Several months ago Carolyn Hemmings opened her new shop in Pomona, west of Garey.
Category Archives: Business
Golden California Show
Old Barn’s Ghost
The Old Barn in San Juan Capistrano is haunted by a particular ghost, and always has been. In the decade that I’ve been there, I heard tales of the ghost from my very first contact with the old building. The employees and dealers, some of whom had been there for 15 and twenty years then, had had sightings and actual contact or indirect experiences with her. “She” is Esmerelda. There are two apartments up some rickety stairs in the 130 year-old building. One of them even has an overgrown balcony. Ez (as we call her) lived in that apartment, and died there under strange circumstances. I was told by an old woman named Carmelita who was one of the oldest residents of the Los Rios district, the oldest neighborhood in southern California where people are still living in 18th-century adobes, that her Abuela told her that Ez was a beautiful young girl who used to stand out on the balcony and watch the caballeros ride by, and that one day she was found dead, and there was no autopsy, and there was no family to be contacted, because she had come from another region.
I have seen her twice at night when the lights are down in the cavernous building, and both times at the bottom of the stairs to the apartment (which is now a storage area). She is in pale white, with a featureless or hidden face. You can feel her presence sometimes on those stairs, like an awareness of a person passing close-by. It is a damp, cool sensation. She is often hiding things from the employees, like our keys: they will put them down in the office and find them hidden in some completely unlikely spot a few minutes later. Things are constantly re-arranged in the office, even if I am the last to leave at night and the first to arrive in the morning, stuff is constantly not where I left it!
We had an employee who actually quit because of her. He had set up a desk in her apartment (in spite of my apprehensions). While removing a painting from the wall for a customer, I watched as another painting flew off the wall sideways and hit him in the head! He was bleeding pretty heavily from the forehead, but he was mostly frightened. He had, he told me, been injured twice before under odd circumstances. He quit the next day & never asked for any compensation.
His big fine art finds
Furniture appraiser extraordinaire made a couple of amazing finds when conducting some recent fine art appraisals. Although he was best known for his furniture expertise, he now mostly appraises fine art and silver.”I appraised a $125,000 S. C. Yuan and a Modigliani that sold for $400,000 at Sotheby’s,” he said. McConnell had appraised the Modigliani in the high 300s, so he was right in the ballpark. S.C. Yuang was born in Hangchow, China in the province of Chekiang. Although taught in the Western manner, later Yuan would remark that he was also influenced by the Chinese paintings surrounding him and that their delicacy and emphasis upon line were in his blood. He came to America in 1950 and, after a visit to the Monterey Peninsula, decided that this was where he wished to make his home. Although there were major exhibitions of Yuan’s work during the war years, the 1960s was a period of numerous shows, awards and his beginning of his inspirational travels to Mexico and Europe. His last one-man show was held in Carmel in 1974. It was at that time when he took his own life, and died on September 6, 1974.
Jewelry Idol Doubles her space at Sherman Oaks
The Jewelry Idol, Connie Parente, has doubled the size of her space at Sherman Oaks Antique Mall. Parente is also known as the “Set Up Queen” because it takes her so long to arrange her booth. She announced, however, that at the December Bustamante Show it only took her two full days (around eight hours each day) to set up her 16′ x 10 1/2′ space, instead of the usual three. That is one of the things she loves about the Bustamante Show–there is plenty of time to set up. ”He’ll let you set up here on Tuesday if you want to,” she said, adding that the venue is clean and comfortable. ”The parking is great and the moving in and out is easy,” she said. “For me it’s the most dealer friendly show I do.”She is still dealer #119, but she now offers jewelry lovers twice as much Bakelite, vintage rhinestones, Native American and other dazzling costume pieces. Since she was set up at the Bustamante Show, which she never misses, she was unable to attend Sherman Oaks Holiday Party and Open House. ”It conflicts with Bustamante every year,” she said. In addition to branching out at Sherman Oaks, Connie is adding another mall to her resume. She is in the process of moving some of her jewelry into Little Paris on La Brea in Los Angeles. Her space is located right in front of the showcase section.
