Muskoka Collecting; The Hustle For Antiques Should Be A Meander Along A Country Road

ADVICE TO DEALERS AND COLLECTORS - AND DAY TRAVELLERS EVERYWHERE

MAKE THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE HUNT, A RECOGNITION EVENT - ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE RAMBLE

     FINALLY GOT THE WATER CRISIS RESOLVED, AT BIRCH HOLLOW....WHICH BEGAN EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. THE PRESSURE CHANGE, AFTER WE SHUT OFF THE WATER SUPPLY, TO THE LEAKING HOT WATER TANK, CREATED THE PUSH OF WATER OUT THE BATHROOM TAP.....WHICH SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. I THOUGHT GHOSTS WERE AT PLAY, BUT ACCORDING TO PLUMBING EXPERTS, THIS ISN'T ALL THAT UNCOMMON. THE PIN-PRICK HOLE, WHICH STARTED ALL THIS, AND THREE DAYS WITHOUT HOT WATER, BROUGHT UP ANOTHER ISSUE....OF EVENTUALLY HAVING TO REPLACE COPPER PIPES. GOSH, WHAT STARTED AS A TINY HOLE, WILL BECOME A TIDY EXPENSE OF HOME OWNERSHIP SOMETIME LATER THIS YEAR. WELL, IT STILL BEATS WET CARPETS, AND REALLY COLD BATHING.

     BACK IN THE DAYS, WHEN WE USED TO CAMP AND CANOE IN ALGONQUIN PARK, AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES OR MORE EACH SUMMER SEASON (RIGHT UP TO THANKSGIVING WEEKEND), WE MADE EVERY TRIP AS ADVENTURE-FILLED AS POSSIBLE. FOR US COLLECTOR-TYPES, THIS MEANS A LITTLE LESS ADVENTURE IN THE PHYSICAL SENSE, THAN ACTUAL ARM TO ARM COMBAT WITH ADVERSARIES AND SUCH; AND ONLY MEASURING "SOFT CORE" ON THE SCALE OF "INDIANA JONES." BUT NONE THE LESS, "TREASURE HUNTING," WITH ALL THE PROVERBIAL BELLS AND WHISTLES. SO WHAT THIS MEANT, IN ACTUALITY, WAS THAT WE STOPPED AT EVERY YARD SALE, THRIFT SHOP, JUNK SHOP, AUCTION SALE, ANTIQUE SHOP, FLEA MARKET, CHURCH SALE, INCLUDING STOPS AT ALL ROADSIDE "FOR SALE" TABLES, HAVING SEVERAL "OF INTEREST" ITEMS, THE HOMEOWNER WISHED TO UNLOAD. WHAT THIS SERVED, WAS TWO DISTINCT FOR-PROFIT PURPOSES. ONE WAS TO ACQUIRE INVENTORY FOR OUR DAY TO DAY ANTIQUE ENTERPRISE; WHICH THEN WAS KNOWN AS BIRCH H0LLOW ANTIQUES. THE SECOND, WAS TO FIND ITEMS ALONG THE WAY, THAT IN TERMS OF PURCHASE PRICE, AND THE EVENTUAL SALE PRICE, WOULD OFFSET COSTS OF OUR LAKESIDE VACATION. MOST DEALERS DO THIS, WHETHER THEY ARE HELPING TO COVER COSTS OF ATTENDING SHOWS, OR GOING ON PICKING TRIPS, THAT REQUIRE WEEKS OF HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS, FOOD AND GAS EXPENSES. WE ALL HAVE OUR WAYS OF COVERING THESE COSTS. THERE WERE VERY FEW OCCASIONS, THAT WE DIDN'T COME BACK HOME, WITH MUCH MORE THAN WE HAD LEFT WITH, THAT COULD BE SOLD FOR MORE THAN WE PAID FOR THEM. THAT'S ALL WE CARED ABOUT. VACATIONS THAT DIDN'T COST US MONEY. I STARTED DOING THIS BACK IN THE LATE 1970'S, AND IT HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN YET. IT'S A HUSTLE, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT....BUT FOR DEALERS, IT'S JUST AN ACCEPTED PART OF BUSINESS; THAT IT'S INEVITABLY GOING TO BE PARTNERED, AT SOME POINT, WITH RECREATION, AND ENTERTAINMENT.
