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| Historic Document-Toronto St. David's Presbyterian Church St. Clair Avenue. Hand Decorated and Presented to Mr. A. E. Miller, Organist. Art Work By Frank Show Cards, Seymour Avenue, Toronto |
THE TREND TOWARD HOME ECONOMICS - IT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE; YOU WATCH
STAYING AT HOME - BETTERING THE COMMUNITY - GOING BACK IN TIME WHEN TRAVEL WAS LIMITED
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE BUSINESS, IS THAT WE ARE TREND FOLLOWERS, NOT SO MUCH TREND SETTERS. WE ARE AFFECTED BY ALL KINDS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL REALITIES. JUST WHEN WE THINK THAT WE'LL CORNER THE MARKET ON DEPRESSION GLASS, THE TREND CHANGES WITHOUT WARNING. ONE YEAR THERE WILL BE A RUSH ON ANYTHING IN "JADE-ITE," "AMERICAN, OR CANADIAN GLASS," ON TO TEA CUPS AND SAUCERS, FLOW-BLUE CHINA, TO VINTAGE CLOTHING AND ADORNMENTS. SINCE I OPENED MY FIRST SHOP IN THE LATE 1970'S, I'VE SEEN SO MANY TRENDS COME AND GO, AND YES, I'VE GOT STUCK WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF I COULDN'T SELL....UNTIL THAT IS, THERE WAS A CHANGE OF DIRECTION IN COLLECTING. WE'VE ALL BEEN THROUGH IT, AND WHILE WE TRY TO STAY "AHEAD OF THE CURVE," AS THEY SAY, SOME TIMES IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE. SO AS A DEFENSE, YOU KEENLY MAINTAIN THE CAPABILITY TO CHANGE DIRECTION ON THE FLY; BECAUSE THAT'S ABOUT ALL THE TIME YOU'LL HAVE, TO DUMP ONE COLLECTABLE, AND ASSUME ANOTHER. IT'S FUN IN SOME WAYS, AND A MILLSTONE IN OTHER WAYS. AS I'VE NOTED PREVIOUSLY, ONGONG EDUCATION FOR ANTIQUE DEALERS, IS REQUIRED, UP TO RETIREMENT. A LOT OF KNOW-IT-ALL ANTIQUE DEALERS, HAVE BEEN SENT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD, WHEN THEY FOUND OUT BY HAPPENSTANCE, THAT THEY HAD WAY TOO MUCH DEPRESSION GLASS TO FOR THE FAILING MARKET DEMAND; SUCH THAT WHEN CUSTOMERS STOPPED ASKING FOR IT, THERE WAS NO BACK-UP INVENTORY, TO HELP MAKE RENT. THE MARKET PLACE IS VERY RESPONSIVE, IN OUR LINE OF WORK, TO DIPS IN THE ECONOMY. WHEN OUR CUSTOMERS ARE WORRIED ABOUT INVESTMENT VALUE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE ARE PRICED SENSIBLY IN THIS REGARD, AND NOT OVER-PRICED ACCORDING TO PRESENT MARKET VALUES. IN LEAN TIMES, WE GET FAR MORE COMPARISON SHOPPERS, WHO HAVE RESEARCHED THE PRICES OF HARVEST TABLES, OR HOOSIER CUPBOARDS, FOR EXAMPLE, AND WILL QUESTION WHY THE ONE WE HAVE IN THE SHOP, IS PRICED OVER OR BELOW OTHERS THEY HAVE SEEN IN AREA SHOPS. GENERALLY, WHEN THE ECONOMY IS STRONG, AND FOLKS ARE FEELING SUPER CONFIDENT, IN THE NEXT YEAR'S PAY CHEQUES, WE HAVE MORE IMPULSE BUYING, AND MUCH LESS DICKERING.
AS FOR MAJOR WORLD EVENTS, AND TRENDS, RELATED TO ALL THE NEW WAVES OF INTEREST, (IN OLD AND COLLECTABLE PIECES) WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR RETAIL RELEVANCE, BY ADAPTING SLOWLY TO WHAT IS MOST DESIRED AT THE TIME. WE HAVE OUR LIMITS, AND MOST OF US DON'T LIKE TO STRAY TOO FAR FROM OUR AREAS OF EXPERTISE; BUT WE STILL NEED TO TURN A PROFIT..., SO WE FLIRT WITH TRENDS THAT APPEAL TO US. A NEW AGE COLD WAR, COULD BE ONE OF THOSE WORLD INFLUENCES, AND THAT MAY, AS ONE OF THE SCENARIOS, CAUSE A DIP IN THE ECONOMY; AND RAISE A NEW FEAR ABOUT GLOBAL SAFETY; POSSIBLY IT WILL ALSO BE THE HARBINGER FOR A NEW PERIOD OF FRUGAL HOME ECONOMICS.
FOR US BABY BOOMERS, WHO HAPPENED TO WATCH (AND ADORE) THOSE OLD TELEVISION SITCOMS, LIKE "ANDY OF MAYBERRY," YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, FROM THE SHOW'S SCRIPT, THAT IT WAS A BIG DEAL, ON A FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT, FOR ANDY AND HELEN, BARNEY AND THELMA, TO TRAVEL FROM MAYBERRY, TO MOUNT PILOT, FOR "DINNER AND A MOVIE." GOSH, EVEN IN MY FAMILY, I REMEMBER IT WAS A BIG DEAL TO MOTOR TO TORONTO, BACK IN THE 1960'S, FROM BRACEBRIDGE, AND THAT MEANT A COMMITMENT OF TWO AND A HALF HOURS TO GET THERE. WE DIDN'T DO THIS ONCE A MONTH, AND I WOULD DOUBT WHETHER WE TRAVELLED THIS FAR TO VISIT FAMILY, TWICE OR THREE TIMES A YEAR. UNLESS OF COURSE THERE WAS AN ILLNESS OR DEATH IN THE FAMILY, THAT NECESSITATED UNEXPECTED TRAVEL SOUTH. IN THE 1970'S, WE DID TRAVEL TO FLORIDA, BUT THIS WAS A HUGE COMMITMENT OF FINANCES, FOR A PAY-CHEQUE TO PAY-CHEQUE FAMILY. OUR FAMILY AUTOS WEREN'T IN GREAT SHAPE, AND AS A KID, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME EITHER WALKING WITH MY FATHER, TO THE NEAREST SERVICE STATION, OR HELPING TO PUSH THE CAR WHENEVER MY FATHER NEEDED A RUNNING START, TO FIRE THE IGNITION.
POINT IS, THERE WAS A DAY FOR MOST CITIZENS, IN NORTH AMERICA, WHEN TRAVEL WAS A LUXURY....A TREAT, TO START A VACATION, OR FOR SOMETHING NECESSARY. OUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS DIDN'T GET THE URGE TO DRIVE A HUNDRED MILES FOR THE HELL OF IT.....BECAUSE, WELL, WE WERE A LOT MORE CONTENT TO STAY AT HOME. OUR COMMUNITIES WERE TRULY "HOME" TOWNS, WHERE WE MADE OUR LIVES. WE NEEDED CHANGE, BUT NOT CONSTANTLY....LIKE WE TRAVEL OUT OF THE HOME REGION TODAY, WITH RECKLESS ABANDON, AND ACCEPTANCE, THAT "IT'S ONLY MONEY." BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FUEL PRICES GET SO OUT OF PROPORTION TO PERSONAL ECONOMY, THAT TRAVELLING EVEN FIFTY MILES, FOR RECREATION, BECOMES TOO TAXING TO JUSTIFY. I HOPE I HEARD WRONG, IN A NEWS BRIEF THIS WEEK, THAT GAS WOULD BE SITTING AT $1.40 PER LITRE BY EASTER. WHAT'S TO BECOME OF US? A WORLD CRISIS, ON TOP OF ALREADY HIGH FUEL PRICES, ON THIS CONTINENT, AND COST OF LIVING EXPENSES, ARE SLOWLY BUT SURELY PUTTING "US" OF MODEST AND FIXED INCOME, BACK TO THOSE DAYS IN MAYBERRY, WHEN GOING TO MOUNT PILOT FOR A NIGHT OUT, WAS A ONCE A MONTH TREAT. GOVERNMENT STATS KEEP INFORMING US THAT THE COST OF LIVING INCREASES ARE HOLDING STEADY. THEY OF COURSE, ARE NOT INCLUDING GAS PRICES. AS FOR FOOD, THE STATISTICIANS OBVIOUSLY DON'T SHOP IN THE SAME GROCERY STORES THAT WE VISIT.
