I'm Just Mad About Saffron

When I was a wee little high school student I took an advanced art class my senior year. I'm not a particularly gifted painter, and my teacher was just a tad bit crazed. She abhorred the color orange. Any time a shade of yellow creeped towards a more reddish hue she nearly had a seizure. She was mad about saffron. Literally.

And I really never understood why. Still don't. Here at Bloom we have so many beautiful yellow-orange things. Like this Chinese yellow glazed lamp.

And this painting of Tiger Lillies.

Real-life Tiger Lillies are pretty amazing, too.

As is this Ryszard Ramski cameo glass vase with an Iris flower.

Real-life Irises are gorgeous, too. But they're purple, and hence for another day. Sorry.

But back to saffron and flowers and this radiant Italian painting of sunflowers.

I don't take any of you to be yellow-orange haters, but if you did need convincing I hope I nudged you a little closer towards accepting this sunny slice of the spectrum.

Beautiful Boxes

A few weeks ago I read an article in the New York Times about bento boxes. It seems as though bento boxes have gotten a lot of attention recently. It makes sense, too, as bento boxes enforce portion control while making food look...well, adorable. The New York Times article was picked up by the New York Times blog about a month after the orignial story was printed. The blog asked several scholars exactly what the bento box suggests about Japanese culture. While we don't currently have any bento boxes in stock, we do have this absolutely stunning 19th century Japanese picnic basket for sale at our eBay store.The box opens up to reveal four square boxes, one triangular box, and four stacked triangular dishes. Can you imagine how many heads would turn if you brought this box along to your next picnic in the park?! So many. Want to do more than just imagine? Click here to make it yours.

Come Take A Stroll With Us Down Ruby Lane

Bloom Antiques has taken the plunge and joined Ruby Lane, a fantastic website devoted to selling antiques and vintage items of all sorts. Browse our store here and, as always, let us know if you see something you like!

Investigating Our Newly Listed Isaac Soyer Painting, or Why the Internet is Amazing

Last week we put this Isaac Soyer painting up for auction on eBay. This large and lovely painting depicts Gramercy Park, and because we are true New Yorkers we decided we must try to figure out exactly what building is shown in Soyer's work. For any of you that don't know, Bloom's headquarters on Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn is a long ways away from Gramercy Park. I attempted to search for well known buildings in the area via Google, but was having no luck spotting this red brick facade. As a last resort I decided to use Google Map's satellite feature to take a virtual walk around the 'hood to see what I could find. Lo and Behold, I spotted it! The building's address is 4 Gramercy Park West, and you can read a little bit more about the building at the eBay listing here.

Connect the Dots: Royal Copenhagen, Bing & Grondahl, Waverly Fabrics

As promised, I took my trip upstate this weekend and had a fabulous time. I was browsing the fabric selection of a shop that salvages and resells fabric when, much to my surprise, I came across a 4 yard piece of fabric that I have only ever seen in my grandmother's house. It is a Waverly Fabric, but the design is Royal Copenhagen's. And yes, my grandma has the plates. And the wallpaper. And the fabric. In fact, the entire dining room is covered in Royal Copenhagen's 'Blue Fluted,' and it is possibly my favorite room in the house. I even found an ad in the April 14, 1977 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announcing the arrival of Waverly's new fabric. Needless to say, I am immensely pleased with my fabric find, especially because my grandmother has tried and failed to find more of it. I plan to sew a dress out of my yardage and take it over to grandma's house for a photo shoot.

And, as luck would have it, I walked into work today only to notice the lovely set of tableware pictured above, and for sale here. I was surprised to pick up a cup and see the Bing & Grondahl mark, as this stuff looks exactly like Royal Copenhagen's 'Blue Fluted.' Some quick internet research told me that Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Grondahl merged in 1987. It all makes sense now!

Modern Design

Modern design has taken a hit in recent months. It’s a buyer’s market, thanks to slow sales and overflowing inventory. We’re not shy about saying that we’re in the same boat. At Bloom Fine Art & Antiques, we have many fine pieces in Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Midcentury.

For example, our Art Nouveau inventory includes a sterling silver bowl with engraved daffodils, a pewter platter by Ledru, a turn-of the century sculptor, and a pair of pretty Limoges porcelain candlesticks.

It's Chilly in This City!

I went to the Elephant's Trunk Country Flea Market in New Milford, CT last weekend. I bought some nice stuff, but more importantly, the drive up whet my appetite for scenic autumn landscapes like the one pictured above. The leaves seem to be taking a little longer to turn color this season, but I'm taking a trip to upstate New York this weekend anyways in the hopes that my eyes get the chance to feast on trees of all colors.