By Dr. Lori Verderame No matter your age, getting a new vehicle as a holiday gift is always exciting. New automobiles, motorcycles, or bikes are tried and true holiday offerings that will thrill a close friend or family member. While these vehicles stir the senses, two other modes of transportation say “holiday” like no other. What are the vehicles that prompt both childhood and holiday memories? Sleds and wagons. Originally, sleds were among the most […]
Dr. Lori Verderame
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Valuable Weather Collectibles
by Dr. Lori Verderame Functional objects are not often viewed as collectible mainly because we use them daily, rely on them in our daily life, and don’t consider them to be precious or rare. Yet, when it comes to something so common, evident, and helpful on a daily basis, we should take a second look at such “work horse” style objects as both collectible and valuable. One thing that we all have in common is […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori – How to make Money at your garage sale
By Dr. Lori Verderame Here are my tips on how to make money at your garage sale. Are you considering taking all that old junk out of the basement or attic and selling it to buyers on your front lawn or out of your garage? Here are only some, emphasis on some, of my tips for making the most of your garage sale. When people are hosting a garage sale, they realize quickly that not […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Collectors excited by pending Barbie movie
By Dr. Lori Verderame With the new Barbie movie coming to a theatre near you this summer, complete with a top-secret plot, collectors are ready to buy, sell, trade America’s favorite doll. Get ready because the sales will be active, and the prices won’t be cheap leading up to the premiere of Greta Gerwig’s film. The new Barbie movie is going to help drive market prices up for the popular vintage dolls and all the […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Value trends in 1980s Jewelry
by Dr. Lori Verderame Today’s jewelry trends cater to designs that are dainty, diminutive, demure. That was not the case in the 1980s. Such dainty and feminine jewelry was out in the 1980s. Brash, big, bold, powerful statement jewelry was popular back in the decade when Michael J. Fox went Back to the Future. Jewelry of the 1980s had an evident structure and weight. Large pieces like big gold cuff bracelets and bold Cuban link […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Spring Cleaning Tips for your Collections
by Dr. Lori Verderame Spring cleaning has its drawbacks and its advantages. The drawbacks are many as no one really enjoys house cleaning all that much. But, once the house is clean, there are some obvious advantages like the discovery of more space, finding long lost items, and quick cash in the form of online sales of that unwanted stuff. For art and antiques collectors, spring cleaning offers a great opportunity to review the condition […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori – Colorful Winter Brooches
By Dr. Lori Verderame When it comes to dressing up, the cold weather offers opportunities to add accessories to an outfit like scarves, gloves, hats, etc. In winter, we tend to don our best clothes and jewelry to bring some sparkle to the somewhat dreary season. And when it comes to jewelry, albeit fine or costume, a big statement piece makes the outfit. While earrings and bracelets are must-have accessories, a brooch tops off any […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori – Storage Solutions for your Stuff
By Dr. Lori Verderame Collectors like to rotate collections with frequency and display their stuff in various parts of one’s home. Some collectible items only make an appearance at certain times of the year. Just like there are certain rules for exhibiting objects in museums, there are also suggestions as to the correct way to prepare objects for long term storage. First and foremost, only store clean objects. When it comes to any collectible, clean […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: Valuable Coffee Grinders
by Dr. Lori Verderame Since coffee is an age-old hot drink, coffee grinders date back to the 9th Century AD. As coffee served many people from diverse cultures worldwide, grinding coffee beans was essential. Today, the machines for grinding coffee beans are highly collectible. In Europe, the coffee grinder was patented by a German inventor named Friedrich Gottlob Keller in 1842. Based on this German coffee grinder, other coffee grinders followed suit. American coffee grinders were […]
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori: 21st Century Yard Sales
by Dr. Lori Verderame Most people think of yard sales as simple. Move stuff from inside your house to the front lawn, tack up a few home-made signs around the neighborhood and wait for the crowds to arrive, buy, and take it all away. The thought is. in the course of a few hours, your house will be clean, your lawn will be cleared, and your pockets will be lined with cash. Or so you […]