Author: Libby Holloway

Cora started collecting when she inherited her Grandmother’s collections in the early 1980’s. Her grandmother had married and moved out west for many years. Eventually they moved to pan handle of Florida to open a dairy, which they ran through the Depression. She had a hardworking life, but like many women of her time, she collected beautiful things. Her collections included thimbles and tape measures.

I receive a lot of calls from new residents to the area who have more furniture than they need. Many times these folks have wonderful antiques to sell. Now, everyone realizes that the current market for anything, except gold, is not very lively. Items deemed “non-essentials” have suffered the most.

I am so sad that I missed watching the final space shuttle launch on Friday, as Atlantis dodged storms to rise through the clouds into outer space. I did get to watch it in reruns, but that isn’t the same. I would love to have been standing on the beach in Florida with my uncle, a retired pilot, or with another uncle who spent many years of his career working for NASA. I’ve followed the shuttle program since the first Columbia mission lifted off in 1981. I was folding clothes in my mother’s living room watching another lift off in 1986 when the Challenger suddenly blew up in the sky. I’ve missed watching many of the more recent lift offs, but didn’t want to miss the last. After all, space travel has been part of the culture of my life.

  I am one of millions of Americans who watched the Royal Wedding.  It was the “wedding of the century” and I enjoyed every second of it; though I admit to not being very engaged in the whole process until I flipped on CNN at 6:00 am (as I usually do) and saw Kate Middleton standing at the door of the cathedral waiting to walk down the aisle.  I was hooked.

One of the fun benefits of co-owning Antiques and Such are the guests who drop by for a cup of tea and a little conversation.  Recently Jenny Rone from ARTworks stopped by for a visit with Sharon, and of course we talked about the recent play “The Dining Room.”  She was talking about how much she’d enjoyed watching rehearsals, as the script brought back so many memories about her own experiences growing up – experiences like many of us had during family meals.  Turns out she and I have both inherited family tables and love having them for the same reason… the sense of family history they represent.

  The season has started.  This time of year is always busy for me, doing my least favorite type of appraisal… moving damage claims.  I just hate looking at crunched Chippendale chairs or shattered Irish crystal.  Most shippers spend time and money training their staff members to properly pack and ship antiques and fragile items.  Most packers do try hard to protect your possessions using what they learned.  There are also a few shippers who don’t take the precautionary measures they should, usually to save money.  Even with the most careful handling, accidents do happen.    

That title may fit some of you in a lot of aspects of your life.  I chose it because it represents a verbal “finger shaking” by me to me.  Planning ahead is something many of us intend to do but quickly put aside if it makes us uncomfortable.  Estate planning isn’t always an exciting topic, but is certainly one that every adult should consider. When you are gone, someone has to properly handle your “stuff.”  It is one of the facts of life. so you might as well deal with it.  If you have a grudge against your executor, you can leave old shoes in the closet and stock your garage with broken tools.  On the other hand, if you are expecting someone you actually like to handle your estate, you should want to plan ahead.

Have you ever heard that antiques are green?  Of course you have.  That has been a great marketing angle for over a year now.  I really didn’t need another reason to love old things, but if I did, that would be a good one. I think being a born storyteller makes loving antiques attractive to me.  It’s hard to imagine a great story for an item made in China by the millions less than a month ago.  Just give me an old chair and I could go on for pages about the person who made the chair or all the people who have owned it since. 

I just love fall… the rustling of leaves, the cool breezes, the telling of a good ghost story.  Since I shared my first ghost story with you last fall I’ve been told lots of interesting tales.  Anyone can tell you a haunted house story, but I tell you ones about haunted objects. We’ve all seen those early 20th century bedroom suites that are pretty scary looking on their own.  Well, I’ll tell you a story of one that wasn’t just scary looking. A friend of mine has recently shared a story about the house his family moved into shortly after he left home as a young adult.

Today the tag “Made in China” often makes us think of cheaply made items that are inexpensive and disposable.  If we could step back a few generations our ancestors would be shocked by our attitude. Long before Europeans even thought about coming to America they were enthralled by China.  Large and mysterious, China was the land of economic opportunity.  It was the source of silks, spices, tea and beautiful china made from an exotic product called porcelain.  This article is the short-story version of a very long history of trade.