How do you take something old and make it look new and attractive to buyers?  Or how do you attrack new buyers to something old?  I walk into Marshall's or TJ Maxx and am astounded by all of the beautiful "Hand Blown", "Lead Crystal", "Made in the Czech Republic", etc... pieces of glassware and furniture they have.  I actually find myself looking at prices and thinking of where I could display such treasures in my own home.  Is it because of the good lighting, dust free shelves and color arrangement?  Is it because it all looks so expensive and has been marked down 4 times?  I know in my heart it is marketed to people like me, I prefer to say have great taste and are on the hunt of that perfect find to claim bragging rights with every single person that will stop and listen.  I don't know the answer but do enjoy the ponder...

   

Longtime no see with my blog.  I did spell "see" wrong for a reason.  I need a vacation!  I opened a brick and mortar store in April plus kept going with the usual activities in my life.  I always had a stressful job my entire professional life so I guess as a private citizen I have to create my own high pressure work situation, I know no better.  Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to complain just justifying why you have not seen a new blog for a whopping 151 days.

Now on to the point of my passion and interest, JEWELRY!  

What is up with all of the 70's jewelry rage that is goin on right now?  Who could have picked a more ugly time in a jewelry designers heart.  I have to disagree with Rachel Zoe, well known stylist of the stars, she loves this time in history and gushes about it on her hit show "The Rachel Zoe Project" on Bravo, it's "Bananas" as she says.  I guess I personally was a crow in a former life, I need the sparkle of rhinestones and the glitter of faceted beads.  Gold chains with large mod pendents do nothing for me.  The 70's was a time of inflation, gas shortages and high gold prices...Ironically, it is all suddenly making sense to me!  History repeats itself once again!  Here we are in 2011 with inflation, high gas prices and elevated gold prices, is it just a fluke or does this situation make us lust for the over the top larger than life gold tone pieces of modern art hanging around our neck?

Mr. T has never gotten past it, I sure hope we all do.

I don't know about you but I simply love reality TV.  My favorite shows are The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, American Pickers, Pawn Stars and I adore anything Bethenny.  I also when nothing else is on will watch Hoarders, Intervention and Storage Wars.  When I reflect about my love of it, I guess I see two things.  Am I a really boring housewife or is it because I am someone who doesn't go further than five miles from my home on a typical day.  I find other peoples lives very interesting, I especially like to watch the ones who are really rich and famous or that I have common interests with and can learn from.  I will admit that I do occasionally get a horrible case of gawking through episodes of the shows, i.e. Hoarders, Intervention, etc.., I think that is because I don't want to end up like that, which brings me to my point.  

As a professional vintage jewelry dealer I work with many estates.  Everytime I dissect one to buy or to price for someone else to sell, I look forward with hopes of feeling for a moment like a  Real Housewife of Beverly Hills.  I have high hopes of finding a lost priceless gem in the estate.  But I always end up feeling like I am dealing with Hoarders that most of the time need an Intervention.  Maybe its my location, people in Minnesota were typical immigrants from Germany and Scandinavian countries that are now working on their fifth generation here in America.  These previous generations have always kept everything.  The young people are inheriting all the previous generations stuff.  People now a days seem to like new stuff better,  they see no value in or keep anything old.  So all of this stuff, what the previous generations have been hoarding, ends up on my dining room table. 

In these estates I always receive a couple of Buxton type jewelry boxes along with a laundry basket spilling over.  This is usually how it always seem to pan out, the good stuff is in the jewelry boxes.  It will have little cardboard boxes containing sets, always a few pieces of new old stock and a couple of pretty silk bags with the family jewels.  Now that have vetted it out and the excitement has dissipated I dig into the laundry basket.  There is always some sort of creative organization system for 200+ pairs of clip earrings often uses Tupperware of some sort.  Then the last part is always the shoe boxes that are full of broken bits and pieces that have no value and should have been pitched the day they broke.  I often find long forgotten medications that are promptly flushed down the toilet, a hidden cigarette or two and a partial sewing kit.  

