Well Hellloooooooooo Again . . .

I'm back. After a year. Or maybe it's two.  Or three.  Who's counting, at this point? So what happened in the intervening years? Well, for one thing, a recession that necessitated I stop blogging and get back to work semi-full-time.  A failed antiques biz on the side (Note to self: do not start an antiques shop at the beginning of an economic downturn.  Follow-up note to self: do not start an antiques shop, period.) And a lot of drama and raging hormones as my darling, innocent twins became greasy, surly middle-schoolers (Some day, I'm sure, they will become less greasy and less surly.  Until then, I buy a lot of Clearasil and drink a lot of white wine.)

But guess what? I miss my antiques, primitives and folk art.  Lucky for me, I am self-employed and can waste oodles of time browsing online sites till my eyes bleed.  And lucky for you, I want to share my folksy finds with the world!

Lately, I've been feeling very nostalgic for the America of yore and what used to be our unabashed, enthusiastic patriotism (for examples of this, please visit my photo blog).  That nostalgia is definitely spilling over into my collecting interests.

To wit: I can't get enough of red-white-and-blue tin parade horns.  They look fantastic displayed as a group, as they are here at Lost and Found Art:

Like all things rusted-out and primitive these days, antique tin parade horns can be quite expensive -- even more so when they still retain their original "Old Glory" colors.  That being said, I turned to Etsy, the site that never lets me down when it comes to affordable antique treasures.  If you haven't checked it out lately, Etsy's antiques offerings have really expanded and diversified since I last stopped blogging.

Sure enough, seller Nostalgic Artifacts currently offers these two perfectly-imperfect horns:

This one checks in at an impressive 16 inches long.  Made in the USA -- of COURSE!

I adore the rounded French-horn shape of this smaller one, measuring just 7.5 inches high.  The tassel just makes it that much more drool-worthy.

And while I'm on an Etsy/patriotic kick, I should include these old painted Indian clubs from Donna's Finishing Touch:

Not parade horns, true, but because of the similar height and primitive look, I'm thinking they would display well together.

Juggling Life

Antique juggling pins/indian clubs have become a popular folk art collectible as of late. It's easy to see why: Their tall forms are graceful and elegant, yet folksy as they come.

It boggles the mind to think that these pins were once THE latest in exercise equipment. I suspect that more than one user was knocked out cold when a dropped pin clunked on his head.

Pins can be displayed happily in duos or even trios, as this threesome from Louwer's Antiques proves:



This weathered pair is up for grabs (no pun intended) on ebay:



. . . and presenting the Rolls-Royce of Indian Clubs, this luxury set from The Country Squire: