Something To Crow About

We're now struttin' our stuff at Country Gatherings, the adorable primitive shop in Winfield, WV located at 3268 Winfield Road near the middle school. Country Gatherings, owned by Debbie Shutts, is packed full of wonderful painted furniture, candles, primitive treasures and awesome folk art, etc...and now, of course, some of our antiques!

Shop hours are Tuesday - Wednesday - Friday - Saturday 10:00 - 5:00; Thursday 11:00 - 7:00 and closed on Sunday and Monday.

You can find great pics of new items on Debbie's blog at http://www.countrygatheringswv.blogspot.com/ - although I think she needs to add a "warning" sign to the door as well since I can't walk in without wanting to buy something!! Stop by and you'll see what I mean - you'll leave crowing!!

We've Been Googled!

We're happy to announce that we now have products for sale in Google Shopping! When you visit Google, click on "shopping" and you can shop with us directly through Google as well as utilize the secure Google Check Out feature. Our online vintage shop is located at www.tias.com/stores/pitzer - we hope to see you at TIAS.com (The Internet Antique Store) as well as in our small corner of that very large virtual antique mall. Happy shopping!!

Cabinet Make-Over

My obsession with radio cabinets aside, they really can be utilized as unique pieces of furniture. They are relatively small and fit into those hard to decorate places such as bathrooms and hallways while adding storage space and a touch of flair. By using your imagination - you can make an empty cabinet match your style.

The key is to look for a cabinet with good structure and pleasing lines - then consider the possibilities. This cabinet caught my eye because it was horizontal in structure rather than the vertical radio cabinets that I usually find. That detail in itself held promise and potential - add in those wonderful curved legs and it had me at hello.

Note this cabinet had a top that lifts open on hinges and a front door that tilts down - typical for this style of cabinet, however problematic for practical use. The first act of business was to secure the front door and make it stationary - we did that by securing both ends with nails that will be covered by the finish coat of paint. By securing the front and taking out the tilting hardware from the inside, we now have created a blanket chest of sorts.

We then filled in the hole in the front where the hardware used to be - no need in having a handle that has no purpose - and added a thin strip of trim along the bottom of the front to hide the holes left by the bottom hinges. Remember the blog where I wrote about keeping spare parts?? This trim was leftover from a previous project and fit perfectly along the bottom adding a note of interest.

Next the interior was painted a satin black and the exterior was painted with a satin milk chocolate color paint - yummy! I chose to leave the crackle finish intact that had been applied by the previous owner in order to give the final look some texture.

The finished product can now be used as a blanket chest for a guest room, a storage trunk and book shelf for an office or storage for the bathroom towels... the possibilities are endless.

Good luck looking for that special radio cabinet to make your own - with the Longest Yard Sale coming up this weekend on Route 127, you may just find the perfect one!!

Vintage Spare Parts

Never pass up a spare part found during your vintage scavenger hunts because you never know when you might find a use for it. Take this cool table for example...I found the wrought iron sewing machine base two years ago at an estate sale. While admittedly, it took up a little space in the corner of the garage (sorry hub), I knew someday I'd eventually find a top. At the very least it made an interesting place to hang tools!

Voila! Two weeks ago I stumbled across this red and white porcelain top with no base...I looked it over...would it be a good fit?? Yes - it was the perfect size - and now I have a fun table made from blended pieces from different eras. Blended pieces are actually called "married" pieces and can be from the same or different eras depending on your taste! So this is one marriage that is fun, funky and should actually last beyond the dried ink.

Be sure to be on the lookout for spare parts and email me pictures if you make a good marriage!

And The Beat Goes On...

History has turned the page...the beat goes on...the beat goes on.

While history might have turned the page on this old radio cabinet, it has been given a second chance with some old-fashioned elbow grease, a couple of extra parts and fresh paint. Unless you are a serious radio collector (which I'm not), these cabinets are wonderful to use in bathrooms, guest rooms, hallways - any place that you might need a little extra storage. Standing at just 5' tall and less than 3' wide - they can add some extra vintage charm even when you have limited space. (O.K. so some radio buff is aghast at what I've done to a perfectly good cabinet!!)

