Stuff on Bonanzle

Do YOU remember the first purchase you made for your collection(s)?

2009-07-28T09:26:00.009-05:00

For me, it was my first Bakelite purchase that set me on the road to collecting in that area: I purchased a pair of pins, one of which I still own and love very much. I vividly recall what I paid for my very first two pieces of Bakelite. I paid five bucks each for a pair of pins.

One of them was black and had a very edgy machine age style. I even remember to whom I sold it when I finally parted with it and how much the buyer paid me. It was our first meeting. He and I have been doing Bakelite business with each other ever since.

The piece that I was never able to part with for some reason was a simple Deco design, black and red, brass trim. I was wearing it one day back about 20 years ago when I looked down and discovered part of it was missing! RATS! I was devastated!

Side note: this is not the only personal fave Bakelite pin I've ever had damaged. The other one was damaged so badly I had to ship the parts of it off to Brad Elfrink at Elvenkrafte Studios to be put back together. You may know Brad as bael31 on eBay. Thankfully, he was able to save it. I'll have to dig up the photos of it to show you some time. It's a WONDERFUL pin, another I so vividly remember finding and one that has a delightful story behind it!

So, today, I'm going to share with you this piece that is so simple and yet makes me smile whenever I see it. Yesterday I opened up the jewelry case I used to carry with me when I traveled. Lo and behold! There was not only The First Bakelite Pin but several other pieces that I'd been wondering in the back of my mind, "what the heck did I do with those?"

The Bakelite pin, as mentioned, fell apart one day. When I discovered that the top had fallen off, I decided to retrace my steps to see if it was still where it had fallen. Imagine my shock and delight when I discovered it next to my car in the parking lot. It appears now that someone stepped on it at some point as the brass trim has some dents in it that were not there before but I really do not care. It's still a fave even though it had to be epoxied back together where the rivet had failed:

After it's long sleep in the jewelry case, it obviously needs to have the brass polished. I found the matching bracelet for it in the rightfully esteemed Route 66 West shop a year or several back but it had the "price available upon request" designation in place of a price which means it was way out of my price range. One day recently I was spending some quality time with Cathy Gordon's collection in the Bakelite category and - again, lo and behold! There's another matching bracelet yet again. Dadgummit! Maybe some day I'll be fortunate enough to run onto one for my very own. Check it out towards the bottom of the page. I keep hoping that the old "third time is a charm" rule could apply the next time I happen onto one. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Here are another couple of long-time favorite pieces. Sometimes there is no accounting for what we find appealing but these are faves of mine. As you can see, I'm not a big collector of rhinestones.

The first one is yet another $5.00 deal. This one - again - I so vividly remember purchasing. The lady from whom I purchased it told me when asked it's price, "Well, honey, I'm going to have to get an awful lot for that one - it's real, real old. I got it from this old lady.......(and on and on). I've gotta have five dollars for it."

I, of course, could not get the money out fast enough. It was nasty and black and requires a lot of work to make it wearable when it's not been worn in a while. If not, it turns my neck green and gross, as you can imagine. The leafy-type connectors have a design patent on them that I need to go in and look up beyond it's date of issue some time. Might discover who made this necklace. The design patent dated to the 1930s.

Along with another favorite pin (The Tortolani Hyde Street Cable car pin in gold tone), in a small box right on the bottom was the bracelet that goes with my "go-to" necklace. I love this set so very much! The black rings are glass. This was purchased at a garage sale, dead of winter, literally about 10 degrees with a harsh north wind inside a north-facing garage. The wind and wind-chill-factor were so brutal that all of us there were laughing and asking each other "why are we so crazy to be here?". For me, when I opened a tiny snack-size zip-lock and the bracelet (along with it's matching necklace) literally sprang out into my hand, I knew why I was there:

Readers: What was the first piece you bought or the piece that inspired you to become a collector? Drop me a comment, share your experiences, include a link or two if you would like - I'd love to see what some of my readers enjoy. If you remember the circumstances, a funny story about who you purchased it from, the crazy location or insanely low price you paid - tell us all about it!

More Bakelite - I never get tired of it!

2009-06-24T08:11:00.006-05:00

Those of you who have known me for years know full well that I have a rather significant monkey on my back when it comes to Bakelite. It's been a favorite for more years than I care to admit. Recently it's become painfully evident that I need to move out of the room I currently use as my home office so I've been clearing out the spare bedroom that had been overtaken by the inventory I used to haul around when I traveled to antique shows every week.

The unfortunate truth is that I've allowed all of that to sit in that spare room for several years untouched. It's like Christmas going through all those boxes. Much of it is a great surprise. Several items I've looked at and thought "What the heck was I thinking when I spent actual money on that?

During this process, I've found this wonderful cache of raw Bakelite stock. Most of it has been partially used - there are two sheets, one only about 7" square and the other about half that size in a rectangle.

There are various sizes of tube stock including a couple of bracelet tubes and another that appears to be (the brown one) but is really more suitable for a box, dice cup, pencil cup, something like that. It's just shy of a half inch thick but has the same OD as a bracelet tube. Too bad, so sad, not large enough to slip over a wrist. Being able to find a bracelet tube that thick would be such a thrill to send off for a custom design by my favorite Bakelite jewelry designer, Brad Elfrink.

So, here we go - some photos of the colorful array:

That blue moon tube was one I'd left with someone to be dotted but we never got together on it - I forgot about it, they recently returned it to me. I'm sure it's destined to go to the phenomenal Brad Elfrink of Elvenkrafte Studios to be carved into something totally spectacular.

Note above inside the green tube that's threaded. If you are not that familiar with Bakelite, perhaps you are unaware that Bakelite holds a thread just like it's supposed to. That tube may have been destined to be part of a salt and pepper shaker set. Who knows?

Another thing to note in the photo below, you have in front of you three of the shades that some people have difficulty differentiating: Butterscotch in that sheet at the back, top left, the square rod is creamed corn (originally pure white) and the thick round rod would be yellow. Sorry that the creamed corn rod's color is a bit washed out in the photo but you can see it nicely in the photo immediately above this text.

Below, note a couple of things: First - the transparent green rod just behind the big orange rod inside that blue moon tube is a Prystal that was originally blue. See the photo of the end of that rod below showing the portion on one end where I used a sheet of emery paper on it to remove some of the patina. Another color of interest in the grouping below is the tube on the right. That one, as you may be able to tell from the top is actually a rich, raspberry shade that has changed to a beautiful shade of rust. That's another tube that is probably headed to Brad at Elvenkrafte.

Below is the shot to show you the nice, thick wall on that brown tube. I can see this nicely carved with a contrasting color bottom and lid to be used as a decorative item or carved with a bottom inserted and used as a pencil or dice cup. If any of you out there have a better suggestion, be sure to drop me a line here or over at my booth on Bonanzle.

This is a shot of the sheet of butterscotch marbled stock held up to a light source so you can see the marbling a bit better. It's a lovely sheet!
Last but not least, here's the close-up on the green transparent rod - the end which better shows it's original shade before it gained it's rich patina:

These pieces are just a few of the types of stock that were available. There were rods in shapes such as butterflies, scottie dogs, those used to make napkin rings, the most popular of which were figurals such as this elephant :

This fellow is available for sale in my booth on Bonanzle!

Hope you will come by to say hello often!

Bakelite!!!!! Bakelite!!!!! Bakelite!!!!!

2009-06-12T07:18:00.008-05:00

OVER A MONTH since I've been here! Sorry gang! It's been one of those!

I'm going to make it a fast stop today. I'm going to make a concerted effort to get over here and talk about Bakelite a lot.

I see every plastic known to mankind being called Bakelite on the net. For some reason people seem to think that the keyword spamming of that term in their listing is going to attract the type of attention that is going to cause someone who really only collects Bakelite to buy their obviously inaccurately described item. It's a huge bur under the saddle blanket to all of us who are very passionate and deeply in love with this incredible material.

Quite a number of years ago I was more active in a lot of discussion groups online. One of my favorite things besides jewelry is buttons. This passion dates back to my childhood when things were much simpler. If a child was bored with their toys, a parent often gave them some household item to entertain and occupy them. My mother utilized any number of things such as her button box (a big colorful bread tin), her old costume jewelry, or her old clothes in which I could play dress-up.

But I digressed, as usual.

One day on the button list, someone came in and showed some photos of some wonderful hand-carved buttons. Seems like the first things I saw were something like this:
Or this:

Or this:

Now, those are NOT Bakelite but the workmanship is intriguing, eh? The attention to detail. The interesting subject matter.

Next thing I know, I've got a link to this seller's button listings on eBay. Somewhere in there - I am a little fuzzy on when this began - this fine gentleman started using Bakelite and a new love affair began.

All of you who know me know I'm a total Bakelite freak and that it really makes little difference to me what form it takes.

Buttons: Great!

Pins: Great!

Bracelets: REALLY GREAT!!!!!!!!!!

Who am I talking about, you ask? In case you did not figure it out from the website watermark on the photos above, it's Brad Elfrink!

I could spend the rest of today picking out my personal favorites in Brad's incredible work but I'm going to just give you this link (again) to his website where he has massive quantities of great photographs of his fantastic work. And this is the link to his eBay listings. You will not be disappointed.

Brad is a fine gentleman. I know he's going to be embarrassed a bit by my gushing adoration for him and his work but he SO totally and absolutely deserves all of the kudos and nods he gets. He's The Best!

Please do yourself a favor: set aside an hour or so to look at all of the incredible photos of his work on his website and on his eBay listings. Bid on eBay, buy from his website or commission a special, one of a kind piece. You won't be disappointed but if for some reason you are not happy, he's going to make it right. Trust me.

Tuesday's Talkin' - Today, it's another Hand Picked List RAVE!

2009-05-05T10:59:00.015-05:00

I've blogged before about my admiration of the idea of "Hand Picked Lists" on Bonanzle.com because they epitomize so many different positive ideals. This is one of the things that enthralls me so at Bonanzle - the community there is very strong!

Of course, serious Bonanzlers are well aware that those positive ideals are all over the place in great abundance at Bonanzle.com.

The idea for Hand Picked Lists (AKA "HPLs") is that one user on Bonanzle.com names and creates a list, selects 20 items from other sellers' inventory based on their theme. They give it a title such as "Azure Skies", or "Pendants that POP!" and shop the inventory of Bonanzle, selecting other sellers' items to complete their lists. A minimum of 15 items is required for a completed list. Twenty items are required to selected for placement on Bonanzle's home page.

When you land on the home page, you will see one of the lists at the top of the page. Shown below is one of my personal favorites by someone who may well be The Queen of the Hand Picked List: EyeCatchingBeauty.

Of course, that's just MY opinion, I could be wrong......but I do not think I am. ECB has The Touch!

Granted, the format that Our Boyz** created for the HPL really makes any list look fabulous but this one - well, that's just a jaw-dropper! Luscious, elegant, absolutely stunning! This is only one of many that ECB has created.

ECB's lists show up regularly on the home page and almost always pepper the "Top Rated" because of this, no doubt. I believe that this was The One that originally made me start watching for her HPLs. Then I see this one titled "Save me A Seat" and I'm hooked. It has a very special quality - proves beyond a doubt that this is someone with a fine eye for - OK - sorry, no apologies for the pun, Eye Catching Beauty! It's obvious that we have a champion HPL creator here. ECB is definitely not the only great HPL creator but she's very obviously really "got it down" to a fine art!

This one is called "Charcoal".

I could go on and on and on but do not think that I am going to ignore yet a few more notable lists!

The next one features exquisite carnival glass and was created by rjmjstuff and is titled "Come to the Carnival". The selections of fine Carnival glass available on Bonanzle is extra fine, eh? Go shopping for it NOW! You will clearly see that rjmjstuff found some of the very best items being offered for this great list!

If militaria is your thing, I found this superb list featuring wonderful vintage militaria created by basingater1. Titled "Military Memories" is spans memorabilia dating from Civil War all the way up to the current Iraq "situation".

I could go on and on but I really need to get some actual work done today. So, here are some more lists that I think you might enjoy. Don't forget - check out the listings of those folks who CREATED the lists to reward them for their generosity of spirit!

