Harvey Joiner's "Kentucky Beechwoods-Autumn." Photo from Higgins-Maxwell Gallery

It is easy to find out the value for paintings by Andy Warhol, Robert Wood, or Thomas Paine by going to the Internet or Davenports Price Guide, but how about Stefin Krammar, Harvey Joiner, or Robert Knudson? If you haven't heard of these last three, that comes as no surprise to me. But I have a painting by each one of these artists. Why do I have these? Each one has great quality in their workmanship and has a fairly high retail value if you can find a buyer. Besides that, I paid very little for them.

By doing the smallest amount of research, you will find the values on 150,000 artist in the Davenports Guide and many more on an Internet Search. This still leaves thousands of artist undiscovered that command high prices for their pieces.

In fact, I have found that the most money to be made, based on percentage invested, is in finding a painting that will bring a great deal of money in a particular part of the country, but the artist doesn't make the regular channels that you would generally consult.

Let's take my Stefin Krammar for instance. Mine is a watercolor of a cowboy riding through the countryside. At the time I found it, western scenes appealed to me. I purchase it for $250. It was very well done, so I figured that it was worth more than $250, even if Krammar wasn't a well known artist. I searched and searched for information about Krammar, and I finally discovered that he was a Texas artist and a museum in Texas was compiling an exhibit of his work. Nothing could be found on the Internet or in my guides, so I called the museum inquiring about its possible worth. My jaw dropped to the floor when the answer came back "$5000." Yes, it was worth a lot in Texas but it seemed nowhere else. I had very little competition in buying this painting because most people would have given up on finding a value on this artist after that initial search. Knowledge and that extra mile will pay off in spades if you are patient.

Harvey Joiner and Robert Knudson are similar situations. There is little known about them outside of a small area of the country where their work is collected. Harvey Joiner's paintings will bring three to five time more in Kentucky than anywhere else in the country. If you check his record price for a painting, I think it will be about $4000. But, I can assure you that the right piece of his work in Kentucky might fetch $15,000- $20,000 dollars or more. Remember the Joiner portrait I bought on the East Coast for $240 sold for $3,700 in Indiana.

I think that you can see what I'm getting at. If a painting has a high enough quality, you might not have to worry if you don't find it in the guides. You can still turn some serious money. By having the knowledge to evaluate the quality of a painting, it can substantially reduce your competition, especially if you don't recognize the artist.

How do you get this knowledge? By looking at as many paintings as you can and trying to distinguish what makes each one valuable. There is no substitute for viewing paintings, but also you have the staff at the 31 Club to help you. When you join us, your one-time membership fee will open the door to a world of help and information. You'll learn why certain paintings are valuable and how to spot them. As a member, you also have access to our Associate Program. This program can help you purchase a painting you might have stumbled upon, if you haven't yet built up the cash to make the purchase yourself. We'll help you buy it and take care of the sale. What could be better than that?

The 31 Club uses a wealth building plan that can help you accumulate enough funds to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, collectibles, and fine art. Join the 31 Club. Learn about Antiques & Collectibles. Learn How to Invest in Antiques & Collectibles and build lifetime wealth. The plan is in my book. When you join today, you'll receive my 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, FREE.

"...I spent about 15 years in the antiques and collectible field
and I can tell you this is one of the best books you will ever
read about making money with art, antiques and collectibles."
-Skip McGrath, Auction Seller's Resources & EBay Powerweller

"It has been a great pleasure knowing Daryle for more than
10 years. I share his excitement in releasing this book. He is
a man of his word."
Riley Humler, Cincinnati Art Galleries
Consultant, Antique RoadShow

Want to read more about the 31 Club? Read an article here.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us.

Go to Our Homepage.

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Antique Sewing Kit Sold on Ebay for $476 USD (231 GBP)

Yesterday I wrote about antique and vintage linens & textiles, particularly "Samplers," so today I thought it would be a good time to expand to the sewing experience.

With the cost of clothing accelerating at such a fast pace and the quality of it declining, you might expect the interest in home sewing to gain popularity once again. There has always been interest in sewing collectibles, but the future trends might even increase this interest. Just last month, Cindy made the comment that she might have to find someone to make her a dress. She had an affair to attend and couldn't find a dress that she felt was appropriate or even fit well. Not only that, she told me she has a hard time buying clothing now because the clothes are "so ugly and trendy, and not made to fit someone like me." I wonder how many other people feel the same way.

