Hi-ho, its Driving for Deco we go! Or rather went. Our 2017 freakin’ ‘tiquen adventures took us points west.  To our surprise, we found quite a bit of deco items – more than we accounted for as proved by our packed car.  We managed to fit in a bit of sightseeing, as well.

We headed off to our first stop, and an old friend. The Craft and Antique Co-Op in Painesville, Ohio.

There is a good mix of items from old to new and deep sale prices up to 50% in some booths.  Chris picked up a large 1930’s Czech Toucan Pitcher (not on sale) and an amber Farber Cambridge decanter set.

From there, another old friend, The Medina Antique Mall. We love this place and are never disappointed. We got quite a haul here. Anthony purchased a vintage overcoat, a 1936 Canadian Parker Vacumatic fountain pen, a walnut and Bakelite box and a set of Susie Cooper Wedding Band soup bowls, vegetable bowls and plates.

Needing to rest and have a quick bite, we found this interesting building. Newer, it embodied some features reminiscent of the Art Deco style.

The next day brought us across the state to Maumee, Ohio. We found a “great find” at Great Finds In Maumee. Good prices and a good mix of items in a clean, organized and well-lit store.

Stop two for the day was the Maumee Antique Mall. This is a large store with vendors of varying prices and quality. Put your walking shoes on because you’ll be here for a while. A small café is available if you need a pick-me-up and we can recommend their delicious muffins.

Markle Exit 286 Antique Mall in Markle, Indiana is a little gem we found on our 2011 Freakin’ ‘tiquen trip. A nice selection, they had fewer items of interest for us this time around. Still, we walked away with a lovely frosted glass ball vase embossed with swallows, a vintage neck tie, and a pewter ashtray we attribute to Queens Art.

The next day was the Fourth of July and our visit to Indiana Dunes National Park and the Century of Progress Homes. Being a holiday, we used this as a travel day, heading off to Racine, Wisconsin.

The antiquing in Racine was a rollercoaster of variety and prices. We did well at the local Thrift store picking up set of Chrys, made in England, desert set and a Davenport Ironstone plate (Cypress, circa 1855).

Our next adventure was a tour of the SC Johnson Administration Building.  The tour brings visitors to various buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The buildings designed in the 1930’s and 1940’s are Wright’s take on the International Style. Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures inside the buildings. Click Here for tour information.

After our tour, more antiquing. We didn’t do as well at the appropriately named School Days Mall Antiques & Speciality Shops. Located in an old school building, it held some promise with a variety of item but at premium prices. The few items of interest were marked “firm”. We walked away empty-handed.

As it was still early, we headed out to Always Remember That Antique Mall but got distracted and stopped at Benson Antique Mall. One half of two malls separated by a parking lot, Benson proved to be real gem. Anthony found three pieces (casserole, large creamer and pie plate) of Royal Rochester in the hard-to-find Modernistic pattern. Already priced to sell, they were an additional 20% off. Chris picked up an Oven-Serve casserole in the Clematis pattern. We passed on a well-priced pair of Nu-Art elephant bookends and a fair priced but well-worn cane wrapped handled Manning-Bowman cocktail shaker. Upon checkout, the vendor who sold the Royal Rochester informed us she had more of the pattern at another near-by location.

The sister store? A huge disappointment of used contemporary items and collectibles of a dubious nature.

Yet another detour brought us to Great Lake Antiques and Boutique in Antioch Illinois. As promised, the vendor had a nice selection of the Royal Rochester Modernistic. Key word is “had” as the waffle iron, large sugar, small creamer / sugar, batter bowl and another casserole came home with us. Although a significant investment, the total price for all pieces equaled to less than the current asking price for the batter bowl on popular auction site. We also picked up 6 Chase cordial cups in excellent condition for a song.

We finally made it to our original destination for the day, Always Remember That Antique Mall. Chris picked up a serving platter, mixing bowl and casserole in the Clematis pattern.

Our next stop was the Carousel Consignments in Janesville, Wisconsin. With a vast variety of items on closely packed shelves there is something for everybody in this two-story shop. Looking for china, glassware, clocks, vintage / contemporary picture frames and more? This is the stop to make. We purchased an etched glass deco serving tray, vintage photoplay book, and several neckties. Two more stores, one next door and the other across the street were interesting.

Further west and we came across Dakota Plains Antiques & Collectibles, in Sioux Falls. Lots to see here and extremely fair prices. Our best find was a near mint Toast-O-Lator, model J for $10. These are not particularly difficult to find but are usually $145 and up. Toast-O-Lator’s move an up-right slice of bread along a conveyor system to drop gently onto an awaiting plate at the on the other end. More often than not, the bread  gets stuck inside and soon after, flames are shooting out the ends. Ours is for show!

Two other Antique malls are nearby. One had a thrift store vibe and we picked up a very nice silhouette. The other held promise and was interesting but nothing grabbed us and prices ranged from the high-end of fair to high.

Driving through South Dakota was a challenge as we drove along the edge of a bad storm system. Looking outside the driver’s window was a solid sheet of grey. Looking through the passenger window was spectacular.

Follow us on part 2 of our 2017 Freakin’ ‘tiquen and a whirlwind of  sightseeing starting with Mount Rushmore and more antiquing adventures!

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen’ Guys)

 

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these earlier posts:

Antique stores, Barnegat through Smithville, NJ

Springing into the 2017 “Freakin’, Tiquen’” season