ANTIQUE DEALERS GET CREATIVE WITH GREEN RECYCLING IDEAS IN FLORIDA Dealers in Florida Antique Shows’ east coast locations demonstrate ingenious antique recycling methods.
are $35 and full bracelets with multiple typewriter letter keys are $80 and up. If a customer requests a style or item that is out of stock Roy will make it within thirty minutes out of extra stock carried to shows. One nice source of business for the Barske’s is weddings. They custom make pieces for wedding parties and showers at the request of prospective brides and grooms.
John Atkinson of Boston wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth but he is working on it, one spoon at a time. Actually he used forks too but skips the knives because of the hollow handles. He converts old silver plated or sterling flatware into silver jewelry with magnetic clasps. He couples the interesting design patterns on the handle of forks or spoons into a custom made bracelet with a clasp. He started as a finder of matching silver patterns but ended up with boxes of unused or unmatched silver items. He then realized he could turn a spoon handle pattern into a key ring and his customers would always have a sample of the pattern they were looking for.
From there he expanded into bracelets and rings and will custom make items on request as you wait. He sells silver bracelets for $20 and silver key rings and rings for $5. He also has a wide variety of patterns to pick from and many are monogrammed. Many of his customers want patterns from a certain year. His main complaint is that good stock is getting harder to find. Most patterns from the 1960s were too plain to make decorative jewelry and not as much silver is on the open market today. He has excellent silver pattern reference books and can probably match your silver pattern from his inventory and custom make you a ring or bracelet. He also uses them to date patterns since many of his customers want patterns from a certain year. He points out that many people use his service to recycle pieces of family silver rather than passing along entire sets.
These innovative dealers and many more can be seen at the Antique Shows of Florida/Puchstein Promotions venues and the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival. For a complete listing of dates and venues visit the websites at www.floridaantiqueshows.com and www.wpbaf.com. You can also email Kay and Bill Puchstein of Puchstein Promotions at puchs2@yahoo.com or call them at (941) 697-7475.
CAPTION FOR GREEN RECYCLING
Original Bakelite bangles with newly added Bakelite polka dots.