Currently on the front page on Bonanzle.com:

A Box for Jewels created by Starfisher

Meanwhile back at the Ranch created by BARNTIQUES859

Smoldering created by (shock) EyeCatchingBeauty

Bottle Stoppers created by GaragesaleGoddess

Oh heck - just go to Bonanzle.com and see them all for yourself!

This whole thing boils down to one thing: Bonanzle is a very fun place to shop and sell. We hope many people will find us, come to visit, get to know us and perhaps even buy some of our goodies!

CHEERS! from STUFF on Bonanzle! Happy Cinco de Mayo

**(aka Bill and Mark - the creative team behind Bonanzle - both gentlemen are very creative, smart, useful AND quite decorative)

Monday Morning Musings...about Delivering The Goods!

2009-05-04T10:01:00.004-05:00

This morning as I was shopping around the internet, I was reminded yet again that a lot of internet sellers simply do not grasp what appears to have become an old-fashioned idea of "Customer Service" to a lot of online sellers.

Every time I shop I run into such policies as "ALL SALES FINAL!!!!!"

Today I saw one that really disturbed me: "If you don't buy insurance and it breaks, no way are you getting a refund."

Wow and hmmmmmm.......

Legally and morally, a seller is obligated to deliver any item that a buyer purchases from them in the condition in which it was advertised. A seller can try hard to pretend that they are not responsible if insurance is not purchased. The truth is: insurance protects the seller due to the sellers' legal obligation to deliver the goods for which they received payment.

Here's the thing: IT'S A SELLER'S JOB to deliver the goods. Period.

I take that obligation very seriously. It seems so simple to me. Someone buys something, I deliver it quickly and as safely as I know how. If the buyer is unhappy, I take it back - no questions asked other than "when do you plan to ship so I can be watching for it's delivery?"

So, to all of you buyers out there who don't yet know me - please understand that your pleasure and satisfaction with your purchases is MY JOB. I know this. I understand this. I take this obligation very seriously.

This is what I do to make my living. I make every effort to be someone you feel you can trust 100%. This is how it is supposed to be.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong but in this case, I know I'm not.

No one should spend their hard-earned money on something and then end up discovering they have shelled out "money for nothin'". It's not right and it won't happen when you buy from STUFF on Bonanzle!

The Sunday Summary

2009-05-03T11:27:00.006-05:00

Yet another super busy week. Where does all my time go? Have I lost all ability to be organized and massively productive? Could it be I read too many of the links sent to me via Twitter? Let us pretend for a moment that it's the spring housecleaning I've been doing that's taking away from my Bonanzle efforts. Make me sound so domestic. Trust me, that's not a word that has ever been used to describe me to the best of my knowledge.

Surely not.....

Just wanted to stop by and let you know I've listed some new items - nothing supremely rare or out of the ordinary but very nice pieces!

Bakelite (shock!) Seth Thomas Wind-up alarm clock, set of 12 cherry red Bakelite (bigger shock) corn on the cob holders, a very unusualy and HTF one-piece Bakelite (will it never end?) knife, a Flemish Art Pyrography plaque, a mid-century Airguide Barometer, thermometer, humidity gauge, a super nice vintage 7 xxxxxxx quality western hat that was purchased in the 70s for the western themed party series held annually by his college fraternity and lots more! And - another charming item that is quite special - a tatted baby cap in pristine condition.

Here's a peek at some of these listings:

Come by and say hello!

The Monday Morning Moan & Mirth........or why I rarely shop on eBay any more and sell my wares HERE now! (YES - click and see!)

2009-04-27T12:10:00.013-05:00

This morning I decided I might list a couple of items on eBay. In order to see if it's even remotely worth it, I decided to do a little research on current and recently ended listings.

With the first search I did, I noticed something that, quite frankly, I am unable to not be snarky about. On what planet does a search for a piece of vintage jewelry relate to a search for a cursor or something I can not even fathom - "pixie kitchen". What the heck is a pixie kitchen?

Naturally I had to see if additional fairly general searches returned similarly just plain idiotic references in the "Related Searches" area.

Well, yeah. Of course it did. I got lost in doing more to see what eBay's so-called Best Match returned for me. Some of them returned nothing but some were so funny and outrageous that I took a few screen shots for your amusement.

Here's the pixie kitchen one - my original search was for 'celluloid rhinestone bracelet". I include the screen shot to prove to you - "you can not make this stuff up" or truth is always better than fiction:

So, for the record, if you are interested, this is what you get when you do that "related" pixie kitchen search on eBay.

Next, I did a similar search and this is what came up:

Yeppers, you got it ! I had never thought to look through the blackberry storm listings to find vintage jewelry - what was I THINKING? No WONDER other people sometimes find better jewelry for less than I do - I am just too stupid to know how to do searches on eBay. Only eBay's fine search software is smart enough to help me find what I want! How in the WORLD could I have missed that? I will find exactly what I am looking for if I search for a blackberry storm while really trying to find a celluloid flapper bracelet! OMG! I am just dumber than a puddle of redneck mud!

It's like a train wreck - you can't stop looking when you find these outrageous suggestions. With a train wreck, you know you might see twisted metal and severely injured humans. With eBay you never know what is going to happen.

Next search: "celluloid bangle". This one was not quite as outrageously stupid but it's still just not anything that anyone in their right mind would ever associate in any way with a 1920's flapper bracelet with rhinestones and a colorful resin wash - an ametrine ring!

So, one more - I moved away from Celluloid and on to Bakelite for this moaner.

This one really cracked me up! What does a cursor have to do with jewelry?

But this next one is my personal fave of the day and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do - yep, eBay this stuff is totally related to a carved Bakelite bracelet:

I have no more words. eBay just never ceases to amaze me.

Cheers - have a great week!

Come visit me - new items being listed as soon as I get off my patoot and go take some pictures!

Killer Queen of the Vintage Jewelry Box!

2009-04-23T11:28:00.005-05:00

Well. There is very little that needs to be said about this. The colors are stupendous. The style is classic. The quality is unmistakable. It's Eisenberg. It's unsigned but not all of Eisenberg's work was produced with a permanent signature.

