Entries tagged "tips"

Artist Wayne White’s 5 Tips for Flea Market Shopping

Market Warriors | 01/20/13 at 05:42 p.m.

Artist Wayne White, who will be featured on the Independent Lens film Beauty is Embarassing, is beloved in the fine arts world for his “word paintings.”

He buys big landscape paintings at flea markets and transforms them into unique works of art by painting block-letter phrases and words across them. You can see a few in the photo above and many more on the Wayne White Pinterest page.

Our friends at Independent Lens asked Wayne for some of this tips for shopping at flea markets. He was happy to humor us. Literally.

Artist Wayne White in his cluttered studio, surrounded by canvases

Vintage Shopping Tips from Randolph Street Market

Market Warriors | 01/11/13 at 04:33 p.m.

Sally Schwartz, founder of Chicago’s acclaimed Randolph Street Market, shares tips below on how to shop vintage like a pro. In its 10th season, Randolph Street Market is, as you'll see in Antiquing in Chicago, IL , a large and lively indoor/outdoor urban markets, unlike many traditional flea markets.

Here are Sally's 10 tips on shopping vintage:

1. Always bring CASH.

2. Remember, you can negotiate, but a lowball offer is likely to insult a dealer.

3. Give yourself plenty of time to peruse, shop, eat, people watch and take in the complete experience of an antique market.

Randolph Street Market Logo

Tools of the Trade

Miller Gaffney | 11/05/12 at 06:22 p.m.

For those who want to take their flea market shopping to the next level, there are some tools that every shopper should keep at hand. Having them quickly accessible allows for easy inspection. Here's my must-have toolkit for successful shopping:

Simichrome Cream: This is one of the tests you can use to detect real Bakelite from faux when buying costume jewelry. It turns from pink to yellow when applied to real Bakelite – except Simichrome will not work on black or lacquered Bakelite.   

Jewelers Loupe (10x): A good jewelers loupe can help you see the chips and flaws in stones and the minor details needed to determine price. Sometimes better light sources are needed when using higher magnification. Loupes will also help you find maker marks and precious metal markings.

Miller Gaffney of MARKET WARRIORS using a jewelers loupe to inspect an object at a flea market

John Bruno's Advice on Dressing for Market Success

John Bruno | 10/26/12 at 11:28 a.m.

My dad always told me “You only have one chance to make a good first impression, so make sure you always look your best.” I’ve taken this advice to heart my entire life, and it’s stood me in good stead throughout. Now, of course different situations demand different looks – I wouldn’t go to a picnic in a three-piece suit. Same goes when shopping for swell stuff — there is a look that works to good advantage in the great treasure hunt.

Picker John Bruno

Tommy Mac on Mission (Arts & Crafts) Furniture

Tommy MacDonald | 10/11/12 at 09:15 p.m.

Mission-style, or Arts and Crafts, was a movement back to simplicity that began in the late 19th century. The basic foundation for mission-style is that furniture makers believed in good design and hand craftsmanship, emphasizing simple horizontal and vertical lines and flat panels that accentuate the grain of the wood.

Tommy MacDonald standing with an arts and crafts style chair

Here are five keys to finding high quality mission-style furniture:

1. Make sure that it is solid and well constructed - Look for clear horizontal and vertical lines in the construction and prominent 90-degree angles and flat planes.

Collecting Art Pottery, Part 1: American Art Pottery

Bob Richter | 09/24/12 at 01:07 p.m.

Art pottery is likely one of the widest category of collecting on the map. As such, I own a great deal of it, and really do buy what I love — which often winds up being European, although I have a lot of great American pieces as well. By definition, art pottery is something that was created from clay, either by hand or by machine, for aesthetic value, as opposed to an object that was strictly utilitarian. In Antiquing in Brimfield, MA - Part 2 , our challenge was to find art pottery, and since we were heading to Cowan’s Auction House, which is based in Ohio, I had my eye out for pottery from that region. Ohio has a rich history with pottery with such companies as Roseville, Weller, Rookwood, McCoy, Zanesville, etc. all hailing from the state.

Tips from Miller Gaffney, Part 2

Miller Gaffney | 09/20/12 at 04:53 p.m.

Here's 4 more tips from Miller Gaffney on how to find and buy antiques.

