The Appraiser’s Diary: Spring Planning

Rachel G. Hoffman            Spring is here! The ice is melting. Whatever your resources, now is the time to unleash them. The warm sun urges you to come forward to take advantage of the good weather. Everything that has lain dormant in winter comes alive. In spring not only lovely flowers bloom abundantly, but antiques and collectibles crop up everywhere. If you have postponed or neglected your collecting business or pastime, spring is the time for you to revitalize yourself. Spring is a time when information is happily shared. Like birds singing melodiously in springtime, people communicate enthusiastically in the spring. Listen closely for opportunities, and you won’t be disappointed.

Many people clean their houses in the spring. They supply the market with lost treasures and objets d’art. Dusty items are coming out of attics. Vintage objects and antiques are being taken out of homes and shops to make room for renovations. There are copious deals to be made by savvy buyers with ready and willing sellers. This can be your chance to find the precious antique or valuable collectible that has escaped you for months, if not years. Check classified ads. Meet with dealers eager to be active, and visit shops having sales. Explore the whole collectible and antique landscape.

spring-panel            Success “marches” in step with spring (pun intended; spring began March 20th). Spring prompts social behavior. People readily come together in spring. It is a time of popular assembly and gatherings. Making new contacts sustains progress. Every spring review and renew your purpose. Get in contact with business leaders and relationships. Meeting like-minded people makes work enjoyable and rewarding. Even newcomers sometimes offer interesting tips that lead to valuable acquisitions or offer clues to trends, publicity, or correct pricing.

Information is knowledge that leads to opportunity and profit. Many experts agree that the word of mouth is often a critical element in sales. Get in touch with old friends. We especially trust the word of persons we know well. Resume your positive attitude about life. Don’t drift apart from others. Don’t let useful subscriptions expire. Renew your membership in associations and clubs. And remember to help others because even small favors are sometimes repaid in a wonderful way.

Daffodils_window_web_152_243           Spring is associated with love and beauty. The importance and popularity of spring is demonstrated in the artifacts themselves that we buy and collect. The finest items sold often have a springtime motif. Jewelry, ceramics, glass, dolls, art, furniture, clocks, clothing, crafts, ornaments, knickknackery, and much more are exquisitely designed to depict springtime. One of the most iconic pieces of Spring is the Tiffany leaded glass panel from the Four Seasons window. At the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) debuted a magnificent window depicting the four seasons. The Spring panel, its cluster of colorful tulips heralding the earth’s renewal, is just one part of Tiffany’s extraordinary representation of nature’s cycle.

Spring offers many wonderful conditions to learn and innovate. Launch a new project; for example, start your own website to promote your inventory. Spring arouses passion, which is the driving force of creativity, achievement, and success. You can be a star this spring. This is the time to take a stand and spring forward.

 

Tiffany glass photos courtesy of the Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Florida

 

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