Archive for June, 2010

Sadness and Frustration among antique dealers

Sadness and Frustration among antique dealersAntique dealers in Dorking’s West Street have expressed their sadness and frustration over the latest raid at a store. This was after Surrey Hills Antique Centre, an antique shop, was targeted by thieves.

Thieves managed to take out £15,000 of silver and jewelry including sapphires, pearls, and diamonds from a cabinet.

From Getsurrey.co.uk:

Forensics officers have also been at the scene, and police are not ruling out a link to recent thefts at Talbot House Antiques Centre, a few doors along.

Georgian silver worth thousands of pounds was stolen in a 4.30am raid there in January.

The Talbot House store was then targeted again in March, and manager Jackie Cooper-Grundy said she could relate to Mr Allaker’s frustration.

“It makes you feel very uncomfortable and demoralised,” she said. “But there are always dishonest people in the world who will do things like this.

“If you run a business with a shop that sells valuable items there will always be people trying to steal them. It’s a fact of life unfortunately.”

Detective Constable Vicki Morris said: “This is the third burglary in West Street this year and it is vital members of the antiques trade work with us to trace all the valuable items stolen.

“If you are in the trade and are offered items of jewellery for sale, please be cautious as they may have originated from this burglary.”

Members of the general public are requested to share any relevant information to caught thieves by calling Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222, quoting reference MV/10/2365, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Finding rare antiques at garage sales

If you are looking to buy rare antiques and collectibles, this YouTube video is just the perfect thing you were always looking for. This video will help you in locating an antique store and getting antiques at competitively low prices during garage sales. This video is highly recommended for admirers of antiques and vintage masterpieces.

Books at risk of being swept away by technology

Books at risk of being swept away by technologyBritish playwright and human rights activist Tom Stoppard recently said that books are at a risk of being “swept away” by the world of new technology and moving images that are increasingly winning attention of children.

Stoppard warned that the study of humanities was been avoided in favor of science.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

“The printed word is no longer as in demand as when I was of the age of pupils or even at the age of the teachers teaching them,” newspapers quoted Stoppard as saying.

Children live in a world of technology where the moving image takes precedence over the printed page, he said.

“I think that’s to the detriment … I just don’t want the printed page to get swept away by that.”

Speaking ahead of an address to an education charity established by the Prince of Wales to encourage teachers to look at what they should teach and how, Stoppard said teaching of humanities had been affected by a drive to prioritise science-based subjects.

“There was a period when I was 30 or 40 when science teaching was felt to have lagged and felt to be the area which would improve everybody’s life, and I’m sure that that was the case and that was the right moment for that,” he said.

This may mean that our young generations will find traditional books only at the antique stores and this will indeed be a devastating change and a real shame.

Stained Glass Art – How to Start

If you want to take stained glass art as a hobby or profession, this YouTube video will be an exceptional viewing material for you. This video will help you work with stained glass so that you can make your stained glass creations and preserve them for future, for use by coming generations as antiques.

Baltimore Museum of Art to be renovated

Baltimore Museum of Art to be renovated
The Baltimore Museum of Art
has announced a renovation project costing $24 million thanks to a $10 million multi-year commitment from the State of Maryland.

The renovation project will be focused upon improving amenities to visitors, upgrading essential infrastructure, and renovating galleries for three major art collections—Contemporary, American, and African.

From Artdaily.org:

“This is an exciting time at BMA and our sincere hope is that BMA Members and other loyal friends will join us in this extraordinary campaign to ensure that, on our 100th anniversary, this great Museum continues to welcome and inspire,” said Campaign Co-Chair Sandra Levi Gerstung.

“We will use new curatorial research and fresh educational perspectives, thoughtful design, and innovative technology to re-enliven the BMA’s distinguished collections of Contemporary, American, and African art ,” said BMA Director Doreen Bolger. “I can think of no better way to celebrate the beginning of the Museum’s second 100 years.”

This means that admirers of art will now have endless reasons to visit the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Wetter and colder world thanks to Flowers

Wetter and colder world thanks to FlowersThe world becomes a cooler and wetter place thanks to flowering plants, according to a recent research.

This effect is particularly pronounced in the Amazon basin where there could be an 80 percent decrease in the area covered by wet rainforest if flowering plants were replaced with non-flowering plants.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

This makes the flowering plants highly efficient at transpiring water from the soil back into the sky, where it can return to Earth as rain.

‘The whole recycling process is dependent upon transpiration, and transpiration would have been much lower in the absence of flowering plants. We can know that because no leaves throughout the fossil record approach the vein densities seen in flowering plant leaves,’ Boyce added.

For most of biological history there were no flowering plants known. They evolved about 120 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period.

Dinosaurs walked the Earth when flowering plants evolved, and various studies have attempted to link the extinction of dinosaurs or at least their evolutionary paths to flowering plant evolution. ‘Those efforts are always very fuzzy, and none have gained much traction,’ Boyce said.

According to study’s lead author, C. Kevin Boyce, Associate professor in geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago (UofC), the vein density of leaves in flowering plants is much higher than all other plants. This effect leads to absorption of more carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, which means more loss of water vapors from the plant.

M&M Guys Rare Collectibles – Watch them to believe

If you have a bent for antiques and collectibles, particularly collectible toys, this YouTube video will not disappoint you at any point of time. Get complete access to M&M Guys Rare Toys Collectibles Radios and Clocks from the M and M Guys Collection of Mike Mozart World Famous Product Designer from JeepersMedia and find some more reasons to collect.

Antiques and Nostalgia at Tavern Pre-Auction

Antiques and Nostalgia at Tavern Pre-AuctionDozens of potential bidders for 25,000 orphaned treasures from Tavern on the Green were admitted for the first time to the shuttered, bankrupt landmark restaurant in Central Park on Wednesday.

The bidders previewed next week’s 3-day auction of 1,000 lots of items that have been valued in the range of $100 to $1.2 million.

From Dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com:

The preview of the sale — called a nonreserve auction because there was no presale estimate of the prices of individual objects — is expected to attract more than 1,000 visitors and, ultimately, many hundreds of bidders.

Although Mr. Ettinger declined to put a specific value on the offerings, a Sotheby’s appraisal of a portion of the LeRoy inventory a few years ago estimated the value at $8.17 million, including $1.2 million for the leaded-glass ceiling of Maxwell’s Plum that was eventually moved to the Russian Tea Room (both restaurants were owned by Mr. LeRoy) and $300,000 for the antique green-crystal chandelier that is the centerpiece of the Crystal Room.

Although many dealers critically gauged the preview merchandise hoping to resell it, Joanna Figlia, who lives in Manhattan, had a more personal connection: she and her husband, Peter, were married in Tavern on Oct. 18, 1998. “But I see some pieces that would be possible,” she said, for the shelves of her antique store in Huntington, W.Va., Hattie and Nan’s.

Visitors meandered though a cornucopia of Tavern memorabilia during the preview lasting for eight hours.

Antique Purses – Perfect items for Collectors

Antique Purses - Perfect items for Collectors
If you have a liking for collecting antique purses then you may be lucky to get one in trunk of the grandma, flea markets, antique malls, charity stores, auctions, estate and garage sales, online websites or online auctions.

However, it is surprising to note dramatic changes that have happened in the world of antiques and collectibles ever since the concept of buying and selling antiques online came into the picture.

From Postbulletin.com:

In the days before the Internet, collectors would buy an item they wanted in almost any condition and replace it with a better item when it came along. Today, the market is open because of the web.

Collectors, with the exception of those extremely rare items, are looking for perfect or near-perfect items — they know it will eventually show up if they just have a little patience. No one wants to display or use an obviously damaged purse and few are willing to pay top dollar for anything unless they really like it.

Yet, there is no reason your yard or estate sale find can’t turn a great profit even if it is not in great condition — that is, with no broken or missing parts, unsoiled, etc. — or is unsigned with no label or stamped name on the clasp or elsewhere. Of course, those bags by the top designers during every period in the last century are much more valuable than any replicas.

Some of the most common purses on which collectors can place their hands now are those beaded with flowers, birds, scenic or geometric designs. What’s your take?

Alhambra antiques redefining antiques trade

Alhambra antiques redefining antiques tradeIn the quest to redefine the boundaries of the antiques trade, Alhambra (Antiques) will be making their latest offerings.

The offerings will be the design works of contemporary French artist, Eric Besson. This is good news for admirers of antiques and collectibles after many antiques shops were closed in the recent past.

From Cggazette.com:

“We don’t offer only antiques,” says Olga Granda-Scott, “my hope is that we offer the unconventional – items and objects of distinction.  We appeal to people who have a strong sense of individuality – and of course good taste.”

After undergoing aesthetic renovations during the spring, the repurposed space will open again with a new look and fresh vibe.  A cross between antiques store, art gallery, and cultural space, the “new old” Alhambra (Antiques) is an experience not to be missed.   Exhibits will be curated to include unparalleled vintage, antique, and select contemporary offerings sprinkled with innovative creative artists who share a similar aesthetic.

The first exhibit, opening on June 16th, will feature hand-forged furniture by French artist Eric Besson.  Mr. Besson works with pieces of industrial repurposed metal creatively mixed with vintage elements.  His work has been selected by leading designers for important commercial projects, including the flagship John Varvatos store in New York.  The collection exhibited at Alhambra (Antiques) features furniture works with sleek lines adorned with letters from old printing houses.

The work of Mr. Besson will be exhibited alongside the whimsical sculptural work of Italian artist Fiorella Chelini, and the arrival of a new shipment of antiques from all over Europe.