WE CAN LEARN A LOT FROM THOSE OLD SITCOMS OF ONCE. THANK GOODNESS THEY'VE BEEN PRESERVED FOR MODERN DAY CONSUMPTION. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW, ABOUT THE POST WAR PERIOD IN OUR HISTORY.....AND, ALTHOUGH IT'S ALL DOCUMENTED IN THE HISTORY BOOKS....WELL SIR, IT'S NOT OF MUCH USE, IF THEY AREN'T BEING READ. BUT IT IS BEING VIEWED, AND IS HAPPILY IMBEDDED IN HOME-THEMED SITCOMS LIKE "ANDY OF MAYBERRY," "PETTICOAT JUNCTION," "MY THREE SONS," "I LOVE LUCY," "LEAVE IT TO BEAVER," "FATHER KNOWS BEST," AND "THE HONEYMOONERS." JUST TO NAME A FEW.
SUZANNE, WHO GREW UP IN WINDERMERE, ON THE SHORE OF LAKE ROSSEAU, REMEMBERS HER PARENTS MOTORING TO HUNTSVILLE, JUST ABOUT EVERY SATURDAY, (EXCEPT IN THE SUMMER, WHEN THE MARINA WAS IN OPERATION), TO DO THE WEEKLY SHOPPING. IN HUNTSVILLE, THEY WOULD DO GROCERY SHOPPING AT THE A&P OR LOBLAWS, VISIT EATONS DEPARTMENT STORE ON THE MAIN STREET, FLOTRONS (FOR WOOL), STEDMANS AND "THE NOW SHOP" (FOR STATIONARY), THEN DINE AT THE MACDONALD'S RESTAURANT (NOT RONALD'S), WHERE YOU COULD ALSO GET KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN. SUZANNE FONDLY RECALLS GOING INTO THE FORMER "HUNTSVILLE SEWING CENTRE," TO PICK UP SUPPLIES. SOME TIMES, FOR A CHANGE, THE FAMILY WOULD MOTOR SOUTH TO BRACEBRIDGE. THEY DIDN'T TRAVEL TO ORILLIA, BARRIE OR TORONTO FOR A CHANGE OF PACE. THEY COULDN'T AFFORD TO DO THIS, AND NEITHER COULD WE. WE KEPT OUR SHOPPING REGIONAL BECAUSE IT WAS COST AND TIME EFFICIENT. AND WE LIKED DOING THIS. I CAN NEVER REMEMBER FEELING SHORT CHANGED, BECAUSE WE WEREN'T WHIPPING OFF TO THE BIG SMOKE EVERY OTHER WEEKEND.
WHEN MY FAMILY LIVED IN BURLINGTON, MY FATHER INSISTED ON TAKING US ON SUNDAY-OUTINGS, IN THE SPRING, THROUGH AUTUMN, ESPECIALLY FOR BARBECUES AT FORT ERIE, AND AT A LITTLE PARKETTE IN THE COMMUNITY OF CHIPPEWA. WHEN WE MOVED TO BRACEBRIDGE, IN THE MID 1960'S, WE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE BROKE, AND OFTEN THE EXTENT OF OUR SUNDAY EXCURSION, WAS TO HIGH FALLS PARK, JUST OFF HIGHWAY ELEVEN, A FEW MILES NORTH OF TOWN. EVEN ON SHORT TRIPS, OUR BIGGEST WORRY, WAS WHETHER OR NOT THE CAR WOULD GET US THERE, AND BACK. SOME TIMES YES, AND FREQUENTLY, NO! FOR US CURRIES, WE TRAVELLED REGULARLY, FROM ALICE STREET, TO MANITOBA STREET IN BRACEBRIDGE, (TWO BLOCKS) OFTEN ON FOOT, TO GET OUR GROCERIES. USUALLY ON FRIDAY NIGHTS, WHICH OF COURSE WAS THE WEEKLY PAYDAY. HAVING A SUCCESSION OF CRAPPY, FREQUENTLY STALLING VEHICLES, WE USED TO LEAVE IT AT HOME A LOT....TAKING OUR CHANCES ON FOOT TO VISIT LORNE'S MARKETERIA OR MUSKOKA TRADING. LORNE'S USED TO DELIVER OUR GROCERIES THE NEXT DAY. POINT IS, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF DRIVING ALL OVER GOD'S HALF ACRE, ON A LARK, BECAUSE WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY. TRIPS WERE MATTERS OF TRADITION NOT HAPPENSTANCE....OR "BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT," THE WAY PEOPLE MOTOR ABOUT TODAY, SNAPPING THEIR CREDIT CARDS DOWN TO COVER HUNDRED DOLLAR FILL-UPS. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, TIMES "THEY ARE A CHANGING." AND WE'RE ON TOP OF IT, AS COLLECTOR / DEALERS. WE'RE REFLECTING SOME OLD TIME HOMESTEAD VALUES, ON A BUDGET, AND SO FAR, OUR PATRONS SEEM TO APPROVE. LET ME EXPLAIN HOW WE'RE ACHIEVING THIS, BIT BY BIT, AS A STORE PHILOSOPHY.
