Wow–just when you think you have had the best buying trip ever yet one thing remains elusive for a client–you find it. Elizabeth and I wandered into a market area we had not visited for years–lots of iffy stuff but always some gems and there was the perfect object for a favorite client–one he asked us to find and it took ten days of work and we finally found it in the last hour! That is the true thrill of the chase and why we love this business!!!!!!!!

Elizabeth and David leave for England and France on July 8th and return July 19th (David’s 62 birthday spent on an airplane).  Let us know of any special needs and watch your mailboxes for the unveiling in August!!!!!!!!!

Additionally in August we will celebrate North Carolina Collects with the sale of some remarkable private collections filled with great English and American furniture, pottery including a vast collection of the work of Ben Owen made between 1945 and 1955 (each piece a gift from Juliana Busbee to her cousin), Tobacco Leaf porcelains from both 18th century China and early 19th century England, smart antique Chinese lacquered furniture, fireplace equipment–loads and loads of great antiques lovingly collected for generations by North Carolina families.  This will we expect open simultaneously with the arrival of the fruits of our buying trip to England and France.

Our annual summer sale has begun–name your own price on every item in our inventory.  No reasonable offer is ever refused, although we are the sole arbitors of “reasonable”, so come in and play fair!  It goes through July 3rd when we close for our annual holiday and REOPEN Saturday, July 10th!

Today at the shop was great fun–wrapping sterling wedding gifts for three upcoming Big Days.  What was lovely was a groomsman in each wedding buying a sterling silver water pitcher, a pair of wonderful goblets and a gravy boat on stand–all practical gifts with a touch of elegance.  Better yet, he had done his research and knew that Gorham offers the pitcher, for instance, for over $2,500, while we were selling it for $650!  His friends will truly think of his thoughtfulness for the rest of their lives–and hopefully hand these beautiful pieces with treasured memories on to their children and grandchildren.  And so GREEN a gift–each nearly 100 years old and requiring no more use of resources–just the perfect example of recycling at its best!

Check out the June 2010 Architectural Digest for an article entitled “Discoveries by Designers”, on page 99, our bamboo desk decoupaged with shells is featured. This has caused a flurry of interest with calls every day from decorators across the country wanting to find out more about this piece and the rest of our decoupaged bamboo collection.

These pieces are fun and versatile - which is why we love them and why this article has created such a buzz!

We take period bamboo pieces, mostly dating from the 3rd-4th quarters of the 19th century, and have the damaged original surfaces rehabilitated to create this wonderful decoupaged finish. These pieces originally had woven rattan, embossed paper or lacquer surfaces, which are often heavily damaged over time. After we preserve the original structure and decoupage the surfaces, the end result is a unique and decorative piece to be used in a multitude of settings.

It always seems that the world gets smaller and smaller–so a fun story.  At the Nashville Antiques and Garden Show in February Gwyneth Paltrow and her children Apple and Moses dropped by the booth and Apple fell in love with some sterling iced beverage spoons.  She thought they were for ice cream sundaes/parfaits–a great use (I always use them for root beer floats).  They bought the entire flatware service for their upstairs family kitchen and some elegant serving pieces as well.  I then started following Ms. Paltrow’s fun blog/commentary/whatever called Goop and in April she did a lengthy wine segment.  Turns out their favorite pinot noir is Au Bon Climat by Jim Clendennon and he is a friend of ours and the business partner of our cousin Bob Lindquist famous for his Qupe syrahs and chardonays.  They serve the wines to all their English friends to introduce them to great California Central Coast wines–Jim and Bob are two of the original and justly famous “Rhone Rangers” who introduced the Rhone varietals to that region.  Now if you only needed silver to drink wine ! (and yes,  sterling goblets are fun if you use them with the correct wines at the correct temperatures–but not a necessity!)  Harvey Nichols and Whole Foods are convenient spots to buy their wines in London–all good wine stores in America.

David's lecture - "Antiques, the New Bargain in Interior Design"

Well, we’ve exhibited at three antiques shows already this year and the general consensus is that things are looking up. The shows - Vero Beach, FL Museum of Art, St. Phillips Cathedral in Buckhead, and Nashville Antiques & Garden - all had great attendance and genuine interest. Sales on the whole were stronger than last year. For myself, it has been great to be back on the road to shows that I have missed for a couple of years due to Mommy duty.  I plan on attending the Thomasville Antiques show coming up next week. And, I never miss the Grosse Pointe Christ Church show, which this year will be the first weekend of June. Of course, we always enjoy seeing our clients (whether they are buying or not), visiting with our fellow dealers and all the hoopla surrounding each show - famous speakers, famous buyers (spotted a few in Nashville), etc. etc.

David had the opportunity to do one of his favorite things at the St. Phillips Cathedral Show in Buckhead, get in front of an audience and talk about antiques! What could be better! He gave a very well received lecture entitled, “Antiques, the New Bargain in Interior Design”. Hooray for David! FYI: David is an experienced lecturer, from television spots to cruise ships to antiques shows to our own summer seminar series - he always does a brilliant job and is particularly happy to contribute at any of the antiques shows that we do across the country.

Happy Antiquing,

Elizabeth Lindquist

Great merchandise is finally flowing again in both Paris and throughout the UK–Elizabeth and I have just returned from one of our most remarkable buying trips ever!  Customers will be delighted by both the quality and the reasonable prices as the antique prices seem to continually drop as the value of the dollar drops, allowing us to maintain our reasonable prices.  Once again it is true that one can buy good to very fine antiques for LESS than the price of reproductions and just ordinary new stuff.  Why buy at Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn when you can have what they are copying–for LESS!

For my first twenty years in business this was always true.  When someone would ask even about an antique I had not seen:  Should I buy it at this price, what if its not perfect?  I would answer:  You are quoting a price that is less than the same piece at Sears–how can you go wrong?  In ten years the Sears piece will go to Goodwill and the antique will be valuable!  Those days have come again!

A cascade of unreadable emails arrived today–if you sent a legitimate query please try again–Thanks, David

Each of these chests began as a large four or five drawer chest made about 1830-1860 in the Georgian taste known in England as Sheraton Revival.

Each of these chests was originally about 36-42 inches wide by 36-42 inches high!

Each of these chests is now about 30 inches by 30 inches!

This was accomplished by “chop Shops” throughout England spending dozens of hours on each chest completely taking it apart, cutting it down and putting it back together.

Sometimes the craftsmen were true artisans–sometimes hacks–but the result was the same:  a large unpopular size chest reduced to a highly valued small chest.

You can spot them every time–there is no such thing as a three drawer Georgian chest or American chest in the Georgian style.  I have examined hundreds of these over the years and EVERY one of them eventually revealed the signs that it had been cut down.  Inevitably disturbed oxidation, sharper than expected edges, signs of modern saws used to make cuts–these factors reveal the truth.

These chests are not without decorative or utilitarian value–but they have no collectible value.  Buy them only if they are priced at about 1/3 of the large chest from which they are made and no more than 10% of the value of an authentic bachelor’s chest (what these little chests are so often called).