Christmas Shopping has wonderful Traditions

Holidays make life fun.
I do most of my holiday shopping on line.
I will confess, the Black Friday midnight sales were very tempting here in Hagerstown Md, especially since Prime Outlets has a Kate Spade store.
Today is Dec 3rd.
Ruby Lane shop owners are having a Red Tag Sale.
This tradition began last year.
It was so successful, that it will now be a Ruby Lane holiday tradition, several times a year.
Ruby Lane shop owners have a Red Tag list.
1 to 59 items that is listed in their shops, is reduced 30 to 60 %...the shop owner decides how much they want to reduce each item, and which item they want to include in their sale.
I think it's a fabulous idea.
Unique, because each shop owner can tweet, FaceBook etc the link to their own Red Tag sale, or, they can do the link for the entire site.
It's fun, and it's saving money, time, gas, and well, no long lines at the check out counter either.
The Ruby Lane Red Tag sale.
Here's the link to my shop's red tag items,
but, be sure to check out the other shop owner's items too..I have, and I am ready to shop shop shop.

http://www.rubylane.com/shop/rcantiques/ilist/,id=0,types=redtag.html

Antique to Vintage Sales New idea The Red Tag Sale

Here's a neat idea that I think many sites will follow.

Ruby Lane is having their first Red Tag Sale.

Ruby Lane is a site that has thousands of shop owners.

Many of the items in those shops will have a red tag logo on them.

For one day only, the red tag items will be 30 to 60% off !

It depends on what the seller decides as far as the discount price.

And the Red Tag Sale will only be for one day. 

As you all know, I have a shop on Ruby Lane, so, naturally, I am excited

about this new idea.

I will be there that day shopping for bargains, and my shop will have red tag bargains too.

This is not a paid ad and I was not asked to blog this.

I am just excited over this new idea.

Sat Sept 24th, check the Ruby Lane site for the hours and details.

              Ruby Lane RED TAG Sale Sat Sept 24 many items 30 to 60% off don't miss it , http://www.rubylane.com/

As time goes on , the era of heirlooms obsolete ?

Times are changing.


The computer, iphone, and whatever else everyone is carrying around these days has changed our society.

I am not talking doomsday like an old timer, I actually feel as though my computer is part of me, and I would not want to be without it.

Although I have embraced the computer age , I have also witness changes in attitude as far as family processions of estate. Otherwise, when the matriarch of a family passes on to the great beyond , families usually gather to sort through the items to " clean the house " so it can be sold.

This is also a good change , believe it or not. I have witnessed many families , including my parents generation , struggle with who gets what and why. Many families have spilt over estates of loved ones, not being able to accept the fact that Uncle Joe's ring went to his cousin's son rather than someone closer in line to Uncle Joe.

It is a good change because the items that are worth saving will go to collectors. Collectors that understand what the item really is and how to care for it, so it can be passed to another collector someday.

I know there are some things that most families will still have a tug of war over, but, it's a wonderful thought to know that things in an estate, are being sold, instead of held onto till someone in the family generations later forgets the story behind the item, and even who really was the original owner of the item, and has the burden of storing the item till it eventually becomes part of their estate, and the cycle continues.

The lesson here is, enjoy an item for what it does for you. Enjoy a ring because you love the way it looks on your finger. Enjoy the painting because it makes your eyes happy. Enjoy the wedding dress, not because it has been passed down through the family to you , and you have no idea who wore it , but enjoy it for it's beauty...if anything you inherit is stored away because your family insists it be given to the next person in line, you need to decide if it is really worth it. Something stored away from one generation to the next is rather sad if it is a beautiful object. It should be cherished and enjoyed.

Thanks to the computer age, I think the most precious treasure one can leave future generations is a personal video.

WHAT ! A video ! Have I lost my mind ! No, in fact, I have finally realized what is the most precious gift one can give their future generations.

Johnny Carson will always be remembered because now his programs are on somewhere in T.V. land always.

Be a Johnny Carson. Have someone video tape you doing something you usually do in your normal routine, look up at the camera, give a wave...whatever is the real you. If you are a ham, don't over do it, after all, you are not going to get an Emmy for your video...but, you will be remembered.

From me to you,
life is short, live it well, and in the end, be sure you are never up for bids in an auction :-)

House Call For The Local Antique Dealer

I live in Hagerstown Md, a place that has always been nicknamed " The Hub ". Which actually for today, means in the center of things. I can search for fabulous antiques and collectibles in the tri state area easily in one day instead of traveling days to visit one antique mall. I am well known in the area, due to the fact that my husband founded Beaver Creek Antique Market, which at one time ( before he sold his share of the mall ) was one of the most visited antique malls on the East Coast. A house call is always a welcomed call. It means I am invited to go to the person's house and see what they want to sell. Sometimes, instead of buying, I give advice as to where to send their items to auction and so forth. You never know what you might find at a house call. Although I am always excited when going on a house call, 9 times out of 10 the call will end up with me just giving advice. But, with patience, and kindness ( it pays to listen ) , the house call sometimes is a call back, meaning they call me back to the home to sell me the items after all. Here's some advice to those of you that might someday be asked to go to a house to buy. Open your ears and listen...and talk to the people, not at them. And, if the item is a cherished family heirloom that they truly believe should be in a museum, and you know it is a common item, not rare...let them down gently...tell the good points of the item first...then be truthful. After all, families do cherish items because so and so declared this and that. There's always that phase, " I got this from my grandmother and she would be 100 years old now if she was alive..she lived to be 80 "...well, she could have brought the item when she was 79...which in most cases, the item declared to be so old, is actually later 1900's pre 2000. Sometimes I will make an offer on an item, and if the person hesitates, I tell them to write my offer down..I give them my business card..and they can call me back if they find no one will top my price..sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So, there you have it. This blog is to help those of you that are thinking of having someone over to buy your things, and it is to help those of you that are in the antique busines too...what to say and when to say it. My next blog will be about one of my favorite house calls and what I found...be sure to watch for it.