     OVER THE YEARS I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, I'VE LEARNED HOW TO OFFSET COSTS, A HUNDRED DIFFERENT WAYS. IT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE REALLY NEAT ASPECTS OF BEING A DEALER, IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT IS A FUNDAMENTAL REALITY, OF STAYING IN BUSINESS, AND FOR US, IT WAS LOGICAL TO THINK THIS WAY. WE WANTED TO TRAVEL WITH OUR TWO SONS, AND BECAUSE WE WERE ON A TIGHT BUDGET, WE FOUND WAYS ON EVERY OUTING, TO MAKE THE PROFESSION WORK TO OUR ADVANTAGE. IT WASN'T PERFECT SCIENCE. WE JUST HAD TO PLAN CAREFULLY IN ADVANCE.....AND PROJECT OUR OBVIOUS EXPENSES. AS FOR BEING WORTHY HUNTER / GATHERERS, WELL, WE'RE STILL IN BUSINESS, SO SOMETHING MUST HAVE WORKED ACCORDING TO PLAN. IT MUST READ AS A COMPLICATED STRATEGY, BUT IT'S ABOUT AS BASIC AS YOU CAN GET.
     BEING RESOURCEFUL IS A KEY COMPONENT OF BUSINESS STRATEGY, FOR ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE DEALERS, BECAUSE IT INVOLVES BUYING AND SELLING USED ITEMS. IF YOU EXPOSE YOURSELF TO THE WORLD IN WHICH WE OPERATE, YOU'D CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND, HOW EASY IT IS TO IMMERSE YOURSELF TOTALLY, IN THE RE-CYCLE AND RE-USE WAY OF LIVING. AS LONG AS WE'RE GOING TO YARD SALES, AS A MATTER OF TRADITION, AND BUSINESS, WHAT'S TO STOP THE DEALER FROM BUYING A GOOD QUALITY SINK, TAPS, PLANTERS, NEW SOFAS, TILES FOR THE FLOOR, AND A NEW MUFFLER FOR THE CAR. THEY MAY NOT BE COLLECTABLES, BUT THEY ARE POTENTIALLY, A HELL OF A COST-SAVER DOWN THE ROAD. SO IN OTHER WORDS, BEING AN ANTIQUE DEALER, AND WALKING THE WALK, INSPIRES INSIGHT, ABOUT SAVING MONEY BUYING SECOND HAND OR OLDER. WE OFTEN FIND ARTICLES WE NEED, FOR OUR HOUSE, ATTENDING FLEA MARKETS AND FUNDRAISING SALES, THAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT TO ACQUIRE, BUT NONE THE LESS, ENJOY THE SAVINGS. IT MIGHT BE THE CASE WE COME BACK WITH A NEW PAIL, MOP, RUGS, DRINKING GLASSES, RAKES, SHOVELS, EVEN A SWELL NEWER AXE, ALL AT SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS; IF WE WERE TO COMPARE PRICES WITH THE SAME ITEMS IN HARDWARE STORES. NO, WE DON'T GET GUARANTEES. THE PRICE DIFFERENTIAL, MAKES IT WORTHWHILE. SO IF YOU'VE EVER ASSUMED ANTIQUE DEALERS, OUT ON THE SATURDAY MORNING ROAD TRIP, ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN ITEMS THEY CAN RESELL FOR A PROFIT, I'M TELLING YOU IT CAN ACTUALLY BE QUITE THE OPPOSITE....AND I'VE GOT THIRTY-FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE, MEETING MY COLLEAGUES OUT ON THE HUSTINGS. WE'VE COME BACK MANY TIMES, WITH MORE HOME-PURPOSE PURCHASES, THAN ARTICLES FOR THE SHOP. SAVINGS IS IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US.
