Jeanette Janson-Mixed Media Artist

A day at the auction

I can't resist the lure of an estate auction, so I set my alarm yesterday and went to check one out about 30 minutes down the road.  On the drive over, I'm giving myself the auction pep talk......

"Browse through before the auction starts and make a list of the lot numbers you want to bid on.  Stick to the pre-determined price."

"Don't buy things you wouldn't normally buy in an antique shop or flea market."

"No furniture, no matter how cheap or fabulous.  You have no room for more furniture."

You see, it's really easy to get caught up in the experience of a fast paced auction.  For instance, I see this wonderful white porch swing....I don't need this, not sure where I would put it; but if the bidding only gets to $40 or so, how could I NOT buy this??  See what I mean?  It's all so tempting.

In theory, auctions are probably the worst case scenario for a bargain hunter.  You have a group of people all wanting the same thing and they are willing to bid against one another for the item.  Sometimes it happens that way, and then sometimes nobody wants what you have your eye on and then the system works in your favor.  This vintage girlie calendar sold for around $25.  I thought that was high, but what do I know about old calenders?

I had 1 or 2 people bidding against me for this clock.  But they quickly dropped off.  It's broken, but it's in a beautiful wood case.  I got it for just $30.  

I had my eye on these old spools.  The last auction I went to I saw some similar ones.  The bidding went high on them, so I backed off.  This lot was more reasonable.

After telling myself I wasn't going to buy any furniture, I came home with this.  It was once a clock, but now it only has the innards.  I think it's a beautiful piece, though, and probably 100 years old.  I'll find a little nook for it, it's not too big.

Behind the doors on top.  I'm going to clean it up and keep it "as is."

Love this skull and turkey feather fan.  I ended up bidding against a friend of mine for 2 of each of these.  I went to her later and offered her one of the skulls and one fan.  She was thrilled, so we split the price and each got one.

It was a long day, sitting under a tent in the drizzling rain, feeling dirty and icky because everything you touch has a coat of grime on it, but I'll take that over shopping in a sterile mall with no personality any day of the week!

I've been to a few auctions in my time, so I thought I would leave you with a few helpful tips that I've picked up over the years.

1.  Get there early enough to grab a good seat.  You can put a jacket or bag down to hold it and then go do your browsing and register for a bidding number.  I always carry a folding chair in my car just in case all seats are taken.

2.  Be willing to go up to an even number when bidding.  For instance....instead of stopping at $27.50, go up to $30.  People seem to think, "Ill go up to $30 on that, but not over."   Then when you say $30, they will drop out of the bidding.

3.  Don't let someone have something for $5.  If you see no other bidders paying attention, throw a few bids in there and then drop back.  Do you really want someone to get a box full of carnival glass for $5?  Is this mean spirited?.....no, it's all a game.

4.  Don't seem too eager for anything.  If you hover around an item or spend too much time checking it out, people watch you and get curious.  

5.  Be sure and check out furniture and glassware carefully.  These items can have splits, damaged surfaces or cracks and you can't see them when the auctioneer is holding the item up.  Sometimes they'll mention it when it comes up for bid, sometimes not.

6.  If someone wins a box of items and you see one thing in it that you want, don't be afraid to make them an offer on that thing.  Lots of times they've just bought the box as a whole and if you make them a fair offer, they are willing to give you the item you want.

7.  Pack a sandwich and drink.  You really don't want to be eating the hot dogs they have for sale at these events.  (At least I don't!)

8.  Stay til the very end of the auction.  Everyone is tired and the crowd starts to thin out.  The auctioneer can never get to everything, so he encourages you to bring things to the front that you want to bid on.  This way you can throw some things together in a box and just bid on what you want.  By this point, there's not too many people bidding against you.

9.  Find an able bodied worker at the end to help you load up.  It is well worth the $5 or $10 tip you give him.

If anyone has a tip or two to add...I'd love to hear about it!

 

Antique/Art Festival

This past Saturday, I was a vendor at Farm Fresh and I thought I would share a few pictures with you.  I'll admit, I was a bundle of nerves leading up to the show.  It has been a long time since I did a show and there is always so much prep work.  

Table arrangement, inventory, display....a lot to think about in advance.  Once the day came, though, everything fell into place.

The weather was gorgeous and the event was so well organized.

The location was on Lisa Stamm's farm in Ft. Inn, SC.  It's a small working farm with cows, goats, chickens and other livestock.  She and her husband bought the property just 2 years ago and have done so many renovations in that short period of time.  It's really a little slice of paradise in the country, but not so isolated that it's hard to get to.  It was the ideal place for a weekend art/antique show.

A lot of artist's were set up in the barn...one of the buildings that they completely rebuilt.  

Folk art robots in the barn.  Very cool.

Temptations abound.  My show dollars came and went.

I was able to slip out of my booth in the afternoon and do a little shopping.

The day zipped by, thanks to a few friends that came by to help out.  Then it was the end of the day and time to pack everything up.  We somehow got it all loaded up and thankfully were only about 30 minutes from home.  

Now, I'm slowly getting things listed in my etsy shop.  Some items I had at the show and others I have been holding aside.  I hope people remember how to get to my long neglected etsy shop.  If not, the link is here.

I'm listing lots of assemblage dolls

and birds

I hope you'll stop by to look around.  I'll continue to list items during the next few days.

Ta-Ta for now !

Got Junk?

This is one of those weeks that I wish I had hired help.  But it would take too long to train someone and all my profits would go out the window if I did that.  So, I just keep going and get what I can done each day. 

 Anyway, it would make what I do seem too much like a job, and we can't have that now, can we?

My better half helps out and it really does make a big difference.  I've been hard at work in the studio, creating new assemblage dolls while he guarantees that I have clean clothes to wear and a hot meal at night.

I made these dolls with a real "recycled junk" theme because they will be heading to Farm Fresh Antique and Artisan Fair with me this weekend.

I'll have a booth with artwork, supplies and antiques for sale.  The weather promises to be good and it should be a lot of fun, so do stop by and say hi if you are in the area. 

If you are not in South Carolina, you can always shop online at Vintage Supply. 

I've added lots of interesting items, like these cow tags and more German doll parts.

Does this look familiar to anyone?
A car hood ornament, just waiting to be mounted to the top of an assemblage. 

I've also got several of these metal gas station numbers available.  Love the graphic statement these make!

So, back to my to-do list.  I am a real list maker and would be walking around in circles without one.  Hope your day is going well!

I've been doing some rearranging in my studio and thought this would be a good time to share a picture of my renovated bureau with you.

I got this at a yard sale and it was in pretty bad shape.  The sides had water damage and a few of the drawers had to be rebuilt.  But I saw the potential!  It was a $25 bargain I couldn't pass up.  So I loaded up and brought it home.

This is after sanding, priming and painting.  I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, Old White and sealed it with dark soft wax.  I liked the results so much, I'm thinking about painting my walls the same color.  I've had a studio reno project in the back of my mind for awhile now, but it may have to wait until after the new year.

It's September, but I am in full Christmas mode at the moment.  

I've been working hard to make up a backlog of birds and assemblage dolls for the past few weeks.  I have a few wholesale orders looming in the near future and I want to have some extras to offer in my etsy shop this holiday season.   They have been fun to work on....I'm recreating some favorites from the past, but coming up with new designs, too.

Well, since it's Saturday, you know I couldn't resist hitting a few quick yard sales this morning.  I am stumped by my most recent find.

This looks a little like a butter churn, but I don't know why it has a tin top.

Anybody know what it is??  Or maybe an educated guess?

Hope you enjoy your weekend!