Some collections cost very little, take up a small space and are easy to display. Classic cars won’t fit into that category. But you may not need the budget or space Jay Leno has with his garage, to satisfy your desire.

Some weeks back while driving in Western Wisconsin I saw lots of classic and hot rod cars driving on the highways leading toward Minnesota. Bright and beautiful, chrome gleaming in the sunlight one could see the attraction to these old pieces of metal and glass. When filling my empty tank at a service station located off the freeway, I just had to inquire were the gathering was located. Turns out they were headed to a show at the Minnesota State Fair.

Each week there seems to be another gathering of classic and hot rod cars at several of the fast food chains in the area, and when passing I always just peek at the lineup, but have never stopped to jaw with the show people. But with my renewed interest in collections of all kinds, I thought we should go to one of the bigger gatherings in the Milwaukee area. It was my intention to find out what car collecting was all about.

The Fourth Of July Classic Car Show is held at a nearby Chevy dealer, Holtz Motors, with the annual show in its twenty-sixth year.

First one we admired was a 1956 Studebaker Powerhawk.

Another custom job was the 1937 Chevy.

Then a 1956 Chevy Bel Air.

A real custom piece was this peach-colored Ford

The blue car (?) had a sale price tag of $68,000.

We stopped by this 1933 Chevy. Bright red. Seated by the car was Edie whose husband Jerry was the one who found this car 8 years ago in Michigan. In very poor state of repairs and Jerry worked for over 7 years in rebuilding it. One of the special features of this model she shared with us was that this was the only year they had a roll-down back window, making it pretty unique.

She also showed us the inside of the door which had the number “33” impressed into the cloth. She called the coloring “liquid red” which was a trial and error process to get as close to the red of its time. Most of the car was steel, other than the running boards. To have these made in steel would have been approx. $10,000, so they opted for them to be made of fibre glass. These would have originally been wooden. She told us that Jerry was a perfectionist and put his heart and soul into this car. They had a young man of 26 paint the car at a cost of about $10,000 but she proudly showed us that there was no ripples or bumps – no bondo either.

She told us that in the case of painters of these collector cars that you either have “it” or you don’t and this man had it! What a wonderful job! Jerry had the steering wheel custom-made. We asked if she drove it and she said that this was “his baby” and while she could drive it if she wished, she preferred to be a passenger, giving Jerry the sense of pride he deserved for a job well done. They do a few other car shows a year and told us they were involved with the Johnny Z’s Show that donates to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Edie was very pleasant and knowledgeable and proud of the job her husband had done and the way the Chevy turned out.

We came across a 1956 Mercury with absolutely incredible amounts of chrome.

This purple 1957 Chevy was an eye-catcher too.

And check out the open/glass hood on this 1957 Olds. Called a Rocking 88.

The owner of this 1957 Chevy had a great sense of humor. The car-hop’s tray remains in the window from the old drive-in!

The show was so large that I want to continue in my Friday article with an interview of the original owner of a 1957 Thunderbird that was restored.

While these collectors have a good deal invested in their collections, the enthusium they have for there obsession is incredible. I’ll show a few more views on Corvette Row, a vintage race car and other classics.

Sunday I gave you a (perhaps not-too) brief over-view of the history of paint by numbers. Today, I bring you the reasons why such paintings were created in overwhelming numbers and are collected today.

Many will spout-off the notion that paint by numbers have always been the kitschy works of silly suburban conformists, but that’s simply not the case. Postwar life left the average person with more leisure time than ever before — and more money too. While passive spectator opportunities, like television, were a-plenty, the old “idle hands” mantra left many people equating leisure with laziness and wishing for something to do.

Karal Ann Marling, Professor of Art History and American Studies at the University of Minnesota, has written several books about the sensibilities of the 1950s. In As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s she paints the PBN trend as an outgrowth of World War II hobby-ism rather than an a sign of conformity:

National surveys taken in the 1930s, when the Depression curtailed spending on equipment and travel, disclosed a sedentary pattern of recreation: respondents were reading magazines and listening to the radio and visiting with friends. What they really wanted to do, however, was to play tennis and golf, plant a garden, go swimming or skating. In the 1940s, wish became reality. Between 1947 and 1953, revenues for spectator sports and amusements showed a marked dip, despite increases in population and income and the insatiable demand for TV sets. …Market research proved that it was the heaviest TV-watchers who were liable to be most interested in painting a still life or reupholstering the living room sofa. Power tools and other do-it-yourself accessories were a $12 billion industry by the end of the decade; $30 million more went for amateur art supplies. “There seems to be a major trend away from passive, crowd amusements toward active pursuits that people can carry on independently,” concluded a highly regarded study of this “Changed America” with plenty of time on its hands.

