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| Two German Paintings on Fabric signed and probably from the 1950's. |
SO WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE BUSINESS THAT IS SO DARN EXCITING?
WHAT DO WE GET OUT OF IT, OTHER THAN A WEE BIT OF PROFIT? OR AS THE SONG GOES, "IS THAT ALL THERE IS?"
I SO CLEARLY RECALL, STANDING IN FRONT OF A LONDON ANTIQUE SHOP, DURING A TRIP MANY YEARS AGO, TO ENGLAND, AND FEELING AS IF I WAS TOO COMMON, AND MODESTLY APPOINTED TO ENTER THE PREMISES. I WAS A CONSERVATIVE HIPPY, AND I JUST DIDN'T THINK THE OWNERS WOULD HAVE FELT I HAD ANY PLACE IN THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. I WAS WRONG OF COURSE, BUT IT WAS A ROOKIE MISTAKE TO THINK THIS WAY. EVERY TIME THE DOOR OPENED FOR A CUSTOMER COMING IN, OR OUT, I TRIED TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THE INTERIOR OF THE SHOP. ON THAT TRIP, MY NOSE WAS PRESSED AGAINST QUITE A FEW SHOP WINDOWS LIKE THIS, AND I DID GET ENJOYMENT LOOKING IN THEIR WINDOWS. IT SEEMED SUCH A WILD LEAP OF IMAGINATION, TO ONE DAY, THINK OF MYSELF OWNING A SWELL SHOP LIKE THIS. BUT I KNEW THEN, THAT IF I HAD A SHOP, AND IT WAS EVERY BIT AS NICE AS THESE WERE, IN LONDON, I WOULD NEVER WANT MY CUSTOMERS TO THINK THAT THEY HAD TO MEET SOME ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL STANDARD, BEFORE THEY COULD ENTER AND FEEL COMFORTABLE. I WOULD RACE OUTSIDE, YOU SEE, AND PULL THESE FOLKS INSIDE; INFORMING THEM THAT OUR SHOP WAS FOR EVERYONE; NOT JUST THE WEALTHY AMONGST US. I WAS PRETTY NAIVE AND FOOLISH BACK THEN, BUT THIS IS HOW ANTIQUES APPEARED TO ME, AND I DO BELIEVE IT WAS PART OF THE ALLURE. JUST SO YOU KNOW, IF I PULLED PEOPLE IN OFF THE STREET, WHO WE CAUGHT WITH THEIR NOSES PRESSED AGAINST THE GLASS, I WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY BE GOING TO JAIL FOR ASSAULT. BUT YOU GET WHAT I MEAN. I WANTED A BUSINESS THAT WOULD INCLUDE EVERYONE, AND HAVE A PRICE RANGE FOR ALL ECONOMIES.
I WENT TO A FLORIDA ANTIQUE SHOP, WITH MY PARENTS, ON ONE TRIP TO DAYTONA, AND WE WERE MET BY AN ELDERLY LADY HOLDING A SHOTGUN AT HER SIDE. "SORRY ABOUT THE GUN FOLKS; IT'S MY PERSUADER TO THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT, TO LEAVE THE PROPERTY." IT SEEMS SHE HAD BEEN ROBBED A LOT. I'VE VISITED ANTIQUE SHOPS WHERE THE PROPRIETORS WERE SO LAID-BACK, I COULD HAVE TAKEN A FLAT-TO-THE-WALL CABINET AND CONTENTS, AND THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN OVERLY SUSPICIOUS. I'VE BEEN TO OTHERS, WHERE THE OWNER / CLERK WOULDN'T GIVE ME FIVE FEET TO BROWSE, WITHOUT ASKING ME WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. I REMEMBER ONE VENDOR AT AN ANTIQUE SHOW, GIVING ME CRAP, BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING THROUGH A BOX OF POSTCARDS. "WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR," HE DEMANDED. "I DON'T KNOW," I ANSWERED, "BUT I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I FIND IT." BASICALLY, THE VENDOR DID NOT WANT MY MITTS IN HIS POSTCARDS, AND WHEN HE PURSUED THE MATTER, OF MY HANDS ON HIS MERCHANDISE, I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD BEEN IN THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE TRADE VERY LONG. HE ANSWERED