Published on September 15, 2010 :: No Comments
One of my favorite things I bought this summer is this fabulous antique doll dress. I found it in the booth of a fellow dealer at the Round Lake show, back in June, and I had to have it.
The fabric is wonderful, a sort of bronze with gold and black. It is all hand-sewn, and attached underneath the full skirt are the sweetest little pair of black pantaloons. It’s truly charming.
Published on September 13, 2010 :: 3 Comments
One of the high spots of the summer was a family trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York, and our first visit to the Corning Museum of Glass. It all started with a little romance…
Our friend and fellow antiques dealer, Kathe Saccone, invited us to her wedding. It was held on the shore of Seneca Lake outside of Watkins Glen NY. She encouraged us to bring our sons, and indeed it was the perfect wedding for kids (and grown-ups!) An outdoor event on a lake, ending with a bonfire and fireworks — what more could we ask?
I decided to turn it into a mini-vacation, and booked a suite in nearby Horseheads NY for 3 nights. (Everyone should be able to say they stayed in Horseheads once.) The original plan was to attend the wedding on Saturday, visit the Corning Museum of Glass on Sunday and then explore gorges or wander around Ithaca on Monday. That was the plan.
The wedding was lovely – simple, elegant, fun. And what an excuse to dress up the boys! Here they are by the lake:
We ate and drank, played by the water, danced, oohed and aahed at the fireworks (the groom is a wonderful guy, but maybe just a little bit of a pyromaniac?) Fell into our hotel beds tired and happy that night.
Sunday we had a late breakfast and headed off to the museum. We expected to like it, but were unprepared for how much. By the time we had been there a little while, we were planning to spend Monday there as well! A dear friend contributed to our trip by sponsoring activities at the museum so we were able to really take advantage of all it has to offer.
There are gorgeous exhibits, both permanent and traveling, so there was lots to SEE.
There was modern glass, medieval glass, a fabulous Tiffany exhibit and so much more:
That is just the tiniest taste – the exhibits are fabulous. Steven & I loved them and the kids liked them too. But even more they loved the live glass-blowing demonstrations, which are held all day long. We discovered that each one is different, and we did not get tired of watching these artists at work. In the two days we were there we sat through 4 or 5 of these shows and found them fascinating!
However, the absolute best part of this museum experience was not what we could SEE, but what we could DO.
There are a bunch of hands-on workshops where you can make your own glass! Glass-blowing, lampwork (beads and pendants) and fused glass are all on the menu and they were even available for Simon, who is only 6! The kids made gorgeous ornaments and sculptures, I made pendants and an ornament, and it was so fun and rewarding.
Totally fun! We were impressed with the people who assist you as you make these glass pieces – they are so encouraging and helpful. We found the staff as a whole friendly and engaged. We lost our camera at one point, and everyone from the cafe worker to security to front desk was so responsive and sympathetic. (Fortunately some wonderful human being had turned our camera in, so we recovered it with no problem.) Overall, we just loved this place. My kids can’t wait to go back.
Published on July 2, 2010 :: One Comment
Whew! What a busy couple of weeks!
The Round Lake show was last week, and it was fun and successful for us. We had a wonderful time visiting with our friends, not to mention selling lots of great merchandise both days of the show!
So we came home Sunday night, recovered on Monday (lots of fun + lots of work = tired) and moved on to the next big thing.
And that thing is the 48th Annual Cooperstown Antique Show on Sunday, July 4. As I have said, this our first time managing a show, and at this point we are feeling the nerves. I was interviewed on three local radio stations yesterday morning – that was something new! There is definitely some last-minute scrambling happening (rental tables? you mean no one ordered the rental tables??) And there are decisions to be made – how many donuts do we need for the dealers during set-up? You don’t want too many, and you definitely don’t want too few. Ahh…the minutiae.
On the stress-relief side of things, the weather forecast looks fabulous. I am feeling totally blessed by this incredible weather! And we are equally blessed by the response we have had from our dealer friends to our involvement in the show. They are showing their support by coming to set up, some for the first time in years and some for the first time ever. Its truly heartwarming.
I am certainly hoping for tons of shoppers, and tons of sales for everyone. But with the bunch that is coming I am certain that we will have fun, no matter what else!
Please visit the website for the Cooperstown Antique Show for details and directions, and come on down on Sunday. It’s going to be a terrific day!
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