Enough said:

Come visit this fine find right here and now. And remember - we've got FREE LAYAWAY!

SEE THE EISENBERG DETAILS HERE!

Back to the 70's Red and Black Decor-Where are the owl wallhangings and slate tables when we need 'em?

2009-04-21T09:46:00.000-05:00

Seriously, do these items not just scream "college apartment"? Yikes! I can not tell you how many people I knew back in those days who had this exact bedspread and drapes to go with the bright red and black shag carpet in their 70's college apartment. It was pretty much required that you buy this set if you were fortunate enough to get one of the 2-bedrooms upstairs with the two balconies offering a view of the pool with the fabulous and very hard to get red with black shag carpet.

Remember those rowdy parties by the pool on Sunday afternoons? Free hot dogs and a keg of 3.2 beer? The beer would run out in a few minutes but the frat boys in that one apartment on the north side of the pool always had enough cases iced down to keep everyone going all afternoon. Ah, those were the days!

I'd be willing to bet that not too many people did not know someone who had this set and would just LOVE to see it all brand new and unused in their retro bedroom. It's just begging to have those "foam-backed" drapes removed from the original packaging and hung up with the matching bedspread smoothed nicely over that double bed in the retro room. It's perfection. Get some red and black towels for the bathroom and you will be rockin the 70s!

The color in the photo of the drapes looks light but they are the right match for the bedspread.

They are THAT deep dark red with black just like it shows in the top photo - which is of the bedspread, of course. The bedspread does not remain in it's original packaging like the drapes do. Imagine this pair was originally $12.50 and marked down to $9.37! Ya gotta love it when you find things like this, eh?

On another note, in another listing this week I have a really sensational bargain on a really nice quality folding knife by Kershaw - their popular 1050 model. Their suggested retail on this knife is $249.00. It's served up brand new in a nice leather sheath and a nice box. This one is a garage sale find and I snagged it for a hot bargain so I'm passing that on to you at only $65.00. There is no sheath and it's previous owner did not respect it as much as most people would have. It has obviously been used as an all-purpose tool to hammer in a nail or tent stake or two. It certainly did not a bit of damage to the function of this knife. It's a beauty! If your hubby loves a quality knife but does not want to spend over a hundred for one, here's a good opportunity to snag a real bargain! This baby has a 3.75" blade and a phenolic handle with brass bolsters.

UPC: 87171105000

MSRP: $249.00

Model Number: 1050

Buy it here for only $65.00!

Here's an all-time favorite for the Juliana Jewelry lovers of this world - a DeLizza & Elster signature five-link bracelet with the frosted-top gray kite-shaped rhinestones in silvertone metal, original safety chain and priced according to the fact that the stones have some dark spots on them. They don't look hideous but some people refuse to have anything in their possession that is not perfect!

UNDERSTANDABLE! That's how it must be for those of us who collect - we've got to draw our lines in the collecting sands - make personal rules, set parameters, buy what works for us in our collections, not what some other collector thinks is a "must have"! But this one might just happen to be a must have for one of you reading this - and if so, please check it out right here!

I just love, love, love these cellulose acetate pins! This one is large and a nice shade of cranberry with lots of variation of shading in the petals. There is a cold-enameled metal stem and leaves - so it's just about perfect! The only "issue" this pin has does not show at all - it's a little loss of the enameling on the back of the stem - it's ALL GOOD from the front!

BEAUTIFUL!

Stop by and say "hello" to this beauty by clicking on this link!

No blog of mine would be complete without the mention of Bakelite, eh? These beads have been seen on crib toys and on baby strollers strung on a wire for baby to slide back and forth - to keep him or her-self entertained.

View 'em (and buy 'em) here.....

There are 27 of them - and they vary in shades as you see in the photo. Tested and guaranteed to be vintage Bakelite!

Caio! I'll try to get back SOON - to tell you about some of the other new things that are coming soon - like the many sterling thimbles I purchased recently at a garage sale, the crochet-edged vintage pillowcases, and selections from the rather significant piles of glass beads I have stashed over in the corner.......

SPRING IS SPRUNG-finally-Sale TODAY ONLY!

2009-04-08T12:07:00.017-05:00

Sorry to have been so quiet, have been so busy of late. Spent the last couple of weeks working hard to find a new transmission to put into LeBug. It's very possible I've finally found just the right one - hard to find one for that pesky 68 Beetle!

As usual, I digress. The purpose of today's post is to talk about a big TODAY ONLY sale, not about that pesky little bug I love so much! After all, I DO need to pay for that tranny and the installation....and whatever ELSE they find when they get started.

So, today only, I'm offering "Single jewelry items (Lots Excluded) - take 25% off any item over the price of $30.00" Please do note that the lots I have up are NOT included in this sale. Sorry - they are so cheap already. More on that in a bit.

Now, gang, that's a WHOPPER of a sale for me - you can make some BIG savings on this one! I don't do this too often so take unfair advantage of me today - please. I like it. It hurts so good, quit it some more.

Here are a couple of recent additions:

Eisenberg Ice Christmas Tree pin - it's ALWAYS the right season to add to your Christmas tree collection! This one is an earlier one - it is SIGNED and on it's original card. Many of the later ones you see are only carded, not marked.

Ciner enamel hinged bangle bracelet - blue and green harlequin pattern - just perfect! Also have a white enamel one available.

Here's the white Ciner enamel:

CURRENTLY ON EBAY

Edwardian/Deco era Filigree Necklace!

Please check it out and place a BID (or at least put it on your watch list - maybe I can make The Pulse with it for REALLLLLLLLY great exposure!

This is a super necklace and it's in WAY better condition than most of these that we find!

Ain't it purdy?

REGARDING THOSE JEWELRY LOTS.......

Today will be the last opportunity for Bonanzlers to purchase those jewelry lots. They are cheap as DIRT - the dress and fur clip lot is only THREE BUCKS per item. The other one is 19 pieces for $25.00. Please. What MORE do you want? There are some GREAT pieces in that one! Pictures below:

Dress & Fur Clip Lot:

19-piece lot - mostly designer jewelry - Trifari, Coro, Musi, more - only $25.00

Last but not least, let me mention this lovely My Twinn doll that I'm selling for a friend! Sorry, don't know what her name is but I believe she's an "all Denver" doll and she's in good, clean condition. I don't see any damage to her face, her hair is a tiny bit mussed but she's in otherwise REAL nice shape - and she comes with the sweet little My Twinn nightie she's wearing - more photos available if you desire - just drop me a note! Oh yes, she has some minor discoloration in the ear holes - in a very small area.