     TWO COLLECTORS I KNEW PERSONALLY, DAVE BROWN AND HUGH MACMILLAN, ALWAYS HAD A PLAN TO OFFSET THEIR TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION COSTS, BY FIRST OF ALL, STAYING WITH FOLKS THEY KNEW, AND SECONDLY, BUYING AND SELLING AT STOPS ALONG THE WAY. I WOULD SELL HUGH BOOKS, THAT HE KNEW OTHERS, OF HIS COLLECTOR COLLEAGUES, WOULD BUY FROM HIM, FOR A MARKED-UP VALUE. DAVE BROWN WAS MORE INTO TRADES, WITH ME, BUT I NEVER REMEMBER, EVEN ONE OCCASION, WHEN HE SHOWED UP AT OUR HOUSE, WITHOUT THE BACK OF HIS PICK-UP TRUCK BEING FULL OF ACQUISITIONS....ALL DESTINED TO CERTAIN PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES, THAT HE WOULD STOP AT, DURING HIS WEEK-LONG MOTOR TRIP. HE ONCE SHOWED UP AT OUR HOUSE, TO PARTICIPATE IN A SATURDAY MORNING YARD SALE, WE WERE HAVING, AND WHAT HE DIDN'T SELL THAT DAY, HE FLOGGED TO A SECOND HAND SHOP IN THE VILLAGE OF WASHAGO. IT WAS AS GREAT LITTLE PLACE, KNOWN AS KAY'S CORNER, AND WE USED TO ENJOY VISITING ON SUNDAYS, AFTER THE MAY 24TH WEEKEND. WHEN WE GOT THERE, THAT MORNING, WE SAW THE SAME INVENTORY DAVE HAD BROUGHT FOR THE YARD SALE, SITTING IN FRONT OF HER STORE. "WE MADE A LITTLE TRADE FOR SOME GOOD BOOKS," DAVE TOLD ME LATER. DAVE WAS AN OLD HORSE-TRADER, LIKE THE LEGENDARY WILL ROGERS, AND KAY DID NOT GET THE BETTER OF THE DEAL. I NEVEER DID. POINT IS, ALMOST EVERY DEALER I'VE MET, AT LEAST BACK THEN, KNEW HOW TO OFFSET NOT ONLY THEIR VACATIONS, BUT HOW TO MAKE EVERY TRIP PAY FOR ITSELF. THIS IS DONE BY FINDING ITEMS, EVEN OUTSIDE YOUR COLLECTING OR SHOP INTERESTS, THAT YOU KNOW CAN BE SOLD OR TRADED TO ANOTHER DEALER. IF IT COVERS GAS COSTS AND BREAKFAST, WHO CARES WHAT THAT ITEM IS....AND I'VE SEEN A WIDE RANGE OF ARTICLES USED AS "TRADE BAIT." I USED TO OFFER ALL MY COCA COLA FINDS, TO A LOCAL COLLECTOR, WHO BROUGHT ME A VARIETY OF COLLECTABLE ITEMS, THAT OUR SHOP CLIENTELE WOULD APPRECIATE MORE THAN NOSTALGIA. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE A LOT OF COKE COLLECTORS, THERE WEREN'T MANY COMING INTO OUR SHOP IN THOSE YEARS, SO I WAS QUITE GLAD TO RECEIVE CANADIANA ITEMS AND FURNITURE IN TRADE. WORKED OUT FOR BOTH OF US. THIS IS DONE DAILY IN OUR PROFESSION, AS PART OF THE INTRICATE AND COMPLICATED ECONOMY OF THE OVERALL ANTIQUE PROFESSION. THERE'S A LOT MORE TO RUNNING AN ANTIQUE ENTERPRISE, THAN HUNTING, GATHERING AND SELLING OLD STUFF. IN FACT, WE'RE ALL HORSE TRADERS IN THE SPIRIT OF WILL ROGERS....SOME JUST BETTER THAN OTHERS. I KNEW WHEN DAVE BROWN HAD THAT SPARKLE IN HIS EYE, AS WE WERE SHAKING HANDS, THAT I JUST TRADED FOR THE BLIND HORSE.

A CONNECTION WITH THE COUNTRYSIDE WE AMBLE THROUGH

     THERE ARE LOTS OF KEEN ANTIQUE DEALERS, SO OBSESSED WITH TREASURE-HUNTING AND TURNING A QUICK PROFIT, THAT THEY DO LOSE, OVER TIME AND MILES TRAVELLED, TOUCH WITH ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE PROFESSION; THE CONNECTEDNESS WITH THEIR SURROUNDINGS; AND ALL THOSE CURIOUS PLACES THEY TRAVEL, IN A GIVEN WEEK, MONTH OR YEAR. THEY RACE BETWEEN VENUES, AND HARDLY NOTICE THE BEST PART OF THE TRIP....THE SCENERY IN BETWEEN. THUS, I WOULD NOT WISH TO WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES. MINE ARE USED TO STOPPING A LOT....LINGERING, LOITERING, AND ENJOYING THE VIEW.

