Antiquing In Plymouth, Connecticut : Visiting Antiques At The Green

Way Off The Beaten Path: Antiquing in Plymouth, Connecticut

Way off the beaten path, I stumbled upon "Antiques At The Green" in Plymouth, Connecticut, a onetime Apothecary now converted into a quaint shop selling antiques, collectibles, country gifts and decor. As I stepped back into time, I was greeted by Helen, the owner who made me feel quite at home

Making Customers Feel At Home

Helen offered me some chocolates and told me to wander through the multiple rooms and to check out the messy but loaded storage room in the back of the shop. This is my kind of shop where you can rummage through lots of treasures.

Old Fashioned Country Atmosphere

Her room settings are lovely, with plenty of antique Hoosier cabinets, enamel top tables, old wooden boxes, barrels, pie safes etc. serving as props and platforms for smaller antiques. Helen mixes originals with reproductions, but there are plenty of both, so hunters looking for genuine old stuff won't feel cheated.

Discovering The Back Room In An Antique shop

Adorable country signs (newly made) accent the shop and were very engaging. Taking Helen's advice, I did wander into the backroom to find piles and piles of interesting things. The backroom is where she stuffs the stuff she tires of or where the extra inventory winds up. Lots of antique shops have backrooms, so it is always wise to ask owners if they have a backroom. Sometimes what you are looking for is in their "storage areas" .

If You Don't See What You Are Hunting For: Always Ask The Staff

That is how I acquired the fabulous Red and White Hoosier cabinet which is the centerpiece of my display at my shop "Kitsch n Stuff' . When setting up that shop, I went from shop to shop looking for a white painted Hoosier.

Hoosier of My Dreams

In one favorite Antique Malls (Antiques On The Farmington) , I didn't see any Hoosiers on the floor, but I inquired if the staff knew if any of the dealers had one for sale. They took me into their "storage room" and lo and behold, there was the Hoosier of my dreams, ready for purchase.

It seems that the dealer had it "in storage" and it was waiting to be taken out of the shop. I caught it before it disappeared. So always ask about "back rooms'.

At first glance you might wonder to yourself. "Plymouth, never heard of it". But when you read some more of this post you will realize that Plymouth, Connecticut has a very rich history.

Plymouth, Connecticut Original Home To The Clock Industry

According to the official Plymouth, CT town website:

"Incorporated in 1795, the Town of Plymouth owes its beginnings to the foresight of such manufacturers as Eli Terry, Seth Thomas and Silas Hoadley. The manufacture of clocks first gave Plymouth national recognition. Eventually Seth Thomas moved from Plymouth Center to Plymouth Hollow (now Thomaston) to continue the trade. Eli Terry, Jr. carried the Terry name eastward to (now) Terryville where clocks, and beginning in 1830 locks, were manufactured through harnessing the power of the Pequabuck River. The latter enterprise became known as the Eagle Lock Company, which enjoyed a worldwide reputation and employed some 1,800 persons at its peak."


Antiques At The Green
703 main Street
Plymouth, Connecticut
860-283-0689
860-585-1914
Helen Nejfelt

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.

Time For An Antique Booth Make-Over

Do You Have Antique Booth Blues?

If you are suffering from "Antique Booth Blues" it may be time for you to pull yourself together and to pull your booth apart. If too much stuff is building up in your Antique Mall space or you suffer from too much dust... make an appointment with yourself for a "booth intervention" .
10 Tips For An Antique Booth Make-Over

1. Throw out broken things.

2. Retire poor sellers.

3. Bring home white elephants.

4. Remove old holiday stuff.

5. Box up out of season things.

6. Move around inventory.

7. Swap higher shelf stuff with lower shelf stuff.

8. Check to see that all your price tags are intact.

9. Donate extra stuff to charity.

10. DUST- SWEEP- FOLD-CLEAN
Freshen Up Your Inventory

This is a time when you might begin to thin out the piles and move around your merchandise to "freshen up" your space and attract new customers.
Often dealers who are experiencing a slump in business are not in the mood for decorating, dusting or sweeping. But this is exactly the time for CPR......."Carefully Planned Re-Do". Wake and and smell the collectibles .. every now and then we all need an Antique Booth booth makeover and there is no better time than NOW.

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.

Paging Dr. Freud: Are You A Neurotic Collector?

