Carpenter's Tools

Carpenter's Tools

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

As simple carpenter's tools get more colorful, more clean-edged, more slick...the more I like the old ones. There are brass-hinged wooden rulers with their numbers nearly worn off and mahogany-handled squares inlaid with brass designs, along with chunky, old handsaws that seem too sweet to ever threaten a piece of wood.

Arranged in haphazard or organized fashion, these manly old everyday buddies give you a world of interest at bargain prices.

When you feature these craftsmen-made artifacts, it is easy to see that they are not ordinary at all, but individual, personal and extremely beautiful.

Gathered Chandeliers

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ 07848
973-383-6057

If you were to gather up a beautiful bouquet in your hands and tie it up with a length of rope, you would have the inspiration behind the floral chandeliers of the mid-1900's.

As flowers are soft and fragile and metal so strong and durable, the very use of the material creates an appealing contrast.

Since the painted surfaces have had 40-odd years to mellow, these chandeliers usually possess nice old patinas whether pristine or worn and chipped. They are flowery fantasies that, once lit, lend a vintage garden flavor.

Everyone Gets a Pagoda

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

In the late 1800's, the English economy was booming. Working folks, who formerly just wished they could own some beautifully decorated dinnerware, suddenly found it possible. It was called "transferware." Copied from earlier, hand-painted ceramics, these prepared, stock designs were applied in scenic patterns, whether Oriental, pastoral or floral. Quantity and affordablity made transferware the rage of the day. One can imagine the kilns of the English potteries never cooling off.

I think of the young women of the period, carefully choosing their favorite color (red, blue, brown, green, mulberry and black). So many choices. Instead of lunch or a book club meeting, "girl's day out" might have meant a trip to the mercantile to add another piece to the household collection. How lovely, meeting a friend to discuss the merits of a farm scene vs. an Asian landscape.

The introduction of transferware just may represent a turning point in anthropology... the moment when homes got prettied-up for pretty's sake and shopping for everyday furnishings became a working class pastime.

I think this highly decorative creamware was a brilliant, happy, comforting addition to civilization.

As Time Rolls By

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

As the years roll by, items that aren't "proper" antiques, but vintage, nostalgic and retro, interest us more and more. Out-of-date styles and low-tech materials look familiar, yet dated in a quirky way. Visual buried treasure...like checking out the old high school yearbook.

The roller skates pictured are a good example.

No velcro, nylon or graphite here. These are manly skates...heavy and hand-tied. Their bruised leather and worn wooden wheels are emblems of action. They hail from a time when "circuit" meant once around the rink. I'll wager they spent many a Saturday night laced to a guy falling for a girl, or perhaps, just falling.

Friendly paintings

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ
07848

973-383-6057

Of course, we love old china. There is the richness of the cobalt blue that ginger jars wear and the comfort of the swaggy little borders on plates that filled the cupboards of our childhood.

But oil paintings picturing these items sometimes thrill us even more. It's like seeing an old friend become famous.

Still lifes that offer that "reach-into-the-painting" sensation are a feast for the soul as well as the eye.

As realistic as these portrayals might be, there is
always a softness that canvas renders unavoidable.

Still-life artists possess the knowledge of what touches us and the skill to capture the essence of their subjects.

"Ladle and Plate", Robert Sabo/ 2007
"Ginger Jar", G. Rhodes/ English/ 1923

Container Day

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

Sure...the new merchandise that arrives from the UK looks good set up in the shop. But, let's be honest. It's much more appealing when everything is strewn all over the driveway, half-wrapped and crated.

If it weren't for the elements, etc. , we'd be tempted to walk away, leaving it topsy-turvy, as is, upside down, unpriced and unpolished....the display we all find most intriguing.

Sorry folks, we have to bring it inside!

Tailor's Dummy Re-purposed

Bogwater Jim
Lafayette, NJ

973-383-6057

Tailor's Dummy Re-purposed

Lucky me.....I have the most clever friends! Francis and Barbara, English colleagues, have installed a tailor's dummy in their entryway. It wears a worn leather coat, topped with an old fisherman's jacket, loaded with pockets. This "sculpture" is quirky and has great character, but it wasn't until I examined it closely that I realized it is also the "charging station" for their mobile phones. With the wires snaked up the back, behind the lapels and aimed in different directions , everyone's phone gets its own pocket.

There was no choice...........I had to swipe the idea.

Upon my return, I quickly dressed my old mannequin in a sporty, vintage Admiral's jacket and wired it up. Everyone loves it. It adds personality to the room. I like the way it looks and I like what it hides. Best of all...........It reminds me to charge the phone!