I had an amazing weekend of deliveries! The wave lounge is happy in it’s new home and the gold velvet tufted set is also loved and moved in. I have the best clients! Love you guys!

This piece is happy in it’s new home!  Love making furniture dreams come true! — This piece is happy in it’s new home! Love making furniture dreams come true!

So what is next? I know you guys want to know! First off I was so smitten by that Royale fabric, I just ordered 7 yards in blush. It will be used on those great little Billy Baldwin style x benches I have. I have one ripped apart and ready for upholstery and will get to work on the second. I have my pricing and these will be priced at $800 for the pair. Super labor intensive project but worth the save! I am thinking of adding a few buttons up top for interest. I am a few months out from getting these to upholstery but at any time, feel free to claim them! They will be perfect at the foot of a bed! Very sturdy and well made. They will be tailored and refined, much different than my typical mcm offerings.

I am also going to collect more of the Craft Associates/Adrian Pearsall pieces that I am buying. I still have the jacks coffee table available which is priced under others in my markets. There are replicas of this table out there so be careful. What sets mine apart is that the end piece is not square. That skew fits in the glass much better and adds more visual interest than the squared up version.

Love that mine is not squared off but skewed! If you are spending money on this table, make sure you spend time comparing your options!  They are NOT all the same! — Love that mine is not squared off but skewed! If you are spending money on this table, make sure you spend time comparing your options! They are NOT all the same!

Variation. Possible knock off as not in Pearsall Catalog. The only way to confirm authenticity is by reaching out to the Pearsall family,  They will authenticate a piece for a small fee. — Variation. Possible knock off as not in Pearsall Catalog. The only way to confirm authenticity is by reaching out to the Pearsall family, They will authenticate a piece for a small fee.

Knock off-Reproduction-non authentic.  Whatever you call it, not the real deal.  Awkward looking too! — Knock off-Reproduction-non authentic. Whatever you call it, not the real deal. Awkward looking too!

Not as sexy with this glass.  I suspect it may not be original.  Glass is super expensive to have cut and if you do not have the original shape traced to give the shop, you get this. — Not as sexy with this glass. I suspect it may not be original. Glass is super expensive to have cut and if you do not have the original shape traced to give the shop, you get this.

I have no reason to believe mine is not authentic as it comes from a home with many more authentic pieces. Speaking of that, I am ready to pick up more of these great pieces! The upholstered goods all need restoration. I will be taking them for quotes and yardage requirements as soon as I pick them up. Then I will come up with as is pricing. You will be able to purchase and arrange your own work. You also can purchase and I can use my negotiated rates with my upholsterer (at his cost) plus I can help you with fabric selection using my wholesale and trade accounts (you save even more!).

WANTED: SAVVY SHOPPERS WHO WANT VINTAGE FURNISHINGS CUSTOMIZED AND PERFECTED JUST FOR YOU!

There is a pair of this model.  I will not be splitting them! You can customize them to match your decor and I can arrange all of the work! — There is a pair of this model. I will not be splitting them! You can customize them to match your decor and I can arrange all of the work!

I also have this piece with the ottoman coming.  It is amazing and you might have to fight me for it. — I also have this piece with the ottoman coming. It is amazing and you might have to fight me for it.

This piece will be restored by me for me! Super excited to finish this for my own living room. I have been wanting the perfect couch to replace our 14 year old sectional which my husband loves too much! This 10’+ piece fits that bill! I even bought the fabric! What do you think?

I am staring an 8 week class this Thursday with Kutztown University’s Small Business division. Looking forward to seeing where I can take this business next. I love working with people across the country but I also know that my only way to grow and succeed is to break out with more services locally. I need to connect to local professionals who would use my services. I am not at the point where I feel I can support loans for capital and being a bookkeeper for much of my working life with other small business owners has taught me that life is very volatile and honestly, my personal funds cannot support my business so I will be treading lightly through this but excited to knock heads with other like minded entrepreneurs and see what opportunities are out there. I would love to eventually end up in a retail/work space but I am far from that and overhead is the kiss of death in small business. I will do my best to keep my response times quick during this but I will be busy! Our final project is pitching our business to a bank for a loan! My 13 year old told me she’d do my PowerPoint presentation. 😂😂😂😂😂

I have a few folks considering the orange convertible couch but no commitments yet. It is so cool that I would have kept it if my husband was not so comfy with our sectional. I am willing to drive pretty far to deliver so mid Atlantic peeps, take a look. I need a few days to get it cleaned for delivery but this weekend is wide open for me so reach out!

Really sexy and comfy, very good original condition with only minor signs of wear, back folds down flat for snoozing/guests, under seat storage.  Very cool piece! — Really sexy and comfy, very good original condition with only minor signs of wear, back folds down flat for snoozing/guests, under seat storage. Very cool piece!

Have a great week! XO Malissa

Whether you think you found a gem in your Granny’s attic or you are searching for the piece of your dreams and don’t want to get ripped off, at some point you will want to do some research. For sure the internet has made researching items so much easier but you need to use your head and good sense to come out on top. Provenance makes or breaks value so the more you know, the better you can make decisions.