ABRUPTLY, "I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR TEN YEARS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH." TO WHICH I REPLIED, "I'VE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS THIRTY YEARS, AND YOU'RE THE FIRST DEALER YET, TO GET FREAKED OUT, HAVING ME LOOK THROUGH THE POSTCARDS." HE MUMBLED SOMETHING ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE CARD, AND I JUST TURNED MY BACK AND WALKED OUT OF THE BOOTH. THIS HAS HAPPENED VERY FEW TIMES IN MY YEARS IN THIS TRADE, BUT IT DOES STILL OCCUR. IT'S JUST WHAT I WON'T ALLOW TO HAPPEN IN OUR SHOP, TO ANY ONE WHO VISITS. I'VE GOT A TABLE TOP HOCKEY THEY CAN PLAY WITH, AND ONE OF THOSE ENORMOUS SOCCER GAMES IN THE BACK ROOM; JUST IN CASE YOU'RE WAITING FOR A SIGNIFICANT OTHER, SHOPPING SOMEWHERE ELSE. INCLUSION. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR SHOP. I LOVE THE ANTIQUE BUSINESS, BUT NOT AT ALL COSTS. IT WOULD HURT MY FEELINGS HONESTLY, IF ANYBODY THOUGHT OUR BUSINESS WAS FOR THE RICH ONLY. IF THAT WAS THE CASE, THEN OUR FAMILY WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE THE BUILDING AS WELL, BECAUSE FOR GOSH SAKES, WE'RE A LONG WAY FROM BEING RICH.
WE GET ASKED THIS A LOT. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO OPERATE AN ANTIQUE SHOP? WHY MADE YOU DECIDE TO BECOME AN ANTIQUE DEALER? WHY DID YOU LOCATE THIS BUSINESS IN AN AREA WITH A SEASONAL ECONOMY? DO THE LOCAL RESIDENTS THINK OF YOUR BUSINESS AS A "TOURIST TRAP?" AND QUESTIONS LIKE "DO YOU MAKE LOTS OF MONEY SELLING ANTIQUES," AND "HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR INVENTORY?"
WE ALSO NEVER GET TIRED OF ANSWERING THESE SAME QUESTIONS, BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE PROUD OF OUR PROFESSION, AND ITS HERITAGE, WHICH GOES BACK MANY CENTURIES. WE WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE BUSINESS OF BUYING AND SELLING ANTIQUES, BECAUSE OF THEY WAY WE HAVE BENEFITTED, IN SO MANY WAYS, SINCE OUR FIRST DAYS OUT ON THE HUSTINGS.....TRYING TO BUY THE MOST FOR THE LEAST. WELL, ALL WE HAD TO START WITH, WAS "THE LEAST." WE HAVE NEVER HAD OODLES OF MONEY TO THROW AT OUR BUSINESS, AND BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE RESOURCEFUL, OR FAIL, RUNNING OUR SMALL BUSINESS HAS PRODUCED JUST AS MANY LIFE-LESSONS, FOR OUR FAMILY, AS INROADS IN THE PROFESSION.
BEING IN BUSINESS, AND STAYING IN THE PROFESSION, DEMANDS THAT A DEALER BE CONSTANTLY ENROLLED IN CONTINUOUS LEARNING. THIS IS A PROFESSION, WITH MORE PITFALLS THAN YOU MIGHT BELIEVE, AT FIRST GLANCE, COMING INTO OUR SHOPS. IF YOU HAD A MONTH OR SO TO APPRENTICE WITH US, YOU'D APPRECIATE JUST HOW MANY DIFFICULT DECISIONS, AND AWKWARD MOMENTS WE CAN FACE, THAT CAN COST US THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN DISADVANTAGE, IF AT THAT PARTICULAR CROSSROADS, WE HAPPEN TO MAKE THE WRONG CHOICE. AT THE SAME TIME, IF YOU ARE COMPETITIVE, AND REFUSE TO BUCKLE-UNDER TO COMPETITION, IT CAN BE A HUGELY GRATIFYING ENTERPRISE; BECAUSE A LOT OF GAINS MADE BY PERSISTENCE AND PERSERVERANCE, ARE UNDENIABLY HUGE. WHEN HOWEVER, YOU LOOK DOWN AT THE THIN ICE YOU'VE BEEN WALKING ACROSS, THE TOUGH REALITY IS, THAT SOONER OR LATER, A DEALER WILL FALL THROUGH. THE SINK OR SWIM SCENARIO, IS IMBEDDED IN OUR PHILOSOPHY, AND I HAVEN'T FOUND A