Over the years I’ve heard about people buying unclaimed storage units. I often wondered why anyone would bid on something like that…until recently.

Had I really given it any thought, I would have figured it out. People rent storage facilities for things they have no place for, but have enough value to warrant you to keep them.

It also dawned on me, that depending on the size of the storage facility, the difference in how much they were paying each month. So, you’d at least have an idea of the value of the items in the unit by how long they had it, and how much they had paid. For example, I lived in New York for 4 yrs. I didn’t want to move all of my furniture to New York from Houston at the time, along with boxes of my great grandmothers fine china, some older stuffed animals, records, etc. If you think about how much I paid in monthly rent for 4.5 years…well…you see where I am going with this.

Now before you rush out and start bidding on this week’s storage lots, keep in mind its not all fine antiques and vintage cars kept in those places.

Last week, a picker friend of mine bought a box of Ferragamo shoes, a pair of authentic Louis Vuitton trunks, and an array of Chanel, Hermes, and Missoni clothing (thanks so much for the great buys!)
A friend of his found a pair of “Blue Dog” paintings (yes, I still want them when he makes up his mind on price).

Another buyer wound up with a car, and a dead body. I kidd you not. Fortunately he had not paid for the unit when the body was discovered. Yes, he would have forfeited his money had he.
I think you should keep in mind the location of the units (what part of town), how long have they been renting, and some even let you peer in (not dig through) the units before bidding.

I’d love to hear your storage unit stories…post them here if you would!

Happy Hunting!

Reyne

Featuring property from the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art
July 18 & 19, 2010 10am
220 San Bruno Avenue, San FranciscoSan Francisco

Mark your calendars for August 5 – 8th. Set aside whatever you think you should be doing, check the oil and tires on your car, load up and head out to Hudson, Michigan, or Gadsden, Alabama, whichever is closest.

The stretch of road down US-127 is the Ultimate Collector Destination. This 675 mile highway becomes “The World’s Longest Yardsale” during those dates.

Originally, the idea of having the long yard sale was to bring visitors to the less traveled highways of Tennessee and Kentucky. It has grown considerably from its humble beginnings in 1987.

This event has become so popular; it even has its own Facebook page!
Rachel Ray’s show covered it in 2008 – click here to see:

A few things to make sure you bring with you should you hit the highway:

1. Bring cash – many people won’t take checks or credit cards. There is often no cell service in the rural parts of US127 and therefore credit card machines, etc will not work. Plus, as we all know in this business, cash talks!

2. Handi-wipes are your friends. I hate to say it, but you’re going to get a little dirty digging through all the goodies in search of your diamond.

3. Packing containers and wrap: You don’t want to buy something great and have it rolling around in your vehicle. Bring boxes, bubble wrap, newspaper, etc so that your finds are safely stored until arriving home.

4. Reference guides – as I said earlier, cell service is not always available, so if you are hoping to use the Internet browser to search for values, you might be out of luck in some places. Bring your reference guides for backup!

5. Your patience – the traffic can be horrible. Bring an extra bottle of patience and if you find yourself running low – stop by one of the food vendors, grab a bite to eat, visit with others there dining and your mood will be back to happy in no time!
Do you live along this highway? Have you ever shopped and scored? I’d love to hear your stories from this once a year hot spot.

Happy Hunting!

Reyne

(Northbrook, IL) A signed lithograph of his son by Pierre-August Renoir (French 1841-1919) is one of two Renoirs that will cross the block when Universal Live Auctioneers hosts an online high end fine art auction on Friday July 9 at 3:00PM Central Time. The sale will include 275 lots of original paintings, signed lithographs, sculptures and statues representing some of the best known names in the art world. Also to be offered is an extensive selection of antique and vintage posters.

Martin Shape, President of Universal Live, described the auction as, “Far and away one of Universal’s most prestigious in its fifteen year history of conducting thousands of auctions. Opening bids have been kept competitive and there is the potential for outstanding value in this sale.”

Included in the inventory is a second Renoir signed lithograph, an oil on canvas by Alfred Manessier (French 1911-1993), five Peter Max renderings (one original), signed Warhols, a signed nude and others by Wessleman and works by Rashenburg, Jim Dine, Chagall, Miro and Dali as well as Rockwell sculptures and Pescara statues.

Shape said he believes that less than 50 final full-color renderings of Renoir’s “L’Enfant au Biscuit” Child with Biscuit were produced in 1899. Renoir outdid himself and produced what is unquestionably the artist’s finest print. The colors have a pastel tonality and a delightful mat finish. Many trials must have been made before Renoir was satisfied. Some proofs exist of the drawing alone in grey-black; others have a light pink for the face. Unfinished versions were also produced in varying degrees of color. We know of only three final color stone lithographs, and this is one of those few,” Shape said. The other Renoir is “Le petit garcon au porte-plume” Little Boy with Quill Pen. In it Renoir skillfully used background shading in order to centralize the focus and the impact of his son within the composition. This intriguing portrait study of Renoir’s young son, Claude, is shown here, deep in childish thought, as he writes (or draws) with his quill pen. H!
is gaze is that of a child’s. The overall portrait is a study in concentration, beautifully rendered with thoughtful lines and form.

