Visits to Antique Malls

One of the items on my list of to-do's is to become a regular visitor to the local antique malls. There is a concentration of them in our downtown so this weekend I wandered through two of the largest. A quilt appraiser I shadowed for a day kept a notebook with "observations" on availability and values when she went to stores and shows so I am starting to do the same thing. I find it much easier if walking through the doorway I remind myself "I am only stopping for quilts and quilt related items...." (Otherwise I am in there forever...as it was I stayed at the stall selling vintage Christmas "stuff" way too long! Thankfully I convinced myself I didn't need the silver Christmas tree, the salt shakers in the shape of drunken reindeer, nor the musical Christmas tree stand from the 1960's...but it was so fun to see!)
One of the challenges in this area is not many quilts make it to market an the ones that do are in poor to fair condition. In the case of doing appraisals most of them I would have to let the client know it wasn't really worth an appraisal. (and that happens a lot.)

The owner of one of the malls was really nice when I told her I was working towards quilt appraisal certification. Her take on the local market was really nice quilts never make it to the market because either a. the family holds on to them b. when she buys them at auction she sells them to known collectors/decorator so they never even get into the store (limited supply) c. if they do make it into a stall a good to excellent condition quilt sells quickly.

On the other hand fair to poor condition quilts that just a few years ago still sold well are now not moving. They had several quilts in the under $200 range. Only one of them was interesting. The same is true for quilting accessories or related items. Only the very best sell and then sell quickly.

So all in all a good learning experience. I'll continue to visit at least one a week and keep my notebook.

Starting out....

For the past 25 years I have been collecting antique and vintage quilts. I have assisted in documentation days for my guild and local museum but at the end of the day the owner of the quilt always asks..."so what is it worth."
Now I have a degree in business so I take a question like that seriously. Finally I decided if I was going to put my toe in the water then I best go all in. This year I am taking my interest in quilts and doing appraisals seriously. This blog is about the "journey" from taking the classes in Paducah last week to my going back to Paducah and testing next April.

First the classes...definitely something anyone who is interested in quilt appraisals should take...heck even collectors could benefit from taking the course. Gerald Roy and Bobbie Aug were the instructors this year. I came away feeling pretty good about what I know and didn't know but feel ok with now (IRS paperwork for donations and doing replacement insurance values) and most importantly know my limitations. Part of this year to to work on those limitations!

So here goes...it may not be cooking my way through the Joy of Quilting but I'm sure it will be a wild ride!

(just a note...I will always respect the privacy of my clients and friends. Quilts that I appraise will only be posted with their permission and I will not post appraised values. This blog is about my learning process not a site listing quilt appraisal results!)