SUCCESSFUL DEALER IN MY OWN THIRTY-FIVE YEARS, WHO EXPECTED THE GOING WAS GOING TO BE EASY, OR WITHOUT ITS ARRAY OF BURNING HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH. I THINK IT'S WHAT MAKES US MOST INTERESTED IN THE TRADE; THAT THERE IS NO COMPLACENCY ATTACHED TO ACHIEVED SUCCESS. JUST WHEN YOU FEEL YOU'VE MASTERED THE PROFESSION, YOU WIND-UP BUYING A FAKE, MAYBE A CLEVER, WELL DONE REPRODUCTION, OR BUY SOMETHING OVER THE COUNTER THAT WAS STOLEN. EACH MONTH, IT OCCURS HERE, THAT SOMEONE WILL TRY TO SELL US SOMETHING THEY DON'T ACTUALLY OWN. WE HAVE A RIGOROUS SCREENING PROCEDURE, BEFORE WE BUY ANYTHING OFFERED TO US OVER THE COUNTER. BUT IT'S JUST ONE OF THE REALITIES OF OUR BUSINESS YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF, ALL THE TIME, BECAUSE ANTIQUE DEALERS ARE OFTEN SEEN AS HIGHER CLASS PAWN SHOPS.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT THAN OTHER RETAIL ENTERPRISES? WELL, FOR ONE THING, WE DON'T HAVE FORMAL WHOLESALE OPPORTUNITIES. WE DON'T HAVE A CATALOGUE TO ORDER FROM, OR A WAREFHOUSE WE CAN VISIT, TO BUY LARGE QUANTITIES OF SPECIFIC ANTIQUES OR COLLECTABLES FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR CUSTOMERS. ANTIQUE DEALERS CAN BENEFIT FROM "PICKERS," WHO PUT IN THE MILES AND TIME TO SCROUNGE UP VINTAGE WARE, BRINGING THEIR HARVEST OF ARTICLES TO SHOP AND MALL OWNERS ON THEIR OWN DIME. MANY OLDTIME PICKERS HAVE BECOME DEALERS THEMSELVES, AND THERE ARE FAR FEWER OF THEM TODAY, THAN WHEN I HAD MY FIRST AND SECOND STOREFRONTS, IN BRACEBRIDGE. I WOULD OFTEN HAVE TWO TO THREE PICKERS EVERY WEEK, WITH THEIR TRUCKS LOADED TO THE HILT, AND OVERFLOWING. AS SUZANNE AND I ARE CLOSER TO THE "PICKER" CLASS OF ANTIQUE DEALER, BY HABIT AND PREFERENCE, WE SELDOM PURCHASE ANTIQUES FROM THESE COUNTRYSIDE TRAVELLERS; BUT BACK THEN, WE ALWAYS TOOK TIME TO VISIT, AND AT LEAST, GET THEIR STORIES. I WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ALL THE PLACES, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THAT THEY HAD TRAVELLED, AND ALL THE NEAT HOMES AND FARMS THEY'D VISITED, ESPECIALLY IN THE MARITIMES AND QUEBEC. I MIGHT BE A DEALER BY PROFESSION, BUT I'M A STORY-COLLECTOR BY PASSION. WE HAD SOME MEMORABLE COFFEE-TIME CHATS, LET ME TELL YOU, AND I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF BEING A GOOD AND PROFITABLE PICKER. I CAN REMEMBER, WHILE STANDING AT THE TRUCK, IN OUR MANITOBA STREET PARKING LOT, ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE COMING UP TO HAVE A LOOK, AT THE STRANGE LOAD ON BOARD; SHOPPING AROUND A VEHICLE, THAT LOOKED A LITTLE BIT LIKE THE TRUCK BELONGING TO THE TELEVISION FAMILY, "THE BEVERLEY HILLBILLIES." IF HE WOULD HAVE SET UP SHOP, ON THAT DRIVEWAY, HE COULD HAVE SOLD MOST OF HIS WARES OVER A COUPLE OF DAYS. IF YOU WANTED A PIECE BURIED IN THE HUNDREDS OF ITEMS ROPED-ON, THE PICKER WOULD ALWAYS OBLIGE, BECAUSE HE KNEW, THAT WHEN THE ITEMS WERE UNLOADED OFF THE BACK AND TOP OF THE TRUCK, MORE PASSERSBY WOULD ASK ABOUT THE ANTIQUES STREWN ACROSS THE DRIVEWAY. IT WAS NEAT TO WATCH THESE FOLKS WORK THEIR ANTIQUE MAGIC. SO EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T BUY MUCH FROM THESE TRAVELLING SALES FOLKS, THEY ALWAYS FOUND A WAY TO MAKE A FEW BUCKS, STOPPING AT OUR SHOP FOR A VISIT.
