collectibles area that applies to your item (Comics, Music, Sports, Militaria or Antiques and Collectibles), and add in the details. The Ad Wizard walks you through every step of the process, including writing the description and adding a photo of the piece that’s for sale.
The free classified ads are the first of numerous improvements that are scheduled to come to collect.com this year, Wheeler said.

Produced by F+W Media, the world’s largest hobby and collectible publisher, Collect.com is an online community where collectors can discuss and display their finds, keep tabs on the value of their collections, connect with buyers and sellers, read about the latest hobby news and more.

CLICK HERE to sell your collectibles (or post a wanted ad) with Collect.com free classified ads.

What was hot at AC?

According to Eric Bradley:

As for hot selling merchandise - toy dealers did well all across the board. Folks were choosy and selective, trying to buy the best toys they could afford for under $100.

Vintage sports memorabilia was the surprise growth market. We have five dealers who carry such items and all five reported fabulous shows. But the dealers sold across eclectic lines: baseball, bowling, football, cricket, trophies, curling and skiing. I suspect it was because most individual items were each priced below $400.

Several dealers reported "best ever" sales in estate jewelry, fine art and American pottery. High-quality costume jewelry ($500-$1,000) was again an extremely popular segment. One Florida dealer reported $40,000 in sales of complete sets of dinner services in fine china.

Ephemera dealers reported great sales of postcards, vintage travel posters, banners and advertising memorabilia. A dealer in comic books reported high sales and a seller of vintage and antique maps (priced $100-$500) said he was blown away at his sales volume.

Even our junk dealers reported fantastic sales as dealers across New Jersey sought fresh merchandise to spruce up their inventory before the summer tourist season starts.

Worst markets: folk art, furniture, American Brilliant cut glass, European porcelain, Tiffany lamps and vintage clothing. And if dealers weren't willing to haggle they had no sales.

Eric Bradley had this good news about Atlantique City:

The show was indeed a success despite the economic climate and the difficult operations needs. The sentiment was universal - even among dealers who didn't sell a thing. Dealers were overwhelmingly impressed with the type of buyers that came through the gate as well as the way the staff dressed the event, got them in and out and solved their problems on the floor. I talked to three dealers who skipped the show but were shopping who said they made a HUGE mistake not being there. Another dealer called on Sunday and apologized for canceling.

Most of all - The conversation among customers turned from "Is this your last show?" to "Where is the contract and when are you setting more details?" Despite the shaky economy, last weekend's show gave us a solid starting block for our next show March 27-28, 2010.

So how was Atlantique City for you?

This week, we ran a story by Trina Spillman entitled Collecting Feature: Family traditions.

It's a charming tale of her early introduction to the collecting habit when, as a child, she would help her mother and father search flea markets and antique stores for Royal Doulton Flambé and Nippon porcelain. And how she's grown into a passionate collector, and has passed the collecting tradition on to her children.

I know many people will enjoy reading it as much as we here at Antique Trader have.

You, too, may be able to spotlight your collection and/or collecting tradition in Antique Trader.

Here's how:

E-mail your story, with captioned photos to sandra.sparks@fwmedia.com or mail to Antique Trader Collecting Spotlight, 700 E State St., Iola, WI 54945, attn: Sandra Sparks.

Photos should be well focused and clear. Remove items from any protective covering that may cause glare. Include a photo of yourself. If sending your story and photos via e-mail (preferred), see directions below.

Format: Save as jpeg or tiff

Resolution: 200 dpi or higher

Size: Original image must be a minimum of 4 inches wide/deep

Compressing files: If needed, files can be “zipped” and we can unzip them here.

Posting files: Large files also can be posted to our ftp site at ftp.krause.com; select Inbound folder, then Antique Trader folder. Either drag image or copy and paste it into the folder.

If you have any questions, contact Sandra at the e-mail address above.

— Posted by Karen