Why Are So Many Viewers Hooked On American Pickers?: Lessons From Mike And Frank About Picking Antiques And Collectibles

March 29th Episode Of American Pickers: "Alabama Bigfoot" and "Know When to Fold"

Simon Cowell of American Idol And The American Pickers

Judging American Pickers

Here is what I imagine Simon Cowell might say about The American Pickers Mike and Frank: "If I'm being totally honest ...the show is too PREDICTABLE....karaoke for Pickers...ordinary.... a couple of garden variety junk addicts who need to know when to fold".

Aside from one bright moment this week when the pickers discover a bizarre collection at the Alabama Museum of Wonder where everything--including a gigantic head from a Piggly Wiggly mascot--is for sale, the show's theme of old bikes, car parts and vintage signs continues business as usual.

Why Are So Many People Watching American Pickers on Monday Nights?

So why are so many people watching this show? Why am I watching The American Pickers show? I like the guys and so do lots of people (over 4 million). In fact the reality T.V. stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are currently filming a second season. So what's up with this show ? Why are we hooked. Perhaps we are all learning a few things. Here are some things I jotted down about what I have learned so far about the American Pickers.

What You Can Learn From The American Pickers on The History Channel

1. Go picking with a television crew so sellers will answer their door with enthusiasm.

2. When you find something that looks valuable.....sneak out of the barn, attic, basement and call several expects who just happen to be standing by for your call.

3. Always have major buyers (who are as crazy as you) ready to purchase the junk you just found.

4. Have a back up truck nearby to cart off the stuff that can't possibly fit into your van.

5. Keep several changes of clothes on hand so you can always look crisp and clean despite crawling around in cobwebs, dirt and rodent feces.

6. Bring along paramedics so that when you get bitten by a poisonous snake or stung by a killer bee you have adrenaline on hand.

7. Make sure you arrange for an open credit line so that you can stay in nice hotels, eat out and maintain your Mercedes truck.

8. Hold the Wall Street journal while you are away on your picking trip, so thieves don't break into your storage shed and steel your rusty bikes and old signs.

For More on American Pickers read:

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/move-over-oprah-and-rosie-mike-and.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/five-acres-of-junk-what-do-picky.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-clinging-to-their.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-antiquing-underground.html
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.html



C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

Move Over Oprah And Rosie, Mike And Frank The American Pickers May Be Ready For A Daytime Show On Junk

"The eyes of the American Picker are trained like a hawk.We see what know(sic) one else can and find value in it" http://www.antiquearcheology.com/indexxx.php

Lights, Cameras, Action:"American Pickers Show" Is All About Entertainment

Another Monday, another night of American Pickers. Tonight (March 22, 2010) I am watching the show and thinking about what I can talk about in my blog that I haven't already covered in earlier posts. Let's see we have talked about rust, guy stuff, bikes, dirt, cobwebs, mouse droppings, cans, signs, junk, filth, bike parts, grime, oil cans, tins, tunnels, tools, cars, motorcycles, etc.

Lighting Up The Junk: Super Scooter

Have we talked about LIGHTING? I mean have we really delved into the subject? I'm not talking about the rusty vintage stage light that Mike went bonkers over in tonight's episode called "Super Scooter" (about a one-of-a-kind Vespa passenger scooter). I am talking about "lighting" in general.

Mike And Frank Meet "Goat Man"

Think about this.... we watched tonight as Mike and Frank met "Goat Man" and they went poking through his hidden property filled with fields of junk and rows of rusty old buses which stored even more forgotten "collectibles" (garbage) . We also watched as the pickers climbed over piles of junk hoarded (I mean collected) by the late husband of a clueless but gracious 84 year old woman.

American Pickers Have Hawk Vision

While the guys are meandering in and out of all these poorly lit junk havens we are surprisingly able to see all the action quite clearly. Now catch this...at one point Mike is holding a flashlight to light up his treasure trove. Come on....didn't you call out to the T.V. screen "that flashlight isn't lighting up squat!" Let's be honest....you and I both know that real light for Mike's Hawk vision is coming from other sources.

Where is The Lighting Coming From?