     I've written a lot about my own years in the antique profession, and how our family has related to the industry since the late 1980's. It's what I know best. Of course, it doesn't make all the assertions, I pen, right or even fair to other dealers. They can write their own biographies, and refute me at will. My recollections go back to the late 1970's, although I'm sorry to say, many of the dealers and auctioneers I knew well, and who kindly mentored me, have since passed-on. Every time I meet up with a dealer, who I consider both a friend and colleague, I never hesitate asking them about their respective businesses, and how they are enjoying their hustling-about. It's my own survey, and yes, I do include those observations, whenever I write about antiques, and the collectors who hunt them; as the meat for my columns in several Ontario publications, and of course this blog. I do want to know more about the change in attitude, of dealers today, versus those I grew up with, and learned from. One thing I have noticed, is that many of my colleagues have less time to enjoy their countryside travels, than they did years earlier....at least from my observations. Some critics might argue, that it has become more of a cut-throat profession than it was, back in the 1970's; but honestly, I think even in the days of Charles Dickens, it was more cut-throat than it is today. I do believe competition is more intense, because costs are much higher for just about everything; including dining-out, gas, rent (for storage and shop space), mall fees, phone requirements, and vehicles to haul found-pieces home. What should be a calming, wonderful, enlightening road trip, between venues, often becomes a lesser concern, trumped by the intense, vicious cycle of obsession, to find the holy grail. Well beyond securing enough finds, to make ends meet, with a little profit to maintain a lifestyle. It's a shame that this happens, and the countryside becomes a blur in the side windows, when in reality, it could be the source of great inspiration and enjoyment. I told Suzanne, that if antique hunting ever becomes a chore, or starts appearing too much like work, or takes on a stressful aura, I will quit immediately. So far, after 35 plus years, I'm still in the business and loving it. I ask my business partners every day, if they're enjoying what they do here in the shop....and on the road. So far, so good. Being obsessed to make big finds, has taken down a lot of high flying dealers, who got too close to the sun. I've watched the dark side of greed, end careers, that had only just begun to bud. Greed inspires risk, and in our profession, risk comes close to poor judgement, and the rest is just unpleasant business.
     Getting back to those Algonquin trips, ours would have been the only campsite, with art panels hanging from the pine boughs; with found rockers, and old chairs, positioned around the campfire. We would buy these items, on the way up to the park, and then I'd have to study them during our stay....usually about three or four days. There's nothing like a nice landscape painting, with an evergreen or hardwood forest in the background. A Boston rocker works beautifully on a floor of pine needles. It wasn't the whole point of going camping, to study our antique finds, but it was always a nice compliment to the Algonquin adventure....which always involved a lot of paddling and canoemanship. Occasionally, we'd take a motor trip east, and visit some of the small communities, especially on their yard sale Saturdays. This was all part of the recreational-vacation experience. A few times we even came back with guitars, mandolins and banjos, which were playable around the campsite fire-pit.
     On the way home, we would often take a side-trip through Huntsville, and hit all the second hand and thrift shops in the vicinity, before heading south to Gravenhurst. Once again, if we were on-our-game, we could pick up enough saleable inventory to pay down some of the trip's costs. I don't think there were many of these holiday outings, that we didn't outperform associated expenses, and it's been an important part of our industry seemingly forever. It's not inconvenient, and if you like to treasure hunt, then working to mitigate expenses, is part of the grand game, of using the profession to one's best advantage. You're right! It's not rocket science. Everybody should be able to do it. Hunt and gather, and then host a couple of yard sales each summer season, and you'd be surprised by how efficient you can make "play actually pay!"
     I know of two flea market vendors, who spend their summers in Muskoka, and their winters in Florida. Making money! They offset the costs of being in Muskoka, in modest quarters, by selling their gathered wares, at every flea market and open-air sale they can; and repeat that in Florida, the very next winter; where they attend some very fine, sheltered flea markets....having brought their wares with them from the great white north. They will do the same on the return trip, purchasing at markets and shops from Florida to Muskoka. They will then be able to offer these found pieces, during their weekend sales venues in our region and a little beyond. They won't sell you on their lifestyle, because it is based on strict, unyielding frugality and modest proportion, yet they get to summer in our beautiful region, and winter in the tropical climes of south Florida. They've been doing this for decades.
