ART DECO STYLE

This week we are going to talk about the Art Deco Style.  But first please let me remind you to visit our
A.G.C.A.P. Dealer of The Month's booth located on Aisle 1 South Booth K-1 & L-1.  Just look at the photo below to see another unique item that Alan has.

So make sure you visit his booth for lots of goodies!

So now lets talk about Art Deco and THANKS to ehow for the article!

Art Deco was a style of art and furniture during the first two world wars which spanned from around 1920 to 1939, according to Retropolis.com. Furniture styles changed because of the social changes that made different types of furniture necessary after World War I. People who could afford expensive luxuries wanted nicely designed, decorative furniture that was useful too. Art Deco continued to affect art through 1950. There were two main schools of Art Deco. The first focused on making art for the rich, upper class of society with specially designed pieces of furniture. Each piece of furniture was a work of art. While the first school used ivory and amboyna wood, the second school used chrome and glass. Individualized furniture gave way to mass production, and furniture makers used a geometric look to make obvious that their work was functional in the mid-1920s.

The style of Art Deco has been around for many years. From the early 1900s in Paris, Art Deco has been able to capture attention and daze the average observer. Over the years the design descended from furniture to spill over into other fields. Well-known designers and manufacturers are still developing new pieces every day to excite the average fan of Art Deco furniture.

1925 Paris World's Fair
In the 1925 Paris World's Fair the beginnings of the Art Deco development began. At first the style was highly criticized and controversial.
World War II
It was during the Second World War that the new controversial style made its way from Europe to the United States. It was in 1939 when Art Deco became the new mid-century modern design.
1950's
Art Deco started to transcend different fields. The design branched off to jewelry, art, sculpture, glass, furniture and architecture.
Designers
Some designers started to make a name for themselves and make the design even more popular. The designers included Donald Deskey, Paul t. Frankel, Emile-Jacques Ruhlman, Norman Bel Geddes and Russel Wright.
New Materials
The Art Deco furniture started to incorporate new materials like chrome, aluminum, metals and glass. Bold new colors and playful designs were adopted by manufactures like Farberware and Chase.



The Antique Gallery of Houston has a lot of Art Deco inspired items.  Come take a look.

Now for the BLOG SPECIAL OF THE WEEK  This item is located on aisle 4 North Booth G-6 on the North side of the mall.  Code word is FORTUNE.  This beautiful Asian Etergere normal price is $375.00.  The BLOG SPECIAL OF THE WEEK price is just $299.00.  Now remember this price is only good Thursday January 26, 2012 until 6:00 p.m. on February 01, 2012 and there is only 1!  Don't miss out.  Just make sure you tell the sales person and the cashier the code word of FORTUNE and this can be yours.
Take a look.  Isn't it beautiful?

Check our Facebook page  ANTIQUE GALLERY OF HOUSTON, and please check back with us next week!

Remember............OUT WITH THE NEW AND IN WITH THE OLD.......................

PRIMITIVE ANTIQUES

This week lets talk about Primitive Antiques.  Thanks to Ask.Com for this article

Primitive antiques is a broad term describing early American household items from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Primitive antiques, as opposed to Victorian or colonial antiques, evoke a nostalgic aesthetic for handmade, everyday items. Examples include wooden crates, vintage enamelware, handmade pottery and flour sack towels. Primitive antiques are part of country-style decor, which has become very popular. It is a "decorating style that is an authentic reflection of the everyday lives of regular people," Jessie Walker writes in "Jessie Walker's Country Decorating."

History
Primitive items were the utilitarian or "make-do" items used by early Americans in their everyday lives, from 1700s colonists through the Great Depression of the 1930s. Often, these items were made at the person's home from everyday materials such as wood, pottery, and early textiles like muslin and wool.
Types
Primitive antiques fall into many categories: furniture, household wooden items, kitchen items, metal items, pottery, household textiles, and decorative items like pillows, rugs, curtains, and wall decor. Metal items can be made of tin, copper, or enamelware. Rugs can be wool or cotton, and come in varieties like braided, wool hooked, and penny rug style. Kitchen items may be pots and pans, utensils, and tools such as a cheese grater. Household textiles can be cotton, muslin, wool, linen, burlap, or any other natural material. Wall decor consists of stitched samplers, painted landscapes or portraits, and wooden signs. Primitive antique pottery includes yellowware, redware and stoneware. Children's toys and games have also become popular primitive antique collectibles.
Design
Primitive antiques are characterized by their hand-made quality and early American designs. Primitive antiques often feature folk art designs of birds, animals, flowers and fruits. Primitives were designed in a simplistic fashion, with a rough or hand-hewn quality. These household and farm items were designed to be used, not decorative.
Colors
Primitive antiques have survived decades or centuries of wear, so their colors are usually faded and the paint chipped. Popular colors for primitive antiques are muted or distressed, and come in shades of black, colonial blue, barn red, mustard, sage green and cream. Primitive antiques were often painted with organic plant-dye paints, which do not hold the color as long as modern paints. Many collectors find the muted colors part of the antiques' appeal.
Collecting
Collectors seek out early American antiques made before 1930, with a handmade or rough-hewn quality to the item. Chips, cracks, stains and distressed paint add to the overall look, and a piece that is not in perfect condition should not be discounted. Different parts of the United States feature different types of primitive antiques. Any household item with an antique, faded, distressed, handmade, or simplistic design can qualify as a primitive antique.
Speaking of Primitive Antiques, check out this weeks BLOG SPECIAL from Dealer #152 located on Aisle 1 North Booth B-5.  Regular price for this Primitive Farm Table & 4 Rush Seat Chairs is $600.00, but from Thursday, January 19,2012 until 6:00 p.m. Wednesday January 25, 2012 you can have it for JUST $300.00!!  Code Word is PRIMITIVE.  Below is a photo:

Lots of Fun Things are going to be happening at The Antique Gallery in the coming months!  Make sure you keep checking our Blog.

Did you know that The Antique gallery has Lay-A-Way?  Ask any friendly employee and they will explain the policy to you.

Are you an art lover?  A Military Collectible lover?  A lover of unique items?  Then be sure to check out the A.G.C.A.P. Dealer of the Month's Booth, Alan Wilcox, located on the South Side of the Mall Booth K-1 & L-1 located next to the cashier booth.  Below is a photo of Alan's Booth:

He has lots of nice things, so make sure you visit his booth, and remember our Motto this year:

OUT WITH THE NEW AND IN WITH THE OLD!

Check back next week!

GRANNY CHIC

As promised, here is another style of vintage decor courtesy of The Finishing Touch blog!  I really like this style!
Love it or hate it, granny chic is taking the world by storm according to curbed.com Granny chic is characterised  by “crocheted, knitted, quilted and handmade items and includes lovely vintage touches like glass cake plates and small goblets,” and while there is no set definition for ‘granny chic’ you can pretty much sum it up in one sentence – Granny chic is about making old stuff new again.

With this trend all things old are new and hip again in a modern, fun, funky yet traditional, and familiar. A perfect example of this is wallpaper which has been making a décor fabulous comeback for a few years now. ‘Granny chic’ wallpaper is like the wallpaper you remember in your granny’s dusty old formal lounge but this time round it’s all about “bright colors, festive patterns, modern designs, and endearing themes. Humor definitely plays a big part in the designs.”..

The key to pulling off ‘granny chic’ is this – when using something old, like romantic or antique-style furniture, it must exhibit a new, colorful, modern or contemporary twist. Your grandfather’s old armchair can be given a new, trend-savvy lease on life by covering it in shiny vinyl where the faded, worn velvet once was.The great thing about this trend is that you can take it in as small or as big a dose as you like – throwing a crocheted blanket over the end of your bed, hanging a cluster of thrift store treasures on your living room wall, or take a page out of Style Pie’s blog book and hanging vintage accessories above your headboard…

Since we did not have a BLOG SPECIAL last week, this one is special.  An Antique Telephone!

The Phone is an Antique circa 1909-1913 Western Electric Hand Crank Wall Telephone complete with all original parts in excellent condition with original patina.The price was $395.00 Blog Special Price of $295.00 and is also in booth K1-L1 .
CODE WORD is CRANK.  Price good Thursday January 12, 2012 until Wednesday January 18, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.
Don't miss this one!  Photo below:

Let's don't for get about Alan Wilcox's Booth!!!!! Alan is our A.G.C.A.P. Dealer of the Month.  Make sure you drop by his booth located on the south side of the mall Booths K-1 & L-1.  Here you will be sure to find that unique item you were looking for, or maybe that special piece of art, and don't forget the Civil War Era weapons he has.  Below is a photo of his booth:

Keep checking the blog for some exciting upcoming events we have planned at The Antique Gallery!

Lets Talk About Arts & Crafts Style

Each week I will try to include an article on a different style of antiques.  This week it is the Arts & Crafts Style.

The arts-and-crafts movement was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution’s reliance on mass production and the Victorian era's focus on heavy ornamentation. Popular during the early 1900s, this style glorified craftsmanship in simple shapes with exposed joinery, spare ornamentation and strong lines. Materials used to embellish the look include metals, stained glass and painted tiles and fabrics featuring stylized floral motifs. Notable artisans of this period are William Morris, Gustav Stickley and Charles and Henry Greene.

Colors - Burnished brown represents the rich woods used for the furniture and trim and the burnished gold represents the mica glass used for lampshades. Accent colors include deep forest green, sapphire blue and dusty rose, which garner attention against the dense neutrals.

Lighting - Mica shades set in hammered copper or burnished brass set the tone for an arts-and-crafts design. The broad horizontal lines echo those found in the linear architectural features.

Furniture - Pieces are well-proportioned with strong lines, rich finishes and spare ornamentation, except for the occasional hammered metal accent. The back-to-basics philosophy of the movement required furniture to be purposeful, functional and long-lasting.

Woodwork - As a reaction to the Victorian era's expansive use of heavy, dark, carved woodwork, the arts-and-crafts style relied on a lighter palette with neutral colored walls as the background to richly-stained woodwork.

This month the A.G.C.A.P. Dealer of the Month honor goes to Alan Wilcox.  Alan has been a member of The Antique Gallery Family for 4 years.  He has been an antique dealer for about 6 years and an art dealer for about 15 years.  You can find some of his original artwork for sale in his booth with is located on the South side of our mall booths K 1 & L 1.  Alan is a valued member of The Antique Gallery Family where he has been our resident "Art Appraiser" for our Appraisal Fairs that we have.  His artwork has been featured in galleries both in Texas and New Mexico.  If you are into art or military collectibles, which are his specialties, then please visit Alan's booth.  Alan also offers other unique items in his booth.  Below is a partial photo of his booth.  Make sure you check back next week for individual  photos.

There is no BLOG SPECIAL this week, but check back next week for a great deal!