I'm Somewhere Between Hoarders & Intervention
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!
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!
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