Collecting English Staffordshire Dogs

Attending the Holliston Antique Show in  Massachusetts was the perfect cure for what seemed like endless weeks of snow.  The sun was shining, the roads were clear. I was ready to enjoy the company of good friends while hunting for formerly loved treasures.

Collecting Staffordshire Dogs was a natural progression from my love of animals and my life of  incorporating canines into our human family lifestyle.  

Staffordshire Dogs, like real dogs come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.  The most recognized is the brown and white spaniels complete with gold leash and locket. These were produced in the Staffordshire area of England and were most popular during the 19th Century.  

The dogs came in pairs that faced in opposite directions.  No Victorian home was complete with a pair of Staffordshire dogs gracing the mantle.

The expressions of the Staffordshire dogs differ, as they were all hand painted.  Some carry baskets of flowers.  I find these to be exceptionally charming.  

While most dogs were made to stand guard on the mantle some dogs were made to be used as pitchers. 

The spaniel is most popular, due to the popularity of the breed with English royalty.  In the 1600s King Charles owned a spaniel.  Queen Victoria had her spaniel "Dash."   

Staffordshire dogs were also produced to represent other breeds, including boxers, pugs, greyhounds, and poodles.

This adorable set of English Stafordshire poodles is one of my favorites.  They sport a coat of confetti fur, similar to the spaghetti poodles of the 1900s.   

Collecting Staffordshire dogs opens a world of canine delights.  The variation in painting and expression of the dogs will make collecting these dogs a very special experience.  

Till Next Time, Stay Well, Stay Happy

auctionmom80@gmail.com

www.antiquesattheirongate.com

http://www.threadflip.com/Threads

Sea Shell Folk Art

With the great weather we have been having, rated a 10 by my calculations, it is time to hit the shoreline to gather shells I will  use throughout the year to make a variety of folk art items.

In the world of antiques folk art has a special place.  Folk art is created by average folks, in earlier times such folks were sometimes called peasants. The items produced by peasants were decorative and utilitarian. The rules of fine art which led to creating masterpieces were ignored because the items were not created for purely artistic purpose.

Folk artists did not attend the great art schools, or follow the techniques of the great schools of art who produced the artists featured in art history books.  Folk artists learned from each other in the community in which they lived and created their art.

Folk art has also been called tramp art. Tramp art was made by the artist whittling wood from cigar boxes and packing crates. There is much variety to Tramp Art which has become greatly desired in recent times.

Folk art created from shells has included decorating mirrors, boxes,  picture frames.  The mirror that hangs in my side hallway is a piece of shell folk art made by a relative.  It is a treasure to me for several reasons.

Folk art dolls made of seashells have delighted children and adults for years.  Souvenir shops have commercialized the art form.  Still shells gathered by your family can become a family heirloom and family tradition as each summer a new shell doll is created for the collection.

Being a doll collector, shell dolls hold special meaning for me.


Another favorite of mine is make a miniature picture album using a clam shell.

 Drilling a tiny hole at the top of each shell allows you to connect the shells with ribbon, I prefer silk tied in a bow.  Trace and cut several pieces of decorative paper or fabric to use as the pages of the album.  I then glue photos of dolls taken from magazines onto the pages.  Decorate the shell covers and frame the pictures inside using ribbon, lace, or decorative paper. Adding tiny buttons and flowers are other special finishing touches you can add to your folk art picture albums.

Some folk artists create pictures made entirely of shells.

Links

http://www.bhg.com/decorating/seasonal/summer/seashell-crafts/

www.marthastewart.com/275561/shell-crafts

Till next time, stay well, stay happy

www.antiquesattheirongate.com
 auctionmom80@gmail.com    

  http://www.threadflip.com/Threads

Collecting Buttons Family Fun and Decorating Activities

While I am enjoying the snow this winter, mainly because I can conduct most of my business over the Internet, I have started to think Spring.  That includes thinking about gardening,decorating inside and outside the shop, and what types of new craft items I might want to add to the shop for those who like new items crafted from antiques.

My first stop was my sewing area, where I quickly became engaged in browsing through the many buttons gathered over the years.  Some gained by design for a specific project, others purchased due to the sheer beauty of them, others taken from clothes that are no longer fit for the public eye but with buttons that speak something special to you.

Buttons are mentioned in writings from the 17th Century and there is a record of John Eliot from England ordering three gross of pewter buttons for trading in the New World.

Philadelphia buttons were crafted from brass and became extremely popular in the early 1700s. Buttons at this time were also produced in crystal, glass, horn, beads, and tapestry.  Some finer buttons were trimmed with silver.

Wooden buttons gained in popularity in the 1800s.

In 1851 Nelson Goodyear patented a button crafted of rubber that was rigid enough to make a button.

Buttons of the 20th Century were largely plain with little or no decoration. Darker buttons were more desirable than light colored buttons.  Buttons made before 1920 are generally more collectible than those made after this date.  Exceptions include Bakelite buttons of the 1940s and Lucite buttons of the 1959s.

Buttons continue to be made out of various materials with great variety of decoration and styles.  Buttons can be round, triangular, square, or made to look like a flower bud.  Buttons made for children's clothing offers a fun collecting activity.