Esposito's controversial approach to running a mall
A new antique mall owner in Morro Bay is battling the post office so she can get her bills paid on time. And for Francine Esposito, that is the minute she gets them, despite when they are due. The thought that she could go into delinquency, could give her a heart attack. The post office is claiming that she has to get approval from the city to receive mail at all, which she claims is ludicrous. Getting the mail situation straightened out is just one of the many things Esposito is doing while opening Hwy. 41 Antique Emporium in Morro Bay. She’s recruiting dealers to fill the former 12,000 square foot hardware store by the end of January so that she can have a grand opening and ribbon cutting event on the third weekend of the month in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce. Esposito is a maniac about being on top of things. Her biggest failure, however, was retirement; she was out of commission for two months before she decided to get back in the antique mall business. ”I kept sitting around and eating,” said the 59-year-old Jewish mall owner. An idle life was no match for Esposito’s boisterous spirit. Prior to her “retirement,” she owned two antique malls in the small city of Cayucas, which is where she still lives. She sold both stores on September 1st. The coastal city, which is actually a part of San Luis Obispo, has an impact on the antique industry out of proportion to its size thanks to several stores in the area and the Peddler’s Faire held a couple of times a year. In 1998, Esposito opened Remember When and five years later she branched out and opened Remember When, Too. She filled the combined 19,000 square feet with 80 dealers and their merchandise, and not a thing in the store, other than the main desk, belonged to her. Unlike most antique mall owners, Esposito is not an antique dealer and has no particular affinity for antiques. Her mind is not clouded by her sentiment for what used to be in grandma’s attic; she does, however, have a passion for business and loves running antique malls. She has already been compared to Skip Petersen of Weschester Faire and Culver City Antique Center fame. As a mall owner, he was known for his spreadsheet mind and his ability to walk into any dealer’s space and know within a hundred dollars how much they are grossing and netting each month. Prior to opening Remember When, Esposito was a stranger to the antique business. She spent most of her career, more than 12 years, as a junior high and high school English teacher in New York, Illinois, and finally in Glendora, California. She broke into the antique business when she and her now ex-husband sold their Cayucos gas station (the only one in the small city) to a woman in 1998. The buyer happened to have a faltering antique store that she was trying to get off of her hands. It was a sale/trade that left Esposito with a rather pathetic antique store with less than 20 dealers. ”I bought it and totally changed things around,” she recalled. It took a lot of phone calls and a fortune in advertising, but she brought the antique mall back to life. Esposito runs a very tight ship and one of the ways she keeps everything running smoothly, is by being there. She works at the mall every day (and that is seven days a week) and admits to micro managing every aspect of the business. She closes the books on the last day of the month and dealer checks are out on the first day of the following month, no exceptions. With Esposito, dealers know what to expect. Because of her zealous micromanagement and omnipresence, things do not just disappear or “walk out of her mall,” she said, which adds to her reputation as a mall owner. She plans to run the Antique Emporium with the same heavy hand, but she does have a controversial change in mind, which has many people shaking their heads. Esposito’s mall will be zero commission, the thought of which makes most mall owner’s shudder. She used to charge commission at Remember When but has come up with what she considers to be a more efficient system and one thing that she is constantly striving for is better efficiency. The concept is not new. Several malls have tried the zero commission approach and failed, but Esposito counters that by listing the pros. There will more efficient bookkeeping, dealers can trade and buy from one another without any intervention at the front counter, which will lead to a freer exchange. The most compelling argument is that dealers are likely to charge a fairer price for an item when they don’t have to tack a commission on top of their asking price. Since there will be no commission, the mall owner will charge slightly more per square foot, .90 cents more to be exact. She used to charge $2.85 per square foot at Remember When, and will now be charging $3.75 per square foot. 4′ x 6′ showcases are available for $150 a month. The mall has plenty to offer for that extra buck a square foot. It has large automatic doors that open smoothly, a metaphor for how she expects her mall to run. There is a load-in area in the back for dealers, and the thing she is most proud of, is that there is “not a step” in the single level building. In the mold of Mike Freville at Granny’s Attic, she will be adding a wine-tasting room. At Remember When, she used to give out free wine on Sundays, which really made sales boom, she said. At the Antique Emporium, she will establish the tradition of breaking out the chablis and chardonnay at 4:00 each day. Insiders are already betting that the fermented substance will be a greater success than the brewed. Just like her former malls, Hwy 41 Antique Emporium will be open seven days a week from 10-5, with the exception of only two major holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the mall will be closed. Hwy 41 Antique Emporium is located at 520 Atascadero Road in Morro Bay. Call (805) 771-8000 for more information on the actual grand opening date or to become a dealer.
