From Out Of The Woods Antique Center

My first advice regarding refinishing is – be cautious!  The following statements are true and should be considered when contemplating refinishing an item: 

The value of some early furniture with peeling old paint, when refinished, could be decreased by as much as 90%.

Many serious dealers and collectors of serious antiques will never give a refinished piece a furniture a second glance.  They call stripped pieces “new antiques”.

There is good old finish, and there is bad old finish.  Sometimes bad old finish can be good.  Sometimes good old finish can be bad. 

With 100% assuredness, once a hundred year old antique has been refinished, it will take one hundred years to build up the same wear, patina and surface again.

Probably 90% of the antiques available today are refinished.  This is what people in general desire --   to see the natural grain of the wood, and to have a nice hard and shiny finish to protect the piece from wear and tear.  However, the remaining 10% of antiques which retain a good and old surface are worth three or four times the value of a refinished piece. 

With the above being said, refinishing antiques is a matter of personal taste and preference.  If you are not comfortable living with a grungy old peeling paint, then by all means  - don't.  But, before you strip a piece of Ca. 1790 furniture in old surface and decrease its value by 90%, perhaps you should consider buying another piece – or buy one that has already been refinished.

There are a lot of Circa 1900 wonderful and affordable machine-made pieces just waiting to be refinished  or painted to your liking.  I find that a good washing with soap and water often does wonders for a piece you might find.  Some pieces need a little more aggressive treatment ... and I sometimes use the finest grade of steel wool (OOOO) dipped in paint thinner/mineral spirits to lightly clean a piece of furniture.  Remember:  ALWAYS CLEAN IN THE SAME DIRECTION THAT THE GRAIN RUNS.

If these cleaning solutions don't work and you have not yet given up on the project – the next step would be to go with a commercial furniture stripper. Strippers are expensive to purchase and can be  caustic and dangerous to use.  If you use furniture stripper – be sure to follow the instructions on the label.  Refinishing is messy and refuse must be disposed of properly.

If you choose not to refinish your own piece of furniture, there are commercial furniture stripping companies which will provide the service for you .... for a fee.  Usually it is expensive to have the old finish removed, and then again expensive to have a new finish put on.  A word of caution here is to be careful how much it costs to refinish a piece – to refinish a standard wooden kitchen chair can cost as much $75. but generally kitchen chairs can be purchased in a shop for around $25.  My advice for non-advanced collectors is to buy something you like in the condition you like and enjoy it.  

 With the Holiday season in the past now. It's time to just enjoy the rest of winter and the fun stuff we can do with it. One of my favorite things to do is make snowmen. When I was quite a bit younger I made several small snowmen and put them in the freezer and kept them until summer . Why? (I am not really sure but maybe to capture some of the winter season.)  When making a snowman, try using antique fragments to create a unique one; buttons, cloth fragments, old worn top hats, even vintage clothing. If you make one that you like, they make great Christmas cards for next year. Or how about a calendar with snowmen?  Get out and enjoy some of the fun things with winter. Making snowmen, Antiquing, Sleigh rides, skiing, winter tubing etc....

This is what New England is all about.   Donna 

Platters are always helpful this time of the year. Turkey platters just don't have to be the ones with the turkeys on them.  I use old diner platters. Or maybe you prefer a silver plated tray?  Make your own decision and see how everybody likes your idea and gift to your host.

Other ideas would be to bring a ladle, a vegetable bowl, or a compote dish, etc.  Weather it's glass ceramic, pottery or even wooden, If you fill it with goodies or even bring it empty, a gift you give that was picked by you will make a wonderful memory for the person or family you give it to.  My saying for the holiday season is “Be unique, give an Antique”.

Happy Holidays to all of our friends and customers.  Donna

     I want to share something with you that I recently purchased from another antique dealer.  I thought this was the sweetest little thing. This is one one of the reasons I love the business that I am in; to find the unusual items from the past. The unusual part about it is that his head is removable and his chest opens and inside is a mirror and compact compartment.  In the head is a tiny lipstick.

     This bear is from around the 1920's. It was manufactured by the Schuco Co. (which was a bear and toy manufacturer. It is mohair and only 3 1/2” long.  This bear was made as a novelty for women, and given from their man as a gift.  How sweet was that.

They also made monkeys that were perfume jars and a couple of other animal figures that served dual purposes.

     Obviously you can tell this is the first one I have seen. That is why this is so fun!. I have seen a lot in the 25+ years in the antiques business, so when something comes along that I haven't seen, it excites me.  If you have something that is unusual and want to share it, I would love to hear from you.  I hope you enjoy looking at this bear. Donna

  I have just recently developed a softness for cast iron. Before now, I always assumed that if it was old and rusty that it couldn't be saved, but I was wrong .

    I was recently at a speaking event and a gentleman there told me that he and his wife were in a dutch oven (cast iron) cook off club. They cook everything in them (I mean full meals).  I also have another friend (Matt) who said that his brother (Joe) bakes in them right in the ground.  Anything from a stew to corn bread and cake.  I am jealous !!  There is something so neat about cooking in old cast iron and in the ground.  Doesn't it just seem like it would taste better.. Yum Yum.

