As summer nears, we find more outdoor flea markets and antique markets opening with more dealers and larger crowds.  Surely there is a bargain out there to be found!

Before you set the alarm the night before, what are some “tools” of the trade you need to make sure to have with you on your picking journeys?

Below is my list, and I’d love to hear some of yours!

1. A good night’s rest.  All serious buyers know the early bird finds the Declaration of Independence hidden in a frame behind the cheap painting.  If you arrive later in the day, all you will find to buy is a grilled burger and a Coke.
2. Comfortable shoes.  Now, I am the first one to wear heels at the airport, walking around New York City, and to the grocery store, but I draw the line with flea markets and antique shows.   If the show is any good, you’ll be walking for miles; and if you are an early bird you will be running once the gates open!
3. Cash – The offer to pay in cash can often get you a better deal than paying with a credit card or check.   In fact, there are many dealers that don’t take other forms of payment.
4. Your cell phone!  Most phones have internet browser capabilities should you need to do some quick research.
5. A pocket size measuring tape.  If you are trying to determine if something has been cut down, or if you want to call a client and sell an item on site, you’ll need to know what the measurements are.
6. A loupe.  This handy little pocket magnifying glass helps you read hallmarks, tiny script signatures, and also helps us find chips & cracks and repairs which can often be hard to spot at first glance.  There is nothing worse than getting home with your bag full of goodies only to later determine there was a hairline crack you missed!
7. A portable black light – Restoration can be easily missed, especially in the early morning hours.  Black lights give you the ability to spot restoration to paintings, pottery, glass, and more.

I would love to hear some of your picking tips – respond to the blog here!

Flea Markets – Antique Markets for the month of May:

Urban Market – Houston, Texas  May 15-16^th

Brooklyn Flea – Brooklyn, NY – Every Saturday and Sunday

Auction May 14th, 15th & 16th  10am

Featuring Objets D’Art, Art, Furniture & Accessories, Glass & Porcelain

Featuring Property from a New Iberia Estate, the Estate of Donald Schenk (Part II), items from the Estate of Joseph Francis Deynoodt (N.O City Attorney During the Morrison Administration), a Washington Ave. Estate and Numerous Local Estates

Auction: May 8th 10am

Exhibition thru May 7th 10am to 5pm

Remmen Auction

Auction Highlights: vintage sheriff badges, silver, Native American items, vintage prints, vintage custom jewelry, vintage guns, vintage watches, Rosemeade pottery, Depression glass, glass, vintage books, ephemera, primitive items and much more.

Modernism

Exhibition May 9th – 13th

Auction May 15th & 16th

Mindy Taylor Ross of Art Strategies, LLC and Christopher West of Christopher West Presents are seeking consignments in contemporary art and design for the first in a series of contemporary art auctions to be held on Friday evening, June 25, 2010 from 5pm to 8pm at Dan Ripley Auctions (2764 E 55th Place, Indianapolis, IN 46220). The auction will include lots consigned directly from artists as well as pieces from the secondary market and will include a mix of local, regional and national artists.

*** Please note if you are seeing this for the second time, the auction has been changed to June.  We have been overwhelmed by submissions and have decided to add a few weeks to our timetable to make our selections and make this the best auction possible.

For more information or to propose contemporary art or design for the auction, please contact either Mindy or Christopher by email using the information below:

Mindy Taylor Ross–artstrategies@me.com

Christopher West–cw@christopherwestpresents.com

Why are we doing this?

To support the growth of offerings in contemporary art in Central Indiana and to support the growth of our Indiana-based artists and organizations in this tough economic time. In addition to helping to generate sales for you, this initial auction has a charitable benefit–5% of the hammer price of each artwork will be donated by Ripley to the Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. If you would like to talk about donating 100% of your proceeds to IMA, we’d be happy to help with that as well. Our friends in the arts are struggling, like many people, and we need to support them. This charitable contribution does NOT effect your net from the sale. It is a donation given by the auction house from their proceeds.

Why should you consider being involved?

For the same reasons stated above. You can turn your pieces of contemporary art & design that you may not be using anymore into cash, and maybe find something new at the auction, while supporting the local art scene. Additionally, this outlet offers you a new way to reach buyers outside of the Indianapolis-area through Ripley’s marketing efforts and his well established network of on-line and phone buyers.

What you can do to help?

Consign great pieces of contemporary art and design and tell your friends and family to come out and buy on June 25th! We’ll be crafting emails to potential buyers who may not know a lot about auctions. We want to demystify the auction process and to have everyone come out, have fun, and BUY SOME ART. This is NOT just for experienced auction buyers. Consign to us and help spread the word.

Here are the details:

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.        All consignments will be published in a 4-color print and on-line catalogue

.        The auction will be advertised in local and national print publications and on prominent on-line sites such as artnet.com

.        Sales results may be listed on artnet.com

To propose consignments for the sale send us ASAP the following information via email to the addresses above. If you are unable to gather the below info, drop us an email anyway and we’ll arrange a time to come to you:

.        Digital images of work available for consignment. Please be sure each image is titled to match a corresponding description list. (There are no image size requirements but please be sure it is a good clear image of the work.)

.        A Word Document that contains descriptions of each artwork and which clearly corresponds with the names of the digital image files. Descriptions should contain as much of the following information as possible:

.                                Your contact information [include US mailing address, email address and phone number(s)]

.                                Title of the work, Year of execution

.                                Medium

.                                Dimensions

.                                The price that you believe you would normally be able to sell this work for in a gallery setting.

.                                Any descriptive information that you think would be helpful for our consideration and/or for a catalogue description

Again, if you are unable to gather the above information, call or email me and I’ll help! We will notify you about pieces we are interested in consigning. A consignment form will need to be executed for each artwork.

All artworks will need to be delivered to Dan Ripley’s auction house by Monday, May 24th, 2010 so they may be photographs and logged for the catalogue.

When is this Happening?

Thursday, June 24th, 2010–Preview party at Ripley’s Auction House (time TBD)

Friday, June 25th, 2010–Live auction here in Indy (time tentatively set for 5-8pm)

And where?

Dan Ripley Auctions

2764 East 55th Place

Indianapolis, IN 46220

May 9th, 2010

Featuring paintings and works deaccessioned from the Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg, VA and the Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA.

The Sotheby’s impressionist auction May 5, 2010, includes 6 Picassos, 2 Cezannes, 4 Miros, 3 Monets and 17 Wilners.

The area between where the painting ends and the wall begins is, indeed, of the utmost importance. It can make all the difference in how artwork is experienced. And, when it comes to historical expertise, craftsmanship and artistry, it’s an area in which Eli Wilner & Company truly excels. Which is why the finest art collections, museums and galleries, including the White House, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian and Sotheby’s, all turn to Eli Wilner & Company to craft masterpieces for their masterpieces.

Restoring antique frames to their former glory. Recreating frames to customize color, texture and size. Designing entirely new frames in collaboration with artists and collectors that become an integral part of the art. Eli Wilner’s team of skilled craftsmen and conservators have been creating frames at one with the purest artistic and historical vision, one at a time, for more than thirty years.

During that time, Eli Wilner’s own collection has grown to more than 3,000 antique frames and 10,000 historical photographs. Yet it is an uncanny ability to get inside the artist’s head, see the work through their eyes, feel the sensibility of their era, that has taken these exceptional resources to the next level. To maximize the beauty, historical accuracy and value of your next project, consult with Eli Wilner. And experience a perfect pairing of painting and frame that is an art form in itself.

Imelda Marcos showed women around the world what it meant to have a shoe fetish.  At one point, Marcos had acquired 3,000 pair of shoes.   Some of her impressive collection is now housed in a museum in the Phillippines.   The collection included shoes from luxury houses such as Charles Jourdan, Gucci and Ferragamo.

I remember parading around the house in my mother’s high heel shoes as a little girl, dreaming of the day they would be mine.   I wasn’t allowed to wear heels until high school, but as soon as that day came, I was hooked.

The other day I received a copy of the new book:  “Shoes”.  My friend and colleague, Caroline Ashleigh penned the book, and I had been counting down the days until my copy would arrive.  She was cruel, err I mean kind enough to show me the cover of the book early on.   Those boots screamed “Take Me Home” as I love boots and I had a small collection of checkered “Vans” when I was in high school.   If the cover was any indication of what eye candy would be inside, I was in trouble…BIG trouble.

Sure enough, the book arrived and I’ve been drooling ever since.  Who needs words when you have great photos? I’m sure there is great information touted in the book, but I won’t lie like a man reading a Playboy and claim “I get it for the articles”.  I’m here for the shoe party!

This book has 512 pages filled with full color images of some of the finest shoes known to women.  Men, hide your wallets.  If your significant other gets a copy of this book – you are doomed. You will not only need a second, but a third job just to afford her.

Apparently, I’m not the only girl who has a thing or two to say about her love of shoes.  This book is filled with quotes by celebrities, personalities, and shoe designers such as Jessica Simpson,  Nina Van Horn, Manolo Blahnik, Giuseppe Zanotti, Rachel Zoe… I could go on.  Had she asked for a quote from me, I could sum things up in one word “YUM”.

Whether you love shoes made yesterday, 25 years ago or 100 years ago, you’ll love this book!

http://www.amazon.com/Warmans-Shoes-Field-Caroline-Ashleigh/dp/1440208980/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272738797&sr=1-1

Who says vintage American folk art isn’t worth its weight in gold? The scales are definitely tipped in favor of this delightful painting I found last weekend at the New England Antique Show’s Spring Fever Antiques and Design Show and Sale. Let’s take a listen – and a look – at this intriguing piece of nautically inspired artwork by Cape Cod artist Ralph Cahoon.

Click here to see a video discussion of this great piece of art!