THERE WAS A NEAT CHAP AND HIS WIFE, FROM NORTH BAY, WHO DROPPED BY ONCE EACH MONTH, WHO GAVE ME A FEW GOOD DEALS ON SETS OF CHAIRS, AND A FEW INTERESTING PAINTINGS. THE FIRST TIME I MET HIM, HE WAS QUITE AGITATED, BECAUSE NO ONE HE MET ON THE STREET, WHILE LOOKING FOR DIRECTIONS, COULD TELL HIM WHERE "WAS--HA--GO," WAS IN MUSKOKA. HE HAD A DELIVER TO MAKE THERE, AND HAD BEEN DRIVING AROUND FOR HOURS, BECAUSE PEOPLE KEPT SENDING HIM THE WRONG WAY. HIS FRENCH ACCENT DIDN'T HELP, AND WHEN PEOPLE SUGGESTED THERE WAS NO VILLAGE IN MUSKOKA BY THAT NAME, THEY WERE BEING HONEST.
I KNEW IMMEDIATELY HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE HAMLET OF "WASHAGO," BUT I HAD TO BREAK IT TO HIM, THAT IT WAS NOT ACTUALLY IN THE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY OF MUSKOKA. WE HAD A GOOD LAUGH ABOUT IT, AND I WOUND UP DOING A MINOR AMOUNT OF BUSINESS WITH HIM, AS A RESULT OF OUR REVELLRY. THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEALS MANY PICKERS OFFER, PARTICULARLY THE "TAKE NOW, PAY LATER" PROGRAM, IS THAT I NEVER ONCE, IN THREE YEARS OF DEALING WITH HIM, HAD SOLD ENOUGH OF HIS ANTIQUES OVER THE PERIOD, TO PAY HIM FULLY AT THE END OF THE MONTH. I ALWAYS HAD TO DIP INTO THE BUSINESS RESERVE, WHICH WAS OKAY, AND NECESSARY AT TIMES; BUT I ALWAYS KEPT MY DEBT REASONABLE TO AFFORD....EVEN IF I HADN'T SOLD A SINGLE PIECE. MANY DEALERS HAVE FOUND THIS OUT THE HARD WAY, AND PUT THEMSELVES IN FINANCIAL DISTRESS, BECAUSE THEY TOOK WAY MORE THAN THEY COULD HAVE FEASIBLY SOLD, DUE TO MARKET CONDITIONS. THEY HAD TO PAY THE PIPER, AS THEY SAY, ON THE PICKER'S VERY NEXT VISIT. SOMETIMES THEY WOULD GIVE TWO TO THREE MONTHS GRACE TO PAY FOR THE PURCHASES. THREE MONTHS SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME, TO RAISE THE MONEY FROM STORE SALES, BUT IT SLIPS BY PRETTY FAST. MOST PICKERS I KNEW, BACK THEN, WOULDN'T TAKE THE ITEMS BACK; INSISTING ON THE DEAL BEING FULFILLED, AND THAT MEANT CASH AT THE TIME IT WAS DUE. IT'S ONE OF THE PRIME REASONS, WE BECAME OUR OWN PICKERS, BECAUSE WE WERE OFTEN WAY TOO EAGER TO PARICIPATE IN THESE "BUY NOW, PAY LATER" OFFERS....WHICH WERE ALWAYS VERY TEMPTING, AND FOR VERY NICE ANTIQUE PIECES. BUT WE ALWAYS WELCOMED THEM WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE SHOP, AND TOOK GREAT DELIGHT CHATTING ABOUT THEIR ADVENTURES. WE JUST HAD TO ADMIT, WE NEEDED TO ELIMINATE THE MIDDLE FOLKS, IN ORDER TO MAKE A PROFIT. AS WE LOVED TO MOTOR-ABOUT AND SHOP, IT WAS NO INCONVENIENCE WHATSOEVER. BUT THE PICKER ALSO HAD PLACES TO GO, CONQUESTS TO MAKE, ADVENTURES TO UPHOLD. GADS, I WANTED TO GO WITH THEM FOR THE SHEER ADVENTURE OF "THE HUNT"....AND EVERY PICKER WHO CAME BY IN THOSE DAYS, WHEN I WAS BORED SITTING BEHIND THE STORE COUNTER, PEAKED MY IMAGINATION. WHAT IF I WAS TO HOP ON THE BACK