THE WHOLE ISSUE OF "STAY-CATIONS" WAS JUST INHERENT TO BEING POOR, AND YOU KNOW, AFTER AWHILE, OUTSIDE OF THE HOLES IN MY SHOES AND THE ARSE RIPPED OUT OF MY PANTS, I DIDN'T REALLY WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THOUGHT. I GOT BY, LIVING IN A GOOD HOMETOWN, WHERE I COULD FIND LOTS OF THINGS TO DO, ON BUDGET, PARTNERING WITH THE OTHER KIDS WHO WERE STAYING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. IT WAS A TIME I THINK WE NEED TO REVISIT, WHEN WE THOUGHT A LOT MORE ABOUT HOME TOWN ADVANTAGES, BECAUSE IT WAS WHERE WE SPENT MOST OF OUR YEAR. THERE WERE SO MANY OF US, RULED BY SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES, WHO, LIKE THE CHARACTERS OF MAYBERRY, MADE THE MOST OUT OF HOMETOWN LIFE AND TIMES. THEY MAY HAVE OFFERED SOME VOCAL CRITIQUES OF "THIS PLACE," AND VIGOROUSLY POINTED OUT, WITH ARMS WAVING, WHAT IT DIDN'T POSSESS, THAT OTHER SIMILAR TOWNS DID; BUT ALL IN ALL, THERE WAS ACCEPTANCE, THAT GENERALLY SPEAKING, ALL WAS GOOD IN THE UNIVERSE.....AND BEING HOME WASN'T SUCH A BAD THING. LIKE THOSE MAYBERRY RESIDENTS, WHO PUT GOOD-NEIGHBOR EFFORT, OR SO THE SHOW SUGGESTS TO US, INTO MAKING LOCAL ATTRACTIONS COMPELLING AND WARMLY TRADITIONAL....LIKE WHEN ANDY, BARNEY, AND GOOBER, DECIDED TO RE-FORM THE MAYBERRY CITIZENS BAND....FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF THE COMMUNITY. HEART WARMING STUFF. OH YEA, IT WAS HOLLYWOOD. THINGS LIKE THIS DON'T HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE. WELL, IT WAS REMARKABLY SIMILAR TO GROWING UP IN BRACEBRIDGE AT THE SAME TIME. I LOVED IT! I WISH SOME OF THE OLD TRADITIONS HAD SURVIVED. AH, THOSE OLD NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE SHARING THAT WENT ON. HOW MANY RESIDENTS OF THESE SUBDIVISIONS OF TODAY, HAVE THE KIND OF NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR RELATIONS LIKE WE USED TO KNOW.....SUCH THAT ASKING FOR A CUP OF SUGAR OR FLOUR IS NORMAL FARE. YOU'D BE SURPRISED, THAT EVEN IN A SMALL TOWN, MANY RESIDENTS, AT BEST, ARE ONLY SLIGHTLY FAMILIAR WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS. NOW THAT IS SAD. WHAT MAKES A HOME TOWN STRONG, HAS TO DO WITH THE STRENGTHS OF GOOD NEIGHBORS. IT'S WHAT USED TO PULL US TOGETHER IN TIMES OF CRISIS. IT'S IN OUR COMMUNITY CHRONICLE.