There is Nothing More Pleasurable Than Seeing A Sign For A Tag Sale

Are you a neurotic collector or simply just a pleasure seeker who junks for fun?
Sigmund Freud introduced the concept of the "The Pleasure Principle", the drive to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Certainly there is nothing more pleasurable and "thrilling" than seeing a sign for a tag sale!
What Does The Kitchen Shrink Have To Say?
As the Kitschy Collector aka The Kitchen Shrink will tell you, for most people hunting for collectibles is not an addiction but rather a healthy hobby which offers a pleasant distraction from the usual stresses and worries of daily life.

How The Word "Estate Sale" Affects The Brain'
For many loyal "junk" seekers, nothing gets the adrenalin going faster than reading an advertisement for an upcoming SALE which promises to offer the contents of "GRANDMA'S ATTIC". Reading a classified with these words is enough to send any collector straight out the door. Another highly catchy phrase is "ESTATE SALE", which also sends powerful "neuro-chemicals" to the pleasure seeking brain!


So are you a neurotic collector
or just a happy hobbyist?

Do you worry about whether your collecting habits are within normal limits?

The Kitchen Shrink would answer this way.....hobbyists enjoy what they collect and feel happy when they go out antiquing. Serious stuffers, on the other hand .....who are buried under an avalanche of crap and can't find their telephone....may need a consultation with Dr Drew Pinsky!

Freud art work by Jon Squire of Jon Art, Canton, Connecticut


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.

Secrets From Junk Mavens On How To Sell Your Junk In "Lots"

Meet a Junk Maven

Let's get personal. How attractive is your junk? Do you need help learning how to package your trash into treasures? Well relax, I am channeling my grandmother Esther tonight, The Queen of Junk.

My Grandmother Is In Cahoots With An Etsy Dealer

While my grandmother has long been gone, I am certain that her spirit has inhabited half the dealers on Etsy.com. For sure she is in cahoots with one particular dealer, Christa Burton. This will become clearer in a moment.


The Family Scavenger

My grandmother Esther was a junk maven who saved everything. She was the family scavenger taking home everyone's extra stuff from old sweaters (to make blankets) to overly ripe tomatoes to make soup. And not only did she like to make use out of everything, but she also liked to sort and organize her junk with rubber bands, plastic bags, small boxes or tins.

Junk Drawers Stuffed With Collectibles

In her foyer, she had this great fold down Maple desk with three bottom drawers that were stuffed with odds and ends such as used wrapping paper, old ribbons, free advertising trinkets, premiums, vintage photographs, hankies, sewing notions, old calendars, ephemera, swizzle sticks, toys, coupons, coins, stamps, plastic change purses, souvenirs, scarfs, knitted hats and more.

Grandma Leaves Behind Old Dinner Rolls Stuffed In Her Handbags

When she died in her nineties, she left behind a collection of handbags and shopping totes packed with old dinner rolls wrapped carefully in white paper restaurant napkins (she saved everything).

Shabby Granny "The Queen of Junk"

If you have read my book, Hot Cottage Collectibles For Vintage Style Homes " you might remember that in that book, I refer to my grandmother as "Shabby Granny", The Queen of Junk, a maven on rescuing , re-cycling, re-using and re-purposing anything and everything.
(She was way ahead of Shabby Chic!).

Meet Christa Burton of Etsy.com

While Grandma Esther is no longer on this earth, she seems to be quite active on Etsy .com. Currently she appears to be in a silent partnership with one of my favorite Etsy sellers, a gal named Christa Burton. Like my grandmother, Christa adores collections of trinkets and fun junk and sells packaged "junk" regularly on Etsy.com.

Grouping Together Your Junk In Goody Bags or Boxes

And Christa like my grandmothers enjoys placing her junk in categories such as such as sewing notions, old game parts, millinery embellishments, plastic treasures etc. Christa also is fond of creating packages of junk, often by color, shape, materials, use or era.

There is Money To Be Made From The Contents of Your Junk Drawer

What Christa Burton has learned is that there is money to be made in groupings made from your junk drawers and other collection spots. Christa puts together "goody bags' or box lots and sells them for $10.00-12.00. Antique collectors, crafters, collage artists, teachers, scrapbook folks, mixed media assemblage artists love what Christa has to offer.
What a team of junkers, Christa and my grandmother!

To visit Christa Burton's shop click on this link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/christaburton


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.

Collecting Vintage Images Of Pretty And Fashionable Women

Romantic Victorian Collectors
Love Vintage Images Of Pretty Woman

Vintage images of pretty women sell very well in antique shops and on-line. Old prints, postcards, book covers, calendar art and book pages of beautiful ladies are of special interest to Romantic Victorian and cottage collectors . These are the same gals (and some guys) who adore lots of roses, lace and floral china.