Want to know how the pickers are able to find treasures in old buses, attics, barns, crawl spaces, basements, caves, tunnels, out bulidngs? They have picking skills and lots of LIGHT. And its not the light from Mike's vintage flashlight . Nor the sun's rays shining through a crack a cement wall. Nope the light is coming from elsewhere. But just where you ask....where is the light coming from that allows us to see everything going on in such clarity?

American Pickers Is Entertainment

The answer my friends is that this show is shot on location and each scene is actually a "set" . By now you all realize that American Pickers is entertainment. It's a show.....with a script, producers, directors, writers, film crews and lots of LIGHTING! There are no surprises or unexpected outcomes...... except the fact that a lot of people are watching this show and talking about it.

Move Over Oprah: Here Comes Mike and Frank

Oprah....move over.....if Rosie doesn't take your spot.....I thnk Mike and Frank might just be ready for the daytime version of American Pickers.......any ideas on what we shall call the show?
Photos Courtesy of http://www.antiquearcheology.com/


For More on American Pickers read:

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/five-acres-of-junk-what-do-picky.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-clinging-to-their.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-antiquing-underground.html
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.html



C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

"Five Acres Of Junk": What Do Picky Viewers Think Of The American Pickers: Is It Time To Expand Beyond The Rusty Guy Stuff?

Picky Viewers

The jury is out...American Pickers needs a revamp and soon! I picked the brains of members of Iantiqueonline.com and asked them: "What was your take on last night's show called "5 Acres of Junk" (March 15th, 2010).

You know what I got back for answers? Five acres of COMMENTS on the March 15th, 2010 show! And there indeed was a theme to all their jabber. The bottom line is that our viewers are picky and they have a lot of suggestions to throw out at the producers and writers of American Pickers.

For the sake of keeping this post neat and clean (something the Pickers are not ever going to live up to), I will breakdown the feedback I received into sections: Feel free to jump into the chatter and post your own two cents.

What Picky Iantiqueonline.com Members Had to Say About The American Pickers
Expand Beyond Rusty Guy Stuff

"The audience will tire of hubcaps, oil cans and motorcycles after a point." John
RareVictorian.com

"too much motor head stuff" Mike

"Over all the show gets old quickly" S. B.

"Yes, I watch the American Pickers. Most of the time I enjoy the show, but I grew up with antique cars, motorcycles, and bikes. I am probably one of the few women that understands the "motor" subject, but even for me it sometimes gets a tad boring. I think they really need to start focusing on some subjects that will pull in more women watchers. Even when a seller shows them something that we women are collecting they tend to blow it off and move toward a motorized item. They either need to add a woman to the cast on the road or learn something about collectibles used in home decorating. Good grief they are based out of Iowa and I have yet to see anything about pearl buttons. Come on...look around the neighborhood and check on Ebay to see what is selling out there and where the interests of the rest of the people lie. How about some vintage purses, clothing, antique buttons, or dolls? "Kim

"My husband and I love the show. Both of us are sick though of their fixation with the bikes. I would like to see them go to really well know states for antique collecting. Their betting against each other and their chemistry is a big part of the show." Lynn

"It was interesting to watch once, possibly twice, then, well...it's that same old stuff, the same old strange old men whose things they want to buy, and they always find the same old stuff. " K__

"It would be nice if it was a little less heavy on vehicles and advertising, but that's what guys in rural areas stuffed their barns with." M. S.


Show Is Too Contrived And Staged

"way too contrived and it follows a narrow theme of a grizzly old guy, a farm in never never land and some old rusty American mechanical stuff....also doorknockers get shot at once and a while in that part of the country....would be a nice touch eh? "Mike

"Entertaining, yet very staged; I work in the television industry and for the most part it is too staged", Steve

"American Pickers is way too scripted for me and becoming very redundant and I question 99% of the items they pick also their profit margin, after paying for their gas and travel expenses (if they weren't on TV) is in the negative numbers.", M.S.

Are The Pickers Ripping People Off ?

NO

This is Daryle Lambert of the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Club www.darylelambert.com. I have already written to the Antique Week about the Pickers show but here I go again.

I believe that the biggest winners from the show are those that would let items waste away in their barns, garages or storage units until they saw this show. Then they would think maybe I have something of value and start searching their items that were destined for the trash heap.

