Value This! Radio Host to Speak at Antiques Show
The Warren County Antiques Show is pleased to feature an appearance by professional appraiser, author, and radio talk-show personality, Brian Kathenes, co-host with Leon Castner of Public Radio’s call-in antiques & collectibles talk show Value This! with Brian and Leon.
At 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, Kathenes will talk about “sleeper” antiques and collectibles, discuss how not to get ripped off when buying antiques, and share stories from the book Betcha Didn’t Know That! -- 101 Antiques and Collectibles Trivia Tips That Can Make You Rich, Famous, and the Hit of The Party, that he and Castner co-wrote. He will be available afterward to visit with Warren County Antiques Show patrons.
Kathenes is Managing Partner of National Appraisal Consultants and his clients include Disney, Chubb Insurance, AIG, the US Department of the Homeland Security, US Marshal Service, and the IRS. He is the on-air TV appraiser and science fiction consultant for the Discovery Channel’s collectible show: POP NATION: America’s Coolest Stuff.
An expert witness in the Richard Nixon Watergate Presidential Papers trial, Kathenes has appraised the Batmobile, the Back to the Future Car, and memorabilia from the blockbuster movie Titanic. He has appraised some of the world’s most valuable books and documents, items that have been on the Moon, and even appraised (and played) Elvis’ guitar.
Value This! can be every Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern on WNTI-FM on the web at www.WNTI.org, and the call-in hotline is 877-4-1-VALUE.
Kathenes and Castner’s book is available at Barnes & Noble, on-line at Amazon.com in both print and audio versions, and online at www.BetchaBook.com.
The 4th Annual Warren County will take place Saturday, September 26, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Warren County Farmers’ Fairgrounds, Route 519, Harmony Twp., NJ. Admission is $6 per person to the show, which is held rain or shine. For more information, visit www.warrencountyantiqueshow.com or email info@warrencountyantiqueshow.com or call 908-343-5873.
Blue Mountain Antique Engine Group Plans Display at Warren County Antiques Show
The Blue Mountain Antique Gas & Steam Engine Association is joining the Warren County Antiques Show. Members of the old-time engine organization, which is based in Bangor, PA, and holds its own popular shows several times a year at the Jacktown Community Center, will be displaying early 20th Century engines and farm equipment. “We love to talk about them,” Blue Mountain’s Alan Ruschman remarked, noting club members plan to bring gas engines that date mostly from 1900 to 1940, and will be on hand to demonstrate the workings of the machines. The group was formed in 1971 by people who had a common interest in restoring and preserving antique agricultural machinery and industrial equipment, in order to educate about the past and instill appreciation for the future. More information about the Blue Mountain Antiques Gas & Steam Engine Association is available at http://www.jacktown.com/.
Warren County Antiques Show To Host Conservators
The “Art Doctor” is in. Conservator Michael Hartnett is returning to the Warren County Antiques Show on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, for a second consecutive year to receive broken and damaged items for repair, and to discuss the care and conservation of antiques and collectibles.
Dubbed the “Art Doctor” in a 1993 article in The Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, Hartnett maintains a conservation studio in Stanhope, NJ, and has restored more than 8,000 objects since 1980.
He joined the Warren County Antiques Show last year – the first time he demonstrated and accepted work at an antiques event – and enjoyed it so much he plans to return for this year’s 4th Annual show, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Warren County Farmers’ Fairgrounds on Route 519 in Harmony Township, located three miles north of Phillipsburg, NJ. The show is held rain or shine with dealers set up indoors and outdoors, offering high quality antiques at the fairgrounds’ picturesque country setting.
Specializing in the restoration of ceramics and other materials, Hartnett has treated objects from a wide variety of makers from Europe and Asia to American art pottery, antiques and collectibles. Materials restored include ceramic, stone, wood, metal, glass, plaster, plastic, paper, leather and enamel in a variety of decorative and functional forms. Examples of his work conserving Rockefeller family items are on display at the Museum of the City of New York, while private collections throughout New Jersey and many other states contain his restoration work. Hartnett also has given talks and presentations before historical and cultural organizations as well as art associations, women’s clubs, AARP and other civic and community venues. Joining Hartnett at the show is glass repair and polishing specialist Wade M. Nulton of Flanders, NJ.
