fine jewelry designers: The Other Side of Picking

I think most of my readers are like me. We go to estate sales, yard sales, and thrift stores scoping out furniture to revamp, or smalls to sell or decorate our homes. Many of us have probably had a garage or yard sale and groaned over how much work it is. This week Jeff, the owner of Paris Flea Market where I share a space with my sister, offered me the chance to work on an estate sale. He runs a few of these a year in addition to running two antique stores and the best coffee bar in town (OK, maybe I'm a little prejudiced). When his wife Tracy called and asked if I wanted to help out I was thrilled. I thought it would be fun going through stuff to set up and maybe piecing together a little bit of this person's life.

When I first walked in I was awed by all the great stuff. The lady had passed away a few years ago but nothing much had been touched since then. She had great taste in antiques and collectables, I thought wow this is going to be fun. Then we started in. The executor of this estate wants everything gone, and I mean everything, so she can sell the house. This means going through not only the great stuff in these pictures (and this is only the tip of the iceberg), but also all the personal things this lady left behind. I feel like I've gotten to know this women a little through her things; vacations taken or planned, what businesses she was in, some family history. This has really humbled me, and will make me stop and think in the future when I am at other sales or thrift stores - someone sat at this desk and wrote out their bills, or how many dinners were enjoyed at this table, what little girl played with this antique doll. So the next time you see that gorgeous sideboard, remember it contains memories we can only imagine.

I usually only link up to a couple sites a week, but I want to link this post to as many as possible to remind us all to respect the pieces we buy and the people we buy them from.

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