For the home sewer, the modern machines might seem like the logical solution, but don't be surprised if you see the ladies, as well as men, begin to do some of their own sewing the old fashioned way. And, what will they need in the way of equipment and supplies to do this?

They may need thimbles, sewing birds, darners, pincushions, scissors, tape measures and needles for a start. Now that we have got those things out of the way, what's next? Thread, sewing boxes, thread caddies, a sewing machine, and several other additions.

Wow! Are you sure you want to start this venture? How sure are you that it will save money? But if this is what you decide to do, it might not be about money. It might just be for the fun of making something yourself that others will see you wearing or being used in your home. It might just be for the satisfaction of making something of high quality of your own design. Doing things the way your mother or grandmother did things can prove to be very rewarding.

I know very little about sewing, but this I promise you -- there is gold in those antique sewing articles that were used by your relatives. When I want to get general information on pricing, I usually start with eBay's completed auctions and Kovels price guide. These don't represent the low or the high end of the market, but I have found they give me a general idea about the markets for the items I am researching.

Lets start with the antique sewing box. A fairly common one made of wood can set you back from $150 to $750. If you really want to get fancy, buy the three tiered 1892 initialed pincushion I saw for over $4,000. While we are accumulating the other items needed, we might want to look at sewing machines. A Clark Foliage from 1859 comes in at about $5,000. The Shaw & Clark sewing machine will set you back about $7,000. This sewing thing seems to be getting expense, don't you think? I once bought a Singer Featherweight machine for under $100, and it sold at auction for over $500. That has been my best purchase in the sewing arena only because it hasn't crossed my mind to look. I'll need to reconsider when I go into an estate sale or even a garage sale next time.

Sewing birds and darners can be picked up for a couple of hundred dollars and generally, pincushions fall in $25 to $500 range. Most of the other accessories can be purchased for under $100. And guess what? We haven't yet thought about the threads and fabrics.

One of our 31 Club members, Ondre H., just finished selling a large group of sewing machine instruction books on eBay and was surprised with the results. They all sold, and most of the for over $30. Several did considerably better than that. Her father was in the business and had accumulated these over many years. They covered a wide range of machines, so the collectors were very excited to receive them.

Personally, I am not going to take up sewing, but collecting these items is a different story. There are many people who collect the items that had been used every day by their mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers. Finding these items and getting them into the hands of collectors who treasure them is a valuable service you can provide while you make money doing it. These kinds of items will be good purchases for those beginning their Steps with the 31 Club and will propel you upward so you can soon join those traders who are dealing in the higher end markets.

Anyone interested in vintage sewing items will benefit from having The Story of Antique Needle Tools by Bridget McConnel become part of their library. This book chronicles the history and diversity of needlework tools dating from ancient Egypt through the twentieth century.

Another great resource is Sewing Tools & Trinkets: Collector's Identification & Value Guide

You can get a really good price on these two book together from Amazon right now.

The 31 Club uses a wealth building plan that can help you accumulate enough funds to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, collectibles, and fine art. Join the 31 Club. Learn about Antiques & Collectibles. Learn How to Invest in Antiques & Collectibles and build lifetime wealth. The plan is in my book. When you join today, you'll receive my 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles, FREE.

"...I spent about 15 years in the antiques and collectible field
and I can tell you this is one of the best books you will ever
read about making money with art, antiques and collectibles."
-Skip McGrath, Auction Seller's Resources & EBay Powerweller

"It has been a great pleasure knowing Daryle for more than
10 years. I share his excitement in releasing this book. He is
a man of his word."
Riley Humler, Cincinnati Art Galleries
Consultant, Antique RoadShow

Want to read more about the 31 Club? Read an article here.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us.

Go to Our Homepage.

Please leave a comments. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate!

LINK:
Hip to hem: Sewing makes a comeback

Antique : antique dealer, art, antiques, vintage, collections, antique scrimshaw whale tooth

Daryle lambert Artist you Can't find

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

DARYLE LAMBERT: Paintings by Artists You Can't Find Information About

Daryle Lambert - Antique Sewing Tools

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Daryle Lambert: Valuable Antique and Vintage Sewing Tools