MY TWINN DOLL

Have a WONDERFUL spring day - hope your weather is warming up as beautifully as mine (finally) is - supposedly last night was the LAST of our really cold nights!

Let it snow, let it snow.....

2009-03-28T10:11:00.004-05:00

It's Saturday, March 28 and we've got over 6 inches of snow on the ground with more coming down. Below you can see a photo of my notorious VW Beetle. Note that the shrubs that appear to be so near are normally about 5 feet up in the air rather than nearly brushing the side of LeBug. It's a very heavy, wet snow. We can use the moisture. That's an upside if it

So, today it's going to be snug and warm in the house with no possibility of me getting out in this. It is still coming down out there!

DRESS CLIPS - redux - What they ARE!

2009-03-18T14:40:00.008-05:00

I was just informed by someone over on Bonanzle that they did not even know what a dress clip was!

WELL! Here are a few back photos:

That lever on the back lifts up and it's "loaded" with a curved piece of flexible metal inside that holds it taught when it's closed.

Dress clips come in all types - metal, plastics, Bakelite, rhinestones, you name it!

Another similar mechanism is called a Fur Clip or Pin Clip and it's similar to the dress clip:

The fur clip mechanism sometimes has a c-closure that one or both ends can be inserted into.

When you see a patent for one of these, it generally is referred to as a "pin clip" for the obvious reasons. It's got pins and it clips (or clamps) down. It's spring-loaded in a similar fashio to the dress clips.

Dress Clips-The Dilemma of HOW TO WEAR THEM!!!

2009-03-18T13:29:00.007-05:00

Recently I have listed quite a few Bakelite items at STUFF. This time I included some authentic vintage-made earrings including a very rare pair of true End of Day Bakelite ones, a few dress clips and some newly created from vintage stock earrings as well.

Very rare True End of Day Bakelite Earrings
True End of Day Bakelite = a minimum of THREE DISTINCT COLORS

As I list dress clips I am all too painfully aware of how difficult many people find dress clips to be: to sell and to figure out appropriate ways to wear them.

Unsigned Bakelite Dress Clip

If you will go back and take a peek at some photos from the glamorous old days of the movies - 1930's, early 40's - you may notice that there are an awful lot of dress clips being worn in various ways.

For example - you can clip one onto a sash at your waist - or even onto a regular belt if it's not too thick.

You can clip one onto an Omega and wear it as a pendant.

Rare, Resin-washed Bakelite Palm Trees Dress Clip

Or try clipping it on the pocket of your jeans.

Pocket of a blazer? Check!

Apple Juice Carved Bakelite Dress Clip w/Plastic & Metal Embellishments

Tie a pretty ribbon around your neck, tie a pretty bow and clip one on at the center of the box as a pendant - or turn the bow around to the back and clip over the center front and wear it at almost any length your little heart desires!

And here's one of my personal favorites that most people never think about - you can use a safety pin from the back side of your jacket or blouse or dress, slide it in and out with enough of the pin showing on the front that you can slip that clip portion through and clip it on there - just wear it like a brooch! Then, of course, close the safety pin on the back side and no one will know that it's not a "regular brooch".

Got a pocket on your skirt? Another good place to clamp a dress clip down.

Worried about losing your dress clips? I know a lot of people worry that they are not secure enough. Well, just get out a little tiny safety pin and pin the back securely where the safety pin can not be seen and there you go!

If you have any other suggestions on how to wear dress clips please drop me a line either through my blog or via my shop: Stuff on Bonanzle!

Bakelite Testing Redux: Primum non nocere aka: First, Not To Harm!

2009-03-14T09:28:00.009-05:00

Good Saturday Morning to all!

This morning I was listing a few small Bakelite items in my booth "stuff" on Bonanzle

There are a lot of people who consider me to be quite the expert on the subject of Bakelite. I do know more than many but I'm certainly not on the same level as some true experts. I've simply got a lot of experience - good and bad - in having learned how to tell what is and what is not Bakelite. It's been well over 25 years since I bought my first piece of Bakelite. Once I got hold of my first pieces, I was hooked.

During my foray on the net this morning looking around for one of those very clever lists of cutesy names that we love to employ in our descriptions of vintage Bakelite colors, I discovered, quite to my chagrin, that there are an awful lot of blogs, personal and purportedly professional web pages and discussions in various forums that are dispersing a whole lot of downright mis-information on this subject.

The thing to remember whenever you are going about research as to what material you have, always remember: Primum non nocere or First, Not to Harm.

That alone - if you will only take the tiniest bit of responsibility for your actions and stop to think for even a moment - should translate quite readily into this:

Do not ever under any circumstances do a Hot Pin Test on any item for any reason.

Ever.

I will elaborate just a tiny bit more: If you think you are very stealth and it does not matter, that you did it on the inside "where no one can see when it's being worn", try to sell it to a serious and knowledgeable Bakelite collector without disclosing it.

When they discover that you sold them a piece of jewelry that has had the dreadful Hot Pin Test done on it, you should expect to be forced to accept a return, give a refund and never have the privilege of doing business with that collector again.

It is a huge deal with collectors. I know none who will buy pieces with HPT marks unless they are priced at about 5¢ on the dollar of their value and it's one they are really desperate to have in their collection - and even then, they will do so with great trepidation.

Very important to understand: That HPT mark devalues the item as much as 90% when it's done and it can never be undone.

Some other points I would like to make to you if you are a relatively new Bakelite collector:

If you are not really an expert, do not buy from anyone who does not offer you a 100% money-back guarantee that they are selling you authentic Vintage Bakelite. If you buy something you think might be Bakelite, contact me if you can't figure it out. I'll be glad to help you try to learn how to make an honest evaluation.

Making purchases from a reputable seller is essential for investment quality items such as better vintage Bakelite items.

