New Things are Happening!

So, I have been neglecting the blog, as you can tell, considering my last post was in 2021!  But, I have been active on YouTube since then, so please check it out. You can catch up on all the drama that occurred with the sale of my property and follow my progress in renovations of my new-to-me commercial building. Renovations are still ongoing, as cash flow permits. As I type this, there are electricians retrofitting new LED lighting in the old fluorescents. 

The shop is looking brighter by the minute! 

Also, the latest major event is the launch of my new website, www.fedoraantiques.com! I have been meaning to get a website up for nearly 20 years, so it is about time!  So far, there are a bit under 300 listings already on there, but I am trying to load more on it every week, sometimes daily. 

Blog wise, that is where I will be doing blog posts in the future, though I might post them here as well, haven't quite decided yet. I will be copying older posts from this blog to the website blog, as well as potentially doing fresh ones as inspiration hits, though many end up instead as videos on YouTube, so I suggest following me there. In any case, check out the new website when you have a chance!

Long Time No Post

 

Sorry folks, it has been all too long since I last blogged. 

But, truth is, vlogging and creating videos on  YouTube has taken up the time I would normally be spending blogging here.  It has been tough, actually, as I can't seem to get the hang of how to create views.  I see so many videos with 1000, 10000, 100 000 and more views, with crap content, and wonder what I am doing wrong. 

I am not saying my content is "top quality", but when there are videos of people popping their pimples getting a million views, you have to wonder what the heck is going on when your video gets only 20 views.

It is a strange beast, YouTube. 

The best way to keep up with what has been going on, frankly, is my YouTube.

I will try to blog some over the next while, though I have several projects on the go, not the least of which is the day to day struggle of making a living.  I have a book I really need to get back to writing, on the mysterious man known as "The Mad Trapper Of Rat River", aka Albert Johnson. I do have a FB page about my work on that. 

I also want to get working on a movie/cable TV miniseries idea I have about an antiques dealer, sort of a twisted cross between American Pickers & Breaking Bad. Not so sure how to get started, aside from just writing the story itself, and perhaps publishing it as a book, and hoping a production company wants to do something with it. I have lots of jottings about/on unique characters, ideas, twists, curves and surprises. I suppose I could just write it in a screenplay format, though there is a learning curve there. I imagine it as a screenplay, so that might be the way to go. Still undecided, though I was going to tie into it this evening, but ended up working on this blog posting instead.  Anyone know of a production company looking for unique ideas and would be interested in an elevator pitch? 

Anyway, this posting is starting to get long, so will cut it off there. I do recommend you subscribe to my YouTube channel, and catch up on what is going on currently. 

  

MAY 2020 - Update !

Been slacking off on the blog, and for those of you who follow the blog, I do apologize. Making videos on youtube, or vlogs as they sometimes get called, has been front and center of my 'blogging' activities for the past several months. 

I have been creating weekly update videos, which you can access here. 

There are already over 70 update videos alone there. Most are well under 10 minutes, so you could binge watch them all and see my progress from moving from the old place, buying the new place, and doing renos, and moving in, and progress from there setting up. Still have lots to do, of course. Had to get a living space built from scratch, and technically it still isn't 100% complete, but I am living in the building now.

 Was hoping to monetize them eventually, but now youtube has announced changes that may make that a pipe dream. You used to have to have 1000 subscribers (which is daunting enough to get to), and a few thousand viewing hours on your channel in order to get access to the monetization point, where they put ads and such on your videos, and give you a cut. It is not big money by any stretch (not until you hit a million subscribers, really), but also by that level you do get some perks and features not otherwise available to you.   But, now, if you don;t hit that threshold by June 1st, you won't be grandfathered into the new levels, which apparently will be something like 4000 subscribers and many more viewing hours than before.  With my videos being so short, and with people's attention spans being even shorter, it would have been tough enough to get to the old levels, but now it seems even tougher, almost insurmountable.....Would pretty much need a video to go viral in order to accomplish what seems to be the impossible at this point. I have maybe 75 subscribers now, which has taken many months to get to, so to get another 925 before June 1st seems like an utter impossibility.  