THERE WAS ONE PARTICULAR SCENE, FROM THE SHOW, THAT HAS STUCK WITH ME FOR DECADES. IT WAS A SEGMENT THAT FOCUSED ON SUNDAY "AFTER CHURCH," AND A SKETCH FOLLOWING LUNCH; THE SCENE BEING SET ON THE OPEN VERANDAH, WHERE ALL HAD GATHERED TO RELAX, SHARE CASUAL CONVERSATION, AND MEET AND GREET CITIZENS WHO HAPPENED TO PASS BY. IT WAS THEN THAT CONVERSATION ROLLED AROUND TO A PLAN TO RE-FORM THE CITIZENS' BAND, AND THAT'S HOW THE REST OF THE SHOW WAS DEDICATED. IF THERE'S IS ANYTHING I MISS, ABOUT OUR SMALL TOWN LIFE, IN THIS BUDDING NEW CENTURY, IT'S THE FACT THIS IS SELDOM PRACTICED IN THE MODERN TRADITION OF SOCIAL INTERACTION. I CAN REMEMBER WALKING HOME FROM DOWNTOWN, IN BRACEBRIDGE, UP HUNT'S HILL, AND TURNING LEFT ONTO FRONT STREET, (EVENTUALLY TO ALICE STREET), AND TALKING TO A HALF DOZEN RESIDENTS, SITTING IN THE COOL SHADE OF THEIR FRONT PORCHES. AT NIGHTS, IT WAS LIKE A SCENE OUT OF "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD," WHERE THE LAWYER'S FAMILY SITS OUT ON THE ELEVATED FRONT PORCH, LATE INTO THE SUMMER NIGHT, TALKING TO PASSERSBY. WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID THIS CHANGE. THERE ARE STIL PORCHES AND BIG VERANDAHS ON MANY HOUSES. THEY JUST AREN'T USED ALL THAT MUCH. I GUESS THE BACKYARDS ARE THE RECREATIONAL ALTERNATIVES, OR THE RECREATION ROOMS, WHERE THE ENTERTAINMENT UNITS AND VIDEO GAMES ARE SITUATED. OF COURSE, I ALSO FEEL THE SAME VOID, WHEN I CAN'T HEAR THE LOCAL KIDS LAUGHING, OR SEE THEM RUNNING THROUGH THE WOODLANDS ACROSS THE ROAD. THERE'S SOMETHING AMAZINGLY SPIRITED, HEARING YOUNG PEOPLE HAVING A GOOD TIME. I LIKE LISTENING TO THE SING-SONG OF BIRDS IN THE LILACS, THE CHATTER OF THE SQUIRRELS, IN THE OVERHEAD BRANCHES, THE RUSTLE OF THE WIND THROUGH THE PINES, AND CHILDREN LAUGHING AT PLAY. IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY, EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE MORE CHILDREN THAN I REMEMBER, DATING BACK MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS, YOU SELDOM HEAR THEM PLAYING OUTSIDE. JUST AS YOU ARE UNLIKELY TO FIND TOO MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS OUT ON THEIR PORCHES SOCIALIZING. SUZANNE AND I WILL HAVE OUR DINNERS OUT ON THE PORCH, AND I'VE BEEN KNOWN TO SLEEP THERE, ON PERFECT SUMMER NIGHTS, WHEN THE CRICKETS WILL SERENADE ME INTO A PLEASANT SLUMBER. THESE, APPARENTLY, ARE OLD TIME VALUES, AND TRADITIONS I SUPPOSE. BUT METHINKS THE TIME IS COMING, WHEN EXPENSES FOR TRAVEL, AND RISING COSTS FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE, WILL EVENTUALLY KEEP US A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME....SORT OF LIKE THE STAY-CATION TREND, WHERE HOLIDAY MONEY IS INVESTED IN OUR PERMANENT RESIDENCE, AND SURROUNDING AREA. NOW, THAT'S GOOD FOR EVERYONE....AT LEAST FOR THE SO CALLED "LOCALS".
