Hogs and Roses

It Just Makes Me Smile

2012-01-29T10:12:00.001-06:00

One of the final vignettes at Second Hand Rose.

Mr. Flannery

Racing to the Finish Line

2012-01-25T09:16:00.005-06:00

I have all the big pieces in place for the February sale at Second Hand Rose. I have items stacked and jammed and prodded into my space. Kind of like getting 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound sack. While the others have seamlessly blended their elegant roses into stunning displays, my hogs have been penned up in a bursting at the seams presentation.

Even with my less than elegant displaying technique the stuff looks pretty damn good. I'm about 95% finished. I have a couple of things to hang from the ceiling, a couple of boxes of smalls to smear over the big items and a couple of hours of pricing and tagging left to do.

There are two warehouse carts (the carts that Restoration Hardware sells for $1095) both made by Nutting Truck Co. of Faribault, Minnesota.
One of the carts is a nice medium brown color and the other is almost black.
The carts are stacked and then prodded under the slate top lab table with its newly painted aluminum colored base.
The cabinet has four doors, shelves and a bottom drawer. The brass stars and cowhide inserts are unique.
Industrial lights have been made into a double hanging pendant, perfect for over a center island or counter.
There is a Bohemian crystal chandelier. In the background is a red wrought iron rocker with great vintage fabric stacked on top of the cowhide cabinet.
In the other corner is this railroad file cupboard. It still has its Chicago & Northwestern inventory tag on the back.
I finished another vintage pallet top table. This one is on an aluminum painted base from a dental office.
A large 1932 commercial coffee grinder in the shape of a coffee pot. (And it works).
A milk crate filled with white painted letters is under the pallet table.
Some more signs and boxes are stacked on the floor. And to the left is a great little serving cart from an architect's office.
Wood carved angel overlooking the space from the door frame.
And above the doorway as you exit, a different kind of angel.

Mr. Flannery

They're Often Confused

2012-01-24T20:42:00.002-06:00

When we were just kids there was a tv commercial where a woman compared her dish soap soothed hands with those of her teenage daughter. The soap did such a great job on her hands (with no mention of the cleansing of the dishes) that the mother proclaimed the "we're often confused". My stupid little brother then remarked "I bet that they are".

Anyway, I was at Walmart today and I remembered to bring my camera into the store. There is signage on the main doors that has been intriguing me for years. It seems that Walmart too is often confused.

Mr. Flannery

More Set-up at Second Hand Rose

2012-01-23T10:18:00.006-06:00

I have started with the back layers in my space at Second Hand Rose. Lots of interesting stuff for the February sale, with a definite industrial edge to the presentation. Things are still stacked in the aisles, but I am gradually building out from the walls and corners to get ready for the sale.

One of my favorite pieces, a coffee server cart from an architect's office.
These matching botanical prints were framed in the 1950's. There is a curiously shaped gold frame mirror to fit where the sixth print belongs.
Another favorite, a wood airplane propeller. I think that it will hang from the ceiling in the center of the space.
Black slate topped lab table with aluminum colored base. Over a cool almost round red table (another architect office find). Over one of two Nutting Truck Co. warehouse carts that will be displayed.
O0000hh la la. A folk art nude that would work well over a Western theme bar. (You can find almost everything at the occasional sale).
Bohemian crystal and amethyst chandelier.
A tall railroad file cabinet complete with the Chicago & Northwestern tag on the back.
And a Lobay industrial light perfectly hung over the lab table.

I still have a lot more to do, but I am very pleased with the direction that I'm headed for the February sale.

Mr. Flannery

Maybe They Will Fit in the Shop

2012-01-22T09:13:00.004-06:00

I went to an auction at Dave Miller's on Thursday. (I know, that's a big surprise). I found a couple of pieces that I hope to incorporate into my space at Second Hand Rose for the February sale. I already have 2 Nutting warehouse carts, 2 industrial coffee serving carts, a pallet top table and an 8 foot long laboratory table in my 9.5 by 7.5 foot space. I am pretty good at stacking and jamming, but these pieces may have to wait for some sales to open space.

This cabinet has panels lined with brown and white cowhide and big brass stars.
The wrought iron rocker may end up stacked on top of the two warehouse carts. (Which are already stacked one on the other).

Its going to be an interesting sale, especially if the bottom warehouse cart sells first.

Mr. Flannery

Starting for February Sale

2012-01-18T18:39:00.002-06:00

We had January off at Second Hand Rose, but now the February sale is appearing on my radar. I want to change up my space almost completely. So on Monday I emptied out my space. I boxed up a lot of smalls and hauled the bigger pieces to storage. I pulled the new pieces from storage and brought them into the shop. I'm going at the redo in stages and I hope to refrain from jamming myself up with too many pieces in my space that I have to dance around while trying to set up.

My first task was hanging my large tambor door piece on the wall. The building wall is very thin and a nail or screw will pull out with just a picture hanging from it. The tambor door was used like a mini garage door in an old telephone company switching station. The door would keep dust off of the switches and would be rolled up for access to work on them. Now the door will be adding a unique backdrop and a place to hang items.

The door is almost 8 feet long and 6 feet tall. It was a real puzzle to get it screwed into place all by myself. I think that it looks pretty good.
I also set up my high school lab table. It originally came with a light oak colored base. I painted the base aluminum to give the piece a much more industrial sort of look.
This Nutting warehouse cart is still in storage. It will come into Second Hand Rose in the next couple of loads. I hope to put a coat of poly on it before it is covered with other items for sale.

I brought in a bunch of botanical prints and a folk art nude oil painting to get hung on the walls before too much furniture gets placed in my way.

Mr. Flannery

Burl Walnut and Horse Hames

2012-01-17T11:11:00.007-06:00

I went to an auction last Sunday. It was terrible. I got there about a half hour after it started (caused by a delay induced by a Meeker County Deputy Sheriff who wanted to discuss my speed). The place was full with lots of people standing around and sitting on the furniture that was eventually going to sell. I sat next to my friend Steve and his wife Jan in the very back corner of the room and ate the Subway sandwich that I brought with me. I didn't even look around until the sandwich was devoured.

It turned out that the sandwich was much more important than any of the goods that I had to look at. There were piles and piles and boxes and boxes of stuff, but not the kind of stuff that I find interesting. I saw nothing that I would even bid on.

About an hour into the auction they sold the 20 or so guns that were listed. I don't buy guns because I do not know anything about them and they are too expensive to start learning at an auction. About half the crowd left after the guns were sold. I decided to make one more tour of the place before I too departed. There, in space which was recently vacated by the butts of gaukers, was a cool little table. It has a 2-3 inch thick slice of black walnut burl mounted on legs made from steel horse hames and fitted with horseshoe feet. Now I had a reason to stay at the auction for a few more hours.

The top is dirty and has some holes filled with some kind of plastic filler, but it is going to look great after a good sanding and a few coats of some kind of clear finish.

Mr. Flannery

Global Warming Ain't Bad for Everyone

2012-01-10T15:51:00.004-06:00

I usually spend most of the winter complaining about the terrible weather that we must endure here on the tundra. I have said that global warming would not be bad for everyone. Well this year, thanks to some Spanish guy (El Nino or something like that), we are getting a small peek at what global warming would be like if it actually was happening. I can report that in terms of the tundra, global warming is wonderful.

We have effectively avoided the first month and one-half of this winter. The lake is frozen, but only in the bay, the main part remains open. There is no snow on the ground. The solar gain has reduced my heating bill to less than 20% of last year. And today I worked outside spray painting some furniture.

The bay is frozen, but the ground is bare.

I painted the base of one of the slate top lab tables a sort of dirty silver or aluminum color. Babe even approves of the paint job.

Of course I did my nails (and my fingers up to the second knuckle) so I have a Tin Man sort of presentation.

I bought this walnut base at the auction on Sunday. It works perfectly under one of my vintage pallet tops. I painted this base the same silvery color today too.

And all I have to say is 51* in Central Minnesota on January 10th is more than OK for me.

Mr. Flannery

Auctions - Failures but a Light at the End of the Tunnel

2012-01-09T21:20:00.005-06:00

This is a tough time for auctions here on the tundra. Usually the weather makes it impossible to have on-sight farm auctions and anything outside is limited at best. The dealers and other auction goers are getting hungry because there are few events to feed us.

I attended two auctions last weekend. Both of them took a couple of hours of driving and a tank of gas to get there. I went to get a few specific pieces that were listed. The furniture really intrigued me and would fit well into the industrial bent that I'm headed into.

The first was this lawyers stacking bookcase. It was interesting, especially with the first level step back. However at $660 it was beyond my limits.

The second was this 32 drawer file cabinet. I was the underbidder at $525.

Then there was this homemade rotating hardware cupboard. The base is fantastic. Again I was the underbidder at $745.

So the long trips were basically unproductive. Hours on the road, dollars through the gas tank and none of my desired items in my truck for the trip home. Interestingly my week was productive not at the live auctions, but online.

I bought these spotlights on-line. They are from a 1937 LaFrance fire truck. I am very happy with them and they probably will not be leaving here too soon.

The most interesting piece is this glass taxi cab light. Again, it will probably be on my shelf for a while rather than in either of the shops.

Not many auctions to attend the rest of this month, but I'll keep searching on-line for the strange items that I like.

Mr. Flannery

It May Curl Your Hair

2011-12-27T21:00:00.003-06:00

I have been spending some of Christmas Day exploring pinterest.com. I have assembled a number of ideas for industrial and lighting projects. One of the most interesting is a guy Rags and Bone Man making lights out of airplane engine parts in London. So I approached my online auction fix with a variety of industrial and lighting possibilities swirling in my mind.

The online auction just ended and I think that I am going to have fun making some very special industrial lights. I will probably gut most of the existing guts and rewire the pieces with new UL approved lamp parts.

This 1930's hair curling machine has a great look and wonderful switches and dials. The curling wires are detachable so I will just disable their sockets and keep them with the soon to be lamp. I hope to use the existing switch and gauge to power the new lamp that I plan to install under the bonnet.
It should make a great prop with a new use for a beauty salon.
I intend to do the same process for this second curler.
This is a heavy duty 1930's hair dryer. It appears to have a bracket on it so it can be mounted and swiveled. I will gut the dryer pieces and install new lamp parts. I have a couple of different bases that I can mount it on, so I'll do a little experimenting to find the best look.

The online auction has granted me a little bit of a reprieve from the auction withdrawal shakes. I have a couple of more items from this auction and two other online auctions currently in process. So I should be stable through New Years Day.

Mr. Flannery

Auction Fix

2011-12-27T09:43:00.002-06:00

Its Christmas time and we all know what that means. Ya Good Cheer, family and friends, great food, presents etc. etc. But it really means that there are no auctions for me to attend.

I have been scouring the Internet for auction listings. I have been printing out and reading line-by-line, with yellow highlighter in hand, auction bills that I would normally speed read on the monitor. I have been looking at every on-line auction that I can find. I have bids in on two on-lines that end at exactly the same time tonight. I just have to admit it, I have a problem and Christmas has interfered with getting my fix.

Mr. Flannery

Music Can Raise Long Hidden Emotions

2011-12-06T22:44:00.004-06:00

Last Sunday I worked at Second Hand Rose. The obligatory Christmas music was playing through-out the shop. The 4th or 5th time through the playlist made me cringe but then I heard a woman singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas". It made me tear up slightly. I flashed back to a Christmas in maybe 68 or 69. It was the Bob Hope Christmas USO Tour entertaining the troops in Vietnam. A woman was singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas". The camera panned the soldiers and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Even now,I hear that song, I see those soldiers and I still tear-up. Some things are so clear and so poignant even after 40 years.

Mr. Flannery

One More Day at Second Hand Rose

2011-12-03T23:12:00.005-06:00

The December sale at Second Hand Rose has been very good and very festive. It was fun working on Friday and greeting and meeting all of the Christmas shoppers. My favorite is answering the phone. Our callers are 99% women and they are expecting a woman to answer the phone. So I answer in a deep bass voice "Second Hand Rose". Invariably this is received with a pause while the caller contemplates if she reached the right number.

I had to completely reset my space after the lockers and all the signs sold. These are photos of the reset. I especially like the large Minnesota wall map.

I am going to work on Sunday. We are open from 10 AM to 5 PM. If you have a chance stop in and give us a "Merry Christmas".

Mr. Flannery

It was Very Strange at the Auction

2011-12-01T07:41:00.002-06:00

I attended another auction on Tuesday evening. Because of the locker trip to Minneapolis and the subsequent mandatory resetting at Second Hand Rose I did not get to the auction until 3 hours after it started. There wasn't too much left to sell, but for some reason the auctioneer had left the furniture for the end of the auction. The selection of furniture was marginal, but there were a few interesting pieces.

The leather love seat and chair sold for more than I can resell them for at the shops, so no bids there. The iron and glass tables were OK but just too heavy and too fragile, at the same time, for my interest, after all the locker dancing. There was a decent 2 drawer library table/small desk. It was not an antique, but it was solid, clean and resellable. So I bid on it. Most of the attendees had left the auction by then, so there was little competition for this piece. I got it for $35. Then one of the strangest occurrences happened.

The auctioneer moved on to the next couple of pieces. A guy, who had been at the auction since the start, came up to me and asked if I had bought the library table. I said yes. He asked me "how much"? I told him and he contemplated my response. Then it happened. He said "I'll give ya $50 for it".

I said "I just bought it, why didn't you bid"? He responded with a story about a trip to the bathroom. Oh well. Now what do I do? I sold it to him. I had the clerk change the number of the sale and he gave me $15.

So in the course of 5 minutes I made 40% on my potential investment. I never actually handed over any money. I never even touched the desk. No lifting, cleaning, dancing or resetting of the desk. Now that was a strange auction event.

Mr. Flannery

8 Days 'Til Gypsy Lea's

2011-11-30T20:12:00.002-06:00

The December occasional sale starts at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids in eight days. I stopped by the shop with a load of furniture for the next sale. It looks crowded but great.

Delivering the lockers freed up my trailer for another load. I went to an auction and secured a nice load of antique furniture. I met Gypsy at the door and she wanted everything on the trailer for the December sale. Its going to look like Christmas by next week. Photos to follow.

Mr. Flannery

It was a Heck of a Tuesday

2011-11-29T21:40:00.002-06:00

Today was dealer day at Second Hand Rose. I usually sell a couple of things and don't even have to do any straightening for the Thursday first day of the sale. Well today was very different. One person bought every sign in my space plus the gym locker unit. She then called me at home and bought the other seven units that were still lashed on my trailer. We did a little negotiating and I agreed to deliver all the lockers to her shop in Minneapolis. I grabbed my trailer and headed east.

Of course the locker and the signs were in the back of my space. So everything in my space had to be moved and removed to get the pieces out. I loaded the lockers from the shop onto the trailer and resumed my trek to the big city. These lockers are definitely heavy and the impact of the full trailer was reflected on the gas gage. I got to Hunt and Gather and two young woman came out and unloaded the trailer. I assisted, but they did most of the work. I was impressed, they worked their butts off.

Back to Buffalo and a complete redo of my space. It looks great, and I certainly do not want to complain about sales, but this complete redo after one day may be a PITA. I brought in a butcher block top work bench and some more signs. The departure of the big red Fireman's Ball sign has freed up wall space and dampened the color in the space a little. I now have prints and paintings properly hung on the walls, new old signs in place and a decent look for the sale. I am most surprised that my rusty chain garlands remain undisturbed. Maybe all the dealers have enough rusty chain to make their own once they steal the idea.

All in all it was a heck of a birthday.

Mr. Flannery

Its Christmas at Second Hand Rose

2011-11-28T09:11:00.006-06:00

The December sale at Second Hand Rose starts on Thursday, December 1st. I spent most of the day Sunday at the shop getting my space together and all the items priced. Most of the dealers stopped by to finish up their spaces yesterday so the whole place was rocking. We had all four spaces with 6 people working in the front room at the same time. Oh my! While the roses have their spaces decorated for Christmas with their elegant designs or festive displays, my hogs are lurking under rusty chains and cast iron faces.

This antique oil on canvas painting is little shabby but the Art Nouveau frame is fabulous.

Balls and rusty chains make festive garlands in the hog pen.

Lots of nice burlap sacks under a cool rustic table.

Car mirror as a shelf.

Cast iron HOG.

The brass yacht helm ships wheel is English made about 1900.

The long black slate topped table is a lab table from a local high school.

I even have one of the middle school gym locker units into the space this time.

The classics are here. Four different dogs playing poker framed together.

Its going to be a great sale.

Mr. Flannery

Thankful for American Exceptionalism

2011-11-24T08:31:00.001-06:00

A City Upon A Hill is a phrase from the parable of Salt and Light in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:14, he tells his listeners, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."

Puritan John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" applied this parable to the New World. Still aboard the ship Arbella, Winthrop admonished the future Massachusetts Bay colonists that their new community would be a "city upon a hill", watched by the world. Winthrop's sermon gave rise to the widespread belief in American folklore that the United States of America is God's country because metaphorically it is a Shining City upon a Hill, an early example of American exceptionalism.

Ronald Reagan used this image in his farewell speech in 1989:

...I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still...

I am Thankful that I was born in this God-blessed nation always striving to be the City on the Hill.

(portions from Wikipedia).

And Now There Are Even More Lockers

2011-11-20T20:37:00.007-06:00

I went to a school district surplus equipment auction yesterday in Cold Spring, Minnesota. It was bitter cold (about 15*) with a cutting north wind. About 20 minutes into the auction it started to snow. My good friend Mike was there too and he forgot to wear a hat. He was interested in some butcher block table tops (3' x 8' and over 100 lbs. each) and maybe some wood topped lab tables. I wanted some slate topped lab tables and some interesting lockers. Of course these items were in the last row of items to be sold.

There were about 3 inches of snow on the items when we got to our row. Mike got all five butcher block pieces and they will be table and center island tops on pieces that he crafts for Gypsy Lea's and Second Hand Rose. He missed on the lab tables when one bidder took 12 tables. The next item of interest was the slate lab tables.

I bought all five lab tables with their 150 lbs. tops. Oh my! Then came a row of desks and more desks and some other desks. They could not get a $1 each for the desks. A scrap dealer bought 80+ individual desks for $1 and now bought these office style metal desks for about $.25 each.

The last items sold were locker units. These are painted orange and blue and yellow with mixed door colors on other color bodies. Most of the units were a mixture of larger clothes lockers with many smaller storage lockers. There were about 22 units. The first choice of lockers sold for $90 each. The bidder took two. The second choice went 6 for $65 each. Bidder no.1 took the next four for $25 each. Then I got the last 10 units. Mike bought 2 units from me so I had 8 to haul.

I had my truck, but not my trailer. Mike and I loaded the butcher blocks into his van and then the 5 lab tables into my truck. The ride home was exciting. The first 1/2 inch of snow melted into a sheet of ice on the highway. This layer was then covered by the next 4 inches of snow. It was a slip sliding trip home. I decided to stay home and pick up the lockers on Sunday.

It was only 18* on Sunday, but there was bright sunshine and the snow started to melt. I unloaded the tables and the big lockers from the trailer and headed back to the school for the other lockers.

I was heading into a double 90* curve on the county road just south of Cold Spring. The SUV headed in the other direction crossed over my lane and then flipped in the ditch onto its side. My first thought when the SUV crossed was "there's no driveway there". I pulled up, as did the guy who had been behind them and offered help. The young girl. who was driving, and her father were not hurt, but she was really shaken.

They didn't want to call a tow truck (probably because they didn't want to report the accident) and asked if I could help right the SUV. I carry a tow strap in the truck and said that I'd give it a try. I disconnected my trailer and lined up to give a pull. He connected the strap to a frame member and I pulled the SUV back on its wheels. There was a dent in the fender and the back side window was broken, but the doors opened and the engine started. He then hooked the strap to his trailer hitch and I gave him a tow out of the ditch. They drove off, I reconnected the trailer and met Mike and his step-son Kjell at the school.

I have eight locker units loaded on the trailer. I think that they will be good sellers at Gypsy Lea's and Second Hand Rose. I am going to bring one unit and one lab table into Rose tomorrow and the same into Gypsy Lea's on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Such is the adventure of junking on the tundra.

Mr. Flannery

Lockers, Way Too Big Lockers

2011-11-16T23:11:00.005-06:00

I bought 7 heavy open mesh lockers at an on-line auction. They were supposed to be 2 two locker units and 1 three locker unit. All the other groups were two and three units. When I got to the defunct nursing home on the East Side of St. Paul I found that my unit was one 2 locker and one 5 locker. These lockers are each 2' x 2' x 6.5' and probably weight about 70 lbs. There was no way that I was going to get the 5 locker unit out of the room. Too heavy and way too big. So I decided to take the 5 unit apart.

I removed about a thousand small bolts and tried to separate the pieces. Well, of course there were 1003 bolts holding the units together. The first, when finally located, came out with the wrench. The second, which was high up and behind a support, just turned. The little bolts have smooth heads, like a rivet, so there was no slot as in a screw or edges like a normal bolt. I tried to grab the edges with a tiny vice grips but I couldn’t get a bite. I futzed around for about 15 minutes trying to get the nut to turn and the bolt to stay still. Finally I brought out the big gun, my angle grinder.

I came prepared. I brought the angle grinder and stopped to get a pack of 10 cut-off discs on my way to the site. I also brought my own extension cord just in case. I got the grinder set up and the bolt was gone in about two thousand sparks and 15 seconds. Success! I was ready to part the sections.

Well that was 1002 bolts removed and now I encountered the 1003rd bolt. It was at the back, under the bottom shelf. I could only reach it by pulling out the 5 locker unit and crawling under the section. Now this was a storage locker room in an old building. The lockers had been in place for years with about 2 inches of open space under the lockers. And that area had never been cleaned. I had to crawl on my back in the space that I cleared by pushing the lockers from the wall and reach blindly into the base to remove that last bolt. Of course it wouldn’t come off. The nut and bolt just turned. The vice grips wouldn’t bite. And there was not enough room to get the angle grinder onto the bolt. Up and down in the grime trying this tool and that tool. (And how can a tool I just had crawl away so I had squirm around on my back to relocate it?) Finally I gave up. I grabbed the smaller end of the unit and tugged and twisted it. The bolt gave and the unit popped out.

I loaded the units onto my cart, trekked through ½ of the nursing home and loaded each onto my trailer. I had to tug and lift and push, but they all made it in for the journey home. The straps were tight. The bungies were in place to secure the cart and furniture dolly. The tools were all back into the truck. So I began the trip from the east side of St. Paul through the heart on St. Paul and then the middle of Minneapolis and out to the busy Minnetonka suburbs. Because I decided to go to an auction in Spicer (110 miles from the nursing home). So I made the trip, hauling the trailer full of vision blocking lockers through the heart of the metro area on its busiest freeway at rush hour. Damn I am crazy.

Mr. Flannery

Maybe a Nuclear Blast Will Move It.

2011-11-16T11:50:00.002-06:00

I decided to try to refinish one more warehouse cart before winter shuts me down. The cart that I have had a few problems. The most glaring was the coating of tar on the surface. Sometime in the past someone (idiot) decided that the cart would be improved by adding a heavy layer of the black tarry substance that was once used to glue linoleum tile to a floor.

I tried scraping it. I tried sanding it. Only thing that happen was that the sand paper immediately filled up with tar and became useless. The last time that I encountered this problem I ended up using a propane torch and a scrapper to remove it. This time I settled on using a stiff wire wheel on my angle grinder. Dust, pieces of tar and stray individual wires from the wheel flew in every direction. (But no blazes needed to be extinguished as in my past experiment.) It took more than two hours to clear an 8 square foot surface. Now I can sand and refinish the cart for its next life.

As usual, Babe was a big help in dealing with this project. The pallet top and the lights are also in progress and should be ready for the December sales.

If you encounter a project involving this tar like substance, I suggest a nuclear attack. And even then I am afraid that, like the cockroaches, it may well survive.

Mr. Flannery

Reset for the Weekend

2011-11-05T16:20:00.004-05:00

I had sales at Second Hand Rose on Thursday and Friday sufficient to justify bringing in another load of good stuff to refill and reset for the weekend.

One of my favorite "new" pieces is this 1830's inlaided walnut tilt top tea table. The top is sufficiently shabby to show her age, but the legs are beautiful.

This marble topped washstand is a marriage. The base is an 1850's piece while the tile back splash is from the 1880's. It is a sympathetic marriage and seems to have worked for a long time. The large blue and white transferware bowl and pitcher is 1880's English and the dishes are a 30 piece luncheon set in the Christmas tree pattern.

I like the look and feel of this rose pattern hooked rug.

Even with the reset I still have chairs on tables on other tables. I just brought the rose needlepoint chair into the shop.

Mr. Flannery

All Signed Up at Second Hand Rose

2011-10-31T13:31:00.007-05:00

I am set up for the November sale at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo, Minnesota. I have a new spot in the shop and it took a while to get the feel for the space. I do not have any pieces of furniture that I made or recycled in this month's sale. But I do have a bunch of signs. Somehow November has become Sign Month for me. I have big signs, small signs, red signs and blue signs. My favorites are a 1920's doctor's shingle and a huge Fireman's Ball sign.

The Cowboy Shop sign is 4' by 5' and double sided.

The large fish above the sign is a Monticello Minnow. Caught in the Mississippi River just below the Monticello nuclear power plant.

My mafia vignette. A hobby horse head in the chair.

ELE-VATOR? I wonder if Ele is Darth's sister.

I like the 4 gooseneck lamps atop the large wardrobe. Doctor Reuben DeWitt Zimbeck was the town doctor in Maynard, Minnesota. He practiced there from before 1900 until his death in 1927. The shingle was found in the attic of his old house 90 years after he died.

This watercolor is a painting of the Swedish Pavillion at the 1915 San Francisco Panama- Pacific Exposition.

Flying trike and cow signs.

Mr. Flannery

Maybe Some Money is in South Dakota Too

2011-10-19T09:12:00.006-05:00

After the Iowa fiasco I was sure that all the money was now in Iowa. Well I went to a farm auction in South Dakota and either Iowa is leaking or some of that money made it to SD too.

The auction was just north of Sioux Falls and just west of Pipestone, Minnesota. The farmers were out picking corn and combining beans on both sides of the route there. Lots of big equipment harvesting lots and lots of grain.

The house was a South Dakota farm "mansion". Built in 1901-2 by a very successful farmer for his family which consisted of 17 children. It had over 6000 square feet on 3 floors. The house has suffered over the years from neglect and disrepair. The house, to be moved or stripped, was one of the items on the auction bill.

The same family that built the house still owns it 110 years later and the auction bill promised that the 100 years of accumulated stuff would be available for sale. The stuff did not live up to the billing. It appears that the best stuff was sold off to pickers over the past 20 years or carried off by the family members in anticipation of the auction. (17 kids in 1900 can produce a great number of off spring in 100 years).

The house was interesting, but definitely not a mansion by Summit Avenue standards. The moving rights to the house were bid to $30K but did not sell. The stuff was interesting, but definitely not the untouched accumulation of more than 100 years in the same house. And the crowd was there to buy. Again, for the second time in a week, the prices were crazy buyer prices. I bought a few things, but nothing close to justifying the 380 mile trip.

My favorite item, I bid it to $2000 but did not buy it. Its a cast iron fountain with a crane center piece and a base that had frogs, turtles and other pond life cast into the edge.

This tufted leather fainting couch sold for $1950.

And the similar chair did $900.

The frames and pictures along the fence did way too much for me to even consider bidding.

The interior of the house had some nice woodwork, but nothing to swoon over. Looked like the Sears high end interior from 1900.

The metal cove moulding and original wall paper were nice.

And the fretwork between the parlors was very good.

The stick and ball decoration on the 6 gable ends was saleable.

The house was very long with dormitory like bedrooms lining the halls in the back half of the 2nd and 3rd floors.

I guess that I will add southeastern South Dakota to northern Iowa on my don't bother to drive that far for an auction list.

Mr. Flannery

So All the Money is in Iowa

2011-10-13T11:21:00.006-05:00

Mike and I went to an auction in Northern Iowa. It was 180 miles from my house to the auction, so this was a more than average hike to auction. The listing was for a good old junk auction. The guy was a longtime collector and auction goer who had lived alone for many years and had been in a nursing home for the past 3-4 years. The houses were leaky and the furniture was in pieces and parts while often covered with mold. It sounded just like our kind of sale.

The economy has been junk and sales have been spotty. The prices of antiques and shabbies has been largely deflated. Well I found out what happened, all the money has been sucked into Iowa. Maybe its the "Picker" effect. Maybe its burning corn in our cars rather than eating it. Whatever it is, we saw its full effect at this auction.

This 4 section lawyer's bookcase with on door missing and the feet melting off sold for $550.

The post offices boxes with no back and no combinations was over $300.

The completely tattered Chinese restaurant hanging lamp was $90 and the kerosene floor lamp $280.

2 plank harvest type table with 2x4 legs did $280, well over retail here.

The price for junk were unbelievable. The furniture, with only a hint of its former grandeur, sold for more than its perfect counterpart would do at the high end stores in Minneapolis. Needless to say we didn't bring home any of the furniture. I bought a couple of lamp pieces and some older books to be cut up for framing. Mike bought a great 5 tier rotating nail bin. (However he bought it from the scrapper who bought the entire contents of a building rather than directly at auction). We will not be traveling to Iowa for an auction anytime soon. Oh well, it was only a 2 tank-full lesson.

The little farm house was too neat. It was concrete with great pillars and a portico. Built in 1906 (according to the imprint on the lintel over the front door) the concrete is very grainy and weathered.

Mr. Flannery

Another Industrial Light

2011-09-24T14:07:00.003-05:00

Its been a hell of a month here on the tundra. I am fighting with my home owners insurance coverage about the flooded basement. And it took them 7 weeks to adjust the basement (they won't pay) and the garage (they will pay). Now I get to pursue them through arbitration.

My real work has been picking up too. I have been on the road and working more days than usual.

I have a couple of projects going for the October sales. I bought 6 of these industrial lights at an auction a couple of weeks ago. I am building a double light drop out of electrical and plumbing parts. And 2 of the lights will be a single drop light.

The lights are not completed, the bar will sit higher above the fixures, but the photo gives a good hint at what they will ultimately look like.

I had to buy many of the parts new at the hardware store. I almost died at the cost of the pieces. So the last two auctions I attended I went through all the basement and garage boxes looking for electrical and plumbing parts. So far I have 3-4 rolls of wire (at about 2% of current retail) and some fittings. I hope that the next lights will have more recycled (and cheaper) parts and fewer new parts bought at retail.

Mr. Flannery

Solid Pallet Center Island

2011-09-11T20:20:00.004-05:00

I made up another center island/work table from one of my vintage pallets today. This one is firmly set on an industrial table base. Its all pressure washed (after these photos were taken), sanded, stained and poly'd. I like this one as much as the one on the wire shelf base. The heavy steel underpinnings give this table a real look of solidity.

Mr. Flannery

Ready for Second Hand Rose in September

2011-08-27T13:39:00.009-05:00

I have my space ready for the September sale at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo, Minnesota. Unlike the blending that we do at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids, I have an assigned space here. I have sole responsibility to fill my space with my items. The good weather has made that task easier because I've been able to work on projects on my driveway. My space is filled with primitive and industrial style items that may be a little different than the bulk of Second Hand Roses normal inventory. Its like an entire Hog pen full of stuff placed in a field of roses.

I still really like this center island. I made it from a vintage hardwood and metal pallet (not a stapled scrap wood piece that they use for pallets now). The base is a restaurant grade Metro style wire shelf unit on proper casters. (The damn thing is strong enough for me to stand on it. A fact that was ascertained when I was putting a hanging light above it).

This is the top of a beautiful floor torchiere that I purchased from a funeral home auction.

Someone really should need this fancy drum set.

The keyboard from the pump organ is hung over the doorway above the White Seal Beer sign and the City Limit sign.

The top doesn't quite fit the base on this cake plate.

A perfectly shabby chandelier.

Teachers prep books from 193o sit on the old work bench under a really heavy and ornate mirror.

One of my favorite pieces. A porcelain advertising comb sterilizer from an old barber or beauty shop.

Two church flower urns filled with organ stops.

White Seal Beer - Little Falls Minnesota aluminum sign.

My fish trap hanging lamps.

The maple top work bench will make a great counter or center island.

Mr. Flannery

Its Hard to Imagine - I Finished Two Projects

2011-08-24T10:15:00.004-05:00

Its hard to believe but I actually have completed two of the projects that I was going to get right to 3-4 months ago. The first is making hanging pendant lights from these Rocket Automatic Fish Scalers. The second is a work bench that is now a counter/center island.

