Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Feature Vintage Artist Charmings Collectibles

I've recently decided to feature some of my fellow vintage sellers on Etsy. Etsy features handmade artists a couple times a week, which totally rocks, it's great to get a peek into the life of a handmade artist. It's fun to see the different styles and processes of the artists. Etsy has yet to feature a vintage artist though (I still like to call us artists seeing as we all have different tastes and styles of collecting things). My first feature is Karen of Charmings Collectibles.

After her interview she has giving us a really cool slide show of a day in her life of vintaging. Be sure to check that out!




Your shop is named "Charmings Collectibles" How did you acquire that name?

The original company name was Charming Endeavors and it evolved from there. At first, I was selling handmade items, bookmarks, wine charms, things like that and the packaging read Charming’s Bookmarks. I have to credit my craft show customers for shortening my DBA name to Charmings, as that’s how I’m known at the shows. Adding Collectibles was a natural progression once I discovered the joys of treasure hunting!

How long have you been collecting and selling vintage items?
I started buying and selling vintage items a little over two years ago, although I have always been somewhat of a scavenger. My mom says that I come by that honestly, but that’s a whole story in itself!




What’s your favorite thing to collect for yourself?
I buy more for the fun of the hunt and the pleasure of handling and learning about something beautiful than for myself. It’s also very satisfying to match a neglected item with someone who has been searching for just that wonderful thing! There are a few pieces I can't part with and, like my shop, I have an eclectic collection including EAPG, Gilner pixies and some small pieces of Fenton’s amber glass.




Any advice for the vintage seller who is just starting out?
One of the most important things I learned as a new vintage dealer was to trust my “eye.” I often find that I’m drawn to an item and maybe I don’t know exactly what it is but I’m pretty sure it’s something good! Of course, this can also lead to collecting a lot of garage sale items, but it facilitated my learning about glass. The first thing I do when I get home with my new “something” is to start researching and I’ve learned a lot that way, even from my mistakes. Another bit of advice I wish someone had given me is Know Your Market. Just because something is old or has a listed BV doesn’t mean that it’s actually saleable, it could just be more items for your garage sale. Ouch, that was a painful lesson for me!

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Please click on the following picture to start Charmings slide show of how she goes about vintaging:




Karen has offered to give a 10% discount on your first purchase, just mention my blog.


If you you are a vintage artist (aka seller) on Etsy and would like to be featured here on my blog, please put together a slide show and convo me via my etsy shop.

9 comments:

*Jess* said...

How does one go about finding out what year a particular piece was made? I especially like the pink glass :)

Anonymous said...

What a great idea!!!

Anonymous said...

In response to Jess, the thirties were the biggest years for Depression glass. Do you know your pattern name? Visit my flickr glass group "Depression & Mid Century Glass ID Help" and we can figure it out.

FaerieKissed said...

Those are such lovely pieces. Thanks for sharing this story.

Allison said...

I love the photo slideshow! Your day looks so fun and interesting. I'm always amazed for the eyes that you vintage collectors have. I don't think I'd ever be able to spot a true vintage piece if it jumped out at me - so I'm thankful for your love of it - and I'm off to check out your store!

Mrs.Kwitty said...

Great vintage pieces! Thanks for the interesting post!
Smiles, Karen

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Thank you for all of the nice comments about my items! In addition to my etsy shop I have a shop on Ruby Lane where I have over a hundred additional items, including most of my pink glass. I would love for you to come visit!
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/charmings

ZebraBelly: said...

Wow, that's a great slideshow. Very funny. And I LOVE that purplish glass. Gorgeous!

 
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