We'll talk more later on about some of the things to avoid when shopping for items to add to your Bakelite collection!

And always remember to stop and think before you buy. Learn how to accept personal responsibility for your purchases if you are in too big a hurry to read a description. Ask questions. Read books, talk to other people. Verify your "facts" before accepting them. Keep asking questions if you are not sure.

Just because you read it on the internet does not necessarily make it right. But, please: trust me on this one - the hot pin test is a really bad one. That's a fact!

Newly listed Bakelite at Stuff on Bonanzle:

Bakelite Carved Grape cluster Dress Clip:

True End-of-Day Bakelite Earrings - three colors:

Set of three Bakelite buttons:

Come see me on Bonanzle!

Check out my Squidoo Lens on Testing Bakelite!

About that buggy VW Beetle.....

2009-03-08T14:36:00.000-05:00

Just in case you were wondering if I ever got the vintage Beetle going, the answer is yes, of course I did. The thing about a good old fashioned vintage VW Beetle is that almost anyone - including me - can work on one and many times not even get their hands dirty.

That is what happened with mine. Something simple.

Long story short - it was a blown fuse and it's fixed now. Running like a top. Getting spectacular gas mileage. Parking in those little tiny spots in the parking lot where two duellies are parked on either side, over the line - with room to spare.

I'd forgotten how nice it was to have a small car.

Of course, it would be much better if it were a Z-3 convertible or a 300ZX but I'll live with this for the time being. You buy what you can find that works at the time - - - - when you don't want to be deeply in debt in the middle of a world-wide financial "situation".

Am I right?

Having a HUGE 25% off sale this weekend-celebrate with me!

2009-03-06T10:01:00.011-06:00

Good morning to all out there - wherever you are! I'm sitting here with a cup of expresso, and a bag of home-made chocolate chip cookies that I really have no business eating at all, let alone early in the morning. Sets a bad precedent for the rest of the day, huh?

I'm weak. What can I say? They are so good with a hot cup of coffee!

I just set up a 128-item Bonanza for 8 pm PST Sunday in my Bonanzle booth.

The Bonanza is for 25% off on the 128 items but I'm also offering from now until the end of the Bonanza - 10% off on all Stamp sheets - just drop me a message if there are any that are not offering OBO (or best offer). They are supposed to be but I might have missed one or two!

Why, I've even offered my Peacock feather new old stock Whiting & Davis and Art Deco lady New Old Stock Mesh bag at 25% off!

AND a bunch of Fenton glass like this dealer sign:

And this vaseline glass shoe by Boyd Art Glass:

And even this fabulous and highly collectible piece of from Richard Nixon's second term - Sterling Silver by Mark J. Scearce for Wakefield-Scearce Galleries in Shelbyville, Kentucky - a nip cup (or nipperkin) :

So - come on by and say hello. And don't forget the stamps at 10% off.

Like this sheet:

Have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND! Hope to see you soon at STUFF ON BONANZLE!

Whine over. Feeling better. Let's talk about jewelry & collectibles!

2009-03-01T17:52:00.015-06:00

I felt a lot better after I whined ad nauseum earlier today about my motor vehicle difficulties. Sometimes we just have to let a good whine take over, get it out, get over it. Done. Hope you take it as it was intended - all in good fun. Because truthfully, it's really been pretty funny and my friends and I have gotten a bunch of good laughs out of it. Well, except for that one person who said I was stupid to not buy a brand new $30,000 vehicle "because of all the incentives". Yeah. Great incentives. Do you want to make that monthly car payment for me? I did not think so.

Even though I've had vehicle difficulties I managed to get around to a few interesting sales this past week. One of them I attended with my friend, Bob - who's been driving me about since I sold my vehicle. We were supposed to go to an auction, were running late and he informed me that I'd failed to mention to him that one of our favorite local estate liquidators had a good sale going.

We allotted ourselves about 10 minutes and rushed over to the sale. Walked in, first thing I found were these two gorgeous channel-set crystal necklaces. One in pink and one all clear crystals:

This iconic style of necklace was made popular in the 1980s by Chanel when her house bought a boot-load of Swarovski crystal necklaces in various colors and styles (some with alternating rectangular and round channel-sets) in the longer lengths so you can wrap them around and around. The Chanel necklaces bear a tiny little golden, round hang tag on the back with her logo, a copyright symbol and the date of 1981. They authentic Chanel ones are highly sought after by Chanel collectors - for good reason. They are gorgeous. But, you can also get the same look by picking up the unsigned, similar ones such as those shown above.

Side note on those Chanel necklaces: Be wary of any that do not have a nice, bright gold, perfectly smooth, perfectly round Chanel tag on them. There are tons of them out there with a phony Chanel tag that is somewhat rough, almost an antique gold and not quite round at about 1 o'clock. These phonies are found frequently on a certain auction site. If you are wanting an authentic Chanel version of this necklace please learn how to identify the phony tag from the real one so you do not get ripped off by the fakes. There are tons of them out there and many people seem to be completely clueless that they have been taken in by a phony - because they seem to be giving positive feedback for their phony necklace purchases..

Whoops, I digressed again. Back to the estate sale story.

I ran through all of the bedrooms, grabbing this and that and wishing I had more time to shop. There were a lot of interesting things. I found a vintage unlined Pendleton jacket hanging in one of the closets on a Christian Dior hanger. Have NO idea what came on the Dior hanger and had no where near enough time to go through the four closets full of clothes to find out. DARN!

Passed on the linens, a vintage alligator bag with a damaged corner on the bottom. Sad.

I then headed over to the south wall of the back bedroom to a big pile of handbags. Most were fairly decent, all leather, medium quality bags. Nothing exciting. Then I saw a small black buttery leather one hiding under a big straw. BINGO! A 1999 Coach Martini Flap: it had my name all over it! The perfect small bag and in almost perfect condition! Time to get out the small wallet to use with that great find!

My friend was standing at the check-out station twiddling his thumbs when I roared out of the hallway back into the living room. His look: Decidedly impatient. I told him I needed to make a fast fly-through to the dining room and kitchen. On the dining room table was a big pile of silver plate and this one little piece of Sterling - a nip cup by Mark J. Scearce:

And, it's dated to Nixon's second very short term in the White House so that's GREAT - a short run on that particular date mark. A gorgeous piece of Sterling! If one is collecting nip cups from each and every presidential term of office since FDR, and you've been missing out on a Tricky Dick II, here you go!