I really like the shadows that these lamps cast.

This maple butcher block top counter/island/bench was poorly covered with a 1/4 inch thick coating of poly. It was globbed on so thick that there were poly icicles growing from the bottom edge of the counter.

This is a "during" photo after I had sanded off the awful poly.

Both pieces are going to be in Second Hand Rose for the September sale.

Mr. Flannery

An Organ Transplant

2011-08-22T11:11:00.002-05:00

I bought a nice working turn of the century (that would be the 19th to 20th century turn, not the more recent turn that is now associated with true Chinese "antiques") pump organ. It was very nice looking. It would be a shame to ruin the organ so I put it into Gypsy Lea's at a very low price. It would not sell, even with two attempts and an even lower price.

SO!!! I decided that an organ transpant was necessary. Unfortunately the patient didn't make it. I parted it out and will be selling the pieces. (Isn't that the plot for some spy novel?) The keyboard and some of the fancy wood pieces are headed for the shop. The remainder of good American manufacturing from a by-gone era will be headed to the dump.

Mr. Flannery

T-Shirt of the Week

2011-08-13T17:12:00.002-05:00

A woman was seen with the following emblazoned on her tee shirt:

IRONY
the opposite of
WRINKLEY

Mr. Flannery

Its the 2nd Thursday - Big Sale Week at Gypsy Lea's

2011-08-11T12:15:00.009-05:00

Its the second Thursday of the month, so the occassional sale at Gypsy Lea's starts today. The shop looks great. Kris and Gypsy really outdid themselves this month. The set-up, which unlike a traditional multi-dealer operation, spreads out all the merchandice from all the dealers through-out the shop, is fabulous. There is a lot of unique furniture made with recycled materials by three excellent craftsmen. There are lots of antiques, uniques and just plain interesting items in most price ranges. We're open from Thursday through Sunday. We will be restocking and filling spaces every day. Stop by for the perfect piece for your home or office or wherever unique and wonderful is appreciated.

Mr. Flannery

August at Second Hand Rose

2011-08-01T19:52:00.007-05:00

The August sale at Second Hand Rose starts on Thursday. I got all the pieces in place and priced yesterday in the heat and humidity. My space looks really good. I have lots of industrial type pieces with a touch of real antiques and a big gob of whimsy.

This is my favorite piece for this month. Its the center island that I made from an antique wood and steel pallet on top of a restaurant grade Metro brand wire shelf on casters.

Ok, so they don't let me do cute. It seems that I am not capable of defining cute to the satisfaction of the women dealers. I can do strange and unusual, but not so much cute. However, these cowboy boots in their original 1940's box, are so hopelessly cute that even I know that they are cute.

The cast iron pieces on the wall. The Home Treasure is probably part of an old stove.

A goofus glass platter in front of a spinning wheel and on top of an immigrant trunk with a Mankato, Minnesota address.

This kitchen cupboard is a real antique from about 1870-80. It was refinished many years ago and is in perfect "centerpiece for any house" condition. Its nice to find a piece that I can bring right into the shop without substantial work or rebuilding.

Another piece of whimsy, this Rainbow Band drum set sits atop the cupboard.

One of the three warehouse carts that are in the shop this month sits under the Mankato trunk. The smaller copper kettle drum would make a great end table.

This leather ottoman just kind of leans against my center display.

The pallet center island is down the path flanked by the cupboard and three warehouse carts.

The center display with the carts and a larger kettle drum. (If I called it a timpani would I get a higher price?)

Its going to be a good sale. I just hope that some of our customers look at the Restoration Hardware catalog and know how much they charge for their version of the carts.

Mr. Flannery

I Really Like this Vintage Pallet Center Island.

2011-07-30T14:17:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday we went to a very interesting auction in Benson, MN. We suffered through driving rain, lightning and thunder and then hot and humid temperatures. I think that every dealer in the state was there, including 3 others from Second Hand Rose. Unfortunately, we did not end up fighting it out between us because most items went for more than we can get retail. I did buy 13 vintage oak and steel pallets. I thought that they would be useful in storing the stuff that I have to remove from my garage so the contractor can repair the insulation and the ceiling. However, I decided that the pallets were just too interesting to put them all to mundane service under my inventory.

I made this center island on restaurant wire shelving and casters out of one of the pallets.

This is what the pallets look like in the rough.

Lots of sanding, painting the underside, staining and polying the top reveals this great island or counter.

I going to haul it into the shop tomorrow. It will look great under my industrial light fixtures.

Mr. Flannery

Warehouse Carts

2011-07-26T20:20:00.004-05:00

I've been dealing with the aftermath of two fallen trees and a flooded basement. I have insurance adjusters, contractors, tree services and a bunch of other people to meet, cajole, direct and investigate. However I did get a chance to get two warehouse carts ready for the August sales. I stained these with a dark red mahogany and then amber shellac. They came out darker than the golden oak that I used on the first cart that went into the shop.

Mr. Flannery

Great Stuff and Red Tag Specials Too.

2011-07-15T08:21:00.008-05:00

Its July sale time at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids. We are doing something that we have not done in our three years of selling. We are having a storewide Red Tag Sale. Now Gypsy Lea's traditionally has some of the lowest prices for furniture, repurposed, redesigned and recycled stuff and special objets d'art, but with the Red Tag Sale prices assigned to many of our items make things almost unbelievably low.

I forgot my camera when I was at the shop on Wednesday, so I didn't get photos of the initial set-up. I stopped by the shop on Thursday afternoon, on my way to Dave Miller's auction, expecting to find the set-up ready to photograph. Well they had one hell of a Thursday. There were already open spaces and many pieces had sold tags on top of the Red Tag. The rain on Thursday didn't keep the customers away, but it did discourage some from taking things home. The dealers had restocked and reset and were waiting for a number of husbands to appear to pickup the wives' purchases "on their way home from work".

Kris and Gypsy spent a number of hours last night resetting so the shop is again stuffed with many "new" Red Tag Specials. The shop will look different from my photos, but it will be just as great.

Mr. Flannery

The Trees are Falling!!!

2011-07-11T09:02:00.005-05:00

Last week a tree fell in a big wind storm. It just grazed my house, putting a dent in some siding and breaking a basement window. I didn't realize it at the time, but the tree also landed on the sump line coming out of the basement. It cracked the line and caused all the water from the sump pump to just recirculate into the basement.

I only live 30 feet from the shores of Flannery Bay and they installed a full basement in this place in 1921 when the house was built. It appears that my basement floor is only slightly higher than lake level, when the lake is at normal levels. The lake is as high as I've seen it it 40 years. (Even higher than the year the township replaced the outlet culvert with the high end downstream). My sump pump has been running almost constantly. Well anyway, by the time I found out about the sump the basement was filled with 2 feet of water. The furnace, well pump, hot water heater and water softener were all destroyed. I got an auxiliary pump working, because I thought that the sump quit, but as the water lowered I figured out that the sump was working, but recirculating. So I lost my sump system to a wind storm. I'm sure that is going to raise a few eyebrows at State Farm.

I am going to redo my heating system to go to off-peak electric on the furnace and the hot water. Much cheaper and more evenly priced than the propane that I have used. I'm waiting for contractors to get the pieces together and get me back on-line. Showers without hot water are definitely bone chilling.

Last night a second tree fell in a second wind storm. An old oak that was half-way up the hill and towered over my garage decided to shed some big limbs. I heard them crash at about 9:00 o'clock last night. I called the tree guy, but he is still very busy. (I had called earlier about the first tree and told him that he could take his time getting to it.) I pulled a few smaller limbs off the drive with the ATV, so I have passage on the driveway. So here I sit waiting to hear from the plumber, the electrician, the insurance adjuster and the tree guy. I swear this summer has been more weather related work than the damn winter on the tundra.

Mr. Flannery

PS - I just used the truck and the tow strap to haul the biggest two limbs off the drive so can now get in and out without too much hassle. The tree guy is going to wonder how those two pieces fell so far up hill.

Its Going to be Great at Gypsy Lea's

2011-07-06T09:55:00.002-05:00

I shuffled off to Gypsy Lea's yesterday afternoon to help with set up for our July sale. It was raining and 73* when I left Flannery Bay and 25 minutes (and 18 miles) later when I got to St. Cloud it was sunny, dry and 87*. It was warm in the shop, we have an A/C system that is much more productive December than in July, Gypsy, Kris and Darlene were working away.

I spent most of the time wiring and hanging 8 new chandeliers that I bought at an auction. These are designer pieces from a defunct lighting store. They look great and are at much less than 1/2 of retail.

The shop is packed. We have so many cool things to offer our customers this time. We are just getting started. There are pieces stacked here and there, but none of the fabulous presentation that Gypsy Lea's is noted for. It is going to be wonderful, but we have a bunch of work to do before we can face our clients.

Mr. Flannery

Hogging the Spot Light

2011-07-04T08:58:00.009-05:00

I have completed my third set-up for the occasional sale at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo, Minnesota. The sale starts on Thursday and the shop looks great. I'm very pleased with the way my space turned out. It is the second time that I have this location and I think that I have a good "feel" for how the space works. Therefore, I am going to Hog the spotlight in this post and just show you my space.

It was a very hot July 3rd setting up at Second Hand Rose. Other dealers were in and out, but I just sweated and plodded along.

I started by hanging a tambor door on one wall. A tambor door is like the top on a roll top desk only these are about 6 feet wide and 9-10 feet tall. (They were used as access doors to switching equipment in an old telephone switching station). I hung the door sideways and gave the wall an interesting vertical wood panel effect. (See photos 1 & 2, below).

I disassembled two big old industrial lights and rewired them for display in the shop. The old wiring connected to metal lugs on top of green insulators on the outside of the fixture. I am pretty sure that our customers would no be thrilled with big copper wires terminating in connections in the open. I took out all the old wiring, drilled a small hole in the case to pass a new cord through and put an adapter in the socket to accomodate a standard household bulb. I also replaced the working 400 watt bulbs with 40 watt bulbs, the big ones would have turned the shop into a convection oven within about 4 minutes. The lights now have a soft, low wattage glow that can be upgraded to full illumination just by putting in a bigger bulb. These lights are one of my favorite pieces and will look great over a kitchen center island or as lighting in an industrial style space.

This is my favorite wall. The industrial lights are in front of the tambor wall. There are black and white architectural prints, a basket of Ford Model A V-8 hubcaps and a 1950's lounger.

A close up of the recliner.

Yellow painted Swedish immigrant trunk atop a wonderful steel wheeled warehouse cart.

Mr. Flannery

It was a Real Thunderstorm

2011-07-02T13:53:00.002-05:00

We had 70 mph winds and heavy rain yesterday. Dassel, about 20 miles south of here, received tennis ball size hail. The temperature dropped from 95* to 67* in less than 20 minutes.

I had a medium size oak tree fall. Its top branches grazed the side of the house. There are branches and pieces from other trees laying through out the yard.

