Blog

If you’ve been in our shop lately, you know that we buy and sell a lot of antique taxidermy. There are state and federal regulations with regard to buying, selling, and possessing taxidermy so it’s important to understand the laws in your state before buying “stuffed animals.” In the state of New Hampshire, the general rule is that taxidermy is allowed as long as the animals were not obtained illegally and are not protected. This is a current list of  New Hampshire’s Endangered Species. Creatures protect by federal laws include birds that are part of  The Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Other protected birds include birds of prey, like eagles and owls. In fact, possession of taxidermy eagles and owls is illegal in many states even if the piece was created before the laws were enacted. In the case of our owl, we contacted the New Hampshire Department of Fish & Game for permission to display her in the shop.

 

Our last three Tuesdays have been spent at one amazing, overgrown, uninhabited home in Southern New Hampshire. The former owner was a collector of anything big, heavy, weird, and quirky! We’ve brought home truly unusual pieces including outdoor sculptures & statues, an array of taxidermy, architectural salvage, old signs, weathervanes & cupolas, and some industrial pieces. Fortunately, we have had help from our strapping, young offspring and their friends because nothing from this estate weighed less than 100 pounds! So, thanks to Billie, Jackson, Beau, and Jake, our quest to keep our inventory as interesting as possible continues! If you’re in the neighborhood and you’ve never seen a buffalo up close, stop by!

For those of you who are familiar with our record business, you know that we stock all of the used vinyl in the Bullmoose Music store in Portsmouth. Bullmoose decided to make some changes and asked us to cut the used vinyl inventory by 50%. After much hard work, we have finished consolidating our inventory in Portsmouth which means that there is a vinyl bonanza in Northwood! We managed to squeeze one of our Portsmouth racks into the RS Butler’s record room so we are officially swimming in LPs! Everything has been reorganized, rejuvenated, and repriced! Don has added new sections of $3 records and completely expanded the inventory.

We will continue to keep our space at Bullmoose fully stocked (though certain genres & artists will not be represented) so don’t dismay! And as always, if there’s anything special you are looking for, give us a call or send us an email! Hope to see you soon!

Several years ago a lovely 92 year old lady named Helen called us to evaluate a record collection that had belonged to her recently deceased husband. Don & I went on the call together. We both remember driving up to her mid-century split home (grey shingles with purple trim) and thinking “this is the kind of place that would have classic mid-century decor.” And bingo! Avocado kitchen, chrome laminate kitchen table, and a living room & bedroom full of pristine mid-century furniture. We spent the better part of the morning looking at records and visiting with Helen. We bought her husband’s Jazz collection along with her mother’s antique featherweight sewing machine.  At that time, Helen wasn’t sure where her life was going to take her so she wasn’t ready to part with her furniture but she promised us she’d call if she ever decided to sell.

Last week, our phone rang. It wasn’t Helen. It was her niece and her grandniece who had flown out from Wyoming when Helen suddenly became ill. They arrived in time to bring her back to her home where she died shortly after. As they started the process of sorting through Helen’s things, they came upon a note that Helen thad written on the back of our business card.  It simply said, call Colleen & Don–they want to buy my furniture.

And so we went back to Helen’s house last week (to meet two equally lovely women) and we bought Helen’s furniture. Such is the “happy-sad” business of antiques dealers. But we were honored to meet Helen, and we are very happy to be able to find new homes for her treasured Heywood Wakefield. So if you’re looking for well-loved pieces that have a story, you know where to go!

Peace & love to Helen.

If you’re a New Hampshire native, you know that tourism is one of our state’s biggest industries which means that we all depend on dollars from people who are visiting. In the antiques business, one of the biggest obstacles for travelers is how to ship “the big stuff.” In the past, tourists and travelers have either had to drive trailers cross country or pay exorbitant freight charges when shopping for larger pieces.  But thanks to uShip, that’s no longer the case.

uShip is an online marketplace for shipping services. The concept is simple. If you need something shipped, you register your job on the uShip web site by providing the pick up & delivery destinations, a description of the item (s), and date requirements. Then shippers bid on your job. It’s the competitive bidding process that reduces the cost. In simple terms, shippers need to keep their vehicles full to maximize their incomes so, as they travel & deliver, they pick up additional items via uShip to keep their trucks full. uShip customers can accept a bid at anytime during the process so it’s a very efficient and cost-effective way to move “the big stuff” across the country.

In the past few years, I’ve been able to sell large pieces to traveling buyers thanks to uShip.  In fact, I’ve just sold some large industrial pieces to a couple in Colorado thanks to this innovative service. And last season, I sent a pair of cast iron antique urns to California with a traveler who became a registered uShipper to keep is vehicle filled with deliveries and cover his gas expenses! I’ve never had a customer complain about the cost or service of their uShipper so uShip gets a big “thumbs up” from us.

Our business depends on a lot of things but the most obvious is inventory. We work hard to keep our shop filled with cool pieces that will keep our customers entertained & inspired. Don & I are on the road every week doing our house calls but, beyond our Tuesday treasure hunts in attics, barns & basements, we have an army of pickers.  Some of these hardworking friends pick full-time and others pick on the weekends to earn extra money.

Each one has his or her own specialty: Leslie picks vintage mid-century kitsch & clothing, Ian picks mantiques & leather, Julie picks clothes & accessories, John picks quirky & weird, Caron picks Asian imports & hippie stuff, Pete picks factory & architectural, and everyone picks garden for me because they know it’s my absolute favorite.

Today, I had a visit from Larry the Lighting Guy. Larry brings me every chandelier he can find including the incredible the crystal & iron fixture that hangs in the doorway of the new barn. Larry is an absolute joy, as are all of our pickers. We are very grateful for their hard work, for their funky & varied taste, and most importantly, for the joy that they bring to our day. Because what’s the point if you’re not having fun, right?