    There is also a value to old cast iron as well and Griswold  is one of the more sought after makers in cast iron ware.  The Griswold Co. was founded in the middle 1800's and was located in Erie Pennsylvania.  Most of the items have the Erie marked on the bottom as well. (along with other marks).  They made a lot of other cast iron products and in the latter years they also did some cast aluminum cookware as well.  But the consistently sought after pieces are the earlier ones (cast iron).  The more unusual pieces and sizes can bring really high prices.

    The dutch ovens like (Joe) uses for cooking in the ground with, were the more common pieces that must have been heavily used, so there are still plenty around to purchase.  So you can go out and get one and try cooking in them too.

    How fun does all this sound to share with your friends during a summer cook out. Imagine when you tell them you cooked the beans or desert in the ground in your cast iron dutch oven.  Oh by the way it's pretty simple; dig a hole and start a fire using coals , get them red and fiery and then put your pot in the hole and cover and bake till done. 

     If you find old pans and you think you couldn't cook in them try this; to re-season old cast iron pans, clean the old debris in them and wash it the best you can to remove any rust. Coat the surface first with lard or grease, not regular cooking oil.  Put them in the oven on about 300 degrees. Heat for 15-20 minutes and then remove and drain excess oil. Place back in the oven and heat for an additional 2 hours.  You can do this several times to make a good seasoning bond.  Then when you first start cooking with it , use fatty foods to help continue to season it.  Never wash it with detergent.  Just use warm water and towel dry.

     Anyone out there that has neat recipes,  please share some with us for cooking in cast iron.  Better yet, Click the "comments" word on the home page and post your recipe for everyone to read!

   SUMMER FUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Donna

Stop by your local antique shop and pick up vintage garden tools and maybe a potting bench, or better yet something you could make into a  bench.  Pick up some of those sweet English red ware pots and display them stacked and some with plants in them.

How about watering cans. They are useful for watering those plants and decorative as well. Show your friends you have gardening skills with minimal effort. I don't know about you, but spring always puts a smile on my face. Why not smile everyday.

Make a list of items you might want to have for your display.  Bench, (if you don't have the space , how about a small shelf?). Pots (an array of colors are nice to have as well as the red ware ones). Garden tools, moss, seed packets, watering cans, sacks  made of vintage material for potting soil etc. I could go on and on.

Have fun and remember everything you pick usually reflects YOU... so what a great way to express yourself.  Donna

Making a good financial investment sometimes can be just as simple as the items you purchase for decorating your home.

I spend a lot of time out in retail stores watching people buy items that duplicate antiques. I often wonder why they just don't buy the real thing. It's like enjoying what you buy and putting money in the bank.

I was recently at a nearby retail store and saw a couple of these white bowls in peoples carts. The were prices at $18.00 each.  So I went back to my shop and found a similar bowl that would serve the same purpose, it was priced $22.00. ( this bowl was a piece of Ironstone from the late 19^th Century, it was used as a wash basin in it's time.)

The condition of the Ironstone bowl was like new with no damage, yet it was over 100 years old. OK let' say you buy the older bowl, then in 5 years you get sick of it and decide to sell it. I would be safe to say that the bowl is worth at least $15.00 if not the same value and in some cases even more than you paid for it .

Now let's talk about the other bowl you bought new. Try selling that. I know it would be worth about $1.00 by the 5 year time if it made it till then.

Seems simple doesn't it !

I am not saying that you should just buy antiques all the time. But if you are trying to duplicate it into your décor why not buy the real thing. Want a couple of reasons again:

 1- Investing (making your money back in the end)

 2- Individuality ( having something similar but different than the mass produced items out there)

 3- History ( antiques have a story to tell , and that is something you can share with your family and friends)

 4- Keeping it green and recycling.

Thinking that I might find a sheet of stainless steel or something similar. We were going to do tile , but I thought boring. We considered that reproduction tin, but it seems like everyone is doing that now.

I had alot of fun at IKEA finding things that would blend into our decor (ANTIQUES). But the one thing I was happy the most about was this college board for notes. It's made out of glass and has large clips that I can use for recipes. It's a perfect fit for behind the stove. It's also a perfect fit for anyone's budget, $19.99.

I just wanted to share this idea with you and again show that usuing things in different ways makes us all a little unique. Donna

From Out Of The Woods Antiques Center is bringing in this New Year with it's biggest project yet . We along with a couple of designing friends will be mixing some already shared ideas with some one of a kind designs that you can buy and bring itno your own decorating scheme. You will also gain an education into the antiques that you do decorate with. Infusion is part of our on going effort to bring history and antiques into todays homes and make it all fit.

So something big and exciting is coming to From Out Of The Woods Antiques Center, that you won't want to miss seeing. Keep checking our web site for more information and our launching date.

( What does Target and Ikea and antiques have to do with one another?? A 19th Century buggy fragment, Ikea clips, and hand towels from Target, the picture tells the rest.) Donna

Last year and the year before we had over 300 people from the community show up. Collectors, historians, and private collectors. We are looking for any New Hampshire related items, or possibly you might want to set up as a vendor for the event ? let us help you sell your items to a new collector.

For more information please feel free to call me Donna :)