Fat & Sassy

I haven't bought anything on eBay in ages, though I've been looking a lot.  We've picked up a few woodblock prints at auctions recently, so I've been looking to find a few more.  Wouldn't a whole wall of them be great?  

When I find them they always seem to have colored mats and that damn gold bamboo frame.  I'm going with crisp white double-matting and simple wood frames, although I haven't decided on a moulding yet. Brett worries that we've got a lot of Asian going on, but I think that a contemporary framing treatment should temper that.

Of course while I'm there searching for the thing-of-the-moment I have to search for the long-standing favorites too.  Vintage Henredon, industrial baskets, murano bowls, hotel silver and Blanc de Chine.

Searching through those Blanc de Chine listings last night what did I find but this super-sweet buddha.  He's unmarked, 12 inches tall, in excellent condition, and the owner estimates from the 70s.  She also described him as holding "a hard boiled egg cut in half, or a seed pod."  

Whatever that is in his hand, and wherever he's from, I think he's great.  And thanks to a bid I floated and guarded tonight (watching on my phone's eBay app) he's on his way here.

Yes, he's very Asian.  But he's also all white and small enough to tuck in most anywhere, so I'll be excited to get him.  Now if I can just score a few of those woodblocks.

Monster Marbro

The auction house I hit most here in town shuts down a little before Christmas through the end of the year. Tuesday night was the first sale of 2012. Nothing I needed badly, but there were three Marbro lamps I wanted to see. I don't know a lot about Marbro other than they were in Los Angeles and they made some pretty spectacular lamps back in the day, which sell for quite a bit on eBay.

The first was a crystal column with bronze fittings and a grey linen shade, the sort of thing we could totally use around here. I reluctantly let go at 80 and it sold for twice that.

The last was a bottle-shaped, carved marble number with a carved and pierced floral band around the body. People at auctions go crazy for marble and I never even got in the fray. I think it ended up going for 170. And then in the middle there was this:

Yes, that's a normal wine bottle, so yes, it's huge. In fact from the table to the top of the finial is 46 inches, so its just shy of four feet.

Chinoiserie chrysanthemums on a white background, with a gilt base, pull chains as well as an inline switch on the cord. The quality is there, this thing is heavy as hell. Looking over the body it appears to be flawless. It was lit at the auction house so electricaly everything seems to be in working order, although I always feel better when vintage lamps get new wiring. The base even seems good if just a bit dusty.

I love a big lamp, and you know I love a little Asian flavor, but sadly this bad boy doesn't really fit in here. Someone's got the love as well as the perfect spot though, so this weekend its going up on eBay. Of the 60-some Marbro lamps currently listed there are a number of chinoiserie styles, but none this big or this model. I'm hoping it does well as I still have one brass lamp here to take in for nickel plating. Wish me luck. Or even better, bid your best!

Somebody please buy these

Currently on eBay, Edward Wormley for Dunbar, here. 32" wide, 15" deep, 25" tall. The Buy It Now is $2200, offers also accepted. Local pickup in Chicago.


They'd go lots of places, I think they'd be super as nightstands.

Baughman on the Bay

I love to type Milo Baughman into the search box on eBay. You always get a few things you've seen and loved, and sometimes you get something new.

Twill wouldn't necessarily have been my choice for this but it's simple and I don't hate it at all. I love that its white. The Buy It Now is pretty steep but you could make an offer. Here.

Then you'd need a spot to set your drink. Wouldn't one of these pull up nicely? Plus you get an extra to use somewhere else. Then when you feel the need to move things around you've got a pair. Here.

Things I found, and a "what would you do?"

I've spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks sweeping, shop vac'ing, dusting, and dragging construction debris to the dumpster in the driveway. When not doing those things however, I've been window shopping online.

If you need a pair of interesting sconces I present the Fortune Teller Sconce. Made by Global Views (yeah, they make a lot of things I like), you could buy them for $435 a piece from Horchow, or you could get them on eBay for $250, here. I wish I had a spot, but I don't.

From this week's online sales (Gilt or OneKingsLane, I forget which) I discovered Environment Furniture and their Campinas Console. I've got the spot but not the money (even though its not outrageously priced) so I may try to build this if I can find some reclaimed lumber to face it with. And should the math become too much for me (which could totally happen) Bill builds furniture!

