One advantage to researching and selecting fine antiques for furnishing and decorating your home, office or condo is their improving value over time. Antiques and collectibles that have endured for many decades not only serve their intended function but can increase in value as time passes. It’s fantastic to sit on, sit at, serve with, display or wear an antique and know with care and preservation the item will reward your bottom line.

Our visit this weekend was to the prestigious antique show held by the Wisconsin Antique Dealers Association, (WADA) at the Waukesha Expo-Forum Building in Waukesha ,Wisconsin. This was the third and last show of the current year, and as always was well attended by enthusiastic buyers.

Fifty-three booths were filled with a wonderful assortment of antiques, from advertising to toys, paper, jewelry, silver, furniture, art and china. Country, primitive, American and English pieces filled different booths dependent on the specialty of the dealer. Members came from four states, and the variety of offerings assured any visitor a great view of the past and an opportunity to purchase many spectacular items.

Because of the WADA credo, a buyer can be assured their purchase is as represented by the member dealer. Each show is also vetted by their peers to assure the authenticity of the items.

The dealers at any of these antique shows are very informative and eager to share knowledge of their specialty, the present state of the business and what trends they see in the market. Beside selling at antique shows many of the dealers associated with WADA have several venues for sales including their own shops, selling on the web or through upscale antique malls. Those without store locations sell by appointment. An observation I found interesting, most booths are family affairs, couples working as partners in the business.

Some of the members are also affiliated with the Chicago Suburban Antique Dealers Association, (CSADA). That group sponsors the Fall Fox Valley Show being held at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, IL on October 20-21 2007. That show will feature fifty-five dealers from 14 states.

While wifey was searching each booth for additions to her collection of jewelry and hand mirrors, I was scouting around for cufflinks.

While at the WADA show, I had the good fortune to meet the president of WADA, Mr. Tom Archie and his wife Nancy, at their Calico Cat Antiques booth. They have been members of WADA for ten years, and Tom has served as president for the past three. Nancy serves as the show manager, so we have her to thank for bringing together a fantastic show.

Calico Cat features turn of the century American and Victorian furniture in oak, walnut, cherry, butternut, pine and maple, and offers professional restoration services.

Their booth was filled with wonderful pieces many obtained from Wisconsin. Tom and Nancy owned a shop in the Milwaukee area for many years and built a reputation for quality. Today they sell through these shows or by appointment. Repeat buyers attend the shows or contact them when another antique item is wanted.

Also taking a moment to speak to me was Bob Steinert at the Country Peddler Antiques booth, while his wife Cindy was busy attending to customers. Their location is in Oostburg, Wisconsin just north of the Milwaukee metro area. Featuring eighteenth and nineteenth century furniture and accessories, many acquired from the New England area.

Bob stressed the importance of younger buyers picking quality pieces for long term investment, that are aesthetically pleasing and fill a useful function within the home. And might I add, it’s another way to diversify your portfolio, with something more than just another piece of paper.

May I suggest looking for similar associations in your area. Then visit some dealer member’s shops and enjoy the opportunity to see the variety at an antique show.

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Not only is is obvious (and lame) to say that the reasons for collecting are as varied as the collections themselves, but I’ve already discussed that the meaning and purpose of collecting is rather personal and defined by the individual. However, I find the limitlessness of replies to the question, “Why collect?’” fascinating.

Some collect as a hobby, much like gardening, doing puzzles or playing an instrument; it’s an activity. Maybe even an educational activity.

Some are thrill seekers who see hunting for and biding on objects as far more thrilling than gambling because you leave with something no matter how much you spend. Others see collecting as an investment, where each object will increase in value or the sum total of the lot is worth more than each individual piece. Or maybe it’s just cheaper to get the ‘old used pens’ than to buy new ones at the store.

But others collect not so much for the activity or economic reasons as for the objects themselves.

The objects sought may simply be to reclaim what they lost, or what they never had. It’s the completion and perfection of their own personal histories they seek. It’s reclaiming something they lost, or never had, which makes them feel more complete themselves.

Some collect for ‘the bigger picture.’ They preserve history. Some objects when gathered together tell the history of specific groups, reflect specific periods of time, or keep a corporate history.

Other collections are objects which when gathered together provide details not just of what did happen, but also what’s happening now; they are both past and present. Maybe even the future?