I get tired of the Johnnie do goods that think everybody is taking advantage of someone else. The items that the Pickers are discovering had no value until they found them and the sellers should be appreciative of that fact. The people that are crying are probably the very ones that are taking advantage of others.

It is a great show and I believe it has many years to go. Keep up the great work, go Pickers.

Daryle lambert

"Anyway I'm liking it that they are not giving the top dollar on the boob tube so the rest of us pickers can still buy it like they do. And that Phillip Morris sign they said they sold for what 1500 That should have been 3500 and up." H.M.

"We like the show. It's quite clear that they are not taking advantage of anyone - not with the haggling that is going on with most folks. People need to realize that the folks they visit don't have the customer contacts/sources to get full retail price. They are at the beginning of the food chain - not the end." M.M.R.S

YES (Are The Pickers Ripping People Off?
" enjoy watching but sometimes feel Mike and Frank are a little dis-respectful to the sellers and their prices of what they say they sell the items for are way off the market prices,just my opinion" Scott


"The Pickers trouble me. I think they exploit seniors who may not know the value of their collectibles. I think they are abusive to the woman who runs the shop they supply. Over all I don't like the show. It gives a message to people that it is O.K. to take things that seem abandoned or not of use when it may be valuable to someone. It's ripping off. Well, you asked. And that's what I think. People drive by my parents ancient farm and pilfer antique farm equipment and collectibles, just because they are not in use. These items are an historical part of the life here and should not be taken just because no one has spoken for them. ", L.F.

I Wanna Hear More About The other Side Of The Business: Selling Stuff

"I'd be interested in hearing a little more about the side of their business where they sell what they pick" Margot

"The main characters do not show how they sell the items', S.B.

Love The Show

"love the show though!!!,....but collecting is suppose to be fun and not only about money I am a little offended they did not reply to my emails,but no big deal,....I still think highly off them" Scott

"Most of the time I enjoy the show", K.T.,

"My husband and I love the show"

"They are a hoot to watch".


The Pickers Need to Come To Canada

"I want to watch American Pickers and I’d love them to come to Canada to do a little picking.
I may be jumping the gun a little, maybe we could start by having the History Channel air this show in Canada..
Lord knows we (Canada and the States) expose each other to plenty of mindless dribble, why not treat each other to some quality programming such as American Pickers?
Just my opinion but I’m sure one that’s shared by many."
Regards,
Arthur

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

Photos Courtesy of http://www.antiquearcheology.com/


For More on American Pickers read:

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-clinging-to-their.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-antiquing-underground.html
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.html



To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

The American Pickers Clinging To Their Objects Of Desire: In Love With Antique Bicycles

Just Watched Another Grimy Episode of The American Pickers

O.k. Shabby Chic gals, cover your ears, I am about to talk dirty. Guess what show I just watched? Yep,I just watched another...shall we say.... "filthy" episode of American Pickers. Mouse nests, cobwebs, droppings, dirt, rust ...you know all the good stuff that The Pickers seem to love to play in.

Obsessed With Old Bikes, Signs, Car Parts, Cans Etc.

And this week was no different than the previous weeks, plenty of piles of junk to explore by two fellas who are obsessed with old bikes, advertising signs , car parts and cans. Up until today's show, I was satisfied to think of Mike and Frank as two buddies who are passionate about "guy stuff'.

Does Mike have A Bicycle Fetish?

But after watching the show this evening, I am beginning to sing a different tune. I am giving serious consideration to the idea that Mike has a bicycle fetish.

Madly In Love With Spokes and Chains

I mean there is no way, anyone could get so excited about a rusty broken bicycle skeleton unless they are in love with bicycles and their parts. We're talking the whole package here......Mike is in awe of vintage bicycles. He lights up when he sees a dilapidated Schwinn buried under rubble or finds a a squeaky old Springfield Roadster . Mike is either madly in love with spokes and chains or simply bonkers like the rest of us junksters who cling to the objects of our desire.

Want To See Mike's Antique Mike Collection: Click On This Link
http://www.antiquearcheology.com/antique_bikes_more.htm


Photos Courtesy of http://www.antiquearcheology.com/


For More on American Pickers read:
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-antiquing-underground.html
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.html


C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

American Pickers Antiquing Underground: Is It Time For The Show To Be Buried?

