Big love for Fisher-Price Little People
If you open a particular closet in my house, you will step right back into the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. But what's in the closet doesn't have anything to do with fashion...
Treasure Hunting
THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015
THURSDAY, NOV. 13, 2014
Travel: Antiquing in Fox Cities, Wisconsin
Last fall I spent a few days exploring Appleton and the other small towns and cities that make up Fox Cities, Wisconsin. It's such a beautiful part of the country and I can see why Appleton has been called one of the best small towns…
MONDAY, OCT. 20, 2014
History and mystery engraved in silver cigarette case
When I have a little time to myself, I like to drop into my favorite chair in the living room, the one next to the low white bookshelf near the fireplace. On the shelves, beside the stack of pages torn from magazines or clipped from…
THURSDAY, AUG. 21, 2014
Collectible milk glass is both pretty and practical 1
I’m not a milk glass collector, although there are many people who are, but I do occasionally pick up a particularly pretty piece when I can put it to some practical use. Living in a small cottage means that what comes into the house must…
SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2014
This beautiful old chair turned up at the right moment
For those of us who love beautiful old things, it’s a familiar feeling. Our best “finds” actually seem to find us. We have something in mind and then one day, when we least expect it, we look around and there is the thing we desire…
SUNDAY, APRIL 6, 2014
Easy DIY: From CD Cabinet to Linen Chest
Sometimes, all it takes to completely recreate an object, to repurpose and in that way recycle an item, is to change the way we see it. I recently found a solid pine cabinet at a local antique mall. What drew me to it was the…
SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014
The appeal of vintage maps 1
Recently, going through boxes in the basement, I ran across an old map of the place I once lived. I brought it with me when I moved west, clipping it from a crumbling book that was too far gone to save, intending to frame it…
SUNDAY, FEB. 23, 2014
What is my collectible worth?
I received an email from a reader this week, asking for help. The man who wrote has some antiques and collectibles that have been in his family for generations. He’d like to know what they’re worth and who to go to for that information. It…
SUNDAY, FEB. 16, 2014
Vintage VW microbus a sweet little ride
Vintage toys have great appeal because they not only reflect an era or specific period of time, they carry fond memories of childhood and play. And vintage die-cast cars are one of the most enduringly popular collectibles. For some, the curators, only mint collectibles--preferably still…
THURSDAY, JAN. 2, 2014
Share your "Object of Affection"
The cover story of the December 29th New York Times Magazine was “The Lives They Lived” and it featured profiles of a number of celebrities and luminaries who died in 2013. What I found most interesting were the photos of possessions belonging to some of…
THURSDAY, DEC. 5, 2013
Object of Affection: Sophia Caruso's Sound of Music 2
(Photo by Deena Caruso) Tonight is Sophia Anne Caruso’s big night. As part of the cast of NBC’s landmark televised live production of “The Sound of Music,” starring Carrie Underwood, Stephen Moyer and Audra McDonald, she’ll be a part of something that hasn’t been done…
MONDAY, NOV. 25, 2013
Object of Affection: Susanna Baylon's special invitation
Some of us hold onto a few bits a pieces of paper for sentimental reasons, but most of the countless notes, forms, to-do lists, etc. that seem to bombard us are quickly discarded. Still, who hasn’t thought about one or two things with regret, realizing…
SUNDAY, NOV. 17, 2013
Object of Affection: Gina Freuen's Portrait of Memories
I suppose you could argue that an artist, especially someone from a family of artists, would naturally be sentimental about artwork. But ceramic artist Gina Freuen’s love for a particular painting is more about the memories within it than the work itself. “The painting was…
SATURDAY, NOV. 9, 2013
Object of Affection: A Silver Merrie-Woode Bracelet
When Susannah Wessel reaches into her jewelry box, she can trace the happiest summer moments of her youth in the simple crescent of a sterling silver bracelet. The band, engraved with her initials on the inside and the letters M and W on the outside,…
THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 2013
Shopping: Mad Hatter Vintage Flea Market this weekend
This weekend, starting Friday at 4pm, the Mad Hatter Vintage Flea Market will bring vintage fun to the Five Mile Prairie Grange. Once again the mother and daughter team of Gladys and Celia Hanning will fill the historic grange with antiques, music and good food.…
TUESDAY, AUG. 20, 2013
Thrift store shopping in Bergen, Norway
After spending a couple of days in Oslo and then a day in Kirkenes , Norway, I boarded the Hurtigruten coastal cruiser "Midnatsol" for a week-long cruise south along the coast to Bergen. Each day I walked down to the gift shop on deck 5…
FRIDAY, AUG. 2, 2013
Once Upon A Time with 'My Book House' stories 4
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of the hours I spent sitting sideways across my grandfather’s big reading chair, one padded chair arm at my back, the other under my knees, and a book under my nose. We had an old set of My…
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013
Hope Chests and Silver Spoons: How girls' graduation gifts have changed
This past weekend in Spokane, thousands of high school seniors graduated and most received gifts from friends and family. My daughter graduated this weekend, as well. And, just as it was with her siblings, our gift was a computer to take to school with her.…
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013
Farm Chicks Antiques Show this weekend
Spokane's homegrown vintage gala event happens this weekend when the annual Farm Chicks Antiques Show hits the Spokane Fair and Expo Center. With everything from rustic farm implements to shabby chic finds to one-of-a-kind handmade items, the sale is always a hit with Spokane vintage…
THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013
Shopping: May Calendar of Vintage Sales
Thanks to Brian Gallagher and Junk Nation Review for the May Treasure Hunting Calendar: The Prairie Sisters Party May 4th 10am - 4pm Admission: $5.00 (children under 10 are free) Missoula County Farigrounds Missoula, MT Down the Rabbit Hole May 4th 10am-4pm 412 West Hazard…
MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013
Shop 'Down the Rabbit Hole' this weekend
Spring fever has been creeping up on us since late March, but Gladys Hanning and Celia Hanning Therens, the mother-daughter team behind Junebug Furniture and Design are willing to bet it will bloom this weekend. So the pair are holding a special spring home and…
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2013
April Calendar of Antiques and Vintage Goods Sales 2
Thanks again to Brian Gallagher of Junk Nation Review for supplying this month's calendar of sales and junkin' opportunities. Check out Junk Nation Review! Custer's 38th Annual Spring Antique & Collectors Sale April 26th 4pm - 9pm $6 admission good all weekend 12 and under…
MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2013
Vintage Clothing: Collecting Mary Maxim Sweaters
I have a big vintage armoire in my bedroom. I found it at Roost Antiques on Main Avenue in downtown Spokane and it stayed there a month or more after I purchased it while I cleared a place for it in my small house. But…
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2013
March Treasure Hunting Calendar
Note: Good news! Brian Gallagher, of Junk Nation Review, will be providing a monthly Treasure Hunting calendar of antiques shows and sales around the region. Happy Junkin'! MARCH 2013 Antique and Collectible Show and Sale calendar provided by Junk Nation Review: Portland Expo Center Antique…
TUESDAY, FEB. 19, 2013
More Than a Century of Winter Fun at Manito Park
The morning after the season’s first snowfall, as I worked at my computer I could look out the window and see a steady parade of people heading down my street toward Manito Park. Parents towed toddlers on sleds and teenagers laughed and pushed and punched…
Cheryl-Anne Millsap writes about antiques and collectibles and the love of all things vintage. Millsap's Home Planet column appears each week in the Wednesday "Pinch" supplement and she is The Spokesman-Review's female automobile reviewer. She is a regular contributor to Spokane Public Radio and her essays can be heard on Public Radio stations across the country. Cheryl-Anne is the author of "Home Planet: A Life in Four Seasons."