And finally, a little success on eBay, and my dilemma.

I've been watching West German pottery lately and was totally taken with the simple shape and red-orange glaze of this little pot. It had been running with a Buy It Now over $100, and then another $40 for shipping from Switzerland.

That was all way too much for me, but I kept it on my watch list. Sure enough, the Buy It Now came down and it went on a 7 day auction starting at $19.99. I tossed out a 20 buck bid, won, and Paypal'd the seller.

A few days later I received two emails explaining how between the start and the end of the auction Swiss postal rates had changed, and that while the package had been shipped, the cost was $13 more. A third message followed shortly explaining that paying the extra shipping was my choice, but that they were a non-profit and would have a difficult time making up the loss.

I'm not inclined to pay any more shipping, and here's why: I've sent a small piece of pottery, a Royal Copenhagen bowl in fact, to Germany for 20 bucks. I've also sent a heavy Ralph Lauren coat to Australia for $27. I dont know Swiss postal rates but $40 seems high to me, unless the promised careful packing involved an enormous box.

I've also miscalculated shipping on things I've sold, and to maintain my 100 percent perfect feed back I've eaten it. Once to the tune of 50 bucks. I just don't think you change things after the auction ends.

And finally, if you were a non-profit using eBay as a fundraiser, wouldn't you mention that in your auction listing? I would.

I don't think there's anything to be gained by responding. If the pot arrives in good shape I'll leave positive feedback and be done.

What would you do?

Greek chic

Here is eBay item number 350167897809.

$1500 or Make Offer. I'd make an offer. It's cool as hell but that's too much for a chair without provenance. I'm not making an offer, as much as I'd like to.

There's a matching sofa under a separate listing, but that's a bit much for me. I like the beauty of a single statement chair. You could change out those casters for something less obtrusive. GAAA I love that fabric. Classical motif AND quilted. It's perfect for the grayscale scheme we're working here at Chez Malaise. Damn it.

Oh look

Here is a handsome Ralph Lauren for Henredon buffet. Last year the lady selling it on Craigslist was asking 600. Last month she listed it again at 400, and if I had any extra cash I would have bought it. We've got lots of empty space and storage is always good.

If you're interested, it's now available on eBay at the bargain price of $2499.99. The seller is in Garden City, not too far from KC. They also have the Baker sideboard they beat me out on at an estate sale two years ago. They started somewhere around two grand on it and its down to $724.99 now.

Anyway, handsome buffet is on my watch list now in case I have a spot for it in 2013, when I'll shoot them an email offering 425. And just in case the sellers might find this post (stranger things have happened) I'll say this: You buy pretty good stuff, but even with Ralph's nameplate inside, in the end its just used furniture.

Oh eBay, I've missed you

Things have been busy lately and I've neglected my eBay addiction, so before bed last night I took a spin through the ironstone listings. What did I find but this 11 inch footed bowl in need of some love! I was at the workshop starting on another secretary tonight, so I set a reminder on my phone so I wouldn't forget to bid. As it turns out I got home with time to spare, and there was no flurry of last minute bids which meant my late bid was good!

There's a small rim chip, but other than that it appears to be in pretty good shape. A spin through the peroxide bath at Connie's house should brighten it right up. Connie, if you're reading, make a list of painting and/or framing projects you'd like help with, me and my dirty whitewares need to come see you when Sparks is over.

There's another of these bowls on my watch list for later in the week. It's in pristine condition so I don't expect to have as easy a time of it, but I'll bid my best.

What's on your watch list?

Today after my Jayhawks spanked Missouri at the field house I made a run to the grocery store, and as it often is, it was Gay Day at the market. I ran into Bryce, who's off to Las Vegas next week, which sounds wonderful. Then again, he's going with his mom for a work function, so I'm only marginally jealous. Unrelated note: Bryce still lives with his ex Jeff, who never speaks to me, and today was no different. Perhaps he can read minds and knows I thought his tweed driving cap looked ridiculous.


I also saw Andy and Chris. Andy and I were at KU at the same time, and while we didn't have common classes, I was in Textiles and he was in Graphic Design so we were nearby. We also frequented some of the same coffee shops. Before we parted ways in Produce he said "Are you on Facebook?" I said "No, I'm anti social networking." He said "Of course you are" and off they went.