After checking out on the estate sale, we roared on over to the auction site. Bob found a great cabinet that was a good "blend" to the rest he has in one area of his house displaying his rather extensive collection of top-marked restaurant china. He had another appointment to meet someone about buying another collection of something else he collects across town so he left me to bid on the cabinet for him. And I snagged it for a great bargain price. The joy of country auctions in mid-week!

After he returned from his appointment we decided with regret that we were not going to have time to bid on any of the other treasures that were all over the place in various boxes in the back yard, loaded up his cabinet in another friend's pick-up, got it in the house, sat and visited for a while and then set off on our trip to go buy That Darned Bug!

Hopefully in another couple of days I will once again be singing the praises of the fun-to-drive Beetle and be over my whiney rant from it having the audacity to fail me before it even got to it's new home.

Take a peek at the links above to see the other goodies I've recently listed on Bonanzle.

Time to go eat the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that are cooling in my kitchen. How do you think I get Bob to drive me all of the places I want to go?

Speed dial, he answers, I announce, "Fresh baked cookies". Basically he's "twist my arm that's enough" when it comes to home-baked soft and chewy cc's with special dark chips.

When I do not eat them all before he can get over here, that is.

The Vintage Car Whine.....or What was I thinking when I bought that vintage Beetle?

2009-03-01T12:47:00.007-06:00

Hi all!

I've been fairly busy and away from my computer more than I would like over the past couple of weeks because I've been looking for a "daily driver". That, for those of you who have always just sashayed down to the new car lot of your choice every 2-3 years, picked out all of the fabulous new features your little heart desires and selected the single most delectable color being offered to compliment your eye color and/or favorite Prada bag, means I've been going through the more stressful version of automobile buying - looking for a used car that is in decent shape that is also CHEAP. You see, I'm determined to not go into debt for a car right now. Not in THIS economy, right? Smart, right? Yeah. Right.

Do not think for a minute that I think that buying new cars every 2-3 years is a bad thing because it's not. I'm just trying to be careful and watch my pennies. I also have a couple of other projects that I'd rather be working on - like the restoration of my 57 Chevy and getting new windows in my house. Not necessarily in that order.

I still have the same considerations you new-car buyers do: Can I carry a brown bag with this car? Sure - brown is a neutral it will go with every thing. Is it going to clash with my fave vintage Ilie Wacs cashmere coat? Heck no - everything goes with a navy cashmere!

I sold my van about 10 days ago. The day I sold it, I found what I thought would be the perfect car: a used but extra low-mileage Miata convertible. Girls, it was red. What more could a girl ask for? Aren't we all supposed to love driving red convertibles? No? Ok - not everyone lives in a perpetual second childhood like I do. Personally I love a nice sports car. A red convertible sports car is my idea of one of the more perfect types of motor vehicles on the planet. Perhaps the Miata is not the ideal red convertible - perhaps even a BMW 5-series would be better but the price is right on the Miata - it's clean and well-cared for - looks good to me! But, I'm digressing.

So, I've decided I am going to take the Miata and then the guy with the Miata that only had 65,000 or so miles on it changes his mind in the middle of the deal and decides he can not part with his baby. Do we blame him? I think not but it was a grave disappointment for me. I was already feeling really self-satisfied - found something cute and inexpensive FAST. My friend, Leslie had already started visualizing us driving around with the top down and our hair blowing into a big mess with a WHO CARES? attitude because we were in a fun little red convertible.

Sigh.......and RATS!

Now, I'm totally without wheels. YIKES!

Because I'm now depending on a friend's kindness to take me to garage sales, estate auctions, the grocery & drug store and because my friend can most certainly not be expected to chauffeur me to the mall to go on the much needed search for the perfect pair of flats to replace that pair of Pappagallos that I scraped a huge chunk of leather out of while I was cleaning out the van before selling it, I am now in "rush" mode on buying a car. Any car. It just needs to RUN. Put some cheap wheels under me fast!

I get to the hard searching after losing the Miata and can not find anything cute and fun that has less than about 185,000 miles on it. A week passes. I'm stressing more every day. There is nothing but ugly old beat-up sedans with high miles and broken air conditioning, shredded interiors and head-liners hanging down around your shoulders priced at $2000 above dealer retail because it has "great wheels" on it. One vehicle had four windows that were taped up because the regulators were all out on them. A $2000 repair on a car that I did not even like. You can't even go through the drive-thru at Freddy's to get a concrete in a car like that. HELLO!

Have I mentioned that people seem to think that 200,000 miles is "low miles"? Are they living in the real world here? Please! My personal favorite was the one with 289,000+++ miles on it that you could not even drive across the street. And bad tires. And an interior that could not even generously be described as "fair" condition.

So, finally, I get a line on this not-so-main-stream offering: a 1968 VW Beetle that has had a lot of really righteous upgrades by it's current owner. Aftermarket add-ons to keep the windows from freezing over in the winter. Brand new seat covers, new carpet, new MP3-CD-AM/FM installed artfully hidden in the glove box. It's definitely not something I am really looking forward to driving for a long period of time BUT it is a great vehicle to drive around town for a while until just the right vehicle comes around. And the price was right. I am remembering the red one I had back in the 70s. It was so much fun to rip around corners in - you can park in between a pair of duellies at Wal-Mart without a care. It's easy to steer, stop, and cheap to keep. Good deal. Let's go!

We get in my friend's car and head down to look at the car. We drive it, we like it, think it's an OK deal. The owner is serving in the United States Air Force and he's obviously a smart, caring guy - he's someone I feel comfortable buying a used car from. We sit down and visit with him, he's so great we both agree we'd sure enjoy it if he gets transferred to our city so we can see him from time to time - he's a smart, interesting, nice guy. He shows me all of the things he's acquired to help with finding the necessary parts if something goes wrong or if I want to keep it a while and dome more restoration on it. It's all organized well in notebooks, boxed up in the trunk. It's a good deal. We do the exchange of Benjamins and the title transfer.