Did this person think that they were going to have these broken pieces fixed?  What went through their minds when they looked at the lonely, new with tags old stock, pieces that they bought in 1955?  These poor pieces of unworn jewelry frozen in their tormented wait to be worn?  Why is it that people sit and watch HSN or Shop MSNBC and buy worthless, ugly jewelry for big bucks?  I laugh, I cry and I always find something that is too personal to discuss.  Is the owner watching me dig through their stuff with a disapproving eye? 

I have a distinct process in my job.  To break it down, I guess I would have to start with an episode of Hoarders, I weed out the junk, clean up the good stuff only without the emotional breakdowns.  Then Intervention is often found in the denial of hidden medications, cigarettes and perfectly unworn jewelry.  I always end feeling like an American Pickers because I am saving these pieces of Americana and bringing them to market for people who will love and cherish them.  In the end I will always have the eternal hope of finding a priceless treasure so I too can feel like a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, but of course with a Pawn Stars profit margin!       

I constantly have people introduce themselves to me as "Jewelry Designers".  At first I was impressed and eager to see what they design and where I could fit in.  What could I learn from this self proclaimed creative person and hopefully sell them pieces of vintage jewelry in the process.  After about the first dozen "Designers" this kind of excitement wore off and became more of an apprehension.  Oh no another person who is going to buy a perfectly good brooch and then take the wire cutters to it, hot glue it to a string of beads or Lord forbid a Christmas tree picture!  

The problem is out of these people I do know a few who are truly artists, so that apprehension I often get does truly become admiration when I work with them.  These few come to my house and dig through the stock of pieces and parts I have.  But with the others I just don't want to be party to the torture of beautiful vintage jewelry.

I lay all of this out so you can see where I am coming from when I say I have seen something that I am really intrigued by.  A bride brought in a picture of a bouquet in a Mussy Tussy into the Antique Mall of Rogers.  The bouquet was dripping with rhinestones and pearls.  She needed to buy low priced sparkle pieces to complete her bouquet.  I told her I have "that stuff" at Auntie M's in Hypogyny.  She said, are you ILJ?  I said yes, she said she had already cleaned me out!  So with her drive and passion I made the decision to help her, so I went home and dug up all the sparkles I could find and sold them to a very happy bride-to-be for a song after the prices she had been looking at.  She promised to send pictures of the completed bouquet.  

I did more research and found several of these beauties on line for as much as $500.00.  So I guess the goal of my post is, you don't have to be boastful to get what you want, even a jaded jewelry dealer can be soften if you truly are a talented "Jewelry Designer" or just a silly kid in love!  

With the new year upon us, I am sure most of us are thinking about what we can do better.  I constantly think about how I can be a better wife, better mom, better fill in the blank.  My professional goals are to be more organized and help people to understand all of the mystery of the vintage jewelry industry.  I spend most of my time learning about it myself, so I feel I know more than most but less than few but not as much as I should .  So that leads me to the identity crisis in question.

In my many travels in and out of antique malls, flea markets and my occasional shopping on the Internet, I see a lot.  I also mind my own business and do not share my opinion unless asked.  This could be the wrong thing to do but no one made me the ambassador of the vintage jewelry industry that I am aware of.  

About a month ago my family and I took a Saturday afternoon trip to Hastings, MN.  In Hastings are about a half dozen antique stores.  One in particular is my favorite, we always start there in our shopping trip.  Upon my arrival I noticed some beautiful Juliana pieces that had their original tags.  I was shocked that the dealer had so many with original tags in the case.  With the assistance of a very nice gentleman I was able to examine all of the pieces.  The first thing that I noticed was that they were priced very reasonable in a sea of book priced pieces.  The stones were not the same hand polished stones that DeLizza & Elster were known for and the paper hang tags looked odd.  I have handled several pieces of tagged Juliana and the tags are usually a little ragged.  After all we are talking about a piece of jewelry from 1968 that has rattled around a ladies jewelry box even if it was not worn.  The odd thing about the tag is that is was flat, no raised area.  The real Juliana tag has a stamped or raised angel logo, so when you brush your finger across it you can feel the shape of the angel. 

