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!

Here is a shot of half the window, complete with distracting reflections.

Kindergarten table, teeter-totter, what more could you want?

Interesting mold for what?  We don’t know.

Fun stuff – great old window, cool yellow stool.

Tall plant stand, funky trangular stool, and awesome wall-mount stainless steel stools.  (We love stools, have you noticed?)

BEST industrial drawer unit with butcher block top.

Unusual and fancy lamp – really stunning in person.

Okay – it looks like a giant viking hat, or a whale tail.  We don’t know what it was.  All made of hand-hammered and hand-riveted copper, it’s pretty amazing.  It has a great patina, somebody should put it in their garden.

Speaking of gardening…

Okay, I just couldn’t resist.

Great old farm table with terrific color, …

…or a 12-foot-long mid-century office piece.  You decide.

Neat bluestone stand with hairpin legs.  And some Raymor.

And lastly, some iconic mid-mod accent pieces.  Throw your trash away in style!

Wikipedia says vignette “generally means something small. Originally it meant “something that may be written on a vine-leaf”".  I pondered that for a moment — a romantic notion of penning love notes on grape leaves, while reclining under the arbor…

But then I returned to the question at hand – am I using the word correctly?  When I call something a vignette, I usually refer to an arrangement of objects.  It’s totally visual, in my mind.  So I looked further.

As I read through various definitions, it became obvious that “vignette” refers to a small thing contained within a context — the decoration between sections or chapters in a book; a short scene in literature or drama that gives a particular insight into a character, idea, or setting; a technique in photography in which the subject is in focus but the rest of the image loses clarity…now I was getting somewhere.

When we set up at an antique show, Steven is very good at creating these little arrangements, within the larger booth display, that highlight a few objects and allow them to play together in interesting ways.  He does this so often, and so well, that a friend of ours affectionately calls him “Vignette Boy”.

Phew, what a relief!  I am happy to learn that I can keep using the beloved term “vignette” in confidence.

What started all this, you ask?  I took a picture or two of a little arrangement here in my house, made up of a framed piece of sheet music (which I utilize mostly for the colors), a wonderful antique cupboard and a funky little carved guy who I am convinced looks like Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie, anyone?)  See what you think:

FYI – I bought the terrific little cupboard in this wonderful etsy shop.

Yeah, I know.

I have plenty of bags.

This one doesn’t have an outside pocket for my phone (something I have decided is important.)

It doesn’t have shoulder straps (another important feature.)

There are plenty of reasons for me not to buy it, but …. it really might be the embodiment of happiness in purse form.  Don’t you think?

If anyone feels the burning need to buy me a present, you can do so here.

Deliciously Different indeed!  If you also love this sign, feel free to pop right over to my etsy shop and snap it up!

]]> http://tandemantiques.com/2010/06/07/love-letters-vintage-rochelle-club-sign/feed/ 0 http://tandemantiques.com/2010/06/06/unusual-accent-table-with-hand-painted-hunt-scenes/ http://tandemantiques.com/2010/06/06/unusual-accent-table-with-hand-painted-hunt-scenes/#comments Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:14:33 +0000 http://tandemantiques.com/?p=1003

One of the neatest things we have found lately is this antique lidded tea box that someone hand painted all around with hunt scenes.  It still retains its brass hardware, and it is a charming piece for the horse or hunt collector.

The surface, however, is somewhat delicate – you wouldn’t want to put a glass of lemonade (or an icy mint julep!) down on the painting.  So we topped it with a nice quality piece of glass, and voila!  It is a fully functional and absolutely one-of-a-kind  side table.

Between the wonderful scenes painted on the top and all four sides, and the gorgeous range of colors used it is sure to become an eye-catching accent in the right room.  The box measures 2 feet square on the top, and probably about 27″ tall.  It is perfect for a living room, den, an enclosed porch or even a unique touch for a dressing or guest room.   You can find it in Warren Street Antiques in Hudson NY right now.

Steve and I were in our shop in Hudson yesterday and took a bunch of pictures.  I know how much you guys enjoy our photo expeditions of Warren Street Antiques, so look for a complete one in a day or two.  In the meantime, here’s a shot of some of our stuff.  A gorgeous walnut bench with a fetching Nakashima-wanna-be look, a fabulous pair of gigantic lamps sitting on a cool pair of bentwood Thonet stands, and a sexy little cocktail table all done up in bluestone and hairpin legs.

See you in a day or two.  (No, really.)

This is a one-day antique show, always held on the Sunday closest to the 4th of July, which this year happens to be … the 4th of July!  This will be the 48th year that this show has been held, so it comes with a rich history.  In recent years it has begun to wane somewhat, as lots of shows have, with dealer numbers down a little each year.  But we are planning to turn that trend around in the next year or two, and bring back the energy and excitement that used to be there.

I have put up a simple little website for the show, a place for basic info and printable contracts.  After this year’s show I plan to have some great new pictures to add, and I have plans for a Links page so that we can showcase websites belonging to our dealers.  I hope you will visit it at Cooperstown Antique Show.

We are actively seeking dealers who would like to set up, and we welcome a range of merchandise and price points.  That is part of what brings energy to a show – variety in styles and genres of antiques, and variety in price ranges.  Ideally we want to have items that interest the serious collector as well as fun things for a young couple furnishing their first home.  And everything in between!

Make plans to attend – it’s going to be a great day!  And I promise not to take pictures of you coming out of the porta-john.  Really!

At the Schoharie Fall Show last year this little guy found me and captured my heart.  He is French, and old, and not in perfect condition at all.  But is he not the cutest little fella you have seen in a while?  He sits 8 or 10 inches tall, and is heavy – made of some kind of composition.  Then covered in a thin metal, zinc maybe, and painted.

And, as I said, a little rough around the edges.  But most rescue dogs are.  This one has found his “forever home.”

It’s funny, but if you asked me what the drapes in the living room looked like from when I was 5 until I was about 17, I could not have told you.  But when I saw the fabric it was a *zing* moment – I knew exactly what it was.  And I didn’t even really like the drapes (or dislike them, for that matter) but I feel a fondness for the fabric now simply as a touchstone, a memento.

So we bought the book.  Then I was walking through our antique shop in Hudson one day, taking pictures.  I thought it might be cute to take a few shots of the great vintage patterns … and then I couldn’t stop!  There was something I just loved about photographing these textiles.  So I took a bunch, and saved them to share with you here.

Thank you for indulging my little walk down memory lane.  And who knows, maybe your childhood drapes are here too!

“Fabriganza” — you’ve gotta love it.

Wow – the array of so-called toile above takes my breath away.  And not really in a good way.

These, on the other hand, I love.

Mmmm…indigo.  And batik.  What more could you want?

So which one is the drape fabric, you ask.  When we moved into the house I mostly grew up in, in 1971, the large living and dining room was carpeted in a sea of royal blue.  I don’t know if the curtains came with the house or if my mom picked them to match the carpet, but here’s the fabric, in all its pseudo-Williamsburg-revival glory:

Kind of anti-climactic, I know.  But the variety of color, pattern and texture in this book is a real treat for the eyes.  And don’t you find that it evokes the era in your mind, just by looking?  Hope you enjoyed it!