I posted these photos to show Texas that it still did rain in parts of the United States.

Mr. Flannery

I Found a Ghost

2011-06-27T16:33:00.006-05:00

I bought this trunk at an auction last week. It has a nice fitted inside, much better than a run of the mill trunk, and is made of good straight grain fir. I decided that a muting of the bright yellow paint job someone slapped on it during its long life would be a good thing. I sanded it and then applied some amber shellac to dampen the color.

The sanding revealed a big surprise. The trunk was an immigrant trunk, made in northern Europe (probably Sweden) in the 1890's. The sanding revealed a ghost. The address painted on the trunk originally reappeared in the sanding.

The address is:

AMANDA GREN
Lake Elisabeth Po.Co. Kandyohi
Minnesota, Nort Amerika

Kandyohi County is two counties west of Flannery Bay.

Today is Babe's
6th Birthday

He is my best friend
and a very good boy.
(We are singing Happy Birthday).

Mr. Flannery

I'm Going to Make Some Lights

2011-06-24T19:22:00.003-05:00

I am really becoming enthralled with industrial design and making industrial pieces into lights. I have been buying a variety of strange metal type pieces with the plan to light them up. Last night I bought three candidates for the lightening treatment.

The fan looking copper plated item on the left is an old space heater. The wire heating element appears to screw into a light socket. I am hoping that just changing the element for an interesting looking bulb will make it into a nice accent lamp.

The middle piece is a unique minnow bucket. It will make a good lamp if I cut the bottom out of it. I will not do anything to it until I research the bucket. Some of that unique fishing stuff is too valuable to alter into lighting.
I also bought two of these Rock-it Automatic Fish Scalers. I already did the research and they are great lighting candidates. I have a string of Christmas lights with walleye pike shaped bulbs. I may just put it inside as a fishing decoration.

I bought 4 other lighting items last night. I have to pick them up on Monday. It will be an electrifying two weeks here on the tundra as I get things ready for the July sales.

Mr. Flannery

The Wonders of Walmart

2011-06-17T20:08:00.003-05:00

I had many errands to run today in Buffalo, Minnesota. I stopped at the Courthouse, the bank, the hardware store, the burger joint, the dock and deck store, Second Hand Rose and then my favorite, shopping at Walmart.

I have this love hate relationship with Walmart. I love the prices and even the selection. I hate the fact that I always need something in the dairy section at the southeast corner of the store and a tube of toothpaste across 58 acres of retail space in the northwest corner.

So I started my trek across the acreage. Another perk being the ability to graze at the various sampling stations. Now I ignored one of the basic rules of shopping and went into the grocery store hungry, so grazing on samples seemed to be a very good idea.

Walmart always fascinates me. Near the front door, right by the checkout, Diet Coke in 24 can trays was on sale for $5. Further back in the store, Diet Coke in 24 packs was on sale for $5.98. I was contemplating this strange marketing strategy (and watching a woman place 2 of the $6 packs into her cart) when it dawned on me that there was a real lack of samples.

I passed by the Diet Coke dilemma and headed for the only sample station that I saw. I went right past the cracker area where they are selling salt-free Saltines, without spending much time contemplating this oxymoron. I was hungry and I wanted my sample.

So there it was, the only sample kiosk in operation was dealing with kitty litter!!! What the hell?? How do I sample kitty litter?

I didn't even bother to ask. I was fresh out of taking my cat with me to Walmart and I had no intentions of sampling the stuff myself.

Walmart, in addition to being a constant puzzle, was a great disappointment to me today.

Mr. Flannery

June is Busting Out at Gypsy Lea's

2011-06-09T08:44:00.011-05:00

The June sale at Gypsy Lea's starts today, Thursday, in Sauk Rapids. Gypsy, Katie, Kris and Kjell fought through a 12 hour day in 100* temperatures on Tuesday to get things ready. It looks great.

My second (and final unless I am invited back) appearance at Second Hand Rose was much more successful than my first. My June sales were about three times higher than May sales.

Yesterday I packed up my trailer with outside stuff and headed for Gypsy Lea's. We have the best and the most outside display that we've had in the 3+ years that we've been open.

The City redesigned (which is urban planner speak for f--d-up) the street in front of the shop. In addition to having the street and sole entrance closed for two+ months last summer, they eliminated two parking spaces, narrowed the sidewalk from 9 feet wide to 4 feet wide, installed huge metal street light bases in that 4 feet and put in an awful, street blocking peninsula. We lost most of our outside display area. Today we are claiming peninsular space to display some of our outside stuff.

Iron beds, metal chairs, warehouse carts turned into tables are some of the outside stuff that we have ready for sale.

I really like this chunk of steel. I have no firm information on what it was originally used for, but think that it may have been a finial on a coat rack and that it is displayed upside down in this photo.

Kris' bright green vinyl covered chair is both comfortable and very 50's.

Larry bought this cupboard as a wreck at a farm auction. He rebuilt and reglued it, added the vintage tin to the door panels and gave it a nice coat of paint.

Mr. Flannery

Too Much Time Spent Relearning Old Tricks.

2011-05-31T12:21:00.004-05:00

I have my space at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo, Minnesota all set up for the June sale. I have a different area from the one from last month. So anything I learned about the peculiarities of last month's space is just history. At Rose's each dealer is responsible for the set up of their own area. Your stuff fills your space in a way the you decide. This is different from the process used at my other shop, Gypsy Lea's. There the dealers each bring in their materials and then work on a crew to mix it all together and then spread it through the entire shop. Kris' cupboard may hold Gypsy's dishes while sitting next to my table. Each model has its merits, but relearning the personal responsibility of Rose's model has been an eye opening experience for me.

I spent way too much time getting my space together this time. I was at Rose's on Sunday and then again for many hours on Monday. I was sure wishing the the crew would just sweep my stuff up with everything else and put me out of my agony.

The June sale at Rose's starts on Thursday, and my space is set. This will be my last appearance at Rose's for awhile as I only signed on for a two month stint. I think that the space looks appropriately hard and metaly without the softness of the shabbies. It also is properly filled to maximize wall space and real estate.

I put etched mirrors behind the crystal chandeliers incorporated in my warehouse stairs. I hung a small crystal chandelier under the platform of the stairs.

I used Ford Model A V-8 hubcaps to fill spaces above and next to a doorway.

I really like the Folk Art map of Minnesota divided into counties that I used to fill the space above the 2nd doorway in my place.

The space on top of my stainless steel counter remained remarkably decluttered, unlike any flat space in my home or office.

I added these 1925ish Munsing Wear underwear advertising placards to the 3rd lobe of my space to soften the stainless a little. More etched mirror panels are visible behind the display.

It has been a learning experience in dressing my own space. Maybe they'll invite me back to Second Hand Rose for a second guest stint sometime in the future. I just hope sales go well and I won't have to move all that iron. I will be more appreciative and supportive of Gypsy Lea's because the crew makes my thinking a lot easier.

Mr. Flannery

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T11:51:00.003-05:00

Mr. Flannery

Memorial Day is a Remembrance Holiday

2011-05-29T08:35:00.004-05:00

Memorial Day is a holiday of remembrance. Its a holiday of celebration, but not in the exploding firecrackers 4th of July way. We are celebrating the lives of all those soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who died in war to keep us free. The holiday was originally established almost 150 years ago to honor the dead of the Civil War. It was called Decoration Day (when we decorated the graves of the honored dead). Its purpose was expanded, along with the country, to honor the war dead of all American wars.

Last year I posted a blog about my dad and his best friend, Kenny Miller. I just reread it to get the information needed to post Kenny's name on the Memorial Wall of Facebook. The reread brought tears to my eyes, so I decided to repost this year old posting in honor and celebration of all of America's war heroes.

Kenny Miller Ordinary Guy - War Hero

My dad and Kenny Miller had been friends forever. The Millers always lived near my dad and his family. Kenny had 3 brothers and so did my dad. They were all children of the Great Depression. Neither my dad or Kenny graduated from high school. And according to my Uncle, in a story related to me at my dad's funeral, Kenny and my dad had more than a few scrapes with trouble and the law. They grew up poor and abandoned by their fathers. They grew up knowing that they had to rely on themselves to survive. They were tough kids, in a tough part of town, during very tough times.

My dad and Kenny Miller were together on the afternoon of December 7, 1941. They heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor together. And they decided to enlist in the Army the next morning when the recruiting station opened. These were kids who had been abandoned by America, but they were outraged that someone would attack Her. They were poor, seldom-do-wells who demanded that She be protected, even with their lives.

December 8, 1941 Kenny was in line in front of my dad. They each signed up, enlisted in the American Army to defend Her with their lives. They were split up. My dad ended up as an engineer building airfields in India, then Burma and ultimately in China. Kenny ended up as a waist gunner on a B-24 serving in the 8th Air Force (389th BGr, 566th BSq) in England. Two American boys from St. Paul, Minnesota shuffled by the winds of chance to the far corners of the world.

Kenny was killed in 1944 when his B-24 was shot down over Holland. His body was buried with dignity by the local Dutch people in their cemetery. (And after the War moved to an American Military Cemetery). He was honored then and is still honored by the Dutch as one of thousands of Americans who died setting them free.

My dad, his brothers and Kenny's brothers all served in WWII and all made it home. They went on to have families and birthdays and good jobs and some bad jobs and good marriages and some bad marriages and grand kids and almost new Chevrolets and all the things that were part of the American dream. They worked hard and made America a better place than the one that they grew up in. Kenny never came home. He remained the small kid (probably from poor diet as a child) who went off to war to protect his America.

My dad never told me this (in fact this is one of many tidbits of my dad's humanity that my mother revealed long after dad died), but each year around Memorial Day he would go to the National Cemetery at Fort Snelling and lay some flowers at the monument. The flowers were in Memory of his best friend Kenny, who died because he was in line in front of my dad at the recruiting station on December 8, 1941. My dad wasn't that morbid or responsible, but he was well aware of the randomness of life and of death.

I'm not going to go to Fort Snelling today. But I am going to set some flowers aside in Memory of Kenny Miller and all the other kids who died to keep America free. Those who died because, no matter what hand they had been dealt, they knew they had to protect Her.

Mr. Flannery

P.S. - I found this note posted on another blog and it brought a tear to my eye:

I received an e-mail today from Mrs. Irma Haex of Holland. She and her teenage son, Wesley, have adopted the graves of four Americans buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.

Irma writes...

We do this out of respect for the men who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, it is 65 years ago that the war ended, but most of the Dutch people won’t forget.

I thought people here might enjoy knowing that there people like Irma and Wesley Haex, tending the graves of our fallen overseas

P.P.S. -- Kenny was the only member of the crew killed that day. Everyone else escaped the plane and eventually was captured by the Germans. They all lived to be liberated from POW camps by American soldiers near the end of the War. The official account states:

"Miller was killed at his waist gunner’s station during the fighter attack. The Germans originally buried his body in the village cemetery at Henrick-Ido-Ambacht, South Holland, Netherlands."