HOME ECONOMICS AND THOSE FAMILY RELICS OF ONCE, IN VOGUE AGAIN
I married a Home Economics teacher. In the eighties, the board of education changed the program name, to "Family Studies." I don't know why, but I preferred Home Economics because, by golly, that's what it was.....the examination and study of "home economy." For some reason, this title seemed antiquated to administrators. Now, funny thing, it's home economics where we are most woefully inadequate, as far as education, for soon-to-be graduates; who by the way, may have a hard time baking a cake, let alone making a substantial meal; the type that doesn't come prepared for the microwave. When I was in high school, back in the late 1960's, the Home Economics office, was where we went, if we tore the seat out of our pants, or ripped the arm of a shirt; if a teacher suspected a student hadn't had breakfast, or a meal the night before; if there was a need for motherly tenderness, a lot of students felt the comfort of home economics teachers, who seemed, back then, to be the most diversified and responsive department in the thousand-student high school in Bracebridge. Suzanne, who went to school at the same time, as I did, benefitted from the program as a student, and then had a chance to work with some of the veteran home economics teachers, after graduating from Teacher's College. Through the transition into Family Studies, which was a watered down version of the original department, in my opinion, Suzanne, regardless of new protocols, conducted her work in the same fashion, as she had learned in the old tradition of home economics. So she became the house-mother to a lot of students in her thirty-one years, some who still visit our shop, to catch up on school news. "Hello Mrs. Currie," comes the greeting, and I don't even need to look, to see who is at the counter. I recognize their voices from so many other encounters, and meetings, from the aisles of grocery stores, to shopping adventures along our main streets, here in South Muskoka. I love it, and I know she still connects the same way, as she always did with the kids. It's makes her feel good, when she gets a chance to meet up with that old gang. But she taught differently than she was supposed to, by board rule. She was a Home Economics teacher to the end, and helped a huge whack of kids, learn how to run a household, from basic cooking to sewing, and budget their money by sensible proportion.
Well, that's exactly what our business is turning out to be. After all those years in teaching, Suzanne is transforming her shop into a home economics haven, where the old ways, are still out there in plain view, and in practical use....from cook books and cookery nostalgia, to sewing collectables, and loads of material....and honestly, there are times, when I look in on her, and it seems like those occasions, when I'd drop in, at the Bracebridge High School, and see her working at one of the classroom sewing machines, with a student. Now she has her sewing machine set up behind the sales counter, and slowly, the whole room is evolving into a vintage craft emporium; something by the way, she has been hoping to re-create in the millinery tradition, since we began in the antique business, back in the late 1980's. The model she uses, beyond the practical aspects taken from the home economics classrooms, comes from the historic "Ned Hay General Store," now situated at Muskoka Pioneer Village, in Huntsville. Suzanne would study that refurbished and re-stocked store to the smallest detail, whenever we visited, in order to devise a plan, at how to recreate it for herself, as an antique shop; attainable when she reached retirement age. By golly, that has taken a lot of years, but as she is a patient person, and a methodical, calculating collector, I think she's going to achieve her goal before the year is out. And so far, our customers have decided it's a good way to go; and for crafters in particular, who appreciate re-cycled lace and buttons, we're finally appealing to their hobby interests. So far we've been selling bits and pieces of sewing related nostalgia almost daily. Finally, an antique business, Suzanne can truly enjoy by total immersion. Selling furniture, china, glass and silver isn't all we do as antique dealers. It's what is expected of us generally, but then we've never been stalwart supporters of protocols we didn't write ourselves.
World crisis, whether economic in nature, political, or, unfortunately, the turmoil that involves military conflict, does very much influence the antique and collectable business. Often it is a retrospective change, versus having an immediate impact. At present, especially with some economic stresses in the nation, we have seen an increased focus on frugality as a mainstay. So we brought our prices down, and we thusly, have to adjust how much we pay for our inventory. But we are focusing more on the legacy of home economy, in the tradition of what Suzanne used to teach; and we have found quite a few dealers around, who are trending the same way....showing inventories reflective of home values from the past, with considerable focus on kitchen nostalgia....and home crafting. Many of our customers love their home life, and want to have inspiring, interactive decor, that makes them feel connected to the heritage they have enjoyed in their lives; memories of those old time kitchens, and sewing rooms, at the homes of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and their own parents. So when they reference stay-cations, quite a few people we know, are making their homes the kind of inspiring, rejuvenating, oasis experiences, such that it's never, ever, a disadvantage staying home for a change. I kind of like this shift of trends. A time, once again, when the market place, is keenly interested in what knitters are crafting; what is being sewn....., cut, spun, woven, dyed or sculpted; customers being quite please that an antique shop like ours, would be willing to offer these home crafts for sale. In reality, the honor is all ours. These hand made articles are tomorrow's antiques and collectables.....and tomorrow has arrived now. Forgive me for this "Mayberry" moment. It's just the way I feel. Home values have been slipping. So it's nice to see so many folks returning to the way it was....and putting the "home" feeling back in the place where we hang our hats.
I've got quite a bit more to write on this subject, along the familiar them, "what's old is new again."
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