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| Calypso lolling about on some stock boxes, as we prepare for Collectorama. |
Collectorama,
the biggest Antiques and Collectables Fair in south-east Queensland, is coming
up this Saturday, 6 September at the Nambour Showground.
We’ll
be taking our normal double-stand, at our normal location on the lower level of
the large outdoor Pavillion. It promises
to be a sunny day, so it should be fun.
We’ve still got a few things that haven’t yet been presented, and I’ve
planned what I hope will be an attractive display.
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| The boys like the height and warmth provided by the stock boxes, too. |
Decent
Antiques Fairs in Queensland are few and far between, so a few weeks ago we decided
to visit a small, local - and by that I mean a two hour drive away – Antiques Fair
in Esk. It was a warm day, with big
cornflower blue skies, a winding hilly drive, and there was plenty to see and
chat about en route.
As
we travelled inland the extent of the drought in Queensland became more
apparent. It’s green and lush near the
coast, but not far inland it’s brown and parched, hot, uninviting. The grass crackles underfoot, the cattle crowd
into the sparse shade of the depleted trees, and the creeks are little more
than a series of small, shallow pools.
It’s a tough environment.
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| This was a necklace at Esk. Can you imagine wearing it? Really? It isn't old and was obviously bought by a man with No Sense of Style. |
Esk
is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere with, it has to be said, not a whole
lot to recommend it. It has a giant
antiques shop in the main street, but it had taken the opportunity – being a
Saturday – to be shut. But we had come
to visit the Fair, and in such a small town it was easy to find.
It’s
a pity when Antiques Fairs allow exhibitors who sell nothing but reproduction to
participate, don’t you think? Especially
at a small Fair where there are limited exhibitors to begin with.
Nonetheless,
I carried off a brushed aluminium cake tin with clean, Deco, lines for an
exceptionally good price. Aluminium cake
tins, utensils and aluminum lidded glass storage jars are entirely out of
fashion at the moment. But they are stylish and suit either vintage or country
kitchens, so this will change when magazine stylists and interior decorators
rediscover them.
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| This is a cute little Japanese wooden Netsuke. It dates to about 1950 so it's not antique, but it is vintage and collectable, not to mention way cute. |
But until they do, now
is the time to buy because these pieces are so reasonably priced. So that will be something for me to hunt for
at Collectorama, when I get a minute.
Because
this time we’re not going on our usual Sept/Oct buying trip to France and
England, I instead contacted a few of my regular jewellery suppliers, to see if
they had anything I liked. And yes, they
had lots of lovely things, many of which have arrived just in time for
Collectorama.
I
bought a nice selection of French glass wedding cake bead necklaces, together
with foiled glass and cloisonné necklaces, all at exceptionally good prices –
which means I can offer exceptionally good prices myself.
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| Sarah Coventry owl pendant. |
I
also bought an articulated Sarah Coventry owl pendant – a nice piece of retro
jewellery, some lovely vintage French, Italian and big name American brooches and stylish
vintage Swiss wrist watches. I’ll
present them all at Collectorama, and we’ll see how well received they are.
I've put a few photos on our Facebook page, and you can click on this link to see them:
After we pack up from Collectorama on Saturday, we’ll repack a selection of
stock for the Peregian Beach Market, on Sunday 7 September. So it will be a big weekend. Call by to say hello, if you can.
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| No stock boxes left for Artemis, but she found somewhere to sun herself anyway. |