It makes me now doubt the value of the YouTube platform. It is like the "AirMiles" program where they kept downgrading the value of the mileage points you have earned. Just when you think you could afford that toaster with your mileage points, suddenly they  downgraded the points/miles to a level that you could only afford to buy the ballpoint pen with your "miles". 

So, what I am doing may or may not change in the coming few months, as far as blogging and vlogging goes.  We shall see.

Update on the New Chapter of Life

It is now October 17th, 2019. Things are slowly moving ahead. The plumber is here, and has jack-hammered out a section of the concrete floor to rough in the plumbing for my new washroom...at great expense. About $2300 of expense, actually. That is a chunk of my budget, but I guess it is a necessary chunk.

The carpenters, meanwhile, are at a stand still because they are at the point they need to do some more drywall. The electrician didn't finish up the electrical that is needed to be done, so the drywall can't be finished in the living space. A week later I finally had to call to see what the holdup was, and now the guy at their office is checking their schedule to get him back here to finish up. I was also told the worker came by on Friday (when there was storm warnings stating travel wasn't advised & I had a lawyer's appointment in a city nearby at 1:30) and on the morning of which I didn't even receive a call saying he was there needing access.  I guess I was supposed to somehow use my ESP to know he was going to be there....

Communication doesn't seem to be their strong suit.

Anyways, I am hoping/assuming their work is better than their communication skills. They were recently bought out by another firm, so perhaps it is growing pains?

All in all, the progress is slow, and my budget is being eaten away quickly....concerned I will still be left with renovation bills to pay and no money to pay them immediately.  As for sales, it is tough to sell stuff when it is all packed, and you can't open the doors to the public. Online sales via ETSY are slow, maybe 1 - 3 sales a week, and they are usually not significant dollar amounts.

Was really hoping to have some funds left to tide me over the winter, but it is definitely not looking that it will turn out that way. 

So, it is a matter of "sell, sell, sell" again...But, at least my expenses will be lower (assuming my heat bills are not outrageous and nothing pops up that I am not expecting), without a mortgage to pay, lower heat bills, and generally lower monthly expenses.

That's about it for today. As I mentioned before, you can follow the ups and downs of the daily progress by watching my videos on YouTube here. 

Safe picking!

A Fall Post

So, been a busy summer, but not much to blog about....well, actually, there has been lots going on. 

The biggest news is that the property has been sold, and I am no longer the owner of it as of September 30th. 

So, where am I now?

The new property is at 230 Cameron St (AKA North Railway St) in Oak Lake, MB. It is just 5 minutes east down the highway of where I was.  

The building is about 3500 square feet, and I am putting in a living quarters at the back of the building, taking up about 1/5th or so of the building. It is a tiny space, but it will do. As a result of my living quarters being so small, my display space is limited...as a result, I have to divest myself of some of my personal collections. So, that will mean some cool items being put into inventory in the shop!

I also had to let go/abandon approx. $200,000 retail worth of inventory at the property. That consisted all of the outdoor inventory, and a fair bit of what was in the basement; internet inventory, "future" stuff, lamp parts, a pinball machine, a 1890s counter top, a 1960s bar that had soda fountain stools on it (which I had planned to use as my kitchen eating area), among other things that I hated to let go, but really had no choice. The time frame for moving the entire 12 years worth of accumulation was 6 weeks, so I simply did not have the time. I technically didn't have 6 weeks to move stuff, as I had to pack, and find a place to re-establish.  I was lucky to acquire the building I did, despite the amount of reno I have to do to get it up to usable condition. 

If you wish to follow/see the progress from "start" to "now", check out the YouTube videos on my channel, under the heading "New Chapter In Life". You will want to start at Update 1, and go from there.  To keep abreast of new videos, click on the SUBSCRIBE button under teh bottom right corner of the videos.

The videos should update you on what has gone on over the past 7 weeks.....or longer, depending on when you are reading this.

Happy picking!

Update!

