It's not all about dogs, yarn, and knitting here in the Lucky Penny household. Back in the day, I was a fierce collector, mostly of art pottery