Some days are diamonds some days are stone | 08/10/2007 |
You know the saying some days are diamonds some days are stone, well when it comes to antique hunting some days are Meissen some days are repros. That’s how I found last weekend went for me. It started off promising when our local antique shop (half a dozen doors away from home. Yes it was a contributing factor in me buying this house!) held a Saturday auction. What a great day, I found all kinds of bargains. I came home with a beautiful blue engine turned enamel brush, Royal Winton plate and a wonderful wooden well bucket. I just narrowly missed a claw foot bath for my bathroom makeover, a little disappointed but it went to a great bloke who put goldfish in it. But the find of the day had to be the mixed lot of china I bought for only $30. I ended up with four lovely vintage cup, saucer and plate trios to add to my stash. I’ve been planning a morning tea for my girlfriends in my head ever since. I love getting out and about to auctions but find they bring out a competitive spirit in me which I don’t often tap into. I often find myself paying more for an item than I should because I want to win. Luckily my husband John is very level headed and he saved me from myself by holding my hand when bidding heated up on several items. Once we carried our goodies home, of course the regular ‘oh hell’ now where do I put it debate started and rather than being a party to me shifting things around for hours, John headed to the shed. I eventually crammed everything in, vowing to not go crazy next time whilst simultaneously remembering making a similar promise to myself after the last auction I went to. Anyway, new purchases always make me undertake a bit of a cleaning frenzy as you have to wash new purchases before you add them to your stash and then the other china always looks a bit lack lustre in comparison; so before I know it I was emptying the shelves and up to my arms in bubbles and this was meant to be my relaxation time before next week’s deadlines.If I had a blackboard I’d have to write 100 times, next weekend I will avoid all garage sales, markets and auctions and have a sleep in instead. Donna Macpherson | 