Been awhile since the last post, so I figured I better do a little writing. Am delving into doing YouTube videos, and have established a channel, which can be found here.  Trying to do some videos of stories I have, as well as picking videos, magnet fishing videos,  metal detecting videos, etc. 

Haven't been inspired to do any blogging as of late, as you may have noticed. I have been writing some, working on my book on the Mad Trapper. To keep tabs on that, I do have a Facebook page for it that you can "LIKE" and keep an eye on. 

Other than that, just have been trying to make money to cover bills; nothing much different than the norm.   I guess the most exciting thing is my starting to do videos.  It is something I should have started ages ago, but better late than never, right?

There is a learning curve to do the videos...practice, practice, practice. So, the easiest ones to make tend to be the stories, then magnet fishing ones. Some of the stories are contained within this blog, but some are ones I haven't written down, so you may want to check them out! 

American Pickers Coming To Canada? Unlikely...

These days Canadian Pickers is existing only in re-runs.

So, the way should be clear for American Pickers to come to Canada, right?

Well, it hasn't happened (for reasons unknown), and now is less likely to happen.

Frank got busted.

 Yep, a DUI....was intoxicated on booze and Xanax, apparently.

So, now he has a criminal record, and thus will be ineligible to come into Canada....

Future of Collecting - Vintage Tech Hunters

One of the questions on people's minds in the antiques & collectibles biz is what the future holds for the business. 

It is a business that relies on new blood to come to it, and if the same people are the only market, the market gets thin, values plummet. 

Well, change is the way of the world, and changing is what you have to do.

It is adapt or die, really.

One of the areas of collecting that has come in to its own is technology. 

Interest in vintage technology has increased and risen from what could have been considered a niche market for electronics nerds to a mainstream audience.  This rise has been made even more evident by the appearance of a new reality TV show in the marketplace called Vintage Tech Hunters. (Promo reel here)

This Canadian produced show is in the Canadian market (soon to the US market?), and at the time of this blog has had a half dozen episodes aired already. 

The show does keep its premise pretty simple, with hosts Shaun Hatton & Bohus Blahut travelling many miles across the US and Canada searching for vintage tech at flea markets, at garage sales, in old warehouses, etc. 

It is a familiar formula, that seems at first was borrowed from American Pickers. It is far from the first show to utilize a version of the formula, and I doubt is going to be the last, as a successful formula is not something production companies are going to sit and ignore.  It is cut back a little in comparison to American Pickers, resulting in a more streamlined show, which is "lighter" and as a result actually does seem more palatable & appealing in its content to those who are not necessarily into vintage tech.

So, the next time you walk by a vintage video game system, some ancient electric gadget, or that video disc player, think about the money you could well be leaving on the table.

Picking Vehicles Over The Years

A picker's vehicle is one of the most important tools he/she has.  These have been my "pickermobiles" over the years.

Late 1980s - early 1990s

(1) late 70s/Early 1980s 4 door Chevette

&

(2) 1980s 4 Door Pontiac Acadian 

(Essentially a Pontiac badged Chevette)

I fit 5 to 6 eight foot banquet tables worth of inventory into this car, and even then the inventory was crammed on my show tables.  

Even managed to haul a 12' long Texaco sign and a gas pump in these cars!

Acadian is shown wrecked after an accident. Walked away from it, luckily, with just bruises...some big bruises, but just bruises.

1990s

Late 1980 Dodge Ram Half Ton

With a cap on the back, this vehicle served me very well. Did lots of picking in this truck. Again, shown as it was, written off by MPIC, after a kid, driving his father's brand new truck, hit it on glare ice....marooning me & my girlfriend at the time in Shoal Lake for the better part of a week!

1980s Ford E150 Van

The first van I bought, and which hooked me on Ford full size vans.

Reliable, durable, but rust prone as they age..... But, "pretty" is not what a picker should be after when it comes to a vehicle!

Had another full size passenger van that I used temporarily inbetween these two.  

2000s

Another late 1980s E150

Put the back mounts of the leaf springs through the rusted out floor by hauling too heavy of scrap metal loads...couldn't close the back doors by the time I took it off the road.

