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Collecting Marbles
When I first learned of the hobby of marble collecting, I was surprised. I had no idea that a marble could be a collector’s item. How could one even tell them apart, I wondered. A passionate collector...
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Who’s Got the Button?
I once stumbled upon a little shop in Chicago that sold nothing but buttons. The entire shop was lined with buttons: flowers, trains, mother-of-pearl, wood, ivory, glass, new buttons, vintage buttons,...
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Purses
Where would women be without a purse to hold the essentials like cash, keys, a drivers license and credit cards and the non-essentials like lipstick, a package of fruit snacks, old receipts, cinnamon...
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Crafts with Vintage Linens
I’ve written a few times about collecting and caring for vintage linens. Several times I’ve taken a chance on otherwise beautiful, but stained, linens on sale for a dollar or two, hoping I can remove...
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Collectible Perfume Bottles
Packaging has long been a major component of perfume marketing, and I’ve even read of instances where some manufacturers put more money into the bottle than the actual perfume. Scented oils and...
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Collecting Dollhouses
What little girl doesn’t love a dollhouse? We had one growing up that our dad put together from a kit with a hot glue gun. It was called the Harrison – they still sell this kit today! We spent many...
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A Miniature World
As a young girl I found that most of the fun of owning a dollhouse came from furnishing it. My mother enjoyed it just as much, and the two of us would pore over the tiny dining tables, baby cribs and...
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Collecting Jadeite Glass
Just like anything else, there are trends in antiques and collectibles, and over the past few years jadeite glassware has been flying off the shelves of the local collectibles shops. Jadeite (or...
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Lava Lamps – Groovy!
The lava lamp has become an easily recognizable symbol of the psychedelic sixties. While they saw their heyday decades ago, lava lamps still pop up regularly on college campuses, bedrooms and living...
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Garnet Jewelry
I just added a pretty garnet ring to my jewelry collection that I’m pretty excited about. The stone is a deep, fiery red, a very passionate, dramatic shade. It’s not very big, but it’s quite pretty, in...
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Brooches and Pins
I love vintage jewelry and when the older ladies in my and my husband’s family discovered this fact, they were delighted to give me jewelry that had been sitting unused in their jewelry boxes for...
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Blenko Glass
As a collector interested in things like china, silver and glassware, I frequently encounter Blenko glass, a type of beautiful, handcrafted art glass that is very collectible. For more than a century...
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Collecting Wall Hangings
I love the look of crafts but have never had the patience to learn them well – I’d much rather have my nose in a book during my free time. Fortunately, my mother-in-law is a talented crafter so my kids...
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Hummel Figurines
The popularity of Hummel figurines has endured for decades. The depictions of children have charmed generations of collectors, and Hummels are often handed down from parent to child. Hummel figurines...
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Collecting Inkwells
Before pens that held their own ink were invented, anyone penning a letter or other document had to repeatedly dip the pen nib into liquid ink to finish the project. Because of this, the inkwell was a...
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Collecting Grindley China
I’ve written before about flow blue china and today thought I’d focus on one of the most recognizable names in flow blue, Grindley china. W.H. Grindley & Co. had a nice long run, from 1880 to 1991....
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Collecting Blue Willow China
Anyone who collects china has encountered the ubiquitous Blue Willow china pattern. Versions of this pattern have appeared on plates, platters, teapots and other china from all sorts of manufacturers...
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Collecting Vaseline Glass
Vaseline glass is a type of yellow/green glass that is made by adding uranium dioxide to the glass mixture. Because of this special ingredient, it’s easy to identify true vaseline glass – when a...
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Lefton China
For decades, Lefton has produced china that makes great gifts and collectibles. Lefton china was founded in Chicago in 1941 by George Zoltan Lefton, who had arrived from Hungary two years before. He...
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Collecting Limoges China
Before I became interested in antique and collectible china, I had heard of Limoges china and assumed that there was a company named Limoges that made this particular brand of china. It wasn’t until...
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