Nulton noted he hasn’t been restoring antiques for as long as Hartnett, only about four years, having learned the skill from his father, Paul, who operates out of Hallstead, PA. And Nulton remarked that he considers himself “just a mechanic,” explaining, “I just look at the problem, and come up with a solution.” He continued, “One of my favorite sayings is, ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s Waterford or from Walmart, the work and the repair is just the same.’ ” Nulton explained he can repair “just about anything made of glass,” working on Waterford, Lalique, Swarovski, Steuben, Murano, Depression glass, paperweights, marbles and more. “A lot of my work is for private collectors to restore sets back to their original condition. Many pieces I work on are family heirlooms that people just can’t seem to part with,” he noted. Nulton said he also handles what he calls “creative repairs,” such as taking a hopelessly broken wine glass and turning it into a bell or a ring keeper. “We’re excited to have both Michael Hartnett and Wade Nulton participating along with all the antiques dealers in this year’s show,” said Warren County Antiques Show Co-Chairwoman Melva Sterlacci. “Given the response to Michael last year, we think many antiques lovers who attend this year will enjoy meeting these two craftsmen to learn how their treasured objects can be restored.”
Jazz and Celtic Music to be Featured at Antiques Show
Two musicians who have entertained the patrons of the Warren County Antiques Show since its inception are back by popular demand for this year’s show.
Jazz guitarist Walt Bibinger, a Hunterdon County native who plays regularly in the tri-state area, will perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bibinger has teamed with jazz greats including guitar icon Bucky Pizzarelli, and his CD Walt Bibinger Trio Live! is a classic that was recorded at the famed Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA.
From 1-3 p.m, the Warren County Antiques Show welcomes back Jennifer Johnson. Born in New York, raised in New Jersey native and now based in Pennsylvania’s Delaware Valley, she is a talented multi-instrumentalist with a beautiful voice who has spent a lot of time on Cape Breton. Johnson accompanies herself on guitar and fiddle, and also dances. Her CD My Secret Garden includes songs she wrote, plus traditional and contemporary songs. According to Celtic MP3s Music Magazine, she “brings her own stamp to the traditional tracks and makes them her own.”
Warren County Antiques Show Returns for the Fourth Year
The popular Warren County Antiques Show will return on Saturday, September 26, 2009, for its fourth edition.
The show will be held at the Warren County Farmers’ Fairgrounds on Route 519 in Harmony Township, NJ, located just three miles from Phillipsburg and minutes from Exit 3 of I-78.
The show will feature many of the antique dealers who have been with the event since it started, plus live music; freshly cooked food items sold by the Harmony Lions Club to raise funds for the charities they support; fresh produce and fall flowers available from Warren County farmers; and a display of antique tractors and farm equipment.
“We love doing this show in a nice country setting,” said Sally Szelag, a Milford, NJ, antiques dealer specializing in primitives, quilts and furniture who has participated in the Warren County Antiques Show since its inception and is returning this year. “The food is great, the vendors have quality things and it is a friendly atmosphere.”
Benji Kidwell of Ivy Iris Antiques in Bedminster, PA, another dealer coming back for the fourth year, agreed. “I love selling at this show. I’ve met some of the nicest people, and it is a great way to spend a day in the country and indulge your passion for treasure hunting,” said Kidwell, who specializes in early textiles, American and European pottery and porcelain, trade signs and other items.
“This is one of the finest new shows in New Jersey. The dealers are treated with so much respect, consideration and professionalism that we all bring our best ‘to the best,’ ” noted Jackie Burachynski of Pittstown, NJ, another dealer participating in the show, who specializes in decoys, dolls and doll accessories, and glass.
Show admission is $6 and the fairgrounds on County Route 519 are convenient to I-78, I-80 and Routes 46 and 57. For more information and directions, visit www.warrencountyantiqueshow.com, email info@warrencountyantiqueshow.com, or call 908-343-5873.