Vintage look the rage during Fashion Week

Sometimes it's confusing to know when you are supposed to wear the clothes you see in newspapers, magazines and stores. That is because the media are now sharing the sneak previews that only fashion professionals used to be able to see eight months before you'll want to wear them.

In San Antonio, winter is here. But in stores, spring looks are already in full bloom.

But in New York, it's Fashion Week, and that means that it's already fall of '07. At last count, 221 designers are previewing their collections at the tents in Bryant Park and off-site at venues from art galleries to hotel lobbies, nightclubs to an ice-skating rink. Designers, of course, are vying for attention in hopes you'll remember their names when you finally get around to shopping for your fall wardrobe months from now.

Some antiques may just need a little TLC

THIS IS the perfect time for making two promises involving antiques: One concerns the proper care of antique furniture, while the second mixes antiques and American history.

Refinish right

Here is a way to help revitalize your antiques to make them look dazzlingly old, but never appearing as if freshly assembled from a cardboard box. Keep in mind that elbow grease can do wonders. Many times a piece through the years has earned nicks and water spots. All it may need is some tender loving care to remain alluring.

Remember, furniture originally varnished to showcase the wood's grain should remain that way. Never paint or "antique" an originally varnished object. It's a sin to hide grain and color originally intended to be visible. Pieces may just need a little effort and a magic concoction (to be revealed) for restoring former grandeur.

What’s new in old Antiques with clean lines and utility come into fashion

Trends in antique furniture circle in and out of favor like painted ponies on a vintage carousel. Biedermeier and midcentury modern are riding high, while Mission and French Empire are fading. Mark Howald, executive vice president of St. Louis auction house Ivey-Selkirk, says there's a logic behind the simultaneous popularity of seemingly disparate styles.

"We're seeing a move toward a minimalist look across all styles," Howald said. Biedermeier, made in Germany and Austria from 1815 to 1848, and midcentury modern furniture are both architectural with clean lines.

Two other clean-lined styles that are popular now are English Regency and French Directoire, says Keitha Kaminski, director of Webster House Antiques in Kansas City, Mo.

Running her fingers along the carved front of a French Directoire cherry console, Kaminski said, "This is a country version of a piece that would have had lots of ormolu, lots of goop.

Antique store grows in new location

GRANDVILLE -- Ever since her high school years, Carol Kuester has been in love with old things. Her passion for antiques and styles of furniture was so pervasive her mother used to tell her she was "born in the wrong era."
It was that love that led Kuester and her husband, Holger, 10 years ago to start Somewhere in Thyme, an antique and crafts store that leases space to collectors and artists.
The Kuesters have relocated Somewhere in Thyme from its original location, 2410 Chicago Drive in Hudsonville, to the 4165 Chicago Drive SW, site of the former Grandville Home Furnishings store.
The move provides Somewhere in Thyme with better exposure and more than twice the space -- with a total of about 14,000 square feet -- offered at its Hudsonville site, Carol Kuester said.

Collectors Universe Reports Metrics for Second Quarter and First …

Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT) , a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles and diamonds and colored gemstones, today reported its unit performance metrics for the second fiscal quarter of fiscal 2007. The Company reports the number of units which it authenticates, grades and ships, on a quarterly basis, for coins, sports cards, autographs, stamps, currency, diamonds and colored gemstones, which comprise its principal authentication and grading markets. The Company's brands in those markets include: Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) for coins, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) for sports cards, PSA/DNA Authentication Services (PSA/DNA) for autographs, Professional Stamp Experts (PSE) for stamps, PCGS Currency for paper money, Gem Certification & Appraisal Lab (GCAL) for diamonds, and American Gemological Laboratories (AGL) for colored gemstones.

Finders and keepers flock to annual antiques show

From little trinkets to large pieces of furniture, there was a little bit of everything at the Robert R. Merlino Memorial Antiques Show yesterday in Cromwell Center, Tompkinsville.
"There is so much stuff," said Gladys Schweiger, executive director of the Staten Island Alzheimer's Foundation. "There are all types of things -- estate jewelry, crystal, furniture. It's wonderful."
She even found a little turtle statue for her granddaughter, who loves the shelled reptile.
The Alzheimer's Foundation hosts the annual event, which attracts vendors from as far away as Pennsylvania and usually raises about $10,000 for the organization through admission, raffle sales and vendor tables.
Ms. Schweiger said the profit they make from the event stays on Staten Island and is used to help run various programs.

Translate the style

Like Bob and Stevie Burke, most of us have collections we'd like to display. It might be Grandmother's costume jewelry, toys from your childhood, antique cooking tools or the knives Bob collected during his travels.
So why not get those precious things out of the musty boxes in the basement? You can mimic Bob's look literally, as with this display of Native American rattles, or you can give yourself more freedom, depending upon what you have and the tone you want.
To get a shadow-box effect, start with framed hotel art without glass (4 by 2 feet, Stars Antiques Mall, $38; Oregon City Furniture Co. has a wide selection, $20-$50). Brush three to four coats of semigloss latex paint over the canvas (this is Miller's 'Roasted Pepper') and use a 1-inch angle brush to paint the frame black (the gold border was untouched).

Kushan Empire - Ancient Coins and History

Glendi Greek Festival

If you took the opportunity to visit the Glendi Greek Festival in Adelaide, you would be glad you did.

For our international readers, the Glendi Festival is a greek-themed festival run each year in Adelaide by the Greek Lion's Association. Held in a park, the fesitval is arranged in a large circle of stalls.

This year, the festival celebrated its 30th anniversary. Quite a feat for a festival, one of the largest of its type in the world.

Great Food, Music, and Dancing were the highlights of this year's festival, with music on four stages. A stage on every corner of festival meant that the attendants were surrounded by greek music everywhere.

The world record attempt on Sunday saw potentially over a thousand attendants try and beat the world record for the longest Zorba line.

Results for this world record attempt are still pending and will be posted on their website once available.

Speeches by important guests, including the Premier and the leader of the opposition (with a message of support from the Prime Minister of Australia) saw the crowd excited and enthused by the speakers' unwavering support for the stolen Parthenon Marbles and their holding of Turkey accountable for the violation of human rights in Northern Cyprus.

Definitely, the best Glendi yet. If you are in Adelaide, South Australia, next year, make sure to come visit.

Details available on the website: http://www.glendi.org

Free Ancient Coin Software

Please feel free to download my free Ancient Coin Inventory Software. You can also use it for Modern coins if you wish:

http://www.greekandromancoins.com/downloads.php