Champagne, cider & discounts at Christmas Open House
Fresh from their September buying trips, Peggy Arbenz and Janet Thompson have stocked Down Home for their annual Christmas Open House slated for November 7th.Highlighting the festive fall look of the shop is their vintage ornament tree, a customer favorite, as all as cranberry apple cider and lots of Christmas goodies. As with every Open House, there will be a Christmas gift for the first 50 customers in line, and there is always a line stretching around the building. They will be closed November 4th-6th in preparation for the event. Down Home is also hosting “Sparkle Lights and Champagne” on December 2nd at 7:00 p.m. The event will feature Debbee Thibault and her folk art blown glass ornaments and her new jewelry line. Thibault will be offering 25% off her glass Christmas ornament, and she will also be featuring one-of-a-kind items available only at Down Home. Of course, champagne, sparkling cider and appetizers will be served. Down Home is located at 200 E. Chapman Avenue in Orange. Call (714) 288-9208.
appraisal group evaluates $30,000 rug found in the trash
In the world of collecting, there are many urban myths. One of the most popular is that it is possible to find an item worth tens of thousands of dollars in the trash. This almost never happens. However, there was one glorious exception recounted by the “Valley of the Sun Antique Dealers Association (VSADA)” which will be offering $5 verbal appraisers at the upcoming Phoenix Antique Show. VSADA president George Notorole remembers a moment fit for the Antiques Roadshow, when two young women brought in a rug they salvaged from a dumpster. It ended up being a Tribal Indian Chief’s Rug. ”Tribal Chief’s rugs were very special and high ranking and each rug was woven specifically for that tribe,” he said. It was appraised at $30,000. Notorole and his highly-regarded group of appraisers hope to find another antique worthy of urban legend status at the Phoenix Antique Market, November 21st-22nd at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. Members will appraise any general antique for $5, excluding fine jewelry or precious metals. Unlike most groups who claim to “vet” their members, meaning they don’t get their membership card until the check clears, the VSADA has a rigorous process administered by the president. The non-profit organization has been around for 25 years. Hours of the Phoenix Antique Market are from 9-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. Admission is free and parking is $7 if parking on the fairgrounds. For more information, call Wanda Jones at (602) 717-7337.