More than other pastimes which grew during this time (such as collecting!), the do-it-yourself spirit was also a way for man, woman and child to find his or her way in this new world. It was non-conformist:

Do-it-yourselfism, in particular, was the last refuge for the exercise of control and competence in a world run by the bosses and the bureaucrats. It was a throwback, a rebuke to a buy-it-in-a-box world of TV dinners and ready-made everything.

As Michael Kimmelman wrote in Art View; Painting by Numbers: How Bad Was It?, “Paint-by-numbers enthusiasts and Abstract Expressionists alike were affected by the same 50’s Zeitgeist: the tension between social strictures and personal freedom.”

And Klein knew it too. He was very selective in choosing the designs for Craft Master paint by number kits. Dan Robbins, Craft Master’s head designer, said this to The New York Times in 2001:

“Mr. Klein placed his bets instead on the postcard scenes and calendar art of barns in Maine, and fair-faced collies, pigtailed Indian princesses and coolies in China-the pictures that America saw and smiled at when it closed its eyes to the realities of a nuclear age, urban sprawl and a growing multiculturalism. And masterpieces: though 90 percent of the art was original, reproductions likeda Vinci’s “Last Supper” were best-sellers.

Painting now could be an enjoyable pastime, a therapeutic outlet; not only reserved for the trained and talented.

However, painting by a kit was a very American idea.

Marling says paint by numbers were, “the most American thing you can imagine in that you package up everything you need in a box instead of going through lengthy instruction in how to paint or how to mix colors. It was a personal experience for the painter.” She continued, “You could almost call it supermarket Freudianism.”

But you don’t have to take our word for it; in 2001, the Smithsonian had an exhibit on paint by numbers.

While PBN collecting began in the 80’s, the Smithsonian exhibit has given quite a boost to PBN collector cred — and to the prices of paintings themselves.

Naturally, the original designs of Dan Robbins are the most valuable. Printed on canvas (actually material made for window shades), these 36 designs are gaining respectability in the fine art world. But other works by artists such as Adam Grant can fetch hundreds of dollars too. Paint by numbers can also be collected by theme, with nudes, ballerinas, French scenes & celebrity paintings typically bringing the highest dollars.

Some collectors are in love with paint by numbers for the historical reason; others for the artistic ones.

Yes, artistic.

Does the fast rate automatically negate the possibility of first rate? Pletan collectors would have to say, “No.” And as Marling said, “It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference if they made a million of these sets; each person had an individual experience painting them.” And it shows.

While some object to the stamped boards of sameness which are to be painted according to ordained rules, we PBN collectors know that many did paint outside the lines, adding images, painting over what they didn’t like, or otherwise personalizing their works. And even when folks didn’t, they still produced unique folk art pieces. The kits may have been mass produced, but individuals created each painted piece.

Some of us PBN fans collect for both the history and the art itself. Which is why I’m not certain of the fate of this 1963 Craft Master paint by number we scored at a garage sale earlier this summer. We might paint it; we might not.

Many say that the paint by number hey-day is long over. They claim the it’s-not-art-it’s-conformism of the 60’s marks the official time of death for paint by numbers; yet the kits continue to be painted — and continue to be made. Check out kits by Bubbles The Artist (additional kits at Bubbles & Cheesecake), and the personalized paint-by-number kits from your photos, available at 1-2-3 ART. Paint by numbers even inspired fabric design.

And we collect them with a passion. We don’t hide them either. Why would we?

Can’t get enough of paint by numbers?

Along with the links here and in part one, check out the following resources:

• Le Salon de Paint By Numbers
• The new Paint By Number Museum
• Paint By Number: The How-To Craze that Swept the Nation by William L. Bird, Jr., curator at the National Museum of American History and organizer of the 2001 Smithsonian exhibition of paint by numbers.
• Larry Rubin is PBN collector who puts out a quarterly newsletter called Paint-by-numbers. An annual subscription is $20. For more information, contact him at: Larry Rubin, 2100 N.E. 52 Court, Ft.Lauderdale. FL 33308; 954-267-0408: E-mail: rubin@pstcomputers. com

And if you are a PBN collector, why not show them off in the Collectors’ Quest Community? I’d love to see ‘em!