I found this piece, NOW WHAT?

Makers Marks, Tags, Stamps, Signatures. All of these tell a story. If you are fortunate to have a piece with any of this information, it will greatly help you in your quests! There is a great community of enthusiasts and collectors who have vast knowledge of makers, designers and their works who post blogs and updates. Start your searching on google, Facebook, Instagram and my favorite, Pinterest. There are many ads and catalogs posted either for sale or just as a reference. These are valuable resources!

Now what do most people ask first when they post in a group to crowd source provenance? HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH? The short answer, nothing if no one wants it. Half the battle of reselling your items is getting it to the audience who does want it and is willing to pay market value to get it. Any legit retailer, myself include, has overhead which needs to be included in the selling price. We are trying to cover expenses and make some money on top of it. If this job was easy, everyone would be doing it. It’s hard work and in 4 years, I am still not making much of a profit nor contributing to my personal finances so keep that in mind when you support the retail industry. If anyone is getting rich doing this at this stage, i’d love to meet them! 😂

Let’s talk about some great places to start sleuthing. Google and Google Image will pick up large auction house listings, first dibs and other online sales. Use this as a start but be leery of claims unless there is significant proof of provenance. There are a lot of false claims coming from the highest end markets.

Ebay can be a great place as well and always remember to search current listings and then go one step further by clicking ADVANCED followed by checking the box for SOLD listings. This will get you realized sales. I also consider the source because there are many facets to retail. Ebay does attract collectors so an in demand item may realize for top dollar, however, a lot of large items are PICK UP ONLY so to me, that seller it not really experiencing the full national market which can affect his price.

Once you think you have figured out the origins of your piece, you can move forward into other realms. I love Pinterest for this and have found many original ads and catalogs there. Ebay also has been a great source for this.

Art specific items can be fun. I have found info in the American Art Archives of the Smithsonian, local art museums have libraries as well. I did find a search engine (worldcat.org) covering libraries and the art museums around the country are also in the search. I have twice used resources at the Philadelphia Art Museum and it is easy to reserve, make an appt to view and then you sign in at the desk and get a visitor’s pass. This pass lets you spend time in the building perusing the current exhibits before you leave as well! Parking in the residential area behind the museum is free for up to two hours! Also note that you may even find a published book or exhibition catalog! Some leads do not amount to much but you will find out more as you go along.

Exhibit catalogs and resources I perused at the Philly Art Museum researching Marie Cuttoli and my Fernand Leger tapis which to date is my most valuable find.

Pay sites? I have paid for day use of ask Art and the like. Not that impressed and most of the info was publicly available anyway, Sotheby’s and Christie’s are searchable direct.

Print or Original? One trick to help you determine if you have a print is to use a magnifying glass. A print will show all the tiny dots in the ink from the printing process. An original will not have the dots. I started by checking a Picasso print I had so it was easy to see and then looked at my piece and it definitely was not a print.

This auction had the piece listed as a lithograph. It is indeed an original sketch. I have no reason to believe this artist made copies as of my research to date. I would like to travel to Connecticut to investigate some more in the museums local … — This auction had the piece listed as a lithograph. It is indeed an original sketch. I have no reason to believe this artist made copies as of my research to date. I would like to travel to Connecticut to investigate some more in the museums local to where she lived.

Sculpture. Most reproductions of sculpture are plaster, possibly hollow and were big in the 70’s. If you find signatures of NPI, FRANKLIN MINT, AUSTIN PRODUCTS, they are def reproductions. If you tap them they will ring high in pitch. The usually have felt on the bottom. Some are mounted to a board or base but many just have felt covering the hollow middle. The 2 original sculptures I have are both mounted on a base. The bolt that hold the piece to the base is visible under the base. Each piece is made out of a material that is denser than ceramic and makes a dull less bright noise when tapped...reminds me of striking rubber. In both cases, they are signed by the artist down toward the base on the side or back of the piece. My Mankowski piece has copyright symbol after his name (B. Mankowski) but it was a series he made to sell multiple pieces. The other sculpture I have from Bette Fast only says FAST. She seemed to sell her work privately and was not widely represented.

My two original nude sculptures. Each made of different composition materials but by touch and sound they are very similar and distinctly different than a plaster or ceramic reproduction.

It really is interesting to see how the art world works. I have seen relatively unknown local artists selling prints, copyrighting their works and making a living. They do not show up in internet searches but they were selling. Buy what you love and find out what you can about it. If you are lucky, you will be able to unravel some of the mystery!

Happy New Year to all my friends! I look forward to an even more exciting 2018! Local peeps I will be having a clearance sale in my space at Fleetwood Antique Mall this month. 20% off everything, 10% off featured furnishings and Holiday items are all marked at least 50% off. The mall is open until 3:00 New Year’s Eve. More items will arrive after I am done celebrating Christmas with family. It is always the two weeks of Christmas for us! 👌😂🎄

The Blog.

A look at the many shapes of a Pearsall Jacks Table, plus new projects for spring!

Researching 101