Early 1990s Ford E250

A 3/4 ton van, this one cost me a fair bit in repairs, etc, but overall served me well.

1990s GMC Sierra

Used this as a temporary measure, but the 3/4 size box wasn't very utilitarian. The crew cab was ok for hauling stuff you didn't want to get dusty, but overall the truck was limited as far as using it for serious picking went.

2017-2018

1998 Ford E350

As of this posting, I am using a 1 ton Ford passenger van with the rear passenger seats, carpeted flooring, and assorted plastic interior trim removed. It was what I was able to find when I needed a van. The gutting took a bit of time, but it now serves its purpose. This one is a little more expensive when it comes to repairs, but it handles weight just fine. Has the usual Ford body rust issues, but it will have to do for awhile.   It isn't pretty, but it does the job.

I should note, I owned all these vehicles outright. No leases, bank loans, etc. They also were my "daily drivers", not just my picking vehicles.  

So, what is/was/were your pickermobile(s)?

A Treasure - Currier and Ives Print

Once and awhile you pick an item that makes your heart skip a beat, a real treasure. This garage sale find was one of those.

What was the item?  Only a Currier & Ives hand tinted print, titled AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAIN.

I've since sold the print, so I can only offer you a photo of a photograph I have, as seen below.

It was impressive, being quite large, roughly 3' wide, and it had been matted and framed. The frame was a modern one, with holes drilled in the edges. That does raise a red flag, as it usually indicates it was screwed to the wall of a restaurant or hotel room, and that would scream that it was likely  a reproduction. 

However, this one had all the hallmarks of an original! Plus, add to the fact that many places were decorating with vintage items, and there were plenty of people who fancied themselves to be decorators at the time, who were basically pillaging some attics and using whatever they found  as decor in some restaurants. I have spotted some formerly very good pieces in some of those restaurants....and I say "formerly" because some fool drilled holes through the items, impaled them on lag bolts, etc. It is sad to see what used to be a $500 item reduced to a $25 decor piece...

Anyways, the print in question was well done, and as far as any of the knowledgeable local dealers could tell, it was the "real deal." 

Now I was getting enthused!  

Why? Well, I had been looking through a magazine, and there was an article on that very print....the last one of these that sold at auction not a year before I found mine, had sold in range of $50,000!

So, the next thing I had to do was send it to an auction house, which I did. I seem to recall it was Sotheby's in New York, I believe.

So, I sent it on its way, rolled in a tube, and awaited their assessment.

I was told it was a very high quality piece.....but they would not be interested in consigning it in their auction, as it was also a reproduction.

They sent it back to me....with a bill for professional art packing, amounting to $250 US or so!

So, my initial $15 purchase now totalled a cost of nearly $200.  It was most certain professionally packed, flat, and well protected....but I would have been happier had they sent it back to me in a tube as I had sent it to them.

On the plus side, they appraised it at $500.

In the end, I did sell it on eBay, for $350, as a high quality reproduction.

It was a learning experience, which luckily I basically broke even, between postage, eBay fees, time, etc.

Oh well, can't win them all....but winning one once and awhile would be nice, wouldn't it?

Treasure Leads You Can Find

Been awhile since the last post, and being that I am in Facebook Jail (suspended until 5PM today from posting in any groups) for some unknown reason, I thought it would be a good time to blog.

Anyways, treasure leads are easy enough to find, if you know were to look, and how to go about finding them.

For example, during the fur trade era, to my understanding, every capsized canoe belonging to the HBC of bales of furs and goods was recorded.  (I am not sure about the canoes of other companies, nor independent traders.) Those bales of goods and furs are now sitting in the middle of various rivers. Due to the fast moving water in some of these rivers, the bales are sitting on rocks, as the rushing water tends to clear silt away, and the fur bales are packed thus that they remain intact. 

So, theoretically, if you were to search the HBC archives, as well as archives for the North-West company, as well as do a ton of reading of various true fur trade tales, you may well be able to find the location of those lost bales. 

Some time ago there was a Manitoba University prof who that did just that. He ended up diving for one or some of these bales, and recovered at least one, if I am recalling correctly. 

Imagine finding a bale of trade goods, all of which are highly collectible and worth some good money! Even a bale of furs would be a real find, a solid piece of history you can touch. 

So, what are you waiting for? 

Get researching!

A Canadian Prairie Treasure Lead You Can Pursue!

Was doing some digging online and tripped across this interesting bit of information. If you find the treasure you owe me a case of good beer! 

"In the early 1880’s a stagecoach was robbed and the thief not
caught until the following winter when the stagecoach driver spotted the
man watering his horses through a hole chopped in the river ice just below
Prince Albert. He confessed that he followed the river trail east of Prince
Albert looking for a place to hide his loot and finally buried it under a
boulder at The Forks. Not even he recovered the money because he had
marked the boulder with charcoal and by the time he got out of jail it had allwashed off in the rain." 

He marked the boulder with charcoal? Now that was not a very smart thief....!

Note that the stolen loot was supposedly never recovered. 'The forks' it refers to is where the north and south Saskatchewan meet.

Source:
The Voice of the People: reminisces of Prince Albert Settlement’s early citizens
(1866- 1895). Prince Albert Historical Society. 1985 p.63

A Treasure Map Just For You

If you have been paying attention to my blogs, you will remember that I mentioned a treasure just waiting to be found.

$200,000 in gold awaits a lucky treasure hunter, sitting somewhere in south eastern Manitoba.

It is said to be somewhere between St Anne's and Harrison Creek, and under the floorboards of some old cabin.

So, I undertook the task of determining exactly where those two locations are, to narrow down your search. 

Here you go, a bona fide treasure map!

In this case, X does not mark the spot of the treasure...but they do mark the outside perimeter of where the treasure is.

Now, your job is to find the old Dawson Trail, (big hint at that link) and then see if you can find old cabins from the right period along/near the trail. There are roughly only 115 miles worth of trail to search!

Sounds easy enough, no?

When you find the treasure, send me a piece as a souvenir, would ya?

Good luck!

Wild West Outlaw Treasure - Treasure Lead #8

This lead consists not of buried ill gotten loot, but of two gifts.

You see, I was talking with an old timer, a real cowboy, who is versed in the local lore of his area.

Word is that Jesse James, Frank James and two other outlaws of the James-Younger gang hid out in Southern Manitoba after (at least) one of their robberies.

The story goes that Jesse & one outlaw stayed at one farmer's place, and Frank and the other outlaw stayed at another farmer's place, all 4 posing/working as farm hands over the winter.

Apparently the Pinkertons had a blockade set up across the USA, being determined to catch the brothers as they tried to get home to the south.

When it came time to leave Manitoba, the brothers readied their horses, but found the two thoroughbreds they arrived on were not recovered/ready, so they left their two stallions here, and took one of each of the farmers' horses. 

So, there is probably some of the James' horses' DNA  floating around in some of the horse population here! 

Frank was appreciative for the lodging given him and his associate, and had presented his host with one of his Colt pistols. What model it was is unknown, at least at the moment!

This firearm was said to have been seen by a friend of mine in a collection back 30 or 40 years ago. He was told the gun had belonged to Frank James, but at the time he brushed the information told to him off as fantasy...but hearing this additional  story some years later has given him pause....could it be a colt that belonged to Frank James is in private hands right now?

Jesse on the other hand, presented a fancy bridal to the son of the farmer he and the other outlaw lodged with, as the son had admired it.  The bridal has not been seen (recognized) in recent times.

Fall had become winter, likely winter had become spring, and by that time the Pinkertons gave up. The outlaws made it home, probably during the late winter or spring. 

The trick to these treasures, beyond the monumental task of finding them, is provenance. 

It has been a rumour/tale told through generations that the James brothers came up to that particular part of Southern Manitoba after their robberies, but how do you prove it?  Are there photos floating around of the brothers posing with the families, or their images in emblazoned on a cabinet card that is marked with a Manitoba area photographer's markings, or their images with landmarks in the background that can be identified positively to those areas? 