Buying Book Covers With Pretty Women

Be on the look out for book covers with graceful and fashionable women; plumed or decorative hats and elegant dresses.

Many Collectors Are Just After The Cover Art

Often, even if if the inside pages of a book are tattered or dog eared, an intact cover is what the gals are after. The cover should have a clear image with minimal yellowing an be free of tears, spotting, discoloration.

Book Pages Of Elegant Women

Book Pages of lovely ladies (see first image shown) , as well as old magazine images are very attractive to buyers. Never throw out a book or magazine that is falling apart. You can always salvage the inside pages and sell separately.

Postcards With Pretty Images of Women

Postcards with women are fairly easy to find. You will of course see many of these images associated with vintage Valentine postcards. But those are not the only cards to focus on. While serious postcard collectors are always evaluating postcards for rarity, age, condition, quality of the illustration, importance of the artist etc. , Romantic Victorian collectors may not be as fussy.

Using Images In Collage Art

Many casual collectors are simply looking for a pretty image to frame and display and are not as critical about the images they find. And even slightly damaged book pages, postcards and calendar pages are still be of interest to many buyers who like to use these prints in collages, mixed media projects and decorating.

Famous Illustrators of Calendar Art

Prints fall into the category of illustration art which boomed with the improvements in printing and engraving in the late nineteenth century. Now it was possible to make reproductions of an artist's works and many companies saw this process as a good advertising tool, Calendar art prints of beautiful gals is very collectible.

The original drawings of artists are very hard to find and not the subject of this post. It is estimated by some that almost 90 per cent of original illustrations were actually thrown out by magazines or advertising agencies. Once the artist delivered his work to his client, such as a book company, advertising agency,or magazine publisher, the artist never saw the original drawing again. What you generally see when you shop on-line or in stores are prints of an artist's original rendering. But buyer beware, even the prints have been reproduced further and so be sure you are buying vintage and not a modern version of an image. You will find people on eBay for example selling CD's of old images.

Vintage Illustration Artists

Some noted illustrators of pretty women images are: Rolf Armstrong (1189-1960), Howard Chandler christy, Haskell Coffin (1878-1941), John Bradshaw Crandell (1896-1966), Harrison Fischer, Charles dana Gibson, Adelaide Hiebel (1886-unknown), Zula Kenyon (1873-1947), Gene Pressler (1894-1933) .

Values

The images shown in this post range from $8.00-25.00. Prints of noted artists framed can sell for $45.00-125.00 and more.

Images show here are from my book: Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes (Collectorbooks.com)

Read More:

Vintage Illustration by Rick and Charlotte Martin

Vintage Illustration: Discovering America's Calendar Artist 1900-1960

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.

Getting Dramatic Results With Black and White Cottage Style

Metro Chic Cottage

I am going to kick up the cottage look up a notch with a style I will call "Dramatic Cottage" or "Metro Chic Cottage".

Vintage Sette With Black Fabric

As you can see, once you start working with black (and white), you will really see some very dramatic results. Look how fab this vintage sette looks with black fabric and white painted trim.

Introducing Color

Keeping with the black and white idea, this wonderful one of a kind needlepoint chair becomes more playful with white painted arms and legs. And the floral fabric adds color to the black and white furnishings.


Forget About Pastels..... Think Black And White Cottage Style


Painting A Cottage Dresser Black

Next let's talks about the cottage dresser. What a difference it makes when this dresser is painted black instead of the usual white seen in many cottage style homes.

Wake Up Your Black and White Palette With Kelly Green And Yellow

But life would be too boring if you just stayed in black and white. So add other colors such as Kelly green and yellow
or peach or rose colors.


Photos are from the collection at http://www.pinkpigwestport.com/

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.

Features Of A Fabulous Junk Shop

Landing In A Junk Shop That You Go Wow Over

I have been thinking a lot about junk lately. As we all know, sometimes we land in a junk shop or flea market and we are smitten with the junk. So what is it about some junk that gets us more excited than other junk?

Junk Is A Personal Thing

Yes, I know junk is a very personal thing....but let's face it, when you are in a great junk store, you know it!

Universal Characteristics of A Good Junk Shop

There are indeed some universal characteristics of what most people consider a good junk store. The main ingredient is that the store is chock full of terrific collectible " junque".
In a nutshell there is something for everyone; boxes of rusty nails, Pee Wee Herman dolls, pottery from Poland, old tins, vintage records, ceramic clowns , old light bulbs, postcards,
retro chairs, cameras, books, picture frames, milk bottles, flash cards, rocks, shells, planters, tools, paper weights, lamps, wooden boxes, toys etc.