All images are photos from my small collection — I’ll be adding more, soon.

Many mock paint by number paintings, saying it’s-not-art-it’s-conformism. “This,” they say, “is not art.” It’s kitsch at its worst, and at its best it’s a hobby. We collectors disagree. Maybe it’s just ‘cuz we love our paint by number paintings; but maybe it’s because we know things that you mockers don’t.

Today, we begin with the history…

The Palmer Paint Company (Detroit, Michigan) introduced the first paint-by-number kits at the New York Toy Show in 1951, creating Craft Master as its premium line of PBN.

Some might say, “And the rest is history”. But I’m not that short-winded; nor was the story so neat and tidy as to stay within the lines.

The story begins in 1949 when Dan Robbins was working as a package designer for Max Klein at Palmer Paint Company in Detroit, Michigan. Robbins, inspired by childhood memories of coloring & painting, as well as the story of how Michelangelo assigned pre-numbered sections of his famous ceiling to his students to paint, pitches the idea for paintings created by applying paint to color-coded canvases to his boss. Klein resists at first, but eventually he gives the idea a try.

Rumors suggest that Klein was approached by two employees of the Picture Craft Company of Decatur, Illinois, a company already producing similar art sets consisting of a rolled canvas and glass jars containing paint, though they were “mystery” pictures, where the painter only discovered what they were painting only by applying the appointed colors. Picture Craft Co. had been selling the kits to the military through mail order but wanted Palmer Paint to create both a greater quantity of the sets and a broader national market for them. As the story goes, Klein agrees, starts production, but Picture Craft doesn’t produce the money for the goods and Palmer Paint Co. has to market the sets themselves to get rid of the stock, leaving an opening to go forward with Robbins’ ideas.

Robbins’ first prototype was Abstract No. 1, an impressionist still life painted with tempera colors on cardboard. Klein thought it was not only not marketable, but ugly too. He sent Robbins back with instructions for better designs and the first Craft Master set was “The Fishermen”. It included a canvas stamped with the numbered outline of the scene, gel caps of oil paint, and a palette.

But still selling the sets wasn’t easy.

In the preface to What Ever Happened To Paint-By-Numbers?, Dan Robbins writes:

Most people think paint-by-numbers was an immediate success. Not true! In the beginning we couldn’t give our sets away. It took almost two years to get our paint-by-number business off the ground. When we finally did, it took off like a rocket. All we could do was hang on for dear life.

If you think the troubles of the early years were comprised of resistance to the concept of such paintings as “art”, let me hip you to some facts.

First, the matter of paint by number paintings being art — or, rather, not being art — wasn’t really an issue in the 50’s. Recreation specialists & home economists had began to speak of hobbies as more than a way to beat the unemployed Depression-era-nothing-to-do-blues, more than a way to improve moral, but as “the fifth freedom,” along with freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear. The prevailing wisdom of the postwar period was that creative hobbies enhanced life and made it worth living, prompting popular celebrities like Frank Sinatra & Dinah Shore to paint as a pastime. With “Sunday painters” like President Eisenhower and Winston Churchill, even the military had adopted this mindset, setting up hobby craft shops the Pacific Theater and opening the first hobby craft shop at the Alameda Naval Air Station in California — which is why Picture Craft was selling kits via mail order to the military.

Sure, there was some initial resistance to a new idea, at least from store buyers; but the first real problem with selling paint by numbers lay with the Palmer Paint Company itself, thwarting its own sales.

Craft Master’s Klein began by cut a deal with his golf buddies, who were buyers at Kresge (K-Mart), to stock the kits. But the first test order was botched because in their haste to produce the kits, Palmer Paint Co. had mixed-up the paint color palettes so that the Kit A had Kit had Kit B’s colors, etc. Kresge had to take back the kits & refund the customers. With all the complaints Kresge told Klein to forget the deal. That news got around and orders were slim-to-none.