Others collect things because together the seemingly unrelated objects tell a story — even if that story is hard to define. (Maybe the story is not complete yet? Or maybe I am just rationalizing my passion for stuff… Who can tell for certain?)

Some collections may begin with questions and the objects themselves are proof of answers. Some of these collections may be scientific, or a way to justify concerns; others are more mystical. Some may prove the collector ‘right,’ others may prove the collector ‘wrong,’ and still others may just prove that the quest continues.

For some collectors, theirs is a solo collection. They alone define and refine their collection; they alone add items to it. Others collect in groups — libraries, museums etc where the one organized group is dedicated to one specific collection. And some single collectors collect for groups — I know a number of ladies who collect vintage high school yearbooks and other area photos of families and homes because they volunteer for the local historical society or help locals with genealogy searches.

Of course, there are the collectors who began for one reason, say to get all the lunchboxes they had when they were young but getting all six of those, they continue collecting retro lunchboxes as a hobby. Or maybe the thrill of finding rare designer fashions & accessories and reselling them has become a quick turn-around investment. Still others may have once delighted in collecting old botanical books for their beauty or personal reasons, but now see that their collection is part of a larger collection, a larger mission.

The layers or combinations are as limitless as the reasons themselves — hence my asking, again, “Why collect?”

Now, it’s your turn to answer.

You may post a comment or a link to your own blog with the answer, or you can email me if you’d like. I’d just like to hear those replies… I’m fascinated!

While many folks went about trying to predict what to collect now as investments, I thought I’d ponder not what to buy in case prices soar or guess trends (even if based on big ticket items sold), but rather focus on what 2006 looked like.

Twenty or thirty years from now collectors will be looking for the iconic items which remind them of days gone by. What might you have lying about your house now that you might want to box up for future auction sales?

For starters, check out the Top 10 2006 lists.

For news stories, remember newspapers, including local coverage of events. (Don’t forget digital formats, such as podcasts and webshots.)

When it comes to entertainment, I wouldn’t recommend the books, DVDs, CDs, video games etc themselves — with so many sold, they may not be the gems. Go for the more rare items and promotional tie-ins, like the toys your kids had to have but don’t treat with much care? Like those Star Wars toys, I bet Harry Potter figurines fare no better… Don’t overlook items from reality TV — be they one-hit recording wonders or the winners of some island survival they are more than trivia fodder, they are the ‘where are they now?’ folks people will be looking for later. Never overlook the more likely to be tossed, lost, or destroyed items made of paper.

The latest tech gadgets, hot now, may be as antiquated and charming as the record player and the typewriter are to us today. So maybe you don’t want to toss all your out-dated toys when you upgrade. And keep an eye out for the oddest tech toys released this year which may not be around at the end of 2007.

But some of the real gems, the stuff that collector’s dreams are often made of, are the silliest stuff yet. It’s the stuff that makes up our pop culture. It’s the stuff you may not pay much attention to now, but years from now will have 2006 ‘written all over it’ later on. Whatever you feel is over-rated, annoying, and even not interesting to you personally now, may be the holy grail in 20 years.

A good place to look for ideas are shows and blogs which mock our current culture, like VH1’s Best Week Ever (and best of 2006). These shows illustrate how news stories became part of our pop culture through products and media. For example, killer bees in the 70’s. Sure, there are those who track the devils now, but who wouldn’t want part of the hysteria including memorabilia from the SNL Killer Bee sketches?

In 2006 Saddam Hussein and Miss Nevada haven’t been free from the exploitation, however tacky & temporary, which will likely bring great profits in the future.

Sure, these shows and blogs are filled with more celebrity ‘news’ than most of us care to live through viewing (or admitting to, as the case may be), but if they’re gossiped about now, these are the icons we’ll remember.

Who is on the cover of People Magazine? I’m sure folks in the 50’s were sick-to-death of that stupid Marilyn Monroe woman… Who knows, Paris Hilton could be the next Marilyn as far as fans of the future go — so won’t all those tabloids be worth something!

So go ahead, make a time capsule for 2006; but don’t bury it where it may get damaged.

Put it some place safe and even if no one wants to buy it, you’ll have a great time explaining all this stuff (and the personalities) to your kids and grandkids. *wink*