OF THAT TRUCK, AND TAKE AN UNPLANNED ROAD TRIP, TO SOME SPECTACULAR DESTINATION? MINE WAS THE MIND OF A CHILD BACK THEN. I WAS DANGEROUS THAT WAY. THE PULL OF THULE WAS INTENSE. I WANTED TO BE OUTDOORS. MOVING. SEEING NEW THINGS AND OLD. IT'S WHAT INSPIRED BOTH OF US TO BECOME, FOR THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS, (AFTER WE CLOSED THE SHOP IN THE MID 1990'S), MORE VAGABOND IN CHARACTER, THAN SHOP-KEEPERS. THE ALLURE OF THE OPEN ROAD WAS OVER-POWERING, AND OUR SHOPPING THEN, WAS IN THE PURSUIT OF OLD BOOKS AND ART WORK, WE COULD OFFER ON OUR EBAY AUCTION SITE; WHICH FOR US, WAS THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP TO ANTIQUES AND SALES. WE HAD NO FETTERS, NO TITHE, AND OUR HOURS WERE FLEXIBLE. WE HAD A HOOT. IT IS THE PERIOD THAT HERALDED ANDREW AND ROBERT'S BUSINESS, IN VINTAGE MUSIC AND COLLECTABLES, AND IT IS WHAT RENEWED OUR INTEREST IN JOINING THEIR STOREFRONT. WE MADE IT CLEAR TO THEM, THAT WHEN WE GET THE URGE TO TRAVEL, AND THE OPEN ROAD BECKONS, MOM AND POP WILL DISAPPEAR FOR AWHILE....AND THAT THEY SHOULDN'T WORRY, BECAUSE WE LIKE BEING HOME JUST AS MUCH. AS WE ARE ADDICTED TO ADVENTURE, WE JUST HAVE THESE MOMENTS, YOU SEE, THAT WE CAN NOT BE CORRALED.
WHEN THE BOYS SET UP THEIR MAINSTREET SHOP, SUZANNE (BORN IN MUSKOKA, AND OF PIONEER STOCK) AND I (A NEWCOMER AS OF THE 1960'S), MADE IT CLEAR TO THEM, THAT THE ONLY WAY THEY WOULD SUCCEED IN MAINSTREET RETAIL, IS IF THEY CREATED A DISTINCTLY HOMETOWN, MUSKOKA-REFLECTIVE SHOP, THAT WAS RESPONSIVE TO LOCAL NEEDS FIRST. IF THEY BASED IT ON THE DYNAMIC OF THE TOURIST ECONOMY, AND CRAFTED IT TO LOOK LIKE AN URBAN AREA SHOP, THEY WOULD IMMEDIATELY, CREATE THE NEGATIVE AURA OF BEING A "TOURIST TRAP." SUZANNE AND I KNOW WHAT THE PERCEPTION OF "TOURIST TRAP" MEANS, TO A BUSINESS TRYING TO LAND LOCAL MARKET SUPPORT. I KNOW OF QUITE A FEW LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT MADE THIS MISTAKE, AND TO SOME DEGREE, ARE STILL FOLLOWING THE SAME PATH.....WHICH MAY BE RIGHT FOR THEM, BUT WRONG IF THEY WANT CONSISTENCY TWELVE MONTHS EACH YEAR. EVEN AS HARD AS WE HAVE WORKED, TO PROVE OUR HOMETOWN LOYALTY, WE CAN ONLY RIGHTFULLY CLAIM, THAT TEN PERCENT OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE LOCAL, AND THAT GOES FOR BOTH THE ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE MUSIC COLLECTIVE. WE'RE NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS, BUT IT COULD BE WORSE. DESPITE THIS PERCENTAGE, AND WHAT MIGHT, BY THE FACT WE ARE IN OUR TENTH YEAR, SUGGEST WE DON'T NEED LOCAL SUPPORT TO GET BY, WE NEVER STOP TRYING TO PROVE OUR HOMETOWN-FIRST PHILOSOPHY; AND THAT WE MOST DEFINITELY ARE NOT HERE SOLELY TO ENTERTAIN TOURISTS. YET TOURISTS DO KEEP OUR DOORS OPEN, AS DOES ONLINE SALES, WHICH MAKE UP NINETY PERCENT OF OUR BUSINESS.