Is American Pickers Headed for The Junk Pile?

I have a confession to make. I fell asleep during some of The American Pickers episode tonight. I mean after all how many times can you watch Mike and Frank haggle with old prunes about rusty cans and advertising signs?

Junk Guy In The Purple Hoody Goes Underground

Right before I dozed off, I watched the part when Mike and Frank are carefully making their way through some underground tunnels hand dug by a dude in a purple hoody. This was somewhat of a bright spot in an otherwise sleepy show.

Quirky Junkster Digs Tunnels To Stash His Antiques

As the story was told, this quirky junkster has been digging tunnels under his property since the age of fourteen and buried his stash down there. And yes, our purple picker is still digging holes, just like my Sheltie Jacob.

Antiquing In Tunnels

Here is my big question for this evening, how the heck do they film these guys underground? How did they get lighting, crews, cameras etc through these narrow unstable pathways? And more importatnly, what happened when it was lunchtime? Did they order in Pizza and have the delivery guy send down the Pizza on a pulley? You know what I think....I think the pickers entered the underground "stockroom" from a opening in the house and that the entire "tunnel" scene was totally staged.

Claustrophobic Pickers

Frank said he was claustrophobic down there and that he wondered if he could squeeze through the narrow passage ways? I think the pickers showed up in the underground junk haven from another route, like maybe a door in the basement of the house?

Hoarders Or Collectors

But lets get down to basics now. How many times can we watch these likeable pickers do their picking dance with bona fide hoarders? It is pretty clear that the old gizzards who open their junk rooms to the pickers are really certifiable hoarders who have no interest in parting with or selling off their collections.

Is The Show Headed Soon To Be Buried?

These "junk guests" were booked for the wrong show. They belong on A&E's "Hoarders".
And if the writers of American Pickers don't start coming up with some fresh story lines, I'm worried the show may end up in its own junk pile.

For More on American Pickers read:
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.html

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

Antiquing With The American Pickers: No Sign Of Guilty Pleasures For These Junksters, Just Pure Joy

Is Junking A Guilty Pleasure? Ask The American Pickers

Do you think Mike and Frank, (The American Pickers) suffer from guilty pleasures when they are out junking everyday ? What exactly is a guilty pleasure anyway. Is junking a guilty pleasure? Read on and see what you think.

Is Junking A Guilty Pleasure?

A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Often, the "guilt" involved is simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt. Fashion, music, and food (especially unhealthier foods high in sugar and/or fat) can be examples of guilty pleasures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilty_pleasure

I would add junking to that definition of guilty pleasures. Many junksters beat themselves up mercifully thinking about how much time and money they spend on hunting for junk.

MALE Junking Genes

But truthfully, I highly doubt Mike and Frank are thinking too deeply about guilt. These guys were born with the MALE junking gene. They are not bitching about eating too much chocolate or spending too much money on way too many vintage tablecloths. Nope..these guys are not freakin over the same things we do. Do you think Mike and Frank are saying to themselves.....gee I better get home early enough from junking to make dinner ? Not a chance.

Listening To Barbra Streisiand's Guilty Pleasures While Blogging

And there are other differences between our hard core junkers and the baby boomer bloggers and softies you'll meet on Etsy. Here is where I am going with this. You know for sure, Mike and frank are not blogging while listening to Barbra Streisand's 2005 album she did with Barry Gibb called "Guilty Pleasures".
And Mike and Frank are not sipping a cup of tea while they are posting photos of their goodies online. But to give Mike a little credit where credit is due, he does have a softer side afterall. The guy has attempted to make some journal entries (at least for PR purposes, I imagine) , so we can get into his psyche.

Mike's Personal Journal Entry

Here is one of Mike's "personal" journal posts :

"when frank and I are out pickin on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere and the sun is high in the sky we both realize how incredible our jobs really are.No clock to punch,no one to answer to,Its us and our instincts that carry us through". http://www.antiquearcheology.com/journal.php?id=22

Do you hear any guilt there? Nope ....they love what they do......they do not suffer from one ounce of "guilty pleasures".

Isn't it time for all of us to learn how to junk just for the pleasure of it!