The more time passes, the more tenuous those connections are, if they even exist. 

So, the next time you see a fancy bridal or a colt pistol from that era, it should be on your mind to ask if the person knows the history of the piece...maybe, just maybe the infamous James brothers once owned them!

A Colt Revolver with provenance as belonging to Frank James. Could this be the mate to the one that he left with the farmer in Manitoba?  (Image from this cool page: https://www.schwendguns.us/Photo_Page_One.htm)

Fly, Fly Away - Treasure Lead #7

This lead actually is a ground based lead, but does have to do with flying.

During WW2 under the BCATP had air training bases spread across Canada.

So, what happens when a government owned facility becomes surplus, like so many did post when World War 2 ended?

They are closed, and their contents disposed of; usually through various means, including redistribution to other government facilities, by public auction, etc.

In the case of the bases, there was so much material to dispose of it would have been overwhelming. 

The bases had their own dumpsites for disposal of base generated trash, which all on their own would be interesting enough to excavate....though possibly dangerous, as well.

You have heard of the myth of buried Harley Davidson motorcycles in crates? 

Well, I got wind of one airbase where there were supposedly surplus aircraft engines in crates disposed of in one particular BCATP dump site!

Unwanted then, perhaps, but now are highly sought after by air craft restorers, museums, and collectors of WW2 aviation history.

So there you have some WW2 era buried treasures just waiting to be excavated!

Hagar the Horrible Would be Proud - Treasure Lead #5

As the title of this posting indicates, this lead has to do with VIKINGS!

No, not the football team...

Actual, real VIKINGS!

Yes, some may find this lead hard to believe, being that we have been taught for generations that the Vikings never made it inland. 

This has proven false.

There have been too many discoveries of Norse artifacts dating between 900 and 1400 AD on Canadian and American soil...actually FROM our soil. These are artifacts that line up and fit together (forming a perfect path down through to the Kensington Stone) all too well for the naysayers....but, the whole debate about Norse incursion into the interior of Canada and the USA is an entirely separate topic, though it is intertwined with this lead.  I won't bother debating the whole Norse in Norther America subject here, as I don't wish to bore some of you with the hows, whys, whats, wheres, etc....but, be forewarned, I have a couple leads of this nature.

In this case, the items in question consist of a Norse helmet and sword, hidden in a cave in a wilderness area of Manitoba.

The lead was given to me from the person who saw the items as a child, who stumbled upon them due to his curiosity about the contents of said cave which was in a rock face. He and another child climbed said rock face to check out the small cave, and looked in, seeing a helmet with a spike on top, as well as a dagger or sword.

This was over 50 years ago, but, being in the area it was/is, I suspect the artifacts are still sitting in the cave untouched.

The description of the helmet as having a spike on top initially gave me the impression that it sounded like an early militia type helmet or a perhaps a German Pickelhaube. 

However, the location made no sense if it was a German helmet, and unlikely, though not out of the realm of possibility, of being a early militia helmet of some sort.

Considering the general location, it would make perfect sense for it to be a particular styles of Norse helmet, which was made in such a way that there is a point on the top. (On a side note, the typical horned "Viking helmet" seen in movies, etc, is essentially an Operatic/Hollywood fabrication) 

But, I will not know for sure it is Norse, of course, until I am able to see for myself.  Even if it is another type of helmet, it certainly does not belong in the middle of the wilderness.

What ever type of helmet it is, it is sure to be a treasure, and bring up a new mystery of how it and the dagger/sword got there.

Go Vikings!

Actual Norse helmet.

From the article on "Viking" horned helmets

Treasure With the Blackflies - Treasure Lead #2

Those of you familiar with Canada's northern portions and the huge biting insect population it contains will have an inkling where my next treasure lead is.

That being it is in Northern Canada, and in this case, Northern Manitoba.

Yes, those wonderful blackflies are one of the hazards I may have to contend with should I pursue this lead.

You see, the item I am after has reportedly sunk back deep in the muskeg from whence it came many years ago.  How it emerged is quite an interesting story in itself, but revealing that will narrow down the location, which I do not wish to reveal yet.