ALTHOUGH WE'VE NEVER HEARD THIS OFFICIALLY, THE GRAPEVINE HAS PROVIDED US WITH INFORMATION, THAT WE WILL SOON HAVE A NEARBY COMPETITOR IN THE ANTIQUE FIELD, AND WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY SOME THAT WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT THIS ADDED BATTLE FOR MARKET SHARE. WELL SIR, WE ARE NO STRANGERS TO COMPETITON, AND IT'S WHAT WE LIKE MOST ABOUT OUR PROFESSION. IT ALLOWS US TO PUT OUR EXPERTISE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON THE LINE, AND TEST OUR OWN RESOLVE, TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT. IN OUR TRADE, THE MORE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE SHOPS IN OUR VICINITY, MAKES THE COMMERCIAL AREA MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE, TO THOSE FOLKS WHO LOVE THE "HUNT AND GATHER," AS MUCH AS WE DO. MORE ANTIQUE VENUES, IS AMAZINGLY GOOD FOR BUSINESS, AND WE'D LIKE THE WHOLE MAIN STREET TO TURN THE SAME WAY. WHILE WE APPRECIATE THE CONCERN BEING EXPRESSED, BY SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS, THAT INCREASED COMPETITION WILL WEAKEN OUR BOTTOM LINE, TRUTH IS, UPPING OUR GAME IS GOOD FOR EVERYONE....ESPECIALLY THE CUSTOMERS. THEY WILL GET BETTER PRICING AND VARIETY AS A RESULT, AND OTHER BUSINESSES WILL BENEFIT FROM THE "ANTIQUE SHOP DRAW," WHICH SHOULD BE GOOD FOR TOWN. ANTIQUE HUNTERS LIKE GOOD FOOD, AND OTHER SHOP OPPORTUNITIES, SO ART GALLERIES AND DINING ESTABLISHMENTS SHOULD INSPIRE SOME NICE SPIN-OFF.
IF ANYTHING HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY BURDENSOME, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS, THE YEARS OUR FAMILY HAS RUN A STOREFRONT ON MUSKOKA ROAD, IT HAS BEEN THE UNWELCOME INTRUSION OF OUT-OF-PLACE POLITICS, ON SO MANY LEVELS OF BUSINESS EXISTENCE. WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES TO NOTICE THIS TREND, WHICH I THINK IS BECOMING FAR MORE PREVALENT THESE DAYS. AN EXAMPLE, WAS THE RECENT FORCED REMOVAL OF TRADITIONAL WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS OFF THE MAIN STREET, AND DISALLOWING USE OF THE OPERA HOUSE AS A WINTER CARNIVAL VENUE. THIS WAS THE HANDIWORK OF TOWN COUNCIL BOWING TO PRESSURE FROM SOME MAIN STREET BUSINESS OWNERS. NOT US. WE LIKED THE WINTER CARNIVAL WHERE IT WAS. WE WERE NOT CONSULTED, BUT WE WERE ALSO NOT RECRUITED TO PROTEST FOR A REVERSAL OF THE DECISION. WE WOULD HAVE GLADLY PROTESTED THE MOVE IF WE HAD BEEN ASKED TO ATTEND A COUNCIL MEETING.
AS A RETAIL FAMILY, WE WANT TO SEE MORE BUSINESSES JOIN US IN THIS TOWN, WHEREVER THAT HAPPENS TO BE.....UPTOWN, DOWNTOWN, OR ALL AROUND TOWN. IT DOESN'T MATTER. WE WANT TO SEE A TOWN READY TO ENCOURAGE AND NURTURE NEW BUSINESS INTERESTS.
THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT BUSINESSES SUCCEEDING IN THIS TOWN, AND OF THIS, WE ARE PLEASED TO BE IN THEIR COMPANY; AND WE WANT TO LEARN FROM THEM. IT'S EXCITING TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR PROGRESS AND TRIUMPHS, IN WHAT IS MARKEDLY A STRAINED ECONOMY ALL ROUND. AS WE FEEL OUR BUSINESS IS THRIVING....OR AT LEAST THIS IS WHAT THE ACCOUNTANT TELLS US, WE WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO WELCOME NEW BUSINESS INQUIRIES, WITHOUT FIRST HAVING TO BE BRUTALLY HONEST, ABOUT SOME OF THE PITFALLS THEY WILL HAVE TO FACE....THAT ARE SPECIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY. WOULDN'T IT BE A MARVELLOUS OCCASION, THAT A SITTING COUNCIL, WOULD EVER ONCE, QUESTION ITSELF, SINCERELY, AS TO WHETHER ALL WAS TRULY WELL IN THE BALLYWICK THEY GOVERN? WHY WOULD THEY NOT WANT TO IMPROVE THEIR OWN LEGACY? THEY STILL HAVE A CHANCE. I FEAR THAT IT WILL ONLY BECOME AN ISSUE, WHEN SOME OF THE PRESENT COUNCIL, THINKS IT WOULD BE SWELL TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION, BASED ON THEIR PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS. DON'T GET ME STARTED.
SOME WISHFUL THINKING ABOUT THE COMING YARD SALE SEASON
GARAGE AND YARD SALES ARE A PICKER'S DELIGHT
Already this spring and early summer season, my wife Suzanne and I, have made some great finds out on the garage and yard sale circuit, in our region of Ontario. As we have a broad range of antique and collectible interests, we can be satisfied very easily with casual discoveries of old vinegar crocks, vintage pop and soda bottles, collectible toys, games, sports equipment, all the way to pine primitives, furniture, folk art, and advertising memorabilia. We can find a little something at most sales we attend, and that's good for the host, and for the antique pickers amongst us. And the drive is always nice here in rural Ontario. Especially the misty summer mornings, passing through the lush forests and cattle-filled meadows. Although we are antique pickers, by profession, working in conditions like this, is pretty amazing for the soul. It's too much fun to be considered work.
I have a particular fondness for the unusual. It might be a sculpture, an abstract painting, even a carved alien. That's right! A little green man whittled out of a chunk of Muskoka pine. I got one of those at an auction, one afternoon, in the Village of Utterson, south of Huntsville. A local woodcarver had created the likeness of an alien life form, with fist held over his head, obviously pointing to the power of the universe. It's green and neat. It now has a place of honor, wearing a different hat every business day, in our young lads' music shop here in Gravenhurst. When folks ask about our strangest, finds out on those Saturday sale adventures, I can honestly say the "alien" was one of our best acquisitions. The second, of course, was the dinosaur bone, we found at an estate sale, at a cottage in Bala, here in the District of Muskoka. When I found it, there was a small plastic toy dinosaur glued to the thick curved fragment of bone. Now I'm not sure of the date, it was originally sold to tourists, but this one, and many like it, were sold as souvenirs from Alberta, the plastic dinosaur mounted on the bone, I suppose, to prove that's what it was in fact. There was a reference to where in Alberta, possibly Drumheller, but I just couldn't live with the plastic dinosaur on a legitimate piece of natural history…..so I removed it. I was profoundly interested in the bone's actuality, but not so much the nostalgia of the bone as "a souvenir."
One Friday afternoon, I came home with a old delivery bicycle from Tamblins Drugs, of Ottawa, complete with basket and license plate, which was required at the time. It was probably from the 1930's to early 1940's. I gave this to a bike collector friend from Toronto, in exchange for music memorabilia and any old guitars, banjos or drums he finds on his weekly jaunts. As my specialty is art, Canadian especially, and folk art most definitely, I have already had one of the best yard sales seasons in many years. I've returned home with some brilliant art panels, some early century landscapes, a few depicting the Muskoka, Algoma, Algonquin and Haliburton regions. On a drive by, of a sale having mostly children's clothing for sale, I spotted a nice winter landscape, quite out of place amongst the small collection of toys being offered for sale. I asked my son Andrew, if he could slip out and have a wee peek, to see if it was a print and not a painting. It was the real McCoy, and he returned to the car with a late 1800's signed, oil on canvas, depiction of a lake shoreline, adorned with snow, and a quaint cottage tucked into a small, nearby woodlot. As it turned out, the painter had been a family member, of the sale host that day, so we got provenance on the art work as a bonus. To an antique or art dealer, provenance is very important, but at these sales, it's often hard to get anything more from the host than "I don't know where we got that one." What was particularly noteworthy about this painting, was that it was inspired by the artist's ancestral home, in the Lake Region of England, and with the snow, looks a little more like Canada. It was in great condition, and had been well looked after by the owner.
