This week’s fresh to market vintage is certainly colorful. For vintage sellers, color is a blessing as well as a curse. The written description can cover important things like size, age and condition. But the photos are also part of the description. You can be very precise with words. But there are so many ways color can become imprecise in the listing process.
Color variation can happen starting with the camera. Whether it’s a digital camera or an iPhone, cameras add their own personality to the color. Editing the photo is another place variation can happen. And finally, the potential buyer’s screen can also add variation. So how can a buyer possibly know if a color is accurate?
It’s easy. They can’t. They can know that we are doing our best to get the color right. But if a buyer ever has questions because the actual color is incredibly important to them, the best thing they can do is ask the seller. One of the most wonderful things about buying from an independent online seller is they are usually happy to answer your questions.
And now it’s time to move on to this week’s fresh to market vintage lineup…
Paolo Gucci Earrings in Blue Moonglow
One of the best parts of being a vintage seller is learning something new. When I acquired these earrings they were part of a lot of inexpensive costume jewelry. As I went through each piece cleaning, repairing, and determining value, these earrings began to stand out. Marked Paolo, I found they are made by Gucci. Paolo Gucci’s story is a fascinating one with more plot twists than an Agatha Christie novel. Meanwhile, these earrings are gorgeous. There’s nothing better than a good vintage piece with an interesting back story.
Paolo Gucci Blue Moonglow Earrings, $55
-Pam, Vintage Renude
Flying Angel Ornament
I am devoted to finding and selling the vintage Christmas ornaments and decor that I have in my shop. I need to “hear their song” and fall in love so that I can take them home and then share them with others. Unusual and kitschy items have been increasingly more difficult to find over the years, and I worry when my cabinet shelves of Christmas items are dwindling down like Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. Savvy collectors and sellers add any holiday items year round for the best results. TV series may need Christmas props during spring because that is when they may be filming their holiday episodes. If you are setting up a yard sale or flea market table, be certain to include your out-of-season holiday items which we will all “gently squabble” over. I have never seen the likes of this flying angel before, so at least she will be something new in my shop and Christmas cupboard until she melts someone else’s heart.
Angel, $49.99
-Mary Ellen, AuntHattiesAttic
Westmoreland Glass Compote
What can you say about blue so saturated you wish you could dive into it and swim away? Elegant glassware from companies like Westmoreland and Fenton are known for their quality designs as well as the richness of their colors. You don’t have to be a glass collector to find room for something this beautiful on your shelf, hopefully somewhere it can catch the light.
Westmoreland Footed Compote, $35.
-Laurie, NextStage Vintage
Antique Stoneware Advertising Bowl (c 1920s)
I love vintage advertising, particularly the utilitarian pieces that were offered as giveaways by enterprising Midwestern merchants. This little blue and white mixing bowl dates to the early 20th century in the days before spellcheck. I did a bit of research and confirmed there were two Tjaden general stores, one in Chancellor and the other in Davis South Dakota which I assume is the point the ad was making. Too bad the person who designed the stamp for the store owner slept through his punctuation lessons as evidenced by the random apostrophe in “general store’s”. That mistake may raise the hair on the back on an English teacher’s neck but I must admit it adds a new level of charm to the piece in my eyes.
Tjaden’s Chancellor SD Country Store Bowl, $65
-Linda, Selective Salvage
That’s this week’s fresh to market vintage. We don’t talk behind the scenes about what we’re going to feature, so it’s completely random that three of us would all pick new listings that all have saturated colors. But it was a good reminder that communicating the color of an item correctly with descriptive words and photos as accurately as we can make them is a key part of being a vintage seller.
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