Just as important is the Alfred Manessier original rare early oil on canvas Sea. The scene portrays rough waters at sea, with seagulls catching the wind above. The artist also later worked in stained glass, and a hint of that can be seen in the pattern of the waves catching the light. His last work for auction was sold for $54,000 in 2007. Manessier’s art today is found in some of the most prestigious private collections and museums.

Representing a “Pop Art” rendering is one of the better known artists, James Rizzi, in It’s Time to Buy a New TV. He captures the excitement of shopping for a new television in this fantastic three dimensional artwork. It consists of many individual cut out pieces that were pasted on the background at varying heights, making the vibrant scene really “pop out”. The Artist deviated from his usual small renderings and produced a 26 by 36 inch image size. According to Shape it is rare to find a large Rizzi.

The fully illustrated catalog and registration for absentee or live bidding are available through LiveAuctioneers.com at http://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/22029.

For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Martin Shape at 847-412-1802 or email sales@universallive.com.

What does one do with antique jewelry if it can’t be safely or stylishly worn? My friend Ellen inherited a beautiful collection of antique jewelry, including several dozen brooches and lapel pins. She created an elegant method of displaying them. She built the top of her coffee table into a honeycomb of cubes, each one a frame large enough to display three or four carefully matched pins. Then she lined each frame with a background material—sand in some cases, distressed velvet or tiny pebbles in others. Finally she laid each pin down in its cube and made a hinged glass lid for the whole table. Together, the antique jewelry and the display itself make an excellent conversation piece.

By Erin Sweeney

for Antiques.com

Reyne returns to the Urban Market outside Houston to ask various vendors about their wares, while she hunts for nuggets of valuable information to pass on.

First in the series of videos presented by Antiques.com to provide collectors with tips on picking antiques. In this episode Reyne visits the Urban Market outside Houston, TX and discusses basic picking tips that will make your next picking adventure more productive and hopefully, profitable.

Submitted by Marko Karinen

1. Real antique Finnish renaissance chair, which is manufactured in the 1600s. It is made of wood nails.

2. Renaissance chair manufacturer’s signature (DS = Daniel Snikker )

3.Wood nails, we know that the chair is really old.

4.Brass screws will tell you that the Art Nouveau coat rack is old .

5.New and old screws and nails ( one drill pin)…..rusty screw is always better than a shiny screws, when we talk about antiquity.

Show promoters Tracy Dodge and Steve Lipman of The Yellow Garage Antiques of Mullica Hill, New Jersey announced that the forth annual JUNE FESTIVAL OF ANTIQUES has been scheduled for Saturday, June 12th, 2010. Tracy and Steve have owned and operated a thirty-five dealer antique marketplace for the last 14 years. Three years ago the married couple started The June Festival to help promote their shop. “We have show quality merchandise in our shop all year long. The idea of a show at the fairgrounds, which is only one mile away, seemed like an ideal way to bring people here that may normally only buy at shows” stated Lipman.”It is definitely working. We have gained more national recognition for the shop as an antiques destination and the day of the show is always one of our best. The town is inandated with serious antique buyers from throughout the region.”

This year’s show will feature 55 quality dealers under the cover of three pavilions and about 50 more dealers set-up on the lawn areas of the Gloucester County 4-H Fairgrounds. The popular event is known for having a great selection of quality antiques ranging from country to formal, large and small. Categories will include country Americana such as samplers, quilts, baskets, folkart, items in original and old painted surfaces, furniture, decoys, redware and stoneware; also fine jewelry, linens and other textiles, ephemera including postcards, formal 18th, 19th, and 20th Century furniture and accesories, lighting, garden accesories, fine glass and ceramics, art pottery, fine art, historical Americana, and much more. In the first three years the show has drawn dealers from all over the East and crowds of fifteen hundred or more.

Headliners for this year’s show include Boggs Boynton of Clarksboro, NJ, Granthum 1762 of Denton, MD, Mark Witus of Gladstone, NJ, Linda Grier of Langhorn, PA, Herman Woolfrey III of West Chester, PA, Sport and Spool of Goldsboro, NC, Country Antiques Two of Mullica Hill, NJ, Ayscough’s Antiques of Chadds Ford, PA, Port Republic Decoys of Port Republic, NJ, and Primarily Primitives of New Hope, PA, to name a few.

The June Festival of Antiques is held once a year at the Gloucester County 4-H fairgrounds which is one mile south of the Historic District of Mullica Hill, NJ on state highway 77. There is ample free parking. Excellent food and drinks from Fat Jack’s BBQ of Washington Twsp. will be available all day during the show hours of 9am-4pm. The show is rain or shine. A portion of the proceeds benefits The Harrison Township Historic Society. Admission is $6 discounted to $5 if an ad or show card is presented.

Information and photos of past shows is available at www.yellowgarageantiques.com or contact The Yellow Garage Antiques at 856-478-0300.

I own an antique lamp that has brought me some annoyance over the course of my life and is not especially beautiful to look at. I have to take special care with it when I move, and I must make décor decisions with it always in mind. It may have value, but I never intend to sell it. This is a classic case of an antique lamp owning me, rather than me owning it. Is the stress we endure for an object ever worth more than the object’s value? In my case, yes. The lamp was given to my grandmother by a woman whose life she saved during the Second World War. It’s one of the best and strangest stories of my grandmothers life, and by extension, of mine. And so it’s a reminder to me– a reminder that even in this age of disposability, we still have certain things we can’t get rid of, not without losing a part of ourselves.