My wife, just this past week, was able to purchase a substantial collection of vintage children's christening gowns, and clothing, from another sale here in Gravenhurst, which was an extraordinary find, considering it was sitting amongst the usual yard sale bric-a-brac, of old slide projectors, and empty carousels, a plethora of garden implements, lawn edging, and about a hundred empty picture frames. This is why, as a picker, you don't judge a sale from a moving vehicle. It pays to get out an have a quick browse. Often times, even a casual conversation, may inspire questioning about collecting interests, and I've had it happen many times, that a sale host will invited the intrepid antique hunter, into the house for a closer look. It's a mistake to judge that even the smallest or newest abode, won't house a great work of art, a selection of historic Canadian or American art, or a vintage motorcycle covered with tarps, deep in the shed; that just might be for sale, if the right price is offered.
We were at a rural sale, about a decade ago, and I had purchased a magnificent "student lamp," with its original cranberry glass shade. The vintage oil lamp, had a substantial value in brass and glass components, let alone the fact it was a sought-after piece of lighting heritage, that still worked. Ihad a suspicion, the older woman running the sale, possessed a lot more goodies like this lamp, somewhere in her newly constructed home. I had purchased many other interesting antiques from the same woman, in previous years, but the quality was getting much better. So I just asked if she was a wee bit of a collector herself. "No, not really, Mr. Currie. I just dabble a bit," she said, while grabbing for my wife's arm, and motioning me with her curled finger, to follow her into the house. Well, we went into the inner sanctum all right, and we both had chin-on-chest reactions. It was as if we had just then, walked into the twilight zone of museums. We couldn't adjust to the reality in front of us, and as long-time dealers, this was an incredible example, of why you must never judge a book by its cover.
The rural home was modest, her sales, with a few exceptions, were almost always the same quality, typical of at least half the sales we attend. It's true that she would occasionally draw something she felt was no longer needed, or that a money requirement had unexpectedly surfaced, and selling off some "good stuff" covered any shortfalls. Gads, it was truly eye-opening, what this clever person had gathered over her collecting lifetime. Yet she scolded me, when I called her a collector. "I'm most definitely not a collector. I just buy things I like," she reminded me, showing us yet another room of wonderfully conserved antiques, dolls, and quilts, and so many historic clocks, crocks and old glass. I felt very junior, as a picker, in her company. She confessed her modest joy, at being able to accumulate all the items, by just doing the same thing as we were up to, on yard sale Saturdays. Come to mention it, we had seen her out at various flea markets and Thrift Shops over our years living in the region.
Many times, I've had my spontaneous judgements smashed, when we attended small, run-of-the-mill sales, only to find something that didn't quite fit in with all the other sale items. Last year, my son was able to buy an incredible "Talking Machine," wax cylinder player / recorder, with its original horn, dating back to the early 1900's, because Andrew asked the right question at the perfect time. At a country sale, near Walker's Point, in Gravenhurst, he asked the sale host if, by chance, they had the companion machine to go along with the cylinders they had boxed for sale. "Yes we do. My husband was going to bring it down here, but didn't think any one would be interested," the woman responded. "I would be very interested to see it, if I could," Andrew replied. The woman yelled at her husband, in a cabin on the hillside, and asked if he would please bring down the talking machine. What we all assumed might be a Talking Machine in parts, broken, and unsalvageable, was in near-mint condition, and still in working order. Andrew paid the five hundred dollar asking price, and was given the remainder of the wax cylinders, some that could be recorded-on by playing music, or talking through the machine's horn. He later found out the horn itself, in pristine condition, would have been worth the asking price alone. As they have a vintage music shop, it fit in beautifully. But not for sale.
Suzanne and I love the Saturday morning drives. We get a chance to wind-down from the work week, spend some quality time together (at least this is what picker's consider quality time), and make some interesting discoveries at yard sales all across our district. On the way, we will stop-in anywhere with an "antiques for sale" sign, and pull off the road frequently for coffee breaks, and a picnic lunch. We have been doing this from our first days together, back in the early 1980's, and we're still going strong in our middle-age-crazy, that we hope doesn't end because we soon hit senior citizen status. We left the stress of our early antique years back in the 1990's, when we had a formal shop. Now we hand everything we want to sell, over to our boys to thusly present to their clients. We are happily, of the picker-kind today, and we are very much influenced by the romance and allure of the open road.
When you happen to be out on the yard sale circuit yourself, make sure to take some time along the way, to celebrate the picturesque locale, and the regional architectural heritage that has been preserved by Historical Societies in our province.
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