Buttons as a collection can be displayed in a variety of ways.  I have some displayed in small glass display case, others are placed in jars trimmed with vintage ribbon and line the shelf in a guest room. I think learning math is more fun when counting bunnies on colorful red buttons!

Button offer a wide variety of collecting choices and endless ways in which to display and gain enjoyment from your collection


 Button collecting can really be a family activity that is fun and requires no special knowledge or    equipment.   

Till next time, stay well, stay happy

auctionmom80@gmail.com
www.antiquesattheirongte.com

 
 
   

Quick Gift Ideas To Add To Your Christmas Shopping List

 
Having quick and easy to find gift ideas to add to your Christmas shopping list is an absolute must at this time of year.

 

Gifting a family member or friend who is already a collector is easy. For example,  if they collect clocks or timepieces purchase one that is within your budget.  Whatever the price they will cherish your gift because it was given to them by you out of careful thought and love.  

Still not confident to purchase that antique railroad watch on your own?  Then consider purchasing something that maintains the theme of the person's collection.  For example, consider a current price guide, how about a tie, a scarf, or an Iphone cover decorated with clocks or timepieces.  In today's market just about everything from sleepwear to Ipad covers to school notebooks are available in themes. 

What theme market production means for you is you can select an affordable gift that is consistent with friend's and relative's interest and collecting.

If your budget allows for an authentic antique then go for it!  If you crave frugality there are many newer items that are affordable and are related to the collection.

Here is my punch list of last minute shopping.  I should also mention that to purchase some gifts I need not leave the house, the www. is a wonderful world!

 

For the Cook

• a vintage apron
• a vintage cookbook from his/her favorite
• a vintage cooking utensil for use or decoration

For the Entertainment Enthusiast

• an original album/book
• a price guide or book written by an expert collector in the field of records/music/books etc.
• an item of memorabilia from a favorite movie/book/music group etc. 

 For the Fashionista

• a vintage/antique piece of clothing, hats, gloves, scarves are generally affordable and in excellent condition
• a current book on men's or women's fashions through time
• tickets to the next antique show featuring antique and vintage clothing 

Enjoy shopping, be limited only by your imagination and stay within budget!

Till next time, Stay well, Stay happy

http://www.antiquesattheirongate.com

Exciting Childhood Hobbies

Raising the Next Generation of Antique Collectors

 

 

The Holiday Season is the perfect time to engage your child in an exciting hobby. Hobbies offer learning experiences that are fun, encourages your child's creativity, promotes problem solving, and decision making skills.


Children are natural collectors. 
A leisurely walk often results in a varied collection of weeds, pebbles, leaves, twigs, and bits of gum wrappers that sparkle in the sunlight, being gathered up.  And what mother has not shrieked with delight when her child returns from a walk in the woods with a critter found wiggling from under a rock!

                                            

  
A family day at the beach can yield buckets of collectible delights.  Seashells of varying shapes and colors, driftwood, and seaweed washed ashore, even the very sand of the beach if held tightly in tiny hands to show what treasures have been found.  If you are really lucky you may find a message in a bottle tossed into the ocean years before by an unknown friend.

 

Childhood Collecting in the 1900s

In the 1900s boys frequently collected buttons, books, stamps, pictures, pens and pencils, stones, marbles, railroad timetables, bats and balls, neckties, scarf-pins, tickets, tops, rulers, and shoe-laces.  Girls collected dolls, ribbons, shells and spoons  handkerchiefs, cups and saucers, calling cards and lace and sewing thimbles.

 

Free Choice Generation of Collectors

 

 

 

In today's world boys can collect dolls and girls can collect trains.  This free-choice collecting allows our children to experience a variety in collecting, handling, arranging and classifying their collected items.  When engaging in their collections children are animating and empathizing in make-believe adventures that encourages creativity, logical thought, and developing social relationships with peers.

 

 

 

When purchasing gifts for your child this holiday season remember- you may be sparking an interest that leads to the start of a hobby for your child. We have all heard or read stories of famous personalities who  relied professionally on their leisure collections for inspiration, knowledge, and skills.  Here are just a few examples.

 

• Notable scientist Charles Darwin became interested in studying nature when as a child he collected bugs. 

 

• Physics Nobel Prize winner, David Lee, collected bugs, railway time tables, and meteorological charts

• Acclaimed novelist Vladimir Nabokov,  Lolita and many more books, collected butterflies

 

Encouraging Your Young Collector 

Visit museums, art galleries, zoos, living history sites 

 

Let your child accompany you on shopping trips, even better if they include antique shops

 

Read, watch, talk about books, videos, and movies you watch together as a family

 

Share your childhood experiences with collecting, better still if you have your collection to show your child

 

Start a collection  with your child, it can be of action figures, books, cards, anything your child finds interesting and is age appropriate 

 

 

Collections do not need to be large.  There is a saying among antique dealers that

" if you have two of something you have the start of a collection"  

 

 

 

 

 

Till next time, stay well, stay happy

 

http://www.antiquesattheirongate.com