Archive for September, 2010

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED OUR EFFORTS!

We were very happy to present

Hibiscus Children’s Center

a check for $205.00!

Any excuse will do, and who doesn’t love a party?  But to make it special, why not pick a theme?  A decade, celebrity, event, sports, movie, lifestyle, cuisine, season – the possibilities are endless.  If you’re celebrating someone’s birthday or anniversary, the year can take on a life of its own.

Invitations!
You can buy ready made invitations, but where’s the fun in that?  Using your computer you can make your own.  Photos and clip art can be found online for free (sxc.hu or rgbstock.com come to mind).

Or go for unique.  Postcards with flamingos, parrots, hula girls for a tropical theme.  Having a poker party?  Write your invite on the back of old Monopoly money.  Even if your gathering is by word-of-mouth, put the address and phone number on something unusual and less likely to be misplaced.

Decorate!
Going Western?  Use an old cowboy boot with a glass inside to hold fresh flowers, stick up some John Wayne posters, drape a bullwhip over your hutch, print out a sheet of cattle brands and use a removable glue to attach to drink glasses.

Anniversary or Birthday Party?  Hang up the year’s popular movie posters/celebrities/cars, whether Tommy Dorsey or The Who – album covers really create a time warp, toss around a few magazines like Saturday Evening Post or Life, use dinnerware serving pieces from the era.

Having a Tea Party?  Who says the china has to match?  A different cup/saucer set for each guest is a sure conversation starter.  Doilies and vintage cake plates set a refined and cozy mood.

Game Day?  It’s only one day, so take down the lovely landscape watercolor and hang up a beer sign.  Gather a collection of labeled beer glasses so each guest has a different one.  Find an old helmet, line with aluminum foil and you’ve got your chip bowl.  Recycle a trophy as a prize for the one guessing closest to the final score.  Substitute baseballs in the potpourri bowl.

Have fun and be sure to send us an invite!

Arlene and Al have been with Laura’s Emporium since our grand opening January 1, 2009.  A delightful couple, they’re always at our special events and contribute delicious items to our buffets. 

Originally from Pennsylvania, Arlene (80) has always been involved in antiques, using her three-story Victorian home as a shop for 30 years.  When she decided to make the permanent move to Florida in 1985 she chose Harbor Place in Port St. Lucie.

Sweden-born Al (85) was a Captain in the Suffolk County, NY Police Department, after retirement he moved to Harbor Place in 1999.  They met, married three years ago and moved to Forest Park in Fort Pierce.  Al never had the slightest interest in antiques before meeting Arlene, but she discovered he had a ‘good eye for the stuff’ and now they work together keeping Booth #11 full of a variety of ever-changing items, from tools to paintings to art glass.

Al enjoys building model ships and puzzles.  Not your average puzzles.  He turned an almost full-sized jigsaw puzzle of a grandfather clock into a working clock and donated it to the Forest Park Clubhouse.  Honest – I took pictures.

Laura’s Emporium Antique Mall
on busy U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce
has space available upstairs
5′ x 8′ and 4′ x 8′
$1.50 square foot

We welcome our newest dealer Karen!
You can find her new and exciting items in Booth #10

When I stumbled into this website a while back, my first reaction was “huh?  barbed wire?.”  Of course I had to check this out.  Officially chartered in 1991 as The Historical Museum Of Barbed Wire and Fencing Tools, is a non-profit entity dedicated to preserving the history and artifacts of barbed wire.  The complex, located on Route 66 in McLean, Texas, houses The Devil’s Rope Museum, The Texas Old Route 66 Museum, The Western Heritage Community Room, The Hagemeier Library, and the Museum Mercantile, a large souvenir store.

Even if you don’t give a hoot about barbed wire, their website (http://www.barbwiremuseum.com/index.htm) is a good read, encompassing almost 150 years of American history and the barbed wire woven through it.  Who invented barbed wire, making the wire, how it affected the West, the Fence Cutter Wars, use in warfare, how it attained the moniker “Devil’s Rope”, etc.  Thoroughly enjoyable and informative – students, teachers and historians will find this particularly helpful.

Seen one, seen them all?  Not quite.  There are over 570 patented wires with over 2,000 variations.  Two patents became the most practical and successful, leaving the rest to become part of history and varying from common to very scarce.  Wonderful drawings including clear descriptions take some of the mystery out of the different types of barbs.

Other sections of this website include a special library with recommended reading list, how to identify barbed wire, where it can be purchased, and what is going on today in the barbed wire collecting hobby.  A new wire collection Appraisal Service is now offered for tax, estate, or insurance purposes.

There’s a lot more here:  cattle brands and history, McLean POW camp, Texas Route 66 information.  Artist Al Martin Napoletano is featured with some of his works.  Closely associated with the barbed wire collecting hobby since the early 1970s, Napoletano is a rodeo circuit artist and has illustrated many books.

If you’re planning to travel in Texas, the museum has information about Texas Route 66, The City of McLean, Texas and other nearby areas.  You can see the first restored Phillips Service Station in Texas, learn all about the McLean Prisoner of War Camp built during WWII, stay in a vintage Route 66 Motel, and eat at the world famous Red River Steak House.

Take a look at the museum dedicated to barbed wire – “whose existence is both absolutely beneficial to progress, at times cruel beyond comprehension, caused drastic changes in world-wide warfare, and yet protects our lives twenty-four hours each day.  What more intrigue could you ask of any subject presented to you?”

Tell ‘em I sent ya ~ Victoria