Researching 101

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 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! 👌😂🎄

Flokati- it's a rug, it's a throw, Vietnamese silk lanterns.

Last week, I headed out with my friend Laurie for yet another urban picking adventure. We make a day of it with the goal of heading to our favorite estate company and then thrifting and shopping the whole way home.  This trip did not disappoint and although I would say I am not really in spending mode right now, I got some great items at a relatively low cost which always is good!  The highlight of the trip is always a great view of Manhattan from NJ.  I find that shopping in this area gets me a different selection of goods that are not readily available in the more country area I typically shop.  

My favorite picks are the two Flokati rugs I bought home.  I already have one of my own, so both of these are listed for sale.  The Flokati is of Greek origin and is made of wool.  The pile is left long and it has a great shag.  They are used as a throw over a couch, bed or bench and as a rug.  They have some weight to them too.  These are both in excellent condition and have no stains or issues.  One is a larger rectangle size and the other is smaller and almost square.  Take a look and see if you can accommodate one.  They are great for MCM purists, boho and eclectic decors and more.  They add a real nice texture to a space and are a great neutral cream (natural wool) color. Both are listed in my etsy and chairish shops. Great holiday gift!

WIKI: A flokati rug is a handmade shag wool rug. Making flokatis is a long-time tradition of the Vlachs in the Pindus mountains. The natural color of a flokati rug is off-white, but they may be dyed different colors. The entire rug is wool, including the backing from which the tapered shag emerges. After the rug is woven, it is placed in the cold water of a river to fluff the shag. They continue to be handmade in the mountains of Greece and are regarded as desirable in American modern decor and children's rooms.

Next up, to go along with my recent Asian kick, which, by the way, is TRENDING right now!  I buy what I love, but so many times I come home with stuff and start poking around or get an email and whammo, there is my new found style, already being marketed and discussed in one of my markets!  I just got a mailing from F Schumacher, fine purveyor of fabrics, wallpaper and accessories that I have a trade account with and they are launching a fabulous fabric panel line all with beautiful Asian designs.  I do pay attention to current trends in the design world as that is how I stay relevant.   So I found some beautiful Vietnamese Silk Lanterns.  In Hoi An, they celebrate every full moon with a beautiful lantern festival in which thousands of silk lanterns are hung about town all aglow.  I picked up 3 of these lanterns, all with an inner bamboo frame system that collapse for easier storage and shipping.  They are VERY large and I find them very attractive in a grouping but am pricing individually.  The smallest one needs some glue and I have not repaired it yet so have not listed it.  You can find them on etsy.  

I get lost in this beautiful painting. The black background is actually green foliage and pink accents. It was amazingly done! 

I have worked through the art and ming tables I picked up the other week and most everything is live on etsy and chairish.  I hung the paintings in my living room for safe keeping while they wait for a home and I am in love with them.  The details are lovely and it really classes up my space.  I know whomever takes them in will love them just as much.  I added everything I know about the artist, which sadly, is not much.  Most of it from observation of being in her home and not necessarily facts about her art career.  

I just accepted an offer on the Adrian Pearsall Jacks end tables.  The kidney shaped cocktail table is still available.  I will hopefully be looking to bring some of the upholstered items from this lot home shortly.  I keep going round in my head about them.  For as much as I'd love to restore them and then list them for sale or even coordinate the restoration for the buyer, I really do not have the kind of budget to invest into them without having someone lined up to fund it.  I may just offer them as is for the buyer to do their own coordination.  I have a house full of items I have a lot of money invested into and they just do not seem to find homes fast.  It makes me sad but it is what it is.  I cannot tie more money up into things that sit for a year or more.  That said, if you really love them and want me to help you get them done, I will gladly and enthusiastically take on the project.  

As the push to the holiday season approaches, I will be trying to get through some back stock to list and may even thin some of my personal collections.  I did just list an amazing tension pole lamp that I was planning on keeping but decided since I have another to restore that can replace it, I will let it go.  Keep checking my Facebook and instagram for latest additions to the inventory as I usually post it there first.  

Heading out for the weekend so any sales that come in will be shipped Monday.  Have a great weekend!  xo Malissa

Caning, Asian influences, shopping with a friend and good housekeeping practices because it's the LAW.

Greeting! After a busy few weeks, I have just completed restoration of a homemade oak rocking chair with cane seat and back I picked up earlier this year.  I took it on because I have successfully replaced sheet cane early in my restoration career and decided I was ready for another go.  I am happy to report it all went smooth and the chair is now available!  Here are a few pics from the process.

The first pic is the chair as found with a blown out back.  Step 1 was removing the old cane and spline.  The best way to accomplish this is with a $40 steamer.  The steam loosens the old glue.  I would say it took the better part of an hour to work the old cane free.  Then I visited my local basketmaking and caning supply shop (yes, that is a THING!) called the Country Seat and they helped me match up the cane and spline to the right sizes.  The spline has to be big enough to fit in the channel tightly as that what keeps the whole structure intact.  Then I returned home ready to work.  After soaking the new cane and spline in water for about 20 min, I got to work using the wood pegs to insert the cane into the channel.  Working from side to side and and making it taunt.  Once I had it all lined up and inserted as I liked, I would trim off the excess, cut the spline to size beveling my ends for placement.  Then adding wood glue in the channel, inserting the spline, pounding in with a rubber mallet and my peg and wiping off the excess glue.  Overall, this project took about 3 hours of my time.  The chair looks fantastic!  If you have an eclectic style like I do, you may fall in love with the texture of caned and woven goods. Sheet cane replacement can be tricky, but it is a lot easier and less time consuming that outright caning!  Stop by my etsy shop if you want to read more about the chair. CLICK HERE

While I was at the caning shop, I picked up some material to repair a 1930's Heywood Wakefield rattan rocker.  It is shown on my Diamonds in the Rough page.  I am going to get started repair the one arm that is a little dogged up and then redoing the seat.  I have some golden yellow fabric I thought would be a good choice with the aged orange finish of the rattan, but I am open to  using a pattern.  If you want to claim this baby now I will finish it per your specifications.  Amazingly enough, the rattan is actually a very tight twisted paper and not a reed at all!  When I snapped off a piece to take it along to the shop, I was suspicious and the woman at the shop confirmed it!  I will be replacing with a reed in the area that needs repaired and hoping I can do a close match of the orange paint to blend it in.  These kind of details are always challenging and fun for creative types like myself. 

NEW ITEMS.

I just picked up a few new items that I am getting ready to list.  I love to know the history of what I find so being able to select things from the home they lived in is a fun yet melancholy part of securing my inventory.  I was able to visit a home that is getting cleaned out after it's owner recently passed on.  She was a working artist who made her living selling prints and original oils.  I am still trying to get more info on her business but she did copyright everything she sold so there were definitely savvy practices being followed.  Her home was filled with late Bombay Company furnishings in near perfect condition.  I picked up a pair of 2005 era MING style end tables in a black finish with gorgeous burl tops.  I quite enjoy the Asian style and think it would be a great match in an eclectic or boho décor.  This will be photographed and listed in the next 24 hours- hoping for no rain and a little sun! I also picked up 2 very large original oils on canvas in beautiful gold gilt lighted frames.  They are both floral subjects.  One is marked Not Copyrighted DO NOT SELL.  The other has been copyrighted and her notes show pricing and editions for canvas and paper reproductions including her asking price on the original, $4,000.  I am trying to get some more info regarding where her work was being sold and what galleries she had relationships with.  

One  of my friends mentioned they wanted me to look for a couch for them.  A few hours later a lovely living room set gets texted to me from an estate guy I buy from. Well turns out my friend was as smitten as I and trusted me to handle his deal. He got my full services including condition evaluation, pick up/delivery and a complete cleaning and sanitization.  He is handling a structural issue with the couch himself.  My Facebook page blew up after I posted the pics so I think lots of people loved it! It is Bassett Premier, often misattributed to Adrian   Pearsall.  It is in amazing condition too! Looks great in his home and I get to visit them. 💕

Speaking of sanitizing, in other exciting news, I decided to apply for a license from my state to be able to tag my own used or restored upholstered goods after I clean and sanitize with one of 2 products the state authorized to be used. I chose Steri-Fab, which is an insecticide, germicide and fungicide.  I will vacuum and steam all upholstered goods and follow with sanitizing all areas I can get to, I am certain that not all places do a thorough job with this especially thrifts, who are required to tag and any other retailer you shop with in PA.  I was letting my mall handle it for me but decided it would be something I would do for every customer I ship to. I am already following procedures but am waiting for my license to be approved so I can order the yellow tags. Buyers can remove them after receiving the item but it is piece of mind for all of us! I welcome local people to use my services! I would gladly sanitize and clean something you found or are selling commercially so you can comply with the law. Message me and we can talk about it!

HALLOWEEN

Just to let you know I have some fabulous NEW Halloween kitchen towel from Primitives by Kathy available locally at my Fleetwood Antique Mall space and currently a few styles are on ebay.  Please stop by and check them out!  ebay.com/usr/madmodworldvintage

This towel available NOW in my ebay shop or locally at Fleetwood Antique Mall!

order now so you get yours in time!  

Thanks for reading, your comments and emails!  XO Malissa