Photos Courtesy of http://www.antiquearcheology.com/
For More on American Pickers read:
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-clinging-to-their.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-antiquing-underground.html
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.htm

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

Fetch And Kvetch: What Does It Take To Be An Antique Dealer? Ask The American Pickers

Shlepping Along With The American Pickers

Fetch And Kvetch
"The Back Breaker" is the name of this week's episode of American Pickers on The History Channel. It seems that all that shlepping is beginning to take it's toll on Mike Wolfe. But Mike can't afford to take time off to recover and like a fool he continues to fetch and kvetch as he picks through piles of junk in old barns and buildings.

Ouch

Mike, like many of us in the biz, is constantly lifting, moving, and carrying vintage stuff. Well this week, Mike yells ouch....his back is sore! And he knows he has to seek some help....BUT not before he comes home with some more stuff.

Shop Till You Drop

And don't we all do the very same thing...shop till we drop. O'K. it is not everyday that we are going to stumble across a neat old Jukebox, like Mike and Frank did this week, but we all have had our share of heavy loads. We shlep, we move, we carry, we climb, we crawl, we do it all. We may not all be bona fide pickers, but don't we all know how to pick and pack.

Mighty Junkers That We Are

But the mighty junkers that we are.... we refuse to set limits on our capabilities. For example, I am afraid of height.....BUT I have no trouble climbing atop the last step of a stepladder to retrieve a vintage kitchen cannister or other treasure I may have discovered. Yet, if you asked me to change a ceiling light bulb, I would be shaking in my boots. It's phenomenal how much we can all compensate when we are motivated to bring home the gold.

We Fear Not...We Feel Not...We Are Invincible

Yes, as I have discussed before, when our junking engines are running, we are operating on adrenaline. We fear not...we feel not.....we simply fetch and kvetch!

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.

Junking Along With The American Pickers: But Where Is The Powder Room?

Junking Along With The American Pickers:

Last night I watched American Pickers on The History Channel. If you have been keeping up with this series, you know that real life pickers, Mike and Frank (childhood friends) find themselves in some really Down n Dirty backyards, cellars, attic crawl spaces....you get the point.

Buying "Guy" Junk

These fellas seem to love "guy stuff" and get excited about rusty oil cans and signs, cob webbed lanterns, vintage gas pumps, crumbling posters etc.

Looking To Make A Quick Buck On Good Junk

Mike and Frank poke around in lots of creepy places searching for the kind of treasures that they know they can turnover for a quick buck. Of course the cameras are rolling and these made for T.V. pickers are on their best behavior "charming their prey" before they make their kill !

"The Pickees" Are As Savvy As "The Pickers"

But one thing seemed pretty obvious, "the pickees" were as savvy as "the pickers". Long gone are the days of clueless sellers. But even stubborn sellers didn't deter the master pickers who were always up for a good challenge. And what's up with the Tea Party ? While the curmudgeon was probably hiding the really good stuff, his daughters were serving Mike and Frank tea as a diversionary tactic. But please tell me.... don't the daughters have" gal junk" hidden somewhere?

Where is The "Girl Stuff" ?
Lets be honest with each other, didn't you really want to tag along with these guys perhaps wandering off in the kitchen or powder room while they were poking around in a backyard swamp or secret dungeon? I would have been curious to see what "gal stuff" I could find that might have been tucked away in an old cupboard or cabinet ?

Oops, The Pickers Got Their "White Elephant"

But Mike and Fran have other treasures in mind. As the show promo reads " a pickers goal is to find a diamond in a rough-a rare and valuable piece of American History" . Last night they dug out a hunk of junk that was once a bicycle, now a mangled mess. Oops..the pickers got a white elephant.....welcome to the club....next time try the jewelry box!


For More on American Pickers read:
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-clinging-to-their.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/03/american-pickers-antiquing-underground.html
http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/antiquing-with-american-pickers-no-sign.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/fetch-and-kvetch-what-does-it-take-to.html

http://cdiannezweig.blogspot.com/2010/02/junking-along-with-american-pickers.html


C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of Iantiqueonline.com an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café.

To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link:
C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff

Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com

Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com

Dianne is a member of:
The American Society of Journalists and Authors
The Authors Guild, Inc.