Frank! encourages AnA to join his social network
As the guest speaker at the Appraisers National Association’s annual meeting, Frank! encouraged the organization to join his social network, which would strengthen their connection to the antique community through the evergrowing tool of “informal communication.” Thanks to tweeting, texting and other online forums, 97% of communication these days is informal. In 30 years of being in business, this was the first time Frank! ever attended an ANA meeting and it was the perfect forum for him to begin phase two of his social media campaign. He apprised the attendees of his successful Digital Delight workshops where Facebook and computer basics were the theme. He encouraged not only the organization to join, but for them to recruit all 102 of their members, and to make further use of the network’s opportunities by initiating an ANA News Bureau using blogging as the platform. Frank! ensured that ANA will become a stronger and more effective organization by being on Facebook, which will ultimately lead to enlarging their membership, because being a member will mean so much more when the group is better connected; they will be able to instantly share research information and make client referrals. At the meeting, there were a half a dozen active Facebook users including Peggy Caffey and jewelry book author Diana Cinamon. Frank! was able to quickly demonstrate the network’s usefulness when he expressed condolences to Caffey for the death of her aunt. She never called to informed him of her death, but through the network, Frank! learned of the passing of Caffey’s aunt. Just before the ANA meeting, Frank! encountered a Pomona Antique Center dealer who said that the she used to be a member of ANA, but was forced to discontinue her membership because of requirements to take extra courses. Had this dealer been on Facebook and ANA been a presence on the social networking site, she could have quickly found out that she was mistaken. ANA Members would have quickly clarified that she can remain a member on a certain level without taking any extra courses. Another highlight of the meeting was the raffle where the prize was a signed copy of Diana Cinamon’s new book, “Estate Jewelry: 1760-1960.” The book, published in late June, has been receiving rave reviews and from none other than price guide queen herself, Judith Miller. The 224-page book, published by Schiffer, features more than 680 color photographs with detailed descriptions, and for those looking for quick values, there is also a reference section with more than 500 items organized to locate pieces without going through the entire book. According to Miller, “I have a ton of them, and most of the new books are just reiterations of books that I already have. And a lot of the new books are just eye candy, but not much information. All the information is right there in this book. The historical periods, gem identification, styles information, materials information, Findings, marks, and much more. The book is packed with great photos. P.S. I did find a photo of a Balle Norway set on page 203 in this book that I have for sale on Ebay at this very moment! And I looked all over the place in my books to get an idea of what to charge for my set. Turns out my price is about $200 less than the one in this book.” Shera Brem was the first winner, but she declined because she already had the book. She was the first of several who forfeited. Cinamon’s book was so popular that it seemed everyone at the meeting already had it with the exception of Barbara Foster, who ended up walking away with the hard cover prize. Foster is not known for collecting such mainstream things, like jewelry. She had an award named after her at the classic Collector’s Conference based on her bizarre collections. She once had a large collection of plastic honey bear bottles that she tried to sell on e-Bay. She admitted she could not even get the one penny starting bid.
Hillsborough director tries to eliminate fakes and repros
Hillsborough Antique Show’s new promoter, Nancy Johnson, is shaking things up for the November Show, the first under her direction. She has made her prime focus eliminating fakes and reproductions, and because of this, has not sent contracts to some dealers that used to do the show slated for November 6th-8th, 2009 at the San Mateo County Event Center.The biggest fake story raging on right now is the most bizarre in centuries. In late September, Scientists discovered a “fake fake.” A painting that had been believed to to be a masterful forgery of “The Procuress” done by Hans van Meegeren had been featured in a several fakes and forgeries exhibitions. It has been used as an example of a fabulous fake since the Summer of Love. Scientists at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where the painting has resided since 1960, have deemed it to be only a mediocre original. It is now believed to be a version of the 1622 brothel scene by the eminent Dutch painter Dirck van Baburen and may have even hung in the hours of Dutch master Johannese Vermeer. Both the canvas and pigments are old and fall in line with a 17th century work. The museum believed the painting to be a Van Meegeren because it was donated as such. Insiders are saying, “What’s this world coming to, when even the fakes aren’t fake.” Cynics are saying that the breasts being fondled by the red-coated john in the painting are probably real too. They may not be on the scale of a Dutch Golden Age painting, but there are some genuine fakes still out there in the show world and Nancy Johnson is determined to weed them out. Some of the dealers who have not been invited to the Hillsborough Show are regulars at other high end general interest shows. One of these ousted dealers was so outraged when she discovered she was not being invited back that she orchestrated a little uprising at a recent show. She protested on behalf of all of the uninvited dealers. Johnson explained to this individual that she is doing her best to upgrade the show and had to make some difficult decisions. Those tough choices included not inviting all of the dealers who used to sell at the Hillsborough Show. Shedding light on fakes and reproductions is something that Johnson has been passionate about for years. As co-author of the Federal Trade Commission web-document “How to Show Wisely for Antiques