When The Mother Load Arrives

And the stuff seems fresh. You have the feeling that the mother load has just arrived and that the junk has not been growing moss. A few cobwebs yes...but the stuff is appealing in its own
vintage and quirky way. You look up at the ceiling and you see chairs hanging from beams, you look in the bathroom and there are more things, you look out the back of the shop and you see bathtubs, ...every inch of the property is packed with stuff.

.
Making Piles Of What you Want To Buy

You know you are in a good shop because there is a lot of things that you want to buy without thinking twice about the price. The owner wants to turn the stuff over and he or she knows that they are not an antique shop but a junk store!

Feeling Satisfied To Buy At Junk Store Prices

And you the buyer feels like you can buy at junk store prices. You feel satisfied and not taken! You are in junk heaven once again!

Features Of A Great Junk Shop

1.Lots of funky stuff everywhere.
2.Crazy things in lots of different rooms.
3.Mixed up displays that hang together.
4.Variety at decent prices.
5.Organized clutter.
6.Not overly dusty or gross.
7.Stuff hanging from the ceiling.
8.Mixture of very old stuff, retro and mod.
9.Lots of stacks of odds and ends.
10. Objects with design
potential.

Photos were taken in The Junk Shop of Canton, Canton, Connecticut.

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.

Diving Into The Topic Of Freegans And Frugal Living

Freegans Compared To 1930s and 1940's Frugal Housewives

While doing research on junk collecting I kept coming across the term "Freegan" and decided it was time for me to dive right into the subject (no pun intended). Being totally clueless about Freegans, my first thought was whether Freegans and Vegans were related? In essence the words do share a relationship; both Freegans and Vegans are concerned with "excluding" certain practices. Many Freegans are Vegans who forsake all animal products. Freegans forsake "consumerism".

What Are Freegans?

Freeganism (which started in the 1990's) is an anti-consumerism lifestyle whereby people employ alternative living strategies based on "limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources".Freegans are scavengers who live off consumer waste.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism

Freegans are interested in eliminating wasteful consumption. They are big on rescuing, re-cycling, re-purposing and re-using everything. Advanced Freegans live totally off goods recovered from trash or thrown away. Freegaans rummage through supernmarket trash, dress in hand me down clothes and furnish their home from cast off furnish. Many items are found on the street or from groups such as freecycle.org or at so called freemeets or swap meets.

Freegan-Inspired Lifestyles

While many Freegans adopt the whole package, others live a Freegan inspired life or what some call Freegan-lite. Freegans have been compared to frugal housewives of earlier generations, learning how to conserve, save and repair. http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/10/24/103132_freegan-tips-for-the-frugal.html

Freegan Tips For The Frugal

1. Swap- organize group swaps in your home. Invite friends to exchange such items as books, clothing, art suppplies, plants etc.

2. Get Stuff For Free: Check out Craigslist and Free Cycle online.

3. Rescue Food Before It Gets Trashed. Collect excess food from bakeries, restaurants and volunteer to bring to a Shelter or Soup Kitchen. Bring containers to work...and collect extra food from group functions.

4. Dumpster Dive: While you don't have to actually go into a dumpster, you can rescue old furniture, useble household items and perfectly good trash from others, curbsides, and dump sites.

5. Host a Free Martket where everything is literally free. http://www.reallyreallyfree.org/

6. Particicpate in community gardens. Grown your own food and share with others.

7. Barter: Exchange gooods and servces.


Freegan And Frugal Resources

Freegan Info
http://freegan.info/?page_id=2

Not Buying It
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/garden/21freegan.html?_r=1

Freegan Meet Up Groups
http://dumpsterdiving.meetup.com/

Freegan Info
http://freegan.info/?page_id=2

Freegan Tips For The Frugal
http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/10/24/103132_freegan-tips-for-the-frugal.html

Reuse Centers For Artist Supplies
http://generationgreen.com/text/reuse_materials.html

Bottom Feeders
http://home.earthlink.net/~astrology/confessi.html

Dumpster Diving
http://www.allthingsfrugal.com/dumpster.htm

http://www.thelivingweb.net/dumpster_diving_for_fun_and_profit.html
http://www.jgpress.com/IBArticles/1999/MJ%2015.htm

http://oksr.tripod.com/dive.html

Curbside Diving
http://www.angelfire.com/id/furrania/refuse.html

Garden Junk
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/junk/

Frugal Living
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/bargainshopping/p/Freegan.htm

Free Cycle http://www.freecycle.org/

Craigslist.org

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.