Of course the first step was to thoroughly wash down the cabinet with damp rags and soap - it seems like I always decide to revive pieces that have been stored in a barn for a few decades. Next I had to decide what to do with the interior shelves - they had numerous predrilled holes for the old radio wires. I chose to leave them intact and apply a thin layer of wood (luan) that covered the holes without adding much thickness to the shelf. I then painted the entire cabinet with two coats of semi-gloss latex paint inside and out. The end result is that you can't tell I added anything to the shelves - the luan looks like it has always been there.

I left the back panel intact (you can see the holes in the back on picture #2) in case it's ever used as a stereo cabinet (a fitting use) or TV/DVD stand.

My last detail was added at the end...these adorable antique cast iron knobs!!

I removed the original art-deco handles since they just didn't match the painted end result. To add an even tougher twist, the old handles were screwed into the wood ( not bolted) to allow the doors to fold flush when fully opened (see picture #2). Finding great knobs with wood screws built in was a challenge and I had to be patient and spend some time treasure hunting. However, I finally found the perfect knobs on eBay and they were definitely worth the wait!

From start to finish, this radio cabinet project took about 2 weeks to complete, not counting the weeks of searching for the perfect knobs. So...that being said...I hope this blog inspires you to go find the nearest barn and rescue the poor forgotten furniture that waits inside!

Grandma...

Marie Terry was born in 1913. She was just a baby when Mother's Day was born, a mere child during the years of the first radio broadcast and a teen-ager when Charles Lindbergh took the first trans-Atlantic flight. She lived her early married years during the Great Depression, marrying Mervin in 1931. She never owned or drove a car and raised 9 children as the original "stay at home" Mom.

It is amazing to think back on her life and all the changes she saw during 96 years of life - radio, television, the Model-T, nylon stockings, antibiotics, frozen food, talking pictures, VCRs, Band-aids, an $.08 loaf of bread, remote controls, microwave ovens, computers, cell phones, credit cards, barcodes, Barbie. She lived through women's sufferage, the civil rights movement, free-love 60's, big-hair 80's, 9-1-1, and the loss of a good husband, as well as a few of her children.

The pictures I have of Grandma indicate a hard life - but one that valued God and family above all else. She found it funny that I like old things - she tossed such "junk" away - why would I want to keep a primitive frying pan when it only symbolized the hardships endured? For that very reason. Those hardships made her who she was, who then in turn helped make me who I am. Without that history - there would be no future. The connection is clear and dear.

To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord. Grandma went home to be with the Lord today. She was a kind and gentle soul - and will be remembered with love.

Yard Sale Tips for Sellers

I am an avid "saler" (yard sale shopper) - much like those who enjoy Nascar races or Friday night football games, it is just an enjoyable hobby that allows my husband and I time to laugh together on the weekends. Treasure hunting for vintage is a blast - we get excited when we find a lid that matches Mom's dish that we've been saving for years or an old tool that reminds us of Grandpa. Because we treasure hunt frequently, we see a wide range of sale styles - from folks who are well organized that make you feel like you've walked into a shop, to those who decided that very morning to throw open the door and toss some things onto the driveway.

To maximize your sale, here are a few tips that could help:

1) If you have a large amount to sell, say you're emptying Grandma's house, you need to think in terms of an estate sale since prices are typically higher than at a yard sale. If you feel comfortable doing the pricing yourself, that's great, but most folks would need a professional to help with the pricing and logistics. If you don't know pricing, you could sell yourself short or price too high and not sell anything. Beware the company that has three day sales - the first day is typically too expensive and some folks won't take the time to visit again on the other days (we've all become too busy with life to waste time!).

2) So, you've decided a yard sale is best - so rule #1 is to plan ahead.

3) Post signs a week in advance so neighbors and local traffic will know of your sale. Use bright neon posters and WRITE BIG with 6" letters. Remember that drivers need to be able to read your sign while driving by so the letters should be bold, dark and big. Don't be too wordy - just the basics - it could be as simple as "Yard Sale Sat. 8 - 2" with a bold arrow pointing the way or a street name. Then be sure to post additional signs pointing the way from that first sign until you get to your house - especially if you live in a subdivision with multiple roads. If you live far from the main road, put the number of miles on the sign that the shopper would have to drive in order to reach your house.

4) Price and label all of your items in advance. Most shoppers don't want to track down the owner of the house to ask prices and if the sale gets busy, you may sell something for far less than you intended.