Its an Industrial Theme

2011-05-28T22:10:00.003-05:00

I started the in shop set up at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo today. I took out most of the antiques and other woody type stuff from last month and decided to go with a much harder, metalic industrial theme for June. I have steel; rusted, tubular, stainless and galvanized.

This movable stairway is going to make a fantastic display piece. The green porcelain medical grade scale on the right is from a clinic.

My center space is an industrial threefur. A great oak top industrial cart with a single pedestal restaurant table topped by a stainless steel topped work bench.

The 3rd wall needs more work. Its a stainless steel topped counter with a galvanized steel parts bin mounted above.

This is my favorite piece. A three wheel steel cart with a great rust and shellac surface.

I have more to do, this setting up my own space with my own stuff is so different from the way we do things are Gypsy Lea's that I am relearning some old skills.

Mr. Flannery

Getting Ready for the June Sales

2011-05-26T13:17:00.008-05:00

The weather has been great, mostly, and Babe and I have been getting a lot of stuff ready for the June sales at Gypsy Lea's and Second Hand Rose.

Babe is surveying the wreck that was our yard.

A warehouse cart in shellac and ready to haul to the shop tomorrow.

A wonderful steel topped cart.

And a garden cart with bicycle style wheels.

A carpenter's tool chest in process.

Part of an old piece of farm equipment.

Springy metal 1950's lawn chairs. Very chippy in their 5-6 coats of paint.

The pickup is full of the smalls from the Gibbon Ballroom auction last Saturday.

The fancy door from a fancy cast iron stove.

A piece from old farm equipment, New Idea brand.

The metal parts bin, above and the medical lamps, below, will be at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo next week.

Its been a good week and the sales should be great.

Mr. Flannery

On Days Like Today - I Have the Best Workshop in the World

2011-05-18T16:34:00.006-05:00

Its a beautiful day here on the tundra. The temp is about 73* and there is a light breeze from the south. I have been working on 5-6 different projects on the driveway today. I have the 2 carts, 2 carpenter's trunks, a dry sink and a cedar chest. So Babe and I went to work with the pressure washer, garden trailer and orbital sander.

This is why I say I have the best workshop today. That is the million dollar view.

Of course Babe is always ready.

I worked on this three wheel steel cart yesterday. I cut down the tongue and reset the front wheel. I pressure washed it today. I am going to sand it tomorrow and then shellac it.

This is a wood carpenter's chest that is drying out from the wash.

A larger carpenter's chest ready for sanding and shellac. I think that I am going to patch the holes in the floor with some old fancy printed tin can pieces.

A steel and wood garden cart with bicycle style wheels. Again sanded and shellacked then off to the shop.

The dry sink and cedar chest will be sanded and shellac tomorrow.

Mr. Flannery

May is Fabulous at Gypsy Lea's

2011-05-11T22:45:00.000-05:00

Its time for the May occasional sale at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids. The place looks great and there are a lot of outside and garden pieces for Spring on the tundra. The shop is open Thursday through Sunday. It a great destination for shopping while the guys are participating in the fishing opener.

A wonderful 1951 Pontiac dealer's banner.

Nice manufacturer's hand truck.

Garden cart, newly made from vintage parts.

Lots of trunks and cases.

Lots of signs.

I love the metal chicken incubator.

My wonderful antique workbench.

Crystals, sparkles and other bangles.

Ronald and the Sock monkey take a ride in the vintage pedal car shell.

Real vintage cast iron garden furniture. A three piece suite is available.

Farmall tractor red paint.

Lots of garden stuff now that we are staying above freezing.

Large antique round oak table with 5 leaves.

Antique buggy whip stand.

Its SPRING!!!!

A pink and black reception desk. Looks fresh out of that 1950's beauty shop.

Wicker dresser

Small oak buffet. Would make a great bathroom vanity conversion.

More vintage tin reused.

Mr. Flannery

Everything 'cept Granny on the Rocker

2011-05-09T15:35:00.002-05:00

I attended an auction on Saturday and did real well. Lots of medium furniture, plus some interesting smalls. With gas at $4 per gallon I was determined to get everything into the truck for one trip. It took me about an hour, but here it is. A china hutch, wardrobe, 2 library tables, two small tables, 2 dressers, 2 window screens, 9 garden or patio chairs, a beverage cooler on a stand, 5 iron beds and a wainscot cabinet. The truck took on the look of Jethro driving down Hollywood Boulevard. All that was missing was Granny rocking away on top of the pile.

Mr. Flannery

Hogs Amoungst the Roses

2011-05-04T21:44:00.006-05:00

Earlier I stated that I was going to re-evaluate my entire junkin' enterprise. I need to get myself out from under all of the merchandise that I have accumulated. Step one of this re-evaluation includes increasing my sales. I am going to participate in the Buffalo sales this month (and maybe next month too) as a guest dealer at Second Hand Rose. My hogs will be on display in the midst of the many Roses.

The sale starts on Thursday and I have my space all set up and almost decorated. I used to do the individual set up at the Porch the last time that I sold in Buffalo, but my recent time at Gypsy Lea's has spoiled me. Gypsy, Kris and others have done the set up including my hogs as I dropped them off. Here at SHR I have to do my own set-up. I have a greater appreciation for the work that Gypsy, Kris and others do for me.

I have the space just inside the front door of Rose's. Its about 10' by 10' and it took me a while to actually figure out how much stuff it takes to fill the space.

I have lockers, tables, large roll-top doors hung from the walls, many, many mixing bowls, some lamps and other furniture and the best of all, a ten nipple calf feeder Nurs-Ette.

I hope that these hogs don't spoil the show for the roses.

Mr. Flannery

Where the Hell is Our Spring?

2011-04-22T21:10:00.002-05:00

Rain and snow and clouds and wind, that's Springtime here on the tundra. Damn, I was afraid that the lake was going to refreeze. I have the furnace on and the little electric heater running full bore under my desk. I think that the crocus are retreating back underground. We need our Spring.

I have a ton of projects to complete for the May sale. I have been sanding a few pieces (until the rain washed out that activity) and I have a pile items that need to be shellacked. But it just doesn't work well at 39*.

This is going to be a big month for sales. I have outside garden stuff and inside furniture stuff, even some real antique stuff. I have metal to cut (with a torch probably) wood to cut (not with a torch for sure) and lots of junk to paint. Its going to be great.

Now all I need is for the weather to cooperate.

Mr. Flannery

The Eagle and the Crow

2011-04-18T09:02:00.002-05:00

I am sitting at my desk doing some real work. High in the oak tree outside my office I can see a huge bald eagle watching the world go by. This is very cool. And the eagle is very big with visible huge yellow talons. As I am watching a crow flies by and lands about 1o feet away from the eagle. Then it hops branch to branch to about 3 feet away. They are both just sitting there, ignoring each other and watching the world go by.

Mr. Flannery

Still One More Day for April at Gypsy Lea's

2011-04-16T21:28:00.003-05:00

There is still time to shop at Gypsy Lea's. The weather is Minnesota crappy, but the shop is HOT, HOT, HOT.

Mr. Flannery

Update: It was very busy today at Gypsy Lea's. Many bare spots started to show in the showroom. Dona ran out of additional items to haul out from the back room. And I wrote and wrote and wrote receipts. I think that every "small" in the place sold this week. It was very good. Its great to have a loyal buyer customer base willing to stop by to see what we have each month.

Violation of Rule #1

2011-04-15T18:19:00.006-05:00

I am not very good at following the rules or coloring between the lines (which is interesting given what I do for my real job). But today I violated RULE #1. No working on shop furniture in the house.

It was too cold and threatening rain and snow to finish this crappy little bookcase outside. I was working on it a couple of days ago when the weather was good. I gave up after I put a nail through my thumb with the nail gun. I want to bring it into Gypsy Lea's tomorrow so I did haul it into the house. I glued it, clamped it and punched in a few small nails with the hammer.

The bare wood under the shelves is not visible when the bookcase is on its feet. The cats have all explored it, Willie crawled right inside. Babe has ignored it. And it should be ready to haul to Sauk Rapids tomorrow on my way to another auction.

Mr. Flannery

A True Arts & Crafts Tile

2011-04-14T23:31:00.007-05:00

I bought an interesting tile tonight at the auction in St. Cloud. I got it in box of other stuff, but it was the reason that I bought the box.

The tile was made at Merton Abbey works by William De Morgan in conjunction with William Morris. De Morgan and Morris are the Godfathers of the arts and crafts movement. Their studio works from this 1882-88 period are avidly collected by arts and crafts affectionatos.

This 6in x 6in tile was designed by De Morgan as he was experimenting with Hispano-Muslim designs and pottery. The palette and techniques that he developed at Merton Abbey were used in his Persian style tiles made in the 1890's.

This tile was a great find and will stay here at Flannery Bay with the rest of my pottery and tile collection.

Mr. Flannery

The Ice is Out!

2011-04-14T11:14:00.003-05:00

I know that this post may be redundant, but the ice leaving the lake is a BIG DEAL for those of us who live on the tundra. The ice was gone by late yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Flannery

Look What Came Out from the Snow Melt

2011-04-13T08:47:00.004-05:00

The ice on Flannery Bay is just about gone. It will be ice out sometime today. That's one of those milestone events. A true sign of Spring and time for the hundreds of different types of birds to return or pass through on the Mississippi flyway. The eagles, loons, geese, hawks, swans and others have been circling and landing in the open little ponds or the nearby trees.

My great yellow hunter has been searching too. Deer parts earlier this Spring, a dead fish yesterday, he is such a guy.

In the yard was this relic. Melting out of the snow cover was a clear sign of Babe's big winter adventure. I guess that he is a retriever.

Mr. Flannery

April in ahhh Sauk Rapids?

2011-04-12T07:55:00.008-05:00

Well, I guess that it ain't Paris, but it is Spring and we are almost ready for the April sale at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids. We will have a lot of outside stuff on the sidewalk for the first time this year. The shop looks great, as usual. And Kris, Jami, Linda and the others have really done it again. Mr. Flannery did his usual almost nothing, but it looks great even without my usual insightful help in placing junk on top of other junk. (My designer attitude may explain the lack of interest in my "help").

This great primitive work bench will make a really cool console table in someone's great room.

A very nice tin door panel cupboard.

One of my favorite ideas. Two copper planters turned into hanging lights.

Mr. Flannery

Time to Re-evaluate

2011-04-10T19:33:00.002-05:00

I've been doing this antiques, junkin', buying and selling business for a long time. I like the hunt the best. I'd much rather shoot than clean and cook. I have therefore gathered an awful large amount of inventory. I have garages full, and storage buildings full and even storage tents full. It has finally hit me. It is time to downsize. I cannot keep gathering without doing some significant dispersal.

It is Spring here on the tundra and I will finally be able to work outside on my projects. I am going to redouble my efforts to get things into the shops, especially to Gypsy Lea's. But I am afraid that will not be enough. While I have no definitive plans yet, I think that I am going to have to have a couple of sales here at the lake, just to start getting my head above water.