When Offering a Good Deal May Be A Bad Idea For Antique Dealers

When Offering A Good Deal Is A Bad Idea:Advice For Antique Sellers

With everyone kvetching about the miserable state of the economy, what should worried antique dealers do? Should panicky sellers try to move their inventory at discounted prices or sit tight and calm buyers with their confidence?

Does Discounting Collectibles Hurt Sales?

Sure everyone likes a bargain, but in the antique and collectibles business does having constant "sales" or always "discounting" merchandise actually work against you? Don't get me wrong...everyone loves a bargain...but buyers are savvy these days and while you are wheeling and dealing, they are wondering if you are for real. The buyer is sizing you up and trying to figure out if you can be trusted!

Feeling Cheated

Perhaps the buyer is wondering if you are charging them too much to begin with. Or maybe the buyers secretly feels "cheated" in some way because to them your prices seem to fluctuate often. As a result of their hidden feelings of mistrust, buyers may actually shy away from buying from you.

This logic also applies when selling repaired items or undisclosed broken or damaged goods. Once a buyer feels that you have kept secrets from them once, they may doubt your overall business practices and integrity.

Watch How Many Sales You Run

If you want to convey to buyers that you have wonderful, fairly priced items for sale, avoid offering "too many good deals" and constant sales in favor of offering fair values from the get go. Staying on an even playing field will gain respect among your buyers and help you sell much more in the long run.

Practical Tips to Help You Sell More Antiques And Collectibles When Economic Times Are Tough

1. Price your goods fairly from the beginning.

2. Do not cross out prices on sales tags to show lowered price.

3. Replace or freshen up old tags, so older items don't look like they have been sitting around for a long time.

4. Refrain from too many "sales". Keep store wide "sales" limited to expected 1-2 times a year only.

5. Convey to customers that business is solid (even when it is not). People want to feel confident about what they buy and will feel nervous if they think you are anxious for their business.

6. Substitute special events to increase traffic instead of "sales". For example, offer "Victorian Days", or "Free Appraisal Day" or "Old Fashioned Nostalgia Day" etc.

7. Refrain from telling people you have been sitting with an item for a long time.

8. If an item is damaged, do not announce to them or write on a sales tag "broken" or "damaged" or "stained" use softer language "gently used"., "as found condition". A buyer can handle hearing about "blemishes" when you remind them the object is over 80 years old. When you personalize an object they are more understandable.

9.. Share information about other stores in the area. Buyers like to know you are a team player. They will trust you more.When you "give" you get back.

10. Let customers teach you. Even if you are knowledgeable about a particular collectible. People like to be heard.Listen to your customers with interest. Rapport helps to seal the deal.

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.

Places To Hunt For The Best Junk: A Junk Collectors Guide To Getting Down N Dirty

Expanding Your junk Hunting Grounds

If you want to find great junk, you may need to expand your junk collecting hunting grounds.

You'd be surprised where you have not yet looked for goodies and hidden treasures. Let me know which of these ideas you have tried and how it turned out. Also please feel free to add a comment about additional ideas ...thanks.

Down N Dirty Ideas For Junking














1. Curbside trash

2. Underground (old battle fields, construction areas, historic sites).

3. Dump sites

4. Salvage yards.

5. Dumpster Diving.

6. Land fills.

7. Flood or water damaged areas.

8. Abandoned automobiles and roadways

Treasure Hunting Outdoors













9 Salvage yards.

10 Beach combing.

11. Metal detecting.

12. Prospecting

13. Tag or garage sales.

14. Front porches.

15 Junk markets

Junking Spots Undercover

16. Basements

17. Thrift stores

18. Attics

19. Garages

20. Rummage sales

21. Second hand stores.

22. Store rooms.

Surfing The Net For Junk And Freebies

23. http://freecycle.org/

24. Freegan.info http://freegan.info/?page_id=2

25. www.Craigslist.org

Click On The Link Below To Read More On Junk:

Where Do Junk Collectors Hunt For Freebies, Bargains And The Best Deals ?

Treasure Hunters Code of Ethics
(Courtesy of Robert Park).

I will respect private property and do no treasure hunting without the owners permission.

I will fill all holes and excavations.

I will appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources, wildlife, and private property.

I will use thoughtfulness,consideration and courtesy at all times.

I will build fires in designated or safe places only.

I will leaver gates as found.

I will remove and properly dispose of any trash that I find.

I will not litter.

I will not destroy property, buildings, or what is left of ghost towns and deserted structures.

I will not tamper with signs, structural facilities, or equipment

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.