5) Open early. If your sign states the sale begins at 8:00, rest assured that there will be early birds waiting outside at 7:00. Plan on opening an hour prior to your advertised time for several reasons: A) the early birds are the most serious shoppers and will most likely spend the most money per person in your sale so you don't want them to leave without shopping, and B) you don't want a crowd gathering outside your house waiting for the sale as it could cause some unanticiapated problems (do you really want 30 people rushing into your garage at once??).

6) Be willing to haggle. Now occasionally you get a shopper who wants to offer $.10 for that $.25 item (sheesh) but offering $20 for a $25 item is not uncommon. You can always wait to take offers later in the day but keep in mind that once you pass 10:00, you're crowd will thin out drastically.

7) Have fun deciding how to spend that extra cash!!

Antique or Vintage??

$599 at The Old Timey Shop in Milton, WV

$375 at The Old Timey Shop in Milton, WV

I recently answered an ad for an antique buffet only to find it to be a vintage model instead - imagine my disappointment to have missed the mark by about 50 years. A lot of folks get confused about whether or not something is actually "antique" or not - especially when most of us advertise our shops as "antique shops" but in reality, most of our inventory is vintage. The neon flashing "Vintage" sign just doesn't have the same draw as one that says "Antiques".

Technically, the serious collector expects an antique to be 100 years old or older and vintage means the item should be at least 25 years old.

I've posted two pictures as a comparison from The Old Timey Shop in Milton, WV. The top photo shows an antique jelly cabinet with wonderful peely paint that dates in the 1800's. The bottom photo is a 1950's painted oak china cabinet (one of my most recent restoration projects - I removed the solid panel door which gave it more visual appeal and painted it a creamy white that made the wonderful details pop).

I hope this has been of some interest and that you've learned something new - at the very least you may have just realized that you are not an antique person after all...you're Vintage!!

Anticipation...

I feel the prickle of anticipation as the temperature rises...my own personal call of the wild...my primary reason for Saturday mornings...yes, yard sale season is getting closer by the degree! O.K. you lovers of vintage (notice I don't say vintage lovers since that is an entirely different blog topic altogether), you know what I mean - tell me you haven't jumped out of the car before it stopped moving (from the passenger seat, of course) because you spotted an old wooden screen door with rusty hinges leaning against the yard sale's garage door with a $1 tag attached?? Or lunged into power walk mode when you spotted a fellow collector pull up to the sale?? Oh yeahhhh, if your pulse quickens and you go into hyper-alert mode - like me, you have vintage fever and it can only be cured by hours of searching until you find it - that great deal that makes your eyes sparkle and your husband ask "you actually PAID someone for that??"

Until next time, from one vintage soul to another...

The Unexpected

It is fun to use vintage items for something other than their original intent - especially when their original intent is no longer relevant. Take this old iron Christmas tree stand for instance, it no longer has a relevant use in my home since we don't use a "live" tree for decoration anymore, but the piece is just way too cool to send to the landfill so it now serves the purpose of an excellent candle holder - still perfect for holiday decorating. The bolts that used to hold the tree in place are now embedded into the sides of the candle. I don't have to worry about the candle being knocked over because the base is heavy and I can add greenery and berries later if I decide to add more color.

This is a great look for a primitive/country Christmas and these old iron tree stands can still be found fairly easily in thrift stores and antique malls - or maybe even in Grandma's cellar! After Christmas is a great time to search for bargains on this type of collectible because many mall vendors don't like storing items for a year for the next holiday season - be sure to ask for the best price!

Vintage Jars

I love using and re-using vintage things! Vintage Ventures is all about ways to use your vintage treasures.

For the kitchen, I love using old cracker jars. I keep treats in the jars to grab on the fly. Since old jars aren't air-tight, I only store packaged treats like peanut-butter crackers, individual bags of microwave popcorn, Rice Krispy Treats, and my all-time favorite - Hostess cupcakes! (Hey, this blog is about vintage treasures not good nutrition...right??)

Jars don't have to match - unless you want them to! You could have some fun by trying to locate one of every type of Tom's jar or try finding just jars with blue letters - whatever works for you. What matters most is saving a vintage treasure from the landfill and having fun!

I found this great side-loader cracker jar on my last treasure hunt so now I think I'll switch to side-loaders for a change of pace. It's all about using, re-using and recycling...