Antique Trends - is old the new black?

Mouse says old is the new black.
In his most recent visits to fairs he has noticed a trend. Firstly, there seem to be fewer antique dealers around than there once was. Secondly, those that remain are either focused towards niche market areas or more broadly on older traditional antiques, like it was before the boom years. Mouse likes this and believes there is a lot to be said for diversity. Curiosities make good talking points although they are not always going to be kept by the purchaser in the long term. No matter they should be fun.

Of course it is not all about antiques. Non-datelined fairs sell collectibles and art, although even collectibles have seen a down turn. The inclusion of artists and craft workers selling their own goods should not be discouraged says Mouse. He thinks it is good for artists to be exposed to inspirations from the past. He is a big fan of Robert Thompson...

The Antique Mouse Cooks Delia

Mouse has been trying out the latest Delia Smith How to Cheat recipes. Apparently this new book has been dividing people the length and breadth of the country. He recons that people have been cheating all the time, but have not been owning up to it. What a smart idea to get ready cooked mince out of a can! And if it is a good quality can of mince from Waitrose (the Mouse does not go anywhere else to shop than Waitrose) it is even smarter. He does not have time to shop more than once a week, and with such a busy lifestyle, sometimes he likes to make things on different days instead of the ones he originally planned. He thoroughly recommends the Soupe de Possion, but it must be with ‘the works’ – good Gruyere and croutons, a side relish and a little bit of brandy and dressed lobster. Also the crab cakes with the special mayo are wonderful. All that he knows is that the recipes taste delicious (well, he knew they would) and that there is very little washing up, which is a really good thing. He is going to try some chocolate cake later……he says try the recipes then decide! (You know Delia's in Wikipedia).

Chocolate, Antiques and Collectibles Buying and Selling Trends

Mouse likes maths. Lately he has been studying the trends on the web of his favorite things, antiques, collectibles and chocolate. He has been investigating Google Labs and Google Trends. This lets you know the volume of traffic in Google searches (right hand axis) per year (bottom axis). It is normalised which will allow for the increase in human and mouse users with time. It is not perfect but an interesting guide. He looked over the period from 2004 to the start of 2008.



He was very happy to note that chocolate had not shown any decline, ‘whilst there’s chocolate there’s life’ is one of his favorite sayings. Collectibles has declined a bit but not as much as antiques in general. Is this because fewer people are clicking, or, newer users are not so interested in antiques? Mouse is smart, he thinks a bit of both. A number of his investigations have suggested a roughly 50% decline in activity in a number of traditional areas, even digital photography, his favorite hobby, has fallen. The antiques field is a little worse.
Mouse cannot decide whether he likes a collectible or an antique for Christmas. He notes that fellow mice tend to prefer collectibles for Christmas and antiques in the New Year, chocolate is good anytime. With a thoughtful look he indicates, ‘that too much blogging makes you hungry’, not enough chocolate he murmurs, he’s off now, bye.

Introducing The Antique Mouse

I have been told that blogging is the latest craze. It is trendy, and the Antique Mouse always likes to keep up to date - so he told me he wanted to share his thoughts with you.
Me and the Mouse like to talk with our friends about the latest gizmos that we have tried out, the latest designs and art and lifestyle and in particular what's hot out there.
There are so many questions unanswered - so will normal DVD's work on Blu-Ray DVD machines, where has all the good antique glass gone, and most importantly where has all the good cheese gone?
I have been acquainted with the Antique Mouse for a number of years now. He likes the fine things in life. He is not averse to a glass of port with his cheese. He is very knowledgeable, for a mouse, and knows what he likes.
Today we have been discussing whether Collectibles are 'ibles' or 'ables'. We have agreed it's 'ibles' because it reminds Mouse of nibbles.
I hope that this is not the first and last blog that we are going to do, and that someone out there is going to be interested or get interested.