     Whenever we head out onto the open road, these days, there is far more awareness of this sensible proportion aspect, to our profession. We don't race anywhere for any reason, as it pertains to sale opportunities. Here's why! We have enough experience to know, that what we desire as inventory, or investment pieces, are first of all.....going to be priced higher at these sales, for obvious reasons of quality and age; and that means, vendors won't dicker during the first hour of the sale. Why would they? An investment of patience, could earn them considerable money, an hour or two into the sale. So when we arrive, we just pay the asking price, and take the guitars, or amps, (plus antique pieces), and motor-on. As well, we often buy the less obvious collectables, and as paintings are hard sells at yard, and fundraising sales, I very seldom lose opportunity, because we're a little behind our times. Most yard sale hosts will over-price (at least in their minds), articles like known-antiques and art work, but nine times out of ten, these prices are still low enough to make a good profit.....and never have to haggle with the vendor.
     We always stop on our travels, to enjoy the scenery. We have had picnics all over this magnificent region, and our pace, if you were to describe it, with one word only, "plodding" would fit nicely. Now that we have our main street shop, here in Gravenhurst, admittedly, there has been more stress attached, at least to respecting hours of operation. Some times we just slap a note on the door, get our coffee and donuts, and meander the country lanes to where a sale is being held...and never once, worry that dawdling will cost us our profit. Dawdling frankly, is our philosophical profit. If we're happy campers, it will be reflected in the way we acquire our antique pieces; and certainly the manner in which we operate our shop.....hopefully with good cheer. We've done the hustle thing for many years, stressing ourselves for no good reason. We're better at hunting and gathering today, because we know more about the values, of the items, we most wish to possess. Knowledge is the dealer's greatest asset. Impatience, the work of greed. If I want to race, I'll find one to enter.
     Every Saturday morning, during the yard and lawn sale season, we get a kick out of watching these poor, frustrated characters, running and leaping to get the best pieces.....or at least, what they perceive to be the best. They spring, red-faced, from sale to sale, tripping over one another, and at the end of the day, they are no better off for their efforts, than those of us who, like the fabled tortoise, just enjoyed the full advantages of the Muskoka morning. Impatience in the antique profession is not a virtue. Sale hosts often dislike the dealers who get pushy, and act impatiently, trying to convince them, that dealers deserve preferential treatment. This doesn't work. We never, ever, reference ourselves as "dealers," believing it will win us points. It often works the complete opposite. If, as it happens, vendors know us as dealers, because it is a small region afterall, we will never use it as a lever, to get a better price, or more efficient service. We've never done this, and we're not changing, just because the new breed of dealer, has got this, "I'm an antique picker" thing, going on; they borrowed from a television show. You'd be shocked to know, just how many houses and cottages, we are invited into, because we have taken the time, to learn more about the vendor's situation.....and each one has the potential of being a treasure trove. But it involves an expense of sensitivity, especially if it happens to be an estate sale. As well, the human aspect of this business, is important to us as well. These same sale vendors, often turn out to be our customers in the long haul, and we want them to think kindly of us. Pushy dealers burn their bridges in this regard, and that's okay by me. More for us.
     We have travelled as a family of antique dealers for a long time. But it has never once, seemed like work. In part, because it is the lifestyle we have chosen, and part of that, is the social side; and the other is the environmental realities. The reality that to get from home to sale, and sale to sale, we have the distinct pleasure, of seeing an amazing landscape as we motor-on. This is a pleasurable part of our profession, and we would never short change our experiences. We've given ourselves permission to be plodding, and patient, and to enjoy the human interaction with fellow Muskokans, which is pretty darn rewarding, truth be known. As well, we've enjoyed so many fascinating sunrises, and sunsets; amazing wildlife sightings, from owls, to deer, bear, otters, beavers, hawks, to trout and bass being caught by anglers, at some of the picnic sites we stop for lunch. When I write a biography like this, I hope it's clear to all our friends, that there is so much more to the antique and collectable profession, than profit for profit's sake.
     Thanks so much for joining with me today, for this little overview, of how we function in this mysterious, and historic industry. Like the magician's pact, there are some secrets of the trade I simply can't reveal.....and I'm sure you can appreciate why.