A crash course on Juliana if you don't know what it is.  Juliana was a line of jewelry made for two years by a jewelry manufacturer named DeLizza & Elster.  DeLizza & Elster made jewelry for many different companies, they were contract manufacturer.  In 1967 for the first time they made a line that was not signed, only had a hangtag.  This line is over the top rhinestone splendor!  Brooches, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.  The brain behind the beauty is Frank DeLizza who resides in Florida in his retirement.  The line of jewelry has specific features and is easy to identify plus has two different books soley devoted to it and has clubs, Ning Group and groupies!  One book is written by Katerina Mussetti and one by Ann Pittman, which unfortantly is out of print now due to the publisher going out of business.  I encourage you to Google Juliana if you want to see some rhinestone eye candy. 

I did not buy any of the pieces because they were Chinese reproductions.  I knew that it was an urban legend that it was being reproduced, I just had never seen it.  I also noticed a large signed Schreiner of New York set that was not rhodium plated on the back.  It just wasn't the quality that Henry Schreiner would have let leave the factory.  I said nothing, I walked away feeling guilty.  Maybe I should have contacted the dealer to tell them they had run into some bad stock or maybe they knew that already?  Now I worry that some wonderful collector is going to buy it and find out its fake and become upset with collecting?  The only way I know how to deal with it is to do it here.  

Next time you are out shopping for jewels, please make sure you do your research.  Also rely on your "gut" feeling.  My husband always says "that doesn't pass the smell test" and if the deal is to good to be true then it probably is.  Wouldn't it just be easier if we could all just ask the real Juliana to stand up!  

Exactly who is policing the antique business?  On the Internet it seems to Vero and in the Brick and Mortar shops it seems to be whoever decides to speak up.  The antique business is composed of a group of mostly professionally and a few not so professionals.  So how do you know if you should speak up or just shut up.  

My on-line business is easy, if someone questions an item I get the question and reply with proof of what I have claimed, if I am proven wrong I own it.  If I prove someone wrong I am polite and move on my way.  This points me to the fact that VeRO is not always right.  VeRO is a policing system large companies that have well known trademarks use to prevent people misrepresenting their items.  I received an email from eBay siting that VeRO had pulled one of my auction listing due to trademark infringement.  Here is the email below. 

	eBay Listing Removed: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Listing Content (416941185)

Dear Lorindalynn

You recently listed the following item:

Albion Mother Of Pearl Enameled Figures Bracelet c. 60

The listing was removed because it violated eBay policy.

The rights of the owner or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner, Yuman Design, Inc., notified eBay that this listing violates intellectual property rights.  When eBay receives a report of this type of violation, we remove the listing to comply with the law.

Your item was removed because of a request we received from VeRO participant, Yurman Design, Inc. / Yurman Studios, Inc., asking us to remove the item for:

- Listing(s) contains unlawful use of trademark (for example, an unauthorized use of stylized logo in written text).

For more information on why your item was removed, you should:
- Contact the VeRO participant directly at sspagna@davidyurman.com with your questions or concerns.
- Wait 7 days for the VeRO participant to reply to you. Although most VeRO participants are willing to respond to polite email, please know that they aren't obligated to reply.
Your listing was reported for using a logo that infringes on the rights owner's trademark

Using someone's logo without permission is against the law. It can also be misleading for buyers. Creating a logo that's similar to someone else's can also be a trademark infringement. If you include logos in your listing descriptions, make sure you're authorized to use them.


Turns out this company in question has a modern trademark from an expired mark from the 1960's.  Plus this jewelry manufacturer makes only fine jewelry not costume like what I specialize in.  I was not really mad at this point just really confused?  You have me the little "Mom & Pop" vintage jewelry dealer being shut down by a multi million dollar company under false pretenses.  My item was made by a Chicago based company that went out of business in the 1960's, what's a girl to do?  Thank goodness I know a very nice Intellectual Property Attorney who wrote the below letter for me.     