Working down my shopping list I was thinking about how I see no purpose or reason for Facebook and the like, and it hit me: When eBay started I thought it was awful too. Why would you want to bid against people you couldn't see? And how could you sell something online, what if they didn't pay? My, how far I've come.


The last thing I do on Sunday night is my weekly eBay search. There are a number of things I look for. Some the same each week, and other new searches depending on what I need or have going on. So for fun, here's a sampling of what I'm currently watching:


Among the same weekly search, yellowware bowls and pitchers. You've seen the collection, a few of which were eBay buys. Currently I've been looking for a small pitcher to use for spoons in the kitchen. Yes, I know there are spooners for that, but something like the little banded pitcher above is more my style.

This is an Austin sculpture taken from a cast of the original at the Victoria and Albert museum in London. Yes, Austin makes a number of things I'd never have in my home, but also a surprising number of things I would. I have an abstract bull sculpture by Austin on the credenza in the den and I love it. I'm not sure where the figure above could go, but I've got some ideas. It's big and would be gorgeous in the right spot. Incidentally, I saw the original when we were at the V&A and it's really wonderful. If you go to London DO NOT MISS the V&A.

Mrs. Blandings occasionally runs across good pieces of Wedgwood in her hunting and gathering. Either she or Stefan at ArchitectDesign recently mentioned the egyptianware. I was looking around eBay when I found the piece above. Much like antique dealers not pricing things at shows, here's a selling strategy I couldn't hate more. This seller's auctions all have a $1000.00 Buy It Now or Best Offer. Their text says "Of course we know this item isn't worth $1000.00, it's just our gimmick to get you to make us a fair offer." Besides annoying me, I think they're hurting themselves. The auction ended when they accepted someone's offer of $36.00. That's less than I would have thought they'd take, so if I ever run across something I like in one of their auctions you can bet I'll low-ball my offer.

I pick up lots of little prints and engravings, and invariably they need new mats and frames. This seller is offering 52 feet of moulding in 4 different styles, all for 55 bucks. You can't pick what you get, but if you see one you really hate he'll pull it out. This would be perfect for reselling art. WHY did I sell my miter saw?



And finally, this seller is offering a pair of these small Barbara Cosgrove urn lamps in either the black or white base, for $112.00. I adore the black, and as soon as I figure out where I can use them I'm buying. Who am I kidding, I could buy and store just as easily.

So what about you, what are you watching on eBay?

What is this?

I probably should have asked this question before I listed it on eBay, but do any of you have any idea what this is? I picked it up at an auction (surprise) and someone said it was a honey pot. That makes sense I guess from the shape of it, if you had some honey still in the comb you would want some room under the lid. It's yellowware, of indeterminate age, but not new.

Drop me a note if you have an idea. Or a good guess.

Bid now!

I've not sold anything on eBay in ages, and I had these candlesticks at the workshop so I thought I'd get going with that again. I went over them with Howard's Finish Restorer, followed by a coat of Howard's Feed-N-Wax and a buff and they look great.

They look like something Dansk would have made, but they're actually by Tell City Chair Co. I have no idea of their age, but I'm guessing late 60's or early 70's. Of course to maximize my hits from searches I rounded down and referred to them as mid century.

I always give Jason at KC Auction Company a hard time about his pictures, and the often hard-to-gauge scale of his smalls. I went once prepared to bid high on a victorian silver cachepot that from the picture appeared to be about eight inches in diameter. Imagine my surprise when I got there and it was more of a punchbowl than a cachepot, and measured almost two feet in diameter. (Yeah, it was pretty fabulous, and ended up selling for more than two grand)

Jason thinks the soda can, a perennial favorite for giving an idea of size, is too pedestrian. For eBay it works perfectly. I listed these at about 630 tonight, and sure enough I had a bid and two watchers within the hour.

So now that the holidays are over and we're reclaiming our homes from the ornaments and boughs, maybe some vintage wood accessories are what you need. The auction ends next Sunday at 630 central. Bid high and often!

Shop Victoriously

These are small, around 7 inches tall and 3 inches square. Bookends are always useful, but I especially like foo dogs for some reason. I'm still mourning a really large (17 inches tall!), ornate pair in white porcelain that I didn't rebid on last year. Until something like them appears again I think these should keep me satisfied.