One thing that I find extremely attractive in a home is a well-stocked book shelf. I hope not to be rude when I saunter over and read the spines of your tomes. Whether you have read them or not, beauty is foremost in collecting and design. You can turn simple […]
Everyday at the shop, someone calls about or brings in a set of fine China or crystal to sell. It seems as if complete sets of gorgeous Limoges, Noritake, Spode, and Franciscan are being ignored by the younger generation.
As the Greatest Generation passes away, and […]
These three words are heard as often as they are misspelled and misunderstood!
knick·knack: a small worthless object, especially a household ornament.
cu·ri·o: a rare, unusual, or intriguing object.
tchotch·ke: a small object that is decorative rather than strictly functional; a trinket, a small bauble or miscellaneous item.
Knick-knacks or Tchotchkes are souvenir items […]
When you walk into Pickety Place, undoubtedly, the first thing you see are the glass display cabinets filled with shiny baubles.
There are silver and glass trays filled with all sorts of treasures.
People gravitate first to the side of the glass where the sterling silver pieces are displayed. Most of the […]
In 2015, PYREX turned 100 years-old.
Like many innovations and excellent ideas, it’s invention was a fluke.
Chemists at Corning Glass Works, in Corning New York, were working to develop heat-resistant glass that could stand-up to extreme temperature changes for […]
I hate to tell you, but your ’80s clothes are now considered “vintage.”
I have not yet heard a word to describe the ’80s clothes as a genre. The ’70s boasted retro hippies left-over from the ’60s, stylish Hip-looking funky bellbottomed professionals letting their hair get longer; […]
With the coming of Spring, so comes the fun of hosting a Tea Party.
The English in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I made a fine art of tea time. Fine tea from China and India was a staple of English life, as The East India Company had trade routes through […]
In 1907, the Fenton Glass Company in West Virginia produced a style of glass referred to as “iridescent ware.” Fenton called it Iridill and labeled it “Venetian Art.” The idea was to mass-produce a beautiful product that could compete with the expensive, iridescent art glass made by Tiffany and Steuben.
The […]
My friend Charlotte, in New York keeps me abreast of the latest decorating news. We are both lovers of mixing old and new. A new dress with a vintage pin—a vintage dress with a new scarf…an Ikea dining table with flow blue—a mahogany table with stark white. My daughter paired […]
One thing I’ve been collecting lately is tiny, multi- functional, elegant, practical, universal, and easy to afford—my growing collection of Salt Cellars, also known as salts, open dips, open salts, salt dish, or master salt.
The individual cellar would have typically been sterling silver, […]
Every day, someone comes into Sterling Creek Antiques and shows me a picture or describes an item they hope I will appraise at a high value! Over the years, I’ve come to the realization that I’m just as happy teaching someone how to value their […]
Traditional Holiday Dinners evoke many emotions because of the traditions we try to keep, the family members we celebrate with, the family members who are missed or missing, the friends we include, and the items we employ to create the desired effect at the dining table.
Many of us begin our […]
Having had a background in Fundraising and Major Gifts, I quickly became acquainted with the process of Estate Planning. When meeting with donors, I’d inevitably discover a household full of treasured purchases, either bought by the residents or inherited. Oftentimes, parents would ask me how to plan ahead and who […]
I’ll bet most of you reading this article will have at least one piece of graniteware in your possession. You may have a white dinner plate with red trim under one of your houseplants; perhaps you have a black speckled roasting pan in your garage waiting for Thanksgiving; a large […]
On a bright Friday morning in early May, I was standing in-line alongside Joelle Graves surrounded by others waiting to get inside a local estate sale. This time, it was the estate of Marjorie Edens, one of Jacksonville’s most beloved residents who had recently passed away, years before her time.
Bumping […]
Rug Hooking began in America in the New England states as a craft of poverty, a “country craft,” done out of sheer necessity and done in isolation. While wealthy homes had woven carpets from woolen mills, poorer families were using every available scrap of fiber and hooking them into loosely-woven […]
I bet you have something “Britt” in your house, like a poster. Britt posters adorn the walls of the Bella Union going back to the 1960’s. The Jacksonville Inn has collected autographed posters from the days of the Festivals within a Festival—Jazz Festival; Dance Festival and more. Jacksonville Elementary School has several framed posters adorning their...
Merchandisers began promoting color as the Depression came to an end. Americans were more than ready to trade in their dark-colored vehicles, clothing and kitchenware and everything took on vivid hues.
When we watch Antiques Roadshow, we all hope that the painting we have in our own garage is the “big” one. Although it could be, 9 times out of 10, it’s not.
In the early 1900’s you could scarcely open a newspaper or magazine without seeing an advertisement for Brilliant Cut Glass. In the form of a vase, ice cream dish, a goblet, or fruit bowl, several glass companies wanted the consumer to buy their beautiful cut glass items for the bride or for Christmas gifts.
Pink Depression glass; pink custard glass; pink dishes; pink linens—anything pink! Pink is a beautiful color to decorate with when combined with other vibrant colors of the season. February, of course, lends itself to decorating with pink...
The topic of Primitives is vastly overwhelming. I have seen fantastic primitives that date back to Colonial days. The early American settlers and pioneers set the standard that so many try to emulate today...
How many times have you come across a fabulous item in a museum or a shop and wondered to yourself, “If this item could talk, I wonder what stories would it tell?”
At Sterling Creek Antiques in downtown Jacksonville, we encounter stories every day.
When it comes to heirlooms, items of value passed from one generation to the next, most people would not expect...
It was one of those quiet days here in the shop when I wasn’t really sure whether I would have any business or not...