Have you ever misplaced your keys, and you search and search only to come up empty handed, when low and behold, they were in front of you the entire time?

I felt like that yesterday.  Like most, I’m always looking for the next bargain.   I’m always thinking, I should be hitting all the flea markets at 5am, finding out what are the new merchandise days at the thrifts, and scouring the online auction listings at the small houses because stuff slips through the cracks.

Those are the obvious, yet not so obvious places to find great stuff.  I think the hunt for those elusive items is what keeps us so excited about this business. You just never know what you will find, and where.

So yesterday I am out with my friend for lunch when she suggests we head over to this antique mall in town that I had not yet gone to.  I had heard it was nicer than some of the others in town, but it was having trouble filling all the booth space.  When I hear nicer, I immediately think, “overpriced”.

But who am I to turn down a request by a friend to look at antiques?

We walked through the door and immediately there was a display of fine art glass. My kind of stuff, but eek…the price tags were for the year 2050.  Do people really want to sell their wares, or are they just for our viewing pleasure?

There was a great array of fine porcelain and my friend bought a beautiful Victorian rattle for her daughter.

While we were walking around I spotted a modern item in one of the booths that I know is going to haunt me. You know what I mean by haunt…you leave without it, and you think about it, over and over. (Which means I’ll be going back and buying it this weekend)!

I would be perfect for my new book on decorating with antiques.  It’s not antique though.  Which leads me to another pet peeve; antique stores/malls that carry new items.  Why do you do this?  What is it you don’t understand about the word “antique”.  Mind you, vintage is acceptable, but new?

Ok so why am I thinking about this item?  Because it was cool. It was a centerpiece for a large hall table or dining room table. It had a square base with a large round sculpture on top. It was made of wood branches and shaped into a sphere.  Price: $395.00 which means I could possibly get it for $350.00

Secondly, I found the coolest modernism pendant.  A large, round black disk with a single thick silver vertical stripe going up and down the center.   The tag said Miriam Haskell. I don’t think that is who made it, but it was cool. Priced at $200.00

Finally, there was a pair of small white birdcages, probably Victorian era, priced at $45 ea.   I hadn’t talked about my obsession with birdcages just yet, but in my upcoming videos on picking, you’ll see one I recently saw at the Urban Market that caught my attention.  A white two story Victorian era cage, arched top, wooden, with disco balls hanging from the center.  I’m not a big fan of disco, but I have to admit, that would make quite the conversation piece for a room.  I’ve thought about it ever since.

I’m not sure what I would do with those pair I saw at the antique mall either. Perhaps I am thinking about a new collection!

We are delighted to present our Spring Auction which is loaded with some wonderful property from various Fine Estates and Private Collections. The highlights include the largest collection of works by Yaacov Agam to come to market in many years, over eighty lots of contemporary studio and Murano art glass, a good collection of early Chinese blue and white porcelains and other Asian decorations, a very fine group of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary prints and paintings, over one hundred pieces of 14th to 17th Century Southeast Asian ceramics, and of special interest are over 50 finished needlepoint pillows and over 450 painted original canvases, plus tons of needlepoint wool, from an old friend and colleague, Louis J. Gartner Jr. For more information, please see our website: http://www.ruggiero-associates.com/goodstuffsells.html

All in all, a huge sale with lots of “Great Stuff” we hope you will enjoy!

With kind regards,
Bob Ruggiero

Preview: June6th – June10th

Auction: June 12th & 13th  11:00am

Fine Jewelry: June 14th

St. Louis

Themed auction including both figurative and abstract art influenced by blues, jazz and improvisation.

June 24th 2:00pm  New York

The sale includes works executed from the mid-15th century up to the 20th century

Bidding continues until June 9th, 2010

Opening Reception June 5th, 2010  2 – 6pm

Auction June 9th, 2010  2pm

New York

Discovery- June 18th, 10am

Great Estates- June 19th, 12pm

Preview- June 12th – 17th, 12 – 5pm, Doors open June 18th 8am & June 19th 9am

Lambertville, NJ

Catalog now online

Auction June 17th, 2010

Maps & Atlases, Books with Plates, Ephemera, Literature, Art and Illustrated Books, Decorative Graphics

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for reading my column and commenting on things. Your input is not only appreciated by me, but by other collectors who are reading.  Your suggestions have been great, timely and informative!

In last week’s column, Marko asked me a question that inspired this column.  He asked: “What was my favorite find and why?”

I briefly elaborated but I thought I’d go into a bit more detail here for those who catch my reply last week.

I used to run ads in the Antique Trader. For those of you who have been in the antiques world for a long time, most dealers and collectors used to consider The Antique Trader the bible. It came out on Monday every week and we all anxiously waited for the mailman to deliver it in our mailbox.

You’d rush home, and flip to the classified section in the back to see who was selling what.  This was pre eBay, pre online antique malls, digital photos, etc.  (And keep the comments to yourself, I’m not that old!)

You read listings in black and white text and had to envision what people were describing, or even if what they were describing was real.  Anything that sounded good, you picked up the phone and called on.  Time and again I’d call on things and they were already spoken for.  DRATS!

I met many pickers through this publication which was great. They went out picking all week long and would call me when they found something on my “want list”.  Some could describe things to a “T” and knew exactly what I was looking for. I’d buy it just from their descriptions and rarely if ever was disappointed.

I decided I’d place a display ad in the WANTED TO BUY section of the paper.  “Buying Tiffany lamps, glass, bronze and other art glass items.”

One day I was heading out to lunch and I received a phone call. I almost didn’t answer it because I was running late.  I grabbed the phone and it was an elderly man on the other line saying he saw my ad in the Trader.  This always got me excited. You never knew what those kinds of calls might bring.

He began describing an all too familiar piece of Steuben glass; a console bowl in amber with threading and controlled bubble decoration. It was worth about $250 and was not very exciting to me.  I told him I’d call him later in the week as he was about 40 miles out of town and he wanted me to come by and see it.

I almost forgot to call him, but when I finally did I arranged to go take a look.  There were a few small antique shops I hadn’t visited in some time along the way and I thought I’d make a day trip out of it.

I got to the gentleman’s house and low and behold, it was exactly the bowl I envisioned it to be.  YAWN.

I decided I’d buy it as I had already driven all the way out there. Boy was I glad I did. Once I made the purchase he asked me if I bought other art glass and he pulled out a decorated tendril Loetz vase which is on the cover of one of the Loetz books.  I was shocked.  I asked if he was a collector, to which he said no.  Of course my next question was “Did you inherit these items?” to which again he replied no. He then pointed and said “I found them in the barn in the back.”

You just never know what you might find in the barns of a country home!

I’d love to hear more about your favorite finds.  Comment here with your stories!

Happy Hunting!

Reyne

Fine European and American Furniture and Decorative Arts

Featuring property from the Brimsmade Estate, Houston

Plus, a special evening session offering the Ed Hardy Collection

June 14th 2010