What I am after is a dugout canoe, reportedly with a primitive axe embedded in one end.

It would be a wonderful archaeological find all on its own, but the location makes it more astounding....

There are no trees remotely near that area that are of the size required to create a dugout log canoe!  

So, there is treasure lead number 2!

ETSY - It ain't what eBay used to be...

So, I am listing on ETSY now.

I had been putting off listing there, simply because when I first registered to sell there, and attempted to do some business there, I found it, well, useless for the types of items I wanted to get moving.

I wanted a replacement for eBay, and ETSY was not at all it.

It still isn't.

But, it is something...it creates some income, though certainly not anywhere near what I'd like.

It has its place, for sure. I managed to move a $1700 worth of NOS hat parts I had purchased inexpensively at a closing auction of a Winnipeg based uniform factory/store, so that helped pay a few bills.  I had been wondering if I would ever sell the stuff, being that I hardly had access to any hat makers near by!

But, for that sort of thing, ETSY certainly IS the place to sell. I can see that if you were to concentrate on attending and purchasing bulk and inexpensive lots of obscure parts, pieces, components, etc of things from liquidations of manufacturing facilities, you could make a living doing just that off of ETSY.

The sale itself was not something I first listed, but resulted from an inquiry as to what quantities of some items I had, and my up-selling/mentioning that I had other millinery (hat making) supplies resulted in the large sale.

Would you have bought cases of these?

Those are not all he bought, but the bulk of the purchase was cases of hat brims.  The buyer certainly got a heck of a deal when you consider the individual retail value of piece meal selling of each item they bought, but I also pretty much doubled my money spent on the entire auction....and I hauled 14 truck and trailer loads from the place.

This was my last load...

Another issue with ETSY is that it is more a venue that you list on, but you really have to to the driving of traffic to your listings. Yes, it comes with a bit of its own traffic that you MIGHT be able to captilatize, but you do really have to create a following of your own...either that or be a real master of keywords and pray to the Esty-search-engine-god excessively.......

Anyway, ETSY works for some things, but certainly is not the "sold in a week" venue eBay used to be.  There really has not been any venue open up that is like what eBay used to be.   I have been trying to promote the idea of a Co-Op vintage, auction only website, but it just seems to not have any steam. Too many people want someone else to do the work, and then join.

No one wants to be help build a site....and by build, I mean build its presence online; be a founding member.

Not many pioneers out there.

Lots of "joiners" who want to capitalize on success, but no one willing to help create the success in the first place.

I have set up an auction group on Facebook that after a year-ish being established has finally taken hold as a decent venue, with some decent items being listed, and some serious bidders participating. But, it too has taken some time to take hold, establish itself.   It is set up somewhat like I would want a site to be (in a true "going-going-gone auction format", unlike eBay;s "timed" auctions.  However,  being that it is on FaceBook, it is limited by their structure/platform, the setup has some issues, and things that we have to work around.

You can check it out here, the Bang! Sold! Auction Group.

This post is already starting to get long, so I will pretty much end this posting here, to save you some eye strain.  I will likely discuss the idea of a Co-Op auction site further in the blog, so keep checking back!

Pick safe!

Signs On the Road To the Future

I've been "out of the loop", per se, when it comes to the "hot" collectibles of the year. I have not been  delving heavy into the internet auction scene, selling my wares on the usual websites, such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon, etc. 

Nor have I done tons of "live" antiques markets, flea markets, etc in 2014.

What I have been seeing (and getting used to) is the surge in sales prices of vintage advertising signs. It is no surprise, really, that these things are starting to go a little beyond what many dealers consider realistic pricing.  

We need to consider the obvious facts that:

(1) TV, film and other "image" based media are focusing their camera lenses on such things.

(2) Considering that much effective advertising is graphic driven in the first place

(3) Those vintage graphics appeal to the masses, even if they appear "dated". 

Let me clarify point number three a bit. 

No surprise that these days vintage advertising signs appeal to more than just a die-hard vintage collector crowd.  The whole "vintage" look has been something that has been pushed in the mass marketing of brand-new-from-the-factory decor, off-the-rack at Wal-Mart, etc. Every gift shop, flower shop, decor store, (etc) that you can think of seems to carry at least one (but usually more), lines of goods with an antique-style, vintage-style, retro-decor vibe. 

Some original vintage signs I have had in the past.

The marketplace is more accepting than ever of that “dated" appearance. Some people have even come to expect it. Advertising agencies and corporations have been making their advertising dance on the nostalgia stage for quite a long time now, easily 30 years or so. It has been so long, actually, that the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s versions of previous generations memories & nostalgia are recognized as nostalgia from the very years it was "repackaged" for the wooing the consumer!

The fact is that the graphics on those of old advertising signs still do their job, which is to grab the attention of the masses.

Sprinkle in the warm & fuzzy feelings of nostalgia brings to people’s hearts, and that old advertising sign is all the more appealing. Memories of grandpa and grandma’s store, the candy counter, picnics in the country, etc. permeate their souls and strategically place a rose coloured lens between them and their memories.

You find that when those memories are not even remotely similar to yours, they still seem to make you feel content and happy.

So, I am sure the values of these pieces will continue to rise in the coming year. The bottom might fall out of the market sooner than we may expect, due to a variety of combined factors, in varying doses. Those vets of the biz have seen the same set of factors affect various categories of collectibles that have gone “mainstream” in their popularity.....

But, that is an entirely different and much, much, much longer blog posting.


Here are some of various original, antique & vintage signs I have personally picked and have had pass through my hands in the distant and recent past owned in the past.

One Old House Full To The Brim

When I am out picking the countryside, I get talking with people. It is part of the business, and a component with which leads are found. 

Plus, stories of all kinds tend to pop up. 

Some are funny, others are drama packed, a few are life enriching, and there are many that are highly educational.

Then there are some that are like this one.

On one of my trips, I was travelling in a remote area, and to my dismay hit drizzling rain. However, I ended up doing some scouting, and door knocking, and after very little success, I stopped at one farm yard. After a some conversation with the owners, and a tour about their property, I ended up spending much of a day some great folks. I hope to also reconnect with them in the future.

They happen to own what had been originally multiple smaller properties. They accumulated and put them together into one larger land holding over their some years in the area. This plain, but quaint little cottage was on one of them.

 Any old structure I see, in my mind, contains potential for treasure....

So I inquired about it, and got to see inside it.

This one was chock full...

But not of treasure.

What follows is the "Cole's Notes" version of the story related to me:
It was built in the early-ish 1900s by a young man..

A young man in love.

He constructed it entirely by hand, with walls built of logs chopped from the bush land around it. He carved out a yard site for a future homestead for he and his bride-to-be, in the remote backwoods, but part of a tiny community of like minded people carving out an existence in the woods.

View of the home's log wall structure, visible in the back of closet/pantry.

 As I said, it was full...but not of treasure.

Then what was it full of, you ask?

Actually, it is not "full," per se...

It is overflowing.... 

With a million pieces of one man's heart.
 
You see, when the home was finished, and the couple were soon to be wed, the woman deserted the young man, and left the community, all to be with another man.


A house built with love was never occupied. 

A heart had shattered.

A house never made into a home. 

A window that no one would ever gaze out with their partner at the life they built together.

One of the many quaint window details that would never be admired by a resident.

A view of the kitchen from the living room. The living room would hear no music, nor laughter; and the kitchen would never fill with mouth watering aromas of home-cooked meals and giggles of  a flirting, playful young couple. (The liquor bottle on the left and can on the floor is a contribution by a squatter/transient.)

What happened to the heartbroken groom-to-be?

He went to live with his brother. 

Neither he, nor his brother, ever married. 

Both remained bachelors their entire lifetimes. 

However, they stayed in the community.

They lived their entire lives within a country mile of this building.

It is a hand hewn testament of love, carved out of a tiny piece of the Canadian wilderness...

Which became only a little known monument to heartbreak.