One of the most entrancing things about this show is watching people bring in stuff that could very easily be lying around the house, collecting dust, and find out that whatever tchotchke is worth many thousands more than they thought. I keep holding my breath, hoping to see something that my family has shoved onto a shelf or into the attic somewhere.
But it also tells me what kind of antiques I like. My parents are avid amateur antique-ers and are constantly coming back with random finds (sometimes treasures, sometimes tragedies. Someday I'll tell you about The Tapestry, or The Transylvanian Buffet) and someday I hope to fill my house with antiques I've picked out myself. For example, I just fell completely in love with an Elizabeth Eaton Burton lamp. Burton, I've discovered, was a female metal artist coming out of the Arts and Crafts movement who created (among other things) amazing Art Nouveau-style lamps. I crave this lamp -- with a copper lilypad base and a delicate, winding neck, it's the most beautiful variation on a gooseneck lamp I've ever seen. The head of the lamp was a shade of light-pink frosted glass shaped like the barely bursting bud of some kind of furled flower, maybe an azalea, fitted into a copper pod.
And ooooooo, I WANT THAT LAMP. It's even more nail-biting when you hear that person who found it found it in a thrift-store in California for twenty dollars. This is why I need to learn what to look for in these places. If only I wasn't constantly distracted by costume jewelery...
also, my shoes arrived today. I put them on and with a sinking stomach realized they weren't quite what I was expecting. I'll have to get some second, third and fourth opinions.
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