Miss Estelle

by Dunbar Gardens

Buying Longaberger Baskets

There’s no doubting that Dave Longaberger hit upon a winning idea when he started up his basket making store in the 1970s. Working off the success of his father his edge was the quality and craftsmanship that went into each of his handmade baskets.

Dave also came up with a clever means of distributing his baskets. Not happy with the sales levels of traditional marketing at malls, department stores and various retail outlets, Dave Longaberger he hit upon the idea to sell his Longaberger baskets through home shows where a home consultant would highlight the craftsmanship that went into each basket. The sales method has proven particularly successful and Longaberger baskets have continued to be greatly sought after.

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The range of Longaberger baskets is continually turning over with short-run commemorative baskets, special occasion baskets and regular retirements of lines making every line extremely collectable. Baskets marking the Presidential Inauguration, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas and Easter are all some of the occasions for which special weaves are created.

Each of these baskets come with a brass tag as authentication and are only available for a short period of time. The popularity of all Longaberger products, whether they be baskets or the pottery or linen is consistently high. Any product that is released in limited quantities is going to attract a premium price, and when collectors are involved, demand is inevitably going to outstrip supply.

Longaberger Baskets such as the Inaugural Basket, the Dresden Tour baskets and the seasonal baskets such as the Easter and Christmas baskets have solidified a thriving secondary market for collectors. Browse through any auction containing Longaberger goods and you will find heavy bidding and strong prices are the order of the day.

Although you can use them as functional baskets, Longaberger is more valuable as a collector item. Many of these baskets appreciate in value and do best if kept in prime condition. Enjoy your Longaberger by sitting it in pride of place.

by eef-ink

Saving Money When Buying Wedding Stationery

Congratulations you are getting married. Now then, let’s start by making a budget for what you want to spend on your wedding stationery. Keep this budget in mind, and remember it when visiting websites and offline wedding stationery makers.

Deciding what you want early on with your stationery will save you getting overwhelmed and stressed by all the designs later on in the process. A good piece of advice is even though suppliers and stores make a quote/price for wedding stationery; this does not necessarily mean they will honour it.

Like everything centred around your wedding, when deciding what stationery you want for your big day it’s important to remember cost. Like with most things, personalised invites and so forth can end up costing more than flowers, but if it has to be perfect and this is you want then go for it. When looking at stationery I would advise you hit the shops both online and offline as there are some real good bargains out there to be had if you look hard enough.

When buying wedding stationery there are many factors to consider, these include but are not limited to: What is the cost of the stationery? If you go for personalised handmade stationery can it and will it be delivered within time and budget?

If you don’t like what designers have to offer, or you think there prices are too steep then why not consider making your own. Creating and making your own wedding stationery can be fun, especially if you get family and friends involved. Materials can be brought both online and offline, and if you are prepared to do a bit of legwork, in terms of shopping around then there are deals to be had on crafting kits and crafting supplies.

Knowing what wedding stationery you want is the real key to success. I find that deciding what you want early on will help save you time, money and hassle in the long run.

To save even more money on wedding stationery you could get friends and family, involved to help you create beautiful, designer inspired wedding stationery.

If you decide to go down the route of DIY wedding stationery and are still stuck for inspiration and ideas then why not browse websites and print magazines. The wedding stationery business and marketplace is huge, so there are plenty of ideas and designs you can be influenced by.

by amanda farah

Tips on buying a good quality antique desk

Antiques go in and out of fashion. Antique desks, for example, became less popular when computer technology eclipsed more traditional writing methods. However, people soon realised that no computer furniture can ever match the beauty of an English Regency pedestal desk, or a Victorian mahogany bureau. With cumbersome desk-top PCs now largely eclipsed by compact laptops, antique desks are more in vogue than ever.

If you are looking for a beautiful piece of antique writing furniture in Cumbria, there are several dealers specialising in antique desks from various periods. These can be very valuable. Evidently, prices will vary depending on age, condition and rarity, but even Victorian desks can fetch good money today. Only last year, a Thomas Brooks rosewood cylinder desk, made in the 1860s, sold for almost £34,000 at auction in Alabama.

Antique desks, like antique dining tables, are functional pieces of furniture and some have been better cared for than others. Cumbrian furniture dealers look for several things when determining the value of a writing desk or bureau – the first one, obviously, being to see if it’s genuine or not. Reproduction antique desks are often made from thinly veneered plywood, which is easy to spot. However, some reproductions are more true to the originals, using genuine dovetailed timber rather than plywood. To carry off the deception, some are distressed to make the piece look older.

However, there are many ways to tell a genuine antique desk from a reproduction, starting with its overall appearance. The functional nature of antique desks in Cumbria means that even the best preserved will have signs of wear-and-tear. The first place to look is the drawer linings, which should be made from a timber such as oak, mahogany or cedarwood, and dovetail jointed. They should also bear signs of use – ink stains are a good sign of authenticity. The desk surface should also have tell-tale signs of bumps and knocks. Remember, a writing desk was a valuable and ageless piece of furniture, often in use for 100 years or more. However well restored it is, this character will show. Put another way, if an “antique” desk looks new, then it’s probably a reproduction.

Another thing Cumbrian dealers look for in antique desks is the quality of the wood and veneer. In the 18th and early 19th century, good quality timber was widely available, which reflected in the quality of the desktop and drawer fronts. In addition, veneers were cut more thickly and had more attractive figuring than those seen today.

The most valuable antique desks are those where high quality timber has been used throughout, and restoration has been achieved in a sympathetic manner. Leather top desks are particularly sought after. Because of their functionality, most antique desks seen in Cumbrian auctions have been restored at least once. To be truly valuable, an antique desk should have been sympathetically restored using traditional methods such as beeswax and turpentine, or French polish. Modern acrylic varnishes and resins will detract from the value, though they can be removed with care to allow traditional restoration.

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