I get in the VW, friend gets in his Buick and we head back home. We stop for gas. No problem. Everyone in the lot at the gas station comes by, pets the Beetle and asks what year it is. People are passing me on the highway and giving me the thumbs up, smiling, enjoying seeing my ripping down the interstate in my newly acquired bug. I'm thinking 'what to name this one?' - the last one was Herman the German. This one is baby blue. Needs a more girly name. A guy driving a totally hot vintage GTO convertible pulls up beside me, give me the thumbs up, "right on" nods, all that, I give my version of the head nod/thumbs up commending him on his excellent vehicular choice as he roars around me and exits the highway.

We make another stop on the way home, endure more Beetle petting, questions and one man comes over, gives me his lecture on the art of making a turn in a VW Beetle. More questions, one girl did a swoon over the hood and proclaimed her undying adoration and life-long and very heart-felt desire to own one of these fine shiny versions of German engineering brilliance.

I'm feeling lucky. I buy a lottery ticket thinking that if I win, I might be able to survive without ever working again on the proceeds from a $179million dollar jackpot (less Uncle Sam's and the Lottery Commissions cuts) and that I've been so fortunate to find this cute vehicle that I will enjoy for a month or two while I'm looking for a better vehicle that I'm on a luck roll and the lottery jackpot is probably in the bag. I'm thinking that since they've lowered the price by about $2,000,000 on my dream cottage overlooking the ocean, I might even be able to afford to move out there on the edge of the world and rock back on the terrace watching the QEII coming in and out of dock. I'm feelin' GOOD!

I had realized at some point that I'd left something in my friend's car so I called him on my cell at a stop light on the way into our home town telling him I'd stop at his house before getting on home. He asked me to do something on his computer for him, we did all that, I head out, he waves 'bye' to me at his side door & I toddle across the street where the adorable little vintage bug is parked looking so charming and nostalgic.

Get in, fasten the seat belt, press down on the clutch, put the key in, turn it.

Nothing.

No click. No nothing. The lights come on nice and bright but: What the $*(!^%(@& is going on?

I tried to think of what I could be doing wrong. After about 2-3 minutes, I see the light pouring out of the door of my friend's house as he's realized that something is wrong.

It makes no difference what the banter was at that point. He goes back in, grabs a jacket and the keys to his car and runs me home. We make plans to go to an estate sale the next morning and address the car problem then - when it's light outside.

Next day it's 8 degrees wind chill factor. Decide it is way too cold to deal with the bug.

Saturday, we propelled ourselves to OKC to an antique show, shop, eat Italian. Get back to his house and discuss the situation with the VW ad nauseum - come to no conclusions.

A friend comes by to take a look at the VW and declares it a piece of cake to repair - it's GOT to be a short in the wiring or the ignition switch - a really easy fix.

I agree. Have chatted with the former owner and he concurs. Car still sitting out in front of the friend's house. Looking cute.

Maybe tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day - A tribute to UNIQUE COMMODITIES on Bonanzle & Etsy

2009-02-14T17:09:00.008-06:00

Well.

What is wrong with the Valentine's Day gift givers who passed this beauty up? Exquisite, classic design with hot red glass cube beads and a few bicones scattered throughout. This beauty is available for sale on Bonanzle in one of my favorite shops there: Unique Commodities.

If this beautiful necklace isn't Valentine's Day Red at it's finest, I do not know what is. Of course, the wonderful thing about getting something in classic red is that it's good all year long.

This beauty is something being offered for sale by one of my recently discovered purveyors of really pretty, classic jewelry designs on Bonanzle & Etsy - Unique Commodities. You can click on the title above to visit (and follow) her blog!

I have little doubt that you will find her to be as charming, friendly and professional as I have. And that her jewelry is classic, simple, elegant and are the kind of things that will always be in style. Like a vintage Chanel suit........

Bonanzle-ya GOTTA love it!

2009-01-25T17:47:00.006-06:00

Hello out there! All bloggers have to start somewhere and this is my beginning. I decided that since I'm so enthused about Bonanzle, my new selling venue, I should share with as many people as I can how great it is to shop and sell there.

I've been selling online since 1999. Long before that I made my living selling at antique shows, flea markets, & antique malls. I've traveling all over the US and had some really great times. I'm sure you will hear about some of them when something fun comes to mind.

Every venue - be it online or out there in the "real" world - has it's good and not so great features but this new site, BONANZLE is just so terrific and fun that I can not see how anyone could fail to fall madly in love with it.

If you do some searches on blogs, on Squidoo, twitter, etc. you will find a lot of other folks who are just as enthusiastic as I am. I'll be hooking you up with some of those in the future, too.

It's one thing to have a place for people to buy and sell. Bill & Mark - who we Bonanzlers refer to as The Boyz have created a very different and innovative way for the users at Bonanzle
to connect and work with each other. This is a concept lost on some of the other selling venues on the net. But that's a whole month's worth of negative input - we'll try to avoid that!

Shutting up - time to talk about Bonanzle and it's great features. My personal favorite is Hand Picked Lists

Since I can not resist some shameless self-promotion, here's one I recently created as an ode to the color fuchsia:

Fabulous, Flirty, Freaky FUCHSIA!

HPLs are not just for the fun of it. When you search on Bonanzle, you find lists that have been created with items on them that match your search criteria. It's a way of people showcasing other people's items which, IMO, goes to the heart of what Bonanzle stands for: community, sharing, and caring. See - right above the "FIND > fuchsia..."? That's where the HPLs that match that search are listed. Easy. But that's Bonanzle's middle name!

Here is one that I found that literally took my breath away because, well - just take a look. It is from seller pugs

Personally I think this list just speaks for itself:

EYE CANDY

I'd take a screen shot to temp to you click on that link but what woman can resist any kind of eye candy? Good taste, pugs. {applause} and holy attack of the vapors, Batman.

OK - that's it for right now. I'll be back. There's very little I like more than chatting even if it's just to myself so I'll probably be back soon with more HPLs, features on other Bonanzler's booths, blogs and just personal middle-aged musings about the internet, life, Bakelite jewelry, cars, dark chocolate and other health foods.......