We Don't Sell Food or Toilet Paper

My sales at the April occasional sale in Buffalo continued to be spotty. Some furniture seems to be selling, the number of shoppers has increased substantially and interest has heated up from the depths of winter. My sales were higher in volume but capped by an $89 upholstered chair. I sold a ton of smalls. $15-20 frames and paintings sold out. But my $395 brass bed bench generated little interest. It appears that the customers wanted to buy, but were limiting their purchases to my cheaper items.

I have never really understood the antiques business. The one thing that I have learned is that as soon as I think I have it worked out, I am wrong. Then there is the undeniable truth that we don't sell necessities. There is no food or toilet paper for sale in the shop. There is an inverse relationship between gasoline prices and sales. The more gasoline costs the less discretionary money there is for my shabotaged pieces.

I am going to gut my spot at the Porch before the May occasional sale. I need to shake it up completely. I will add many more smalls. Smaller tables, cheaper furniture and many more frames, prints and paintings. I want to have a more Spring look. More things for the garden. More color. And I do have the turquoise, teal and aqua memo in hand for the shabotaging. Maybe some nice weather will permit me to rework my inventory and freshen my look.

And I am very happy that I have a real job to support this habit.

Mr. Flannery

Weller Pottery Kingfisher Pitchers

I really like these Weller Pottery pitchers. They are from the Zona line. I like this duck pitcher too.


Mr. Flannery

Old Lights Yes - Old Wires I Don't Think So

One of the many fields of interests that I have explored in the junkin' world is lamps and lighting. I used to collect leaded and slag panel stained glass lamps, but they have now disappeared from the market or moved to Sotheby type prices. Just about the only leaded glass lamps that I see at auction today are Tiffany lamps (made by their daughter Tiffany in 1987) or turn of the century Chinese pieces (that would be 8 years ago when the century turned). So I have branched out into more recent table, floor and hanging lamps.

While antique or vintage lighting is often stunning, the wiring can be down right shocking. I like the old lighting, but the old wiring has to go. It is better to disassemble most lamps and rewire them with new, well insulated wiring. The photo is of a pair of interesting lavender colored boudoir lamps that I recently redid.

There is nothing more jarring than a nice old lamp fitted with a brand new shiny brass socket from the Depot. It just doesn't look right. I like to reuse the old brass parts from the lamp while fitting the newer guts from the Depot inside. I often buy lamps at auction, not for their lighting suitability, but for their wonderfully patinated brass parts. These parts look right and are much cheaper than a new light repair kit. I buy surplus power cords at the local electronic parts salvage store. They have a regular molded plug on one end and a special attachment plug on the other. I cut off the special plug, thread it through the lamp, strip the ends and connect up the lamp socket. Not only do these cords have an integrated plug, they only cost me a half buck each. (You can use a cheap new extension cord in the same manner if you can't find the surplus store nearby.)


Mr. Flannery

Streamline Moderne

I like the post-Art Deco, Streamline Moderne style. I love the 1936 Chrysler Airflow, the streamline Zephyr of the Burlington Route and the murals of Diego Rivera at Ford Motors. I have a couple of 1950's spaceship modern lights that are superb. I guess that I can work with Urban Chic but I will define it my way. It will be warehouse loft meets Ralph Lauren with a touch of Arts & Crafts. Not much urban about that definition. I will just stay bewildered by what is going to sell and what is a workable style.

I live out in the country. I have been looking for a rural loft space. Problem is that there just isn't much need for a loft building in the rural area. Restyling a barn would be interesting but most are still connected to a working farm or are too decrepit to refurbish. Maybe I will find a way to build a new place that resembles this old stable that was associated with a mansion on Lake Minnetonka.

Not very urban and not very chic. But the interior can be barn and industrial and open and cozy all at the same time. I've got it! I need to pull a sleek Airstream trailer into a nice barn. The best of both worlds.

Mr. Flannery