Pink Fish Designs: Vintage Thursday - Hand Me Down Treasures

Welcome to our first Vintage Thursday interview. Today, we're going to talk to Anne of Hand Me Down Treasures.

Hand Me Down Treasures on Artfire.com

(I have not changed these answers except to correct any typos that may have been in them, and to provide links to explanatory wikipedia articles for a couple of terms mentioned, in case readers aren't familar with them.)

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I have been self employed for the last 28 years enjoying the thrill of the hunt, the joy in uniting treasures with new owners, and the great gift of learning something everyday that this path has given me. The internet came at the perfect time in my life. Selling online has given me the luxury of getting off the show circuit to spend time with family especially the grandchildren. In the last couple of years I have been working estate sales locally in CT with a wonderful group of seasoned professionals, The Kensington Company. It is hard dirty work sometimes but I get to go home every night and I enjoy the environment of the sales.

What first sparked your interest in vintage items? Have you always loved them, or did something in particular cause your interest in them?

I grew up in a multi-generational and 1st generation American home. The most treasured items in our home were items from our ancestors brought to the US via my grandparents. Some were treasured for their age some for their beauty some for their value. All treasures came with a history lesson of our family tree and life as it was for prior generations.

How long have you been selling vintage? Do you have a particular time period, style, or type of item that you prefer to focus on?

I have been selling vintage, antiques and collectible for about 28 years. I seem to skip from favorite to new favorite with what catches my eye at the time. Always loved art pottery, fine art glass, vintage clothing and have to say my favorite era was Gay 90's Art Nouveau for the elegance and romance to Arts and Crafts for clean well made simplicity of life's necessities. As a business person I sell a wide variety of mostly smalls. I try to follow what ever trends are popular and profitable well sprinkled with items I favor.

Do you have any advice for people interested in collecting vintage items? (Such as: How to know the difference between something truly vintage vs. new but made to look vintage; Where to find information about vintage items; How to care for vintage items; Sizing on vintage clothing, if that's your specialty -- basically, if there's a question people always ask you about your items, that would be a good thing to answer here.)

Most asked question: how do I know what is the best thing for me to collect. First always buy what you like, quality will always have value but if you don't really like it won't bring you any pleasure. Second educate yourself on the things you are interested in. The knowledge will bring additional enjoyment and help you make wise decisions.

What's your favorite item for sale in your store right now?

I am so torn -- love the carved coral cameo

Antique Cameo

I also am in love with the beautiful vintage doilies

Heirloom Crocheted Doilies

What's your all-time favorite vintage item you've ever owned, whether it's one you sold or one you kept?

Favorite item - French Silver button hand painted picture under beveled glass. This found in bag of broken jewelry my mother picked up at a thrift store.

French Silver Button, Hand Painted Picture Under Beveled Glass

Is there anything else you want us to know about you, your store, or your items?

I like to think of selling vintage as environment preservation helping to see what we already have used and or reused. I also think that the past can teach us all a lot in almost every little thing we have or use. I have a good background in jewelry, I used to help produce a line of Victorian reproduction jewelry and we also bought and sold all kinds of vintage and antique jewelry fine estate pieces to costume trinkets.

Please list all the sites where you sell. You're welcome to list sites where you sell other than vintage, but please specify what you sell on them (ie, handmade quilts, jewelry supplies, etc.)
I sell similar items on the other sites I sell on: