Collectors Have Always Been Green

Collecting is an environmentally-friendly hobby, we're all about reusing, and recycling. A collector will look for a vintage or antique item or something that can be used in it's place before buying a new product. There are a lot of advantages to recycling and reusing, and collectors have known about them for years.

One advantage is that the quality is in most cases far superior to the modern product, the boards used to make a piece of furniture were wider from old trees. More time was taken to make it, often handcrafted, and there was a sense of pride in workmanship. The quality of the materials used in antique furniture is far superior, made of real wood, not sawdust glued together with a veneer laminate to look like wood. This reduces the toxins released into the air from the adhesives and plastics.

This goes for textiles as well, a hand-sewn item will often last longer than a brand new one. The clothing of the past was made well, and made to last, so that it can be passed down to younger siblings when too small. The fabric was made of natural materials; cotton, wool, silk, linen and hemp. The apparel made today can be ruined by one single loose thread being pulled, most manufacturers use a chain stitch IMO for this reason. If the article gets too close to a flame, it will melt, so it is treated with fire retardant during manufacturing, more toxic chemicals.

Some of the older glass was also hand-made; hand-cut, hand-painted, hand-blown. The glass industry has perfected the process so that there are no imperfections, but it is those imperfections that collectors look for, it tells how and when it was produced and makes the item more unique and desirable.

Another advantage is monetary, it is less expensive to buy an antique piece of furniture than a new one of comparable value. I can't see anyone collecting mass-produced pieces in the future, they don't last, manufacturers call this "planned obsolescence". If the products don't last, the manufacturer can sell more products. This goes for almost every product that is sold today. The resale value for these products are very minimal. The resale value for antiques and collectibles is always on the increase, an item will almost always appreciate in value.

Besides the reasons that I have mentioned above, the result of collecting is a reduction of toxins into the air from the manufacturing process, the reduction in energy resources and the reduction in natural resources to make the product. At the same time, we teach our children by example about being frugal with money, about not being wasteful, get them interested in history and preservation and an appreciation for fine workmanship.

Collecting - Why collect?

I collect a variety of items that I like, one thing seems to lead to another when I'm collecting. When I started with my glassware, I started collecting old bottles, one at a time, and started researching them and the history of glass and I started to collect more different kinds of glassware. I scrounged around yard sales and flea markets, looking for bargains.

I was collecting purely as a hobby, something to put on the shelf, but, I soon found out that what I had was an investment. It's like putting money in the bank, the longer you hold onto it, the more valuable it is. I found this blue and white swirl tart tin, buried under old pots and pans and bake-ware in the back room of a local thrift store for $2. It sold on eBay for $182.50!

The only problem with collecting as an investment, you have to know what is highly collectible and what isn't. You have to have some knowledge of what the value is, also. I bought a few different price guides, by different authors and started reading. I also started reading about different makers marks, styles, different types of hardware, construction, manufacturing, anything I can find out. I go to antique stores and ask the dealers' questions about the history of a piece, how old it is, where it came from, etc. They love to share their knowledge.

The best investment is something that will appeal to a variety of collectors and has been rising in value. Just because it's antique, it isn't necessarily very collectible. There are a lot of antiques out there, that are not suited to today's homes, unless you live in a mansion, they are too large-scale or ornate.

I like collecting Canadian-made furniture, small pieces, like lamp tables, rocking chairs, school desks, chairs and I have an antique cradle which was hand-made and has seen lots of use. My sister found it at a yard sale for $20. She had to make room in her house so she sold it to me for what she paid for it. I haven't had it appraised yet, but I think it is a good investment.

Collecting - Vintage Tins

I have accumulated a small collection of tins from yard sales over the past years. I like the old decorative biscuit tins in different shapes and sizes. I have an Art Deco tin, I nicknamed the 'bambi' tin, it is a sort of square-shaped tin with different scenes on each side, a rabbit, a fawn, a stag and a hunter.

I have some floral tins in different shapes and colours and a tin with a scene of British Columbia
on the top with different sights of interest on the sides. I bought a tin at a yard sale with an old cottage scene on it, full of vintage buttons and sewing notions. The notions were for sale, the tin was just a container for them.

I have some vintage scotch tape tins, cocoa tins, inkpads, a fish-hook tin, even an unopened tin of corn I bought because I liked the graphics on the label.

My most unusual tin is what started my collection, a small specimen tin from the Parke Davis Company when they had a plant in Sandwich, and there's a picture of the plant on it. I bought it at a local antique show and sale about 20 years ago.

The most expensive tin I bought was a commemorative tin of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. It was in real good condition so I didn't mind paying what they were asking, which was less than half of the value. It was a gift for my mother-in-law who has a large collection.

Here are some of the tins in my collection.

Collecting - McCoy Pottery

A Century of Pottery

W. Nelson McCoy Pottery, J.W. McCoy Pottery Company, Brush McCoy Pottery
NELSON McCOY POTTERY COMPANY
Click to Enlarge Nelson McCoy Pottery Works around 1926	In April of 1910 The Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company, located in Roseville, Ohio, was formed by Nelson McCoy and his father J. W. McCoy. They began to manufacture and sell functional and decorative stoneware. They also mined, bought and sold clay. This part of their business provided clay to many of the area potteries for several years. In May of that year they contracted for the construction of a building and purchased the equipment necessary to produce the products in large quantity. They selected the Roseville area because of the availability of clay and the land that the city donated free of cost. McCoy Pottery

I started collecting McCoy pottery after finding a piece under my mom's back porch thirty years ago. I started researching the piece and my mom made a macrame holder for it. It was a yellow flower pot with calla lilies embossed on it, about 8" diameter. A few years later, I came across a green 6" flower pot at a nearby thrift store. And so it began, I started to collect McCoy pottery, mostly inexpensive flower pots and kitchenware. I have one early Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company vase I bought on eBay. this piece has no markings on the bottom.

On our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I went up to my sister's cottage. We both enjoy fishing and the cottage is on the Pigeon River. Well, we went fishing and no matter where I put my line in, there was a turtle there, waiting for it! I tried to avoid them, but they watched where I threw my line and would go swimming after it, trying to get the worm on the hook. This went on day after day, and by the time we were done fishing, I had hooked a dozen turtles. Coincidently,

I found this turtle planter in an antique show & sale on the way home and just had to buy it.

I also have several flowerpots, planters and some kitchenware too.

4" aqua qulited and a pink basketweave
flower pots I found at an auction.

6" beaded flowerpot I found at a local auction also.



6" green basketweave flowerpot I bought at a yard sale.

8" brown bamboo flowerpot I bought at a local auction.

10" yellow bamboo flowerpot I found at the flea market at Heritage Village a few years ago.


6" cushion vases, the white one I found at a thrift store, the green one I found at a yard sale. The green one is marked and the white one isn't



Here are some more eBay finds:

aqua basketweave planter



a McCoy match safe


some small sauce dishes made for H.J. Heinz Co.

Another advertizing item, a Van Camp's coffee mug, my grandparents used to live down the street from the Van Camp's plant when I was growing up.

small yellow ware bowl

6" & 8" mixing bowls, modern, 1970's

I even have a fake McCoy Mamie with Cauliflower cookie jar. I knew it wasn't original when I bought it on eBay for $35, the originals are scarce and are over $1000. The seller said it was vintage, but the paint was too uniformly crazed and there wasn't much wear on it. I haven't measured it yet, I know it won't measure up.

From McCoy Pottery website:

Mammy with Cauliflowers - hand decorated, basic white.

Mark McCoy USA Date Produced Produced in 1939 Description Made in a limited edition. Extremely Rare. Typically found with worn cold paint. Collector Value $1000.00 - $1200.00

I can hardly wait for spring to start hunting for more McCoys to add to my collection.