1. Look high and low in vendors’ booths, especially in their trailers and trucks. Sometimes the best items are hidden on top of armoires or left on the truck for later.

2. Every object tells a story, but some have more to say than others, and the challenge is to pick these out. Find the great pieces that have an aura about them.

Tips and Thoughts on Collecting Broadway Ephemera

John Bruno | 09/10/12 at 06:00 a.m.

In honor of Broadway or Bust 's premiere on PBS Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 8/7C, John Bruno shares his thoughts on collecting from the Great White Way:

From autographs and Playbills, to posters and ticket stubs, to soundtracks and drawings, to costumes and notes, the field of Broadway ephemera is vast and varied. And Broadway ephemera is mostly affordable – the majority of pieces cost under $100. It’s not until one gets into the very rare, famous or obscure that prices begin to climb.

Q & A with Bob Richter

Bob Richter | 09/06/12 at 08:51 p.m.

If you could only collect one thing what would it be?

Artwork. I have so much respect for those who create. Whether an artist has captured a glance or a moment, or enabled us to see the world in a different way, I find that paintings in particular hold a great deal of emotion for me. Because I'm so passionate about artwork, I own a great deal of it, and have to rotate my collection. I need a few more walls!

MARKET WARRIORS Bob Richter looking for vintage treasures

Tips from Miller Gaffney, Part 1

Miller Gaffney | 08/29/12 at 11:42 a.m.

Miller Gaffney is always on the lookout for that perfect piece. Here are 6 tips from Miller on finding the right antiques to decorate your life.

1. Always open your eyes and search for the beautiful and unusual objects.

2. If something speaks to you, buy it!

3. If you discover a pair of something, buy both. Two is always better than one — there is power in numbers.

MARKET WARRIORS Miller Gaffney tries on a vintage military jacket, navy with gold brocade

Tips from John Bruno

John Bruno | 08/23/12 at 05:16 p.m.

With his decades of experience, John Bruno is truly an antiques guru. If you follow his advice on how to shop for vintage valuables, you won't be disappointed!

1. Buy with your heart!

2. Never buy solely for profit, or to impress, buy it because you love it, want to learn from it, and because you want to preserve it.

John Bruno of MARKET WARRIORS holds a necklace up to his chest

Tips from Bob Richter, Part 1

Bob Richter | 08/07/12 at 09:32 a.m.

Bob Richter buys with his heart and with his head. Here's 6 tips from Bob on shopping at flea markets:

1. Buy what you love. At the end of the day, if it makes you happy and it enriches your home, then it’s all good.

2. Treat vendors with respect and kindness. They get up awfully early and weed through a lot of stuff to find beautiful things. If you take time to have a real conversation, you might just get a better price and make a friend.

MARKET WARRIORS picker Bob Richter looking through pieces of art

Why the Term "Art Glass" Isn't Crystal Clear

Market Warriors | 08/06/12 at 05:41 p.m.

During MARKET WARRIORS' antiquing adventure in Brimfield, Massachusetts , our pickers are tasked with finding a piece of unique art glass that will sparkle at auction.

From bottles to light bulbs, to windows and windshields — though we might not always notice, we're surrounded by glass. So, how does something we're so used to overlooking, or at least looking through, ever become recognized as art in its own right?

two pieces of art glass

Tips from Kevin Bruneau

Kevin Bruneau | 07/26/12 at 04:49 p.m.

Here's eight quick tips for buying and selling at flea markets or at auction.

1. Don’t blink – you might miss something!

2. Keep an eye out for the unusual. If you’ve seen it before, so have many others and it’s probably not that collectible.

3. Time is money. Focus on the areas where the best concentration of items that you are looking for are.

4. Quality, quality, quality – good stuff is easier to sell.

Auction Tips From Abell Auction Company

Joe Baratta | 07/19/12 at 03:08 p.m.

In the series premiere episode of MARKET WARRIORS, our four pickers head out to Lancaster, Pennsylvania , home to Renningers Adamstown — a large indoor/outdoor flea market where they must find Mid-Century modern items amid the Pennsylvania Dutch antiques. The winning picker is determined at A.N. Abell Auction Company in Los Angeles, California, where their chosen items go under the hammer. Abell has been a family owned and run business since 1916. Auctioneer Joe Baratta appears in the episode and shares some of his key tips for the auction novice.