Subject: Attention: MC019 eBay Listing Removed: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Listing Content (416941185)

During my childhood my fathers mother lived about 2 miles from our house.  My grandmother had been widowed at a fairly young age and unfortunately I was not born in time to meet my Grandfather.  I remember from about age six having sleep overs at my grandmothers.  They would consist of her making a wonderful meal and sitting by her gas stove watching the black and white TV while play dominos or cards.  At bedtime I would share her large white wrought iron bed.  "Say your prayers and no squirming" she would always remind me.  I loved being under those thick quilts she had made by hand using an Army blanket as the filling.  I have no idea where she got an Army blank but I could imagine a GI in a tent enjoying its warmth like I did.  I remember the clock my Grandma had, it was loud as it ticked and it glowed in the dark.  She always seemed to wake before me, I would smell the coffee and homemade bread from the kitchen.  I would even as a young child have cup of hot coffee, one third coffee, two thirds cream along with a warning of not to tell my Mother.  She always made me a slice of homemade wheat bread, that she baked in a coffee can, smothered in butter.

After breakfast I would sew.  Grandma had a Singer treadle machine that she would let me make doll clothes on.  I loved keeping the beat with my toe while the machine stitched my new creation.  I would spend hours and hours.  She always had lots of remnants for me to select from.  Once I finished the outfit I would dress up my doll, then sit at Grandma's vanity.  Her powder and perfumes were all arranges on a mirrored tray on one side and her jewelry on a similar tray on the other.  Her jewelry always fascinated me.  I would try it on and ask her over and over about each piece.  Where did it come from and where has it been.  The brooches were my favorite.  I would put them in my hair, on my sweater, anywhere a brooch could be styled.  Those days are so clear in my head and so precious in my heart.

As I reached adulthood, I moved away from my little town, went to college, got my dream job and enjoyed a full social calendar.  My visits to my Grandmothers house remained on holidays and when I had extra time during visits home.  I always tried to bring her a gift since she was unable to get out as much had she had in the past and to let her know that I did miss her.  

Her health started to fail and a decision was made to move her into a trailer.  The plan was to close up her little house.  I had by this time secured a household of my own, about 175 mile away in a different state.  In a phone call to her she invited my down to help her go through items in her little house.  We set a date and I appeared for my appointment.

She simply told me to go around and pick out the pieces of furniture that I liked.  Not everything would fit into her new trailer and she needed to see what everyone wanted.  After all I was not the only grandchild.  My father had two older brothers who had families.  So I did not see this as anything other than a vetting process for her.  The odd thing is after I tagged a few pieces she laid two of her brooches out on the table.  These where my two favorite.  I had spent hours with these brooches as a child.  I was confused as to what it all meant.  She then asked if I had my checkbook with me, I did of course.  She instructed me to write her a check for $100.00.  This check would buy everything I had tagged and she would throw in the brooches.  This way she explained, no one can accuse her of favoring me.

So here I am over twenty years later with beautiful furniture and two beautiful brooches.  Maybe she did that because I was her favorite or maybe it was just because she knew I would care for them?  I will never know because she is with Grandpa now.  I am so thankful for the wonderful memories of her.  She is the person who beside, my own Mother, shaped the woman I am today.  One who likes large, gaudy, sparkling jewelry!            

Last meeting of the year was this past Thursday evening of the Minnesota Vintage Jewelry Association.  This is a group that is made up of dealers, collectors and all of the above.  We have been meeting quarterly and having a lot of fun.  Usually the agenda is set with an introduction, a presentation and a show and tell session.  We have had presentations on Saphiret Glass, Peacock Eye Jewelry, the Designer Boucher and Womens Suffrage jewelry.  It has been a great year and I personally have learIned a lot from this group.  

Our meeting on December 2nd, was a little different.  We had a holiday party with a nice spread of appetizers and desserts.  We had about a half dozen dealers selling and trading.  A silent auction had been set up to help cover the expenses of this free association.  I was fortunate enough to win a beautiful Trifari necklace.  The presentation was just me showing how I have created YouTube videos to promote my website and how fun they are.  We made the main course to the meeting a show and tell of what piece of jewelry started it all for you.  We had wonderful stories and very interesting pieces.  I will have to write my story up to share.  

If you are ever around on the first Thursday in March, June, September or December we are going to try to meet at the Minneapolis Textile Center on University at 6:30 pm.  You can email me for meeting locations as well.  If you come to enjoy the group be sure to wear your prettiest costume jewelry because you will have a lot of competition!