Made for Walkin'

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

And that's just what we do... antique dealers, that is. We walk, and then we walk some more. These buying trips to the UK really are a marathon. Staying with antique dealer friends, Francis and Barbara, means that my alarm clock can never sleep past 4AM, when we are off and running around antique venues in the pre-dawn light. Of course, that is the "Lucky Hour" when you find the best stuff, like oil paintings that have been asleep far longer than you.

I never grow tired of the early buyer buzz. And, seriously, there is so much walking involved in the hunt that it's given new meaning to the term "Boot Sale".

Road Trip

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ

07848

973-383-6057

Have you ever had the distinct feeling that you have stepped back in time? It is a by-product of being an antique dealer.

Several weeks ago on a quick buying trip to the UK, Barbara and Sarah (English pals) and I spent an afternoon road tripping along the antique trail. Laughing off the neccessary U-turns and mis-reads of our primitive map (no GPS for us veterans) we slid into an Antiques Warehouse. This centre offered an opportunity to have tea and a sweet (several choices of delicious looking pies and cakes) set out on an antique table in someone's pitch, all apparently self-serve and on the honor system.

Along with these temptations, we enjoyed piano renditions from the 1940's, played by a member of staff...a well-coiffed woman, handsomely dressed. The entire experience was hauntingly lovely, and certainly not to be found in today's mainstream shops.

When I step back in in time some sleepless night, this memory will be 5 star.