In November of 1950, Klein convinced the Macy’s toy buyer to let Palmer Paint demonstrate the Craft Master kits in their department store during the New York Toy Show. Palmer Paint promised Macy’s that the department store would only have to pay for the sets sold and that all unsold sets would be taken back — and Palmer Paint would pay for an ad in the New York Times announcing that Craft Master sets were available at Macy’s. Macy’s agreed. But Palmer Paint wouldn’t leave it at that. In OUTRÉ Magazine Robbins said:

We knew that, after placing the ad, setting up a demonstration and display, we would surely sell some sets, but we left nothing to chance. We decided to guarantee ourselves that, one way or another. Macy’s would be sold-out by the end of the Toy Show. Max gave each of our two New York reps $250, and instructed them to give it out to friends, relatives, neighbors, anyone who would be willing to come into Macy’s and purchase one of our Craft Master sets. It doesn’t exactly sound kosher, but we knew Paint-By-Numbers was a winner, and wanted to do whatever it took to convince Macy’s and everybody else that it was.

Kosher or not, the Macy’s event combined with the New York Toy Show itself gave Craft Master and paint by number kits the push needed. And in 1952, an amateur painter in San Francisco entered & won third place at an art competition with one of Craft Master’s kits, Robbins’ Abstract #1 (yup, the first rejected prototype). Both the press and the public had a field day noting how judges could not tell the difference between a paint by number work and Modern Art — an art style in its hey-day, but one many people at the time were confused by &/or fed up with.

This was the tipping point for paint by numbers. They became so popular that The White House even hung paint-by-number paintings by J. Edgar Hoover, Nelson Rockefeller and others in a West Wing corridor along with other artists’ original works. In 1953, Picture Craft was out of business, and Craft Master was “It” with a capital “I”.

But while paint by numbers were a hot new trend, it was also a new business. And Craft Master was having traditional business problems, such as properly pricing their kits for a profit. John Robbins explains to John Rossi in OUTRÉ Magazine issue 17:

The first time we attempted this, we started with “Paint-A-Star.” One of our reps knew the agent who represented Dinah Shore, Liberace, Bob Hope, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. My assignment was to do Liberace. I must have painted Liberace 20 times, and every time I sent it to him for his approval, he always found problems with his hair. It was too long, it was too dark, it was too gray.

Anyway, Max came to me one day and said, “Dan, you tell me - can we do this or not?” …I told him I thought we could. …We also came up with a pretty clever way to present the idea to the buyers.

First, we secretly acquired photos of all the buyers from the various department stores. We converted the photos into numbered canvases, included paint, brushes, complete instructions - all packaged into prototype packaging - just as the product would appear in the retail stores. We not only presented each of the seven or eight major buyers with their very own Paint-By-Numbers kit, but each of them also received a finished portrait, beautifully framed, with their name inscribed on a gold metal plate. That’s a presentation! Ultimately, the personalized portrait failure could be blamed on the simple fact that we couldn’t turn a profit on the suggested retail price of $19.95. We had underestimated the cost of hand labor in converting the original photos to a numbered outline. We probably sold two or three thousand at $19.95 - and we lost our ass! We couldn’t make any money on it, in spite of the fact that Life magazine picked it up, The Wall Street Journal, we had all kinds of publicity. It was a good idea, but it bombed.

As far as the consumer went, PBN was a hit. By 1954, Palmer had sold some twelve million kits, was producing 50,000 kits per day, and had as many as 30 competitors making their own PBN sets.

No wonder we all remember paint by number paintings.

As I said, originally the Craft Master kits were printed on rolled canvas, but when competition entered the market with kits consisting of the now-familiar boards with light-blue outlines and using acrylics rather than oils, Craft Master followed suit. (Naturally, these canvas paint by numbers are highly sought after and more expensive.)

The year given for this change is 1955, which is the same year the company, which had filed for bankruptcy, was purchased by the Donofrio brothers of Toledo, Ohio, whose company had been supplying the containers for Palmer paints and the Craft Master kits. While the kits were now selling well, the early problems combined with the pricing issues had put the company Craft Master in a financial hole; naturally the Donofrio brothers wouldn’t want to lose their own paint container sales, so they bought the company.

A few years later, General Mills (who had been busy buying Parker Brothers, MPC Model Kits, Play-Doh, Lionel Trains, and Kenner in the U.S. as well as international toy companies) bought Craft Master, placing it under its Fundimensions line.

General Mills even came back to Robbins with an idea to improve the personal paint by number portraits:

…and they said to me, “Dan, the age of computers is here. What you couldn’t do then, we can now do with computers. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to head this group.” The group was ITEK Corporation, a group that was doing work for the space shuttle and had all the technology in the world. Their language was so technical, I couldn’t understand it. But the final product was a series of tiny squares with printed numbers corresponding to a particular color, instead of a picture that resembles what the final picture might look like. Suffice it to say that, even though the finished painting looked great, it was much more difficult and complicated to paint than the Paint-By-Numbers everybody had been used to.

The General Mills toy division was spun-off as Kenner Parker Toys Inc. (1985), which was then purchased by the Tonka Corporation (1987), which was purchased by Hasbro (1991). But Vicky Edwards Gehrt in a 1995 Chicago Tribune piece wrote that Craft Master ended up with International Assemblix, now called Craft House. (Craft House is currently run by Chartpak, Inc., and doesn’t use the Craft Master name, but rather the Original Paint-By-Number® slogan.)

Stay tuned; Monday I present more on why paint by numbers were so popular then — and why they charm collectors today.

All images from the Paint By Number Museum.

For just about everyone in the 22 to 28 age range, The Batman Animated Series was our definition of ‘the who’ and ‘the what’ of the ephemeral Batman. We were too young for the campy POW! ZAP! Adam West Batman, and the comic book Neal Adams and George Perez Batmen were going out of style, so we had the cartoons.

(Please come to DVD soon, Adam West!)

The DC Animated Universe has consistently released cartoons and DVD movies since 1994, and almost all of them have been well received and enjoyed by fans who otherwise would be comic book purists - so I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of reaction the newest Batman DVD, Batman : Gotham Knight, would find with these same fans. I complain that vapid, product-placement anime destroyed Saturday morning cartoons, and then went on to devour afterschool cartoons also, but when anime-styled animation is good, it’s amazing. FLCL, Evangelion, Paranoia Agent - all good things.

The new Batman DVD isn’t one story, but six related stories, each one written and directed by different noteworthy directors and authors. Because of the six approaches to Batman, he takes on six different appearances during the film, but since Batman is invariably, distinctly Batman, it’s not distracting at all - except for maybe the out-of-costume Bruce Wayne moments, when he vacillates between dreamy, androgynous yaoi character to older, grizzly uber-masculine warrior.

My personal favorite tale of the six is the very first one, in which four skate kids recount their encounters with Batman, remembering him as the otherworldly, mythological forms that he implies. The Batman that I enjoy most in any media is the one that the general citizens of Gotham know of in this mythological sense; he may or may not exist, they might have seen him once, they’ve heard tales of him, but there’s nothing concrete to prove that he exists. To these kids, Batman is everything from a shapeshifting, shadowy ghost, to a giant bat creature, to an invincible robot. The truth is actually very moving, and the animation is simple, fluid and visceral.

The other five Batman tales are action-packed, from fast-paced battles with Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Deadshot, to the occasional contemplative exploration of how Batman became what he is, how he’s helping Gotham, and why he’s loved and hated. The whole series of short films brings us back to the dark, half-frozen-in-time Gotham that we love from the original Animated Series, and the original voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, even voices Batman in all six shorts. Some of the stories seem open ended and unsatisfying until you see how they all tie together, and all of them are tremendously beautiful. So, when I say ‘anime’, I’m not talking Pokemon or Monster Rancher or any other show that advocates cute ‘n’ cuddly cockfighting. Every frame and hint (or absence) of color paints a breathtaking picture of Gotham as it was meant to be seen - an extension of Batman’s being, which he fights tirelessly to cleanse.

After watching it, it’s really clear how much energy, creativity, and faithfulness to Batman was involved in the production - and anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m kinda picky about my Batman. Parents should note that this is a PG-13 DVD - mostly because of an animated decapitation, a little bit of blood, and gun violence. If there was any significant profanity, it didn’t stand out, because it was completely appropriate to the situation.

DVD bonuses for this basic edition are limited to a commentary track, and non-animated ’sneak peek’ at WB’s upcoming Wonder Woman animated movie. There’s a 2-disc edition to look for also, which includes a second disc replete with neat extras - documentaries, Batman episodes and more.

It’s a stellar production, and my favorite of all of the post-Justice League Unlimited Animated Universe. Go out, get it. It’s good to see that cartoons can still be taken seriously.

And collectors! DC Direct releasing a Batman : Black and White statue based on this animation on July 9th, so go out and get that also!

 Once again, we set up to sell at the fabulous Elkhorn Antiques Fair at the Walworth County Fair Grounds in Wisconsin. This Fair is run by N.L. Promotions, in their 27^th year and it still remains the best in the area. It has kept its integrity and has not allowed the “tube socks and Tupperware” dealers to peddle their wares! We always find super bargains here as well!

The weather was ‘iffy’ at best but hubby and I set up on Saturday afternoon. Friends always say “boy, that sounds like a lot of fun!” and “you guys must really make a lot of money doing that.” But when it comes time to setting up, they are at a picnic or relaxing in a lawn chair. It is doubtful that they realize how much work goes into it. In addition to hunting for items to sell, I usually spend 24-30 hours during the week doing research on identifying what we have to sell, then pricing, wrapping, and finally, another 2-3 hours are filled in loading up. It’s over an hour drive from our home and we head out early Saturday afternoon.

This time we barely got several of the tables set up, and filled when the skies darkened. We re-wrapped the pieces that could be hurt by moisture, tarped the rest and sat in the van, waiting. And boy, did it rain. Big, heavy drops pelted the windows and the winds came up too. I wish I had brought a bunch of umbrellas from my collection!

About 30 minutes later, the sky was blue and we ventured out again. Hubby took a squeegy to the tables, we dumped out bowls, wiped everything down and cautiously put out our wares. A few buyers came over, we had a some ‘early-sales’ and we continued to work until 7-ish. Then once again, we put away the pieces that could be damaged by the rain, covered the rest and headed home for a quick snooze.

The next morning we arose at 4:00 A.M., cleaned up, grabbed some coffee and headed back to the Fairgrounds. It was a beautiful morning, cool and clear and we were so relieved since rain was predicted. The weathermen who love to cover their butts now do the percentage thing. They’ll say “50% chance of rain”, which means they are right either way. Not too many jobs where you can give that type of projection and still stay employed. “Hey, Steve – what are the chances these car seats are safe?” “Oh, I’d say about 50%.” “Great job Steve-o!”

In any case, the weather was wonderful and the crowd gathered early; gates open at 7 but we all know that dealers buy from dealers so we had several sales before then.

Hubby is always optimistic and cheerful, calling out “what a gorgeous day” to all who entered our booth. You hear all sorts of responses from “Yep, sure is” to “it’s really too cool” to “Yes, but the sun is too bright” or “Sure wish it was not so darn breezy” to the one we hate most or all “You are right but it is GOING TO RAIN!” We always shoo those folks away, no matter how much they would buy.

But they were right; not just 50% moist but 100%. Before you could say “Why now black cloud?” the skies opened up. We raced around with tarps, covering what we could, putting items into the back of our vans. Then we sat, dripping wet in the van, trying to remain positive.  chatted and made comments such as “It was moving pretty quickly so it will end soon”, or “Just an isolated shower” and the like. It ended after about 15 minutes and once again, vibrant blue skies and puffy white clouds appeared. We came out again and cleaned tables, wiped everything down, bringing out the wood and paper items. The crowds became quite heavy and we had some decent sales. I would yell out “come on in – everything was just freshly cleaned!” We do have our fun. Years ago, hubby had a rubber mallet, bright green and very ‘limp.’ He’d act like a barker and pound it on the table. It brought on a lot of smiles. He is the type who can always do a 15 minute show anywhere! Much too young for vaudeville, but that’s where he could have really done his ’schtick.’

Well, you guessed it, our reverie was short-lasted and the black clouds re-appeared. We usually stay set up until 4 or 5, then slowly begin taking the tables down. But it was about 2:30 when we started to close ‘er up. And it was a good thing, because as we put the last box in the van and slammed the door, it rained again.

Well, now you are thinking – are these people, nuts? All that work for what??? It may surprise those of you who have never done it, but it was actually fun. You meet a lot of nice people, many from out of the area. They share stories on their collections and what they are hoping to find. You learn more about the trends and what people are seeking and you often re-affirm that what you have been offering is what collectors want to find so you can continue your passion of the hunt. It is an ‘instant gratification’ thing, albeit some of the items have been around a while. We enjoy our day together and even the dripping wet part makes us laugh. If that stops being fun, then perhaps we’ll stop too. But for now, it’s our hobby and we love it!