Antique Spectacular draws lookers, buyers

TAMARA FUDGE

Come rain or shine, the Quad-Cities Antique Spectacular is being held this weekend at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. Attendance for the three-day event is expected to top 3,000 people, many of whom are looking for just the right bargain.

“What we’re seeing is a resurgence of people seeing the value of not always having everything new,” show promoter Kimberly Schilling said. “Young people are becoming collectors.”

More than 70 exhibitors came from as far away as Texas to show and sell antique furniture, glassware, jewelry, books, postcards, quilts and quite a few unusual items.

“My mom suggested I go into the business,” said Lisa Rastello of Milkweed Antiques in Chicago. She reminisced about “dime stores like Kresge’s” where many of her items may have first been found.

Rows of miniature beds, dressers, chairs and even bathroom fixtures filled several of the trays at Rastello’s booth, including die cast Tootsie Toy, plastic Renwal and wooden Strombecker pieces.

German Christmas ornaments more than 100 years old were available through Robinson’s Antiques of Rock Island.

“These were hand-blown into a mold, mercury filled, and then cold hand-painted,” said Ann Robinson. Shapes included fruits and fish in addition to the more familiar Santas, birds, bells and horns.

The ornaments are typically very fragile.

“Many were stored in cold, wet basements or hot attics,” Robinson said.

A folk art watercolor painted on brown wrapping paper and a few pairs of Canadian snowshoes were part of Richard Housman’s offerings.

“I’ve been in the business since I was a student at Augustana,” said Housman, whose shop is located in Pleasant Valley.

Lisa Falk-Thompson of Tree House Antiques in Shenandoah, Iowa, is trying to sell her late father’s inventory, which includes Chinese figurines called mudmen.

“It’s a village industry,” she said, and each village has its own style. The figurines are as small as 1-inch tall and often portray two or three men playing a game.

Exhibitors and visitors share a lot of information, according to Shirley Kramm of Weather Vane Antiques in Cedarburg, Wis. An 1880s memory box with inlaid lid and the name “Gerda” was determined to be Swedish rather than German thanks to a visitor at a previous show.

Also at Kramm’s booth are large andirons crafted by blacksmith Cyril Colnik. Visitors often suggest what the original use of a large cup-like feature might have been.

“It is most enjoyable to be at this show,” Kramm said. “The people who come are curious, interested, and they buy.”