http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog Real Canadians decorating Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:34:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/auction-checkup-waddingtons-cobourg/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/auction-checkup-waddingtons-cobourg/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:26:47 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18299 Last Saturday, while many of you headed west to Dundas, Ontario, for the Christie Antique Show, I was driving east to Cobourg for an auction at the newest Waddington's outpost. I reckoned that most of the dealers would be at Christie so I might get an especially good price on a rug that caught my eye the previous week when I stopped in to pick up some items won with absentee bids at an earlier sale. As it turned out the room was nearly full. Even so, there were deals galore to be had so I recommend you keep your eye on the Wadd's Cobourg webpage, which is updated with new image galleries (but no additional information) weekly.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/auction-checkup-waddingtons-cobourg/feed/ 5 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/08/wilkens-auction-looking-lively/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/08/wilkens-auction-looking-lively/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:57:35 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18163 Toronto's A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals was absolutely jumping yesterday and I was so buoyed to see it. Good quality merchandise was fetching decent prices but there were plenty of bargains walking out the door, too, like the Moroccan-style pendant light, below, which sold for a wickedly good price of $50. Wilkens tacks on a 17 per cent buyer's premium. Most of the auctioneer's bi-weekly sales happen Tuesday afternoons; the timing is unfortunate for us poor slobs who work for a living, which is why the room is full of mostly dealers. But I recommend you subscribe to the Wilkens eblast and keep your eye on their site; absentee bids are encouraged and if you can get away from your desk, it's a fun afternoon, very reminiscent of the old Ritchies Discovery Sales.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/08/wilkens-auction-looking-lively/feed/ 1 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/04/discovery-sales-make-a-comeback/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/04/discovery-sales-make-a-comeback/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 11:24:05 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=16854 The Ritchies Discovery Sales were a Toronto tradition for years before the auctioneer's sad demise in 2009. Always held on a Tuesday, the monthly sales played mostly to dealers since the rest of us were busy toiling at our day jobs. Well, auction newcomer A.H. Wilkens (299 Queen Street East, 416.360.7600) is reviving the Discovery tradition although they're not using that name. The sales have been running Tuesdays with previews the afternoon and evening before, which means that if something on the website interests you, you can drop by on your lunch hour or on your way home from the office to scope out the goods. This week's sale features some particularly fine furnishings and decorative pieces, albeit mostly of the traditional ilk.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/04/discovery-sales-make-a-comeback/feed/ 1 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/03/mid-century-madness-in-coburg/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/03/mid-century-madness-in-coburg/#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:34:55 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=16493 A few months back Waddington's auctioneers opened a satellite location in Coburg, Ontario, and they're having a sale tomorrow that promises to be barn-burner for mid-century modern fans. This morning the website is showing a gallery loaded with decent furniture and lighting and the auctioneer says he still has oodles of art and glassware to unpack and get up on the site. The preview starts at 9:30 am with the sale beginning at 11 am with the smalls; expect furniture to start hitting the block around 1 pm. The auctioneer expects the sale to go all day.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/03/mid-century-madness-in-coburg/feed/ 4 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/03/waddingtons-reference-book-sale/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/03/waddingtons-reference-book-sale/#comments Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:08:37 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=16435 StyleNorth reader Alison wrote to me yesterday to let me know about an upcoming decorative arts reference book sale through Waddington's auctioneers. Some of you could probably care less but most home decor junkies are collectors of something, whether it's Chinese export porcelain, or Steuben glass, or Canadian art, or Irish silver . . . you get the idea. The Waddington's sale features reference book lots on these and myriad other specialty subjects, all estimated in the $50 - $100 range for anywhere from five to 15 volumes. The online sale starts March 21 and closes March 24 at 2 pm. Thanks for the head's up Alison!]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/03/waddingtons-reference-book-sale/feed/ 2 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/05/scandinavian-furniture-porn/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/05/scandinavian-furniture-porn/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 14:51:33 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13934 This post has absolutely nothing to do with real Canadians decorating; I'm sorry, I apologize right off the top. But any decor junkie, Canadian or otherwise, will appreciate the preview gallery of the upcoming Wright auction of Scandinavian design. All the mid-century iconic designers are present and accounted for — Jacobsen, Wegner, Mathsson, Hennigsen, Juhl — but what stands out for me are the less familiar pieces.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/05/scandinavian-furniture-porn/feed/ 7 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/03/auction-decorative-arts-with-an-asian-accent/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/03/auction-decorative-arts-with-an-asian-accent/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:08:49 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13645 Two competing Toronto-area auctions on March 23 mean that decor junkies will have to pick their poison, either authentic French antiques or Asian decorative art. Downtown, A.H. Wilkens is holding the decorative arts sale, while the French pieces can be found at Mississauga's Oasis Convention Centre. Wilkens can be previewed Sunday and Monday but you can't peruse the French furniture until 4 pm on the day of the sale.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/03/auction-decorative-arts-with-an-asian-accent/feed/ 0 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/ah-wilkens-tries-to-fill-the-auction-gap/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/ah-wilkens-tries-to-fill-the-auction-gap/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:03:56 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13192 If nature abhors a vacuum so does the auction business. WIth Ritchies in bankruptcy new kid on the block A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals is stepping in to fill the gap, or would be if they could get their proverbial shit together. In my in-box this morning was a notice about the next AHW decorative arts auction, which happens to be TONIGHT! How about a bit of notice boys? Maybe a weekend-long preview to give folks a chance to peruse the goods?]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/ah-wilkens-tries-to-fill-the-auction-gap/feed/ 16 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/waddingtons-a-feast-of-blue-white/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/waddingtons-a-feast-of-blue-white/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:58:17 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13270 There are some fine pieces in the upcoming Waddington's Decorative Arts Sale (December 9 and 10) but what really sparked my interest was the plethora of Worcester blue and white porcelain on offer. Culled from the estate of Larry and Betty Douglas, the collection includes some Worcester transferware but most of the pieces are painted, some with very dramatic dragon motifs.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/waddingtons-a-feast-of-blue-white/feed/ 2 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/ritchies-back-from-the-brink/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/ritchies-back-from-the-brink/#comments Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:55:10 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=12373 What a feeling of sadness came over me yesterday as I toured the nearly-empty Ritchies showroom in advance of tonight's back-from-the-brink auction. After a two-month closure and the dismissal of its entire staff, Ritchies owner and CEO Ira Hopmeyer is endeavouring to resuscitate the business with a two-day sale, tonight and tomorrow. There's precious little to be had.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/ritchies-back-from-the-brink/feed/ 3