So for the Spring and Summer it will be more real work, more cooking and cleaning my inventory and fewer auctions with fewer purchases. I want to be able to exit my paid storage and work in my lower garage by next Fall. That's the outline of the plan. I sure do hope that I can get it done this season.

Mr. Flannery

Does it Need Paint?

2011-03-28T10:04:00.003-05:00

I bought this center island(?) cart on wheels last Thursday at Miller's Auction. It is in reasonably good shape and has been cleaned up?

So the question is: can I put it right into the shop or does it need to be painted first?

Mr. Flannery

Command Center V 3.1

2011-03-27T09:23:00.004-05:00

I fired up all the components of my office last night to get a good after dark photo of my command center.

There are 3 HD TVs, 2 CRT TVs, 2 computers with 4 monitors plus 2 printers and numerous drives and other accessories. Its all connected and working. I think that I am ready to for a NASA launch.

Mr. Flannery

He's Out -- Why Doesn't He Keep Going?

2011-03-26T18:19:00.001-05:00

Mr. Flannery

I May Be Getting Desperate

2011-03-25T14:00:00.004-05:00

I may be getting desperate. The auctions have been few and far between and each is stuffed with other dealers and auctionholics in need of inventory. The pickin's have been pretty slim and most of the "good" stuff has been selling for prices that are higher than my retail sales point.

Last night I may have purchased clear evidence of my desperation. I bought this umbrella stand. I think that it is Weller pottery. but I haven't done any research on that yet. As you can see, it has a few minor chips.

The whole damn thing is poorly glued together. Oh my! As I said, I may be getting desperate.

Mr. Flannery

ARGHHHHHHH!!!!

2011-03-23T08:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was the first full day of Spring. The snow had all melted (except where it had been piled from clearing the driveway). The mud was caking to Babe's gigantic Labrador webbed feet. And I was contemplating actually doing some Gypsy Lea furniture projects outside on the driveway.

Then there was last night. Six inches of the damn stuff. And its everywhere. damn, daMN, DAMN!!! And here, in the theater of seasons, 3-4 more inches today and tonight.

Mr. Flannery

I Found an Auction Today

2011-03-20T20:32:00.004-05:00

I went to a Johnson Auction at Block's near Spicer today. It was very crowded when I got there and anything decent was going for more than retail. Now I attend a lot of Johnson's auctions, but he is slow. I was about an hour late, so I missed the first 15 items. The auction started at Noon and I left there all loaded at about 6:30 PM. It was still daylight when I got home, so that is a nice sign of Spring. I am ready for the outside auction season and the farm auctions to begin. Right now there are too few auctions and too many dealers hungry for merchandise to make the auctions a good place for me to shop.

I bought my usual eclectic range of items, some will be brought into Gypsy Lea's tomorrow, some will need a little work and a couple will go on eBay.

These are Doc Martens shoes, brand new and ready for eBay. They are a kind of combat sandals as best I can figure.

This is a little 1950's jewelry or make-up case.

I may have paid too much for this cast iron base scale, but it is pretty cool.

The two metal things are chimney sweep brushes. I think that I am going to make them into a couple of hanging light fixtures.

There were two of these lodge chairs that I liked a lot. They sold for $310 each which I think is more than I can retail them for. They did not come home with me, but another dealer, who must have a much richer clientele, bought them.

I got this oil on canvas for a good price.

And this corner cupboard is mine too.

I didn't buy this chair but I put the picture here to see if I could scare Gypsy thinking that I was going to bring it into the shop.

Mr. Flannery

UPDATE: The Doc Martens are size 8. I just put them at Gypsy Lea's on Monday morning.

Some Auction Finds

2011-03-10T22:23:00.002-06:00

I went to the Miller auction tonight. I bought a bunch of interesting junk. Mostly old and metal and heavy. My favorite piece is this Jacuzzi access panel. I'm not sure what I'll do with it but it makes me smile when I see it.

These bronze owl andiron fronts are very cool. Maybe I'll use them as the front legs on an old trunk.

Mr. Flannery

Oh My! Gypsy Lea's Opens Tomorrow

2011-03-09T11:12:00.008-06:00

One day before the opening for the March sale. And we have a ton of stuff to get done. Kris has been sick, I have been AWOL, Gypsy has been struggling with the other dealers to get things in place. I finally showed up yesterday, mostly to watch Dona, Katie, Kris and Gypsy bust their butts to get things in place. Things look good, but they will look great before Thursday.

Here are some photos of the preliminary set up for March:

Mr. Flannery

It was a Hot Time in the Old Town

2011-03-06T18:23:00.003-06:00

My mailing address is in a small town named South Haven, current population 202. The town was a booming railroad city in the 1920's at a crew change point. It had almost 1200 people, banks, a newspaper, hospital, lumber yard and other accoutrements of civilization. It is now is a vestigial city with empty and derelict buildings, the post office, a gas station and the municipal liquor store.

Last night while returning from a trip to Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids and Italian dinner in St. Cloud, we saw a giant pillar of black smoke. We encountered a large number of fire trucks and County Sheriff's squads all a glitter when we entered the town. A derelict old building on Custer Street (named when the town was organized in 1880), the two block long main drag, was fully engulfed in flames and smoke. Firefighters from South Haven, Kimball, Watkins and Annandale were pumping water and saving the post office. (The white building to the left of the fire.)

This was the most excitement in town since the 2 block long parade last summer. Even the inhabitants of the muni were out on the street, beer glasses firmly in hand, watching the building blaze.

Mr. Flannery

A Return to the Porch

2011-03-06T09:19:00.003-06:00

I had a visitor from Seattle this weekend. Leigh and I have known each other since high school. She wanted to look around the shops in Buffalo Minnesota. Our first stop was to see Teresa at her shop, The Porch.

I really like this British flag faced dresser. I have one with a Swedish flag in process in my garage. I started it about 6 years ago, maybe I'll finish it this summer.

Multi-color dressers are in vogue.

The shop is open the first Thursday-Sunday of each month.

Mr. Flannery

March at Second Hand Rose

2011-03-01T20:31:00.003-06:00

I finally have some time away from my real job. It feels good to be back at the blog instead of hammering away on WordPerfect. (I may be the only person in the World who doesn't use MS Word).

I went to Buffalo today on a very efficient trip. With gas at $3.45, efficiency is a minimum requirement. I did banking, groceries, Walmart and then decided to stop in for dealer day at Second Hand Rose. The shop will be restocked and tweaked for general sales starting on Thursday.

Susan's dog motif upholstery is cool.

The feed store sign is great.

This c.1930 wall hanging oak school map case sold while I was there.

I like the way that these posts are suspended from the ceiling.

I WILL be posting at least twice a week, I made that promise to myself.

Mr. Flannery

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T08:42:00.002-06:00

These antique Valentines make me smile.

Mr. Flannery

Look What I Found

2011-02-06T13:03:00.003-06:00

I was at an auction on Thursday. It was right here on the tundra about 1500 miles north of longhorn country. There in a $2 box was this unused, still with its tags hat. Oh my!

Mr. Flannery

One Week 'til Gypsy Lea's

2011-02-03T10:33:00.003-06:00

Our February monthly sale opens one week from today at Gypsy Lea's. I worked Monday and Tuesday helping to set up for the sale. It is going to look spectacular, but we have a long way to go. The new items that have shown up are interesting or cool or hopelessly cute. Here are some first cut photos from the set up.

Mr. Flannery

Second Hand Rose in Buffalo Minnesota

2011-02-02T13:04:00.008-06:00

Second Hand Rose is the iconic occasional sale location in Buffalo Minnesota. Recently Rose sold the shop and has gone on to do other things. The shop, with new owners Ami and Brad, will reopen tomorrow with Rose as one of the associated dealers. I stopped by on Tuesday and took a few photos of the shop.

There is a new checkout desk in a new location, some interestingly painted walls and fabulous new lighting is some of the really dark places. Overall the shop has the same feel and sense that it had under Rose's tutelage, after all most of the dealers remain and are doing their thing as before. It looked great. I even bought something, retail. Oh my!

Ice cold Coca Cola by Minnesota standards.

This is half of an old box springs turned into a wine glass holder. It reminds me of that TV commercial where the woman jumps up and down in bed but doesn't spill the glass of wine. (Ya, that's a real problem for Mr. Flannery, women jumpin' up and down in the bed spilling wine. Bahh).

Quilts, Antlers and an old bike. Very much SHR.

Disemboweled keyboard on the wall.

I really like the upside down duck boat turned into a light fixture over the desk.

And, of course, I like this wooden pulley wheel. Probably a belt drive pulley to take power from the PTO on a tractor.

Maybe the old county road sign is upside down and should be route 99.

Flying antique wall paneling.

There were two of these chairs.

A minnow trap suspended for flying fish?

The Norwegian royal family from 1905.

The shop opens tomorrow for its four day run.

Mr. Flannery

Everyone was There

2011-01-31T09:27:00.001-06:00

Update: I attended the auction on Saturday, along with everyone else in Minnesota. Way too many buyers chasing the good pieces. The multi-drawer cabinet that is pictured below turned out to be almost new. I didn't even consider bidding on it. It sold for more than I estimated I could sell it for. The auction was fun. I got a few strange little items and a crystal chandelier. The chandelier is great but there isn't much room over what I paid for it. Gypsy has been whining that she really needs a crystal chandelier to POP in the shop. I guess this will be my loss leader contribution to the "look" of the February sale.

Mr. Flannery

TGIFFFF

2011-01-28T19:58:00.006-06:00

Thank God its Finally Full-Time Freedom Friday. The hearing is over. Only 14 hours today. Idiotic, inarticulate testimony by people who appear to be mostly a waste of oxygen. Now I only have to write a closing brief based upon the mish mash of testimony, evidence and the stupidest attorney that I've faced in years.

I got home much later than expected. Babe was standing crossed-leg wondering where the hell I was. Well at least there were no deer parts tonight. And tomorrow I get to attend an auction and avoid all vestiges of my real job.

A piece from tomorrow's auction.

Mr. Flannery

I'm Having a Terrible Day

2011-01-26T12:57:00.005-06:00

This posting is going to be quite disjointed. I have two completely unrelated issues that I want to discuss.

The first issue relates to my real job. I am preparing for a hearing later this week. I started reading a transcript of testimony of two of the witnesses in my hearing that they gave at an earlier trial. Now reading transcripts is death defyingly boring even when the examination is well conducted. However, this testimony is terrible. The witnesses are almost unintelligible and the attorneys almost incomprehensible.

Answer: "Like, you know, like I think that ......... ummm, umm. Mary, ummm .......... no I mean Jane, umm .... like you know Jane said ......... ummm, uhhhh no it was Mary, I think, said ....uhhhhh like we need to get our asses out of here 'cause, ummmm you know, uhh we could get in trouble."

And I have 87 pages of that crap to try to decipher.

So I am sitting at my desk, retching at the absolute idiocy of these people. Babe has been in and out only 23-24 times. (He abuses his doorman rights whenever I am distracted). Babe is gone for much longer than his normal in and out to see if he can con a treat. Then he arrives on the deck.

Damn, he has a stick and he is going to want me to toss it for him. I ignore him and he doesn't insist on coming into the house. That's unusual. So I focus on the stick. DAMN its the leg bone of a deer. And Babe is proud as punch that he has it. Now he didn't hunt the deer but I assume that he found it near a road kill out here in the country.

Now I need to get this thing away from him. I open the door, he runs away. I close the door, he comes back on the deck. I've got work to do. I only have slippers on. It is cold outside here on the tundra.

After much haranguing he finally drops the leg and comes into the house. Now he is whining at the door wanting to go back outside for his bone. I will have to either kill the dog or trudge through the snow to get the bone so I can get it out of his sight.

Damn, I hate this day and my real work that I have to do.

Mr. Flannery

BTW - I would never harm Babe, he is my bestest friend. And I am reasonably certain that his testimony would be more coherent than the drivel these two witnesses provided.

It was a Good Sale at Gypsy Lea's

2011-01-19T14:03:00.003-06:00

We had our monthly four day sale at Gypsy Lea's in Sauk Rapids last weekend. And, for January, we had a pretty good sale. It only snowed one day (and part of another) and it only went below zero overnight on the other two days. We really emptied out the shop, by Sunday when I worked, there was space enough to hold a dance, even though I had brought in a truck full of fresh auction purchases on Saturday evening. Big things are going to happen at the shop before next month's sale, so stay tuned for more information.

The one trend that I have noticed in my sales is that there seems to be an appetite for industrial chic pieces. Even in far from the cutting edge St. Cloud area. Over the past few months I have sold steel open mesh lockers, large wood farm power take off wheel, rusty and bright red metal file drawers, large wood parts bin, giant steel legged butcher block prep table and, this month, my cast iron wheeled railway freight cart (now coffee table).

I have some other carts and cabinets in my inventory. I can't wait for the weather to warm enough to get to work on them. I am going to move more into the industrial and steampunk area as soon as I can.

Mr. Flannery

The Problems with Command Center II

2011-01-12T15:08:00.005-06:00

As many of you know I am obsessed with televisions and establishing a multi-venue command center. I have been playing with TVs, computer monitors, home theater receivers and other electronic elements for the past 6 months. I think that the command center in my office is pretty close to "THERE". (3 HD TVs, 2 CRT TVs, 4 flat screen computer monitors, 2 computers, 2 printers all connected to 6 satellite receivers, surround sound and digital antenna).

So I decided that it was time to address my bedroom TVs. I attended the Black Friday Sale at Walmart. (Except I didn't fight with anyone and I got there about 8 AM). I bought 2 42" LCD TVs and I purposely bought two different brands so they could be next to each other without remote control interference.

This is what the bedroom set up looked like before the command center revamp.

When I got around to doing the bedroom I had abandoned the 2 42" plan and instead had decided that I would put a 20" HD TV next to a 42" HD TV over an older 27" TV. I also put a 22" HD monitor connected to the media player under the 20" HD TV. The 20" TV is a Vizio and the 42" is an Emerson. I set up the cables I connected the wires and I levitated the mounting arms from the wire shelves.

This is the bedroom with a nearly final configuration retaining the old entertainment center.

I tried using the Metro wire shelves for the set up, but decided I liked the entertainment center look better.

Well, after plugging and wiring and lifting I plopped onto the bed, remotes in my hand, ready to enjoy the picture next to a picture over a picture set up. DAMN! The remote for the Emerson also turned on the Vizio, and changed channels etc. whenever I tried either remote. Crap, the Emerson used the same remote codes as the Vizio, what to do?

I have the 2nd 42" LG HD TV from Black Friday. I'll just switch that out for the Emerson. So I hauled the 2nd TV upstairs and started to unpack it. I am struck by an inspiration. If I unpack the LG remote and try it on the Vizio TV I will know whether there is a problem without the substantial work of rewiring, plugging and lifting.

That was a good idea. The damn LG TV uses the same remote codes that Emerson and Vizio use. I saved some work, but now needed a different solution to the problem. I disassembled the Vizio from the bedroom and switched it out with a Sanyo from the office. That involved unplugging, rewiring and lifting and of course, because nothing is simple, I had to rearrange the office set up to avoid putting the bedroom Vizio next to the 32" Vizio that is already in my office.

I have revamped my bedroom set-up, rearranged 5 TVs after having them in place, and rejected a plan to use two older (2004) 32" heavy CRT TVs that are on the wire shelving. And I am not finished. The wire shelves on top of the entertainment center just barely fit on top of the old entertainment center. The steel upright poles are secured, partially, in place using 1/2 of an old wooden clothespin. Oh my, I'm glad I don't live in earthquake country. More work, plugging, lifting and rewiring will happen, but I am close to final design of the bedroom command center.

Mr. Flannery

Yellow Ware Bowls

2011-01-05T14:40:00.005-06:00

I attended my first farm estate auction when I was 19 years old. (About 20 or so years ago). The first thing that I bought was a 2 gallon Red Wing crock. I have been enthralled by crocks ever since. I have 100's of them. My favorite sub-category is the yellow ware (really stoneware, but then you got to go with what eBay sells) mixing bowls. I have 100's and still buy them when they are interesting or cheap.

This is a big (12 inch) blue banded Red Wing mixing bowl.
And this is an even bigger (13 inch) Red Wing bowl.

This bowl with chevron embossing is from Illinois.

And this little bowl with a rounded bottom inside, called a beater jar, is used for making mayonnaise.

They come in many designs, some even with advertising.

There is a lot of variety in the small bowls too.

And the small sponge decorated are very desirable.

Even modern productions come with interesting designs and colors.

And it is fair to say that I have a lot to choose from.

Mr. Flannery

Gypsy Lea's Version 2011.01(beta)

2011-01-03T23:57:00.004-06:00

We are starting to get the shop set up for the January sale. Gypsy and Katie spent the morning and afternoon taking down and packing away Christmas. Kris and Linda, with Gypsy, then started the preliminary shuffling of stuff into position. I had real work to do in nearby Foley, so I stopped in to offer sage advice. Of course, because I was appropriately dressed in coat and tie, I was assigned dusting and oiling pieces with an Old English scratch cover soaked rag. We only got a few vignettes outlined, but the place is going to look good (again) for the January sale.

Of course it was snowing. After all this is January on the tundra.

My input involved the cow skull overlooking the Victorian settee. The chances of this remaining in the final set-up are -- ZERO.

Kris and Mike's incubator now coffee table, fills this black table in the window.

I bought a bunch of interesting signs, this one old and in metal, at an on line auction of restaurant items. The signs were decor in a 40 year old English pub style restaurant in the Twin Cities.

This slightly bruised but large loving cup is another hog for the January sale.

Mr. Flannery

This is Pretty Damn Cute

2010-12-31T18:47:00.005-06:00

As the purveyor of hogs at the shop, the roses have decreed that I cannot determine cute. It seems that those items that I claim are cute, AREN'T. I can do strange, unusual or downright weird, but cute is outside my expertise. Well I went to an auction yesterday and I found this large "Dick and Jane" type portfolio. (Each page is about 2 feet by 3 feet). And in violation of the directive I have declared the folio CUTE.

What do you think? Are these pages cute?

Mr. Flannery

The Perfect Christmas Present for the Wife

2010-12-21T11:55:00.003-06:00

I attended an auction last weekend. The last one before Christmas and the start of the dry season. There are only a few auctions scheduled between now and Spring when the outdoor auctions will begin.

Dave and Dave were pushing through the stuff.

Of course Dave did give some consideration to his Christmas Party wardrobe. While Eric made a recommendation concerning the hem.

Then it appeared, the perfect Christmas gift for the wife. It is shiny white with a gleaming chrome tray under the wringers.

Now you know why Mr. Flannery isn't married any more. Merry Christmas.

Mr. Flannery

Still Some Christmas Available at Gypsy Lea's

2010-12-13T21:19:00.008-06:00

The snownami weather last weekend highlights one of the problems with our occasional sale model at Gypsy Lea's. A blizzard can white out an entire sale cycle. Luckily we had good sales on Thursday and Friday, but the blizzard really held down sales on Saturday and Sunday. Gypsy lives within a couple miles of the shop. Give her a call and she may be able to meet you concerning buying something that you see in the photos.

Lots of old white ironstone, silver and shiny items.

Heavy cast metal Art Nouveau trinket box.

School wall map of Iowa.

Office desk and chair c.1930's.

Mission style chandelier.

Antique incubator table.

It looks like black glass, but in direct light it shows dark purple. Great Bohemian crystal chandelier.

Cool doll size Victorian chair with a matching settee.

3 cubby mudroom hall tree.

Leather love seat. Pre-decorated Christmas tree.

Red Wing reed ware yellow mixing bowl circa 1934.

Yellow ware mixing bowl with cool basket weave design.

Red Wing yellow ware blue banded bowl.

3 lower cubby mudroom hall tree.

You can still do some Christmas shopping (maybe) at Gypsy Lea's.

Mr. Flannery

They are Calling it a SNOW-NAMI

2010-12-12T20:14:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we got hit right square in the face by one hellova blizzard (and I'm not talking about the kind that they sell at Dairy Queen). Here on Flannery Bay we received about 14 inches of snow (while it was more like 20" in MSP and 26"+ in Western Wisconsin). The snow was accompanied by 40+mph winds and real temperatures well below zero. This morning there was bright sunshine, but the temperature was still -7*.

Here's the view out my front door this morning. That grayish pile is my GMC pick-up.

I was scheduled to work at Gypsy Lea's this morning so I had to bust my way through the 5-6 feet high by 20 feet wide drift at the top of my steep and snow packed driveway.

This is what the driveway looked like after 15-20 minutes of me blasting at it with my 4 wheel drive truck.

This is one of the reasons that we can survive with this type of weather. The County road near my house was plowed clear by 9 AM.

At least we have the equipment needed to deal with the weather that we have to fight.

Mr. Flannery

December at Gypsy Lea's

2010-12-10T08:58:00.006-06:00

As most of you know, I sell some of my hogs amongst the roses at Gypsy Lea's. This is a wonderful occasional sale shop in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The occasional sale sees the shop open only four days each month. Gypsy Lea's takes this concept in another direction.

Most shops either have a single seller displaying her goods through-out the shop or multiple dealers, each with an assigned area that they are responsible for filling and decorating. At Gypsy Lea's we have 10 dealers, but no assigned spaces. Our goods are intermingled with my hogs popping up here and there right next to some of the roses. The entire shop is restocked and reset before each monthly sale. Its a lot of work, done mostly by Gypsy and Kris, but the presentation has a wonderful flow that doesn't happen in those shops with discrete spaces.

Our December sale started on Thursday. Here are some photos of the set-up.

A fabulous shelf unit made from the top of a Victorian pump organ painted a luscious red.

Ducks! Does anyone need some ducks?

I love this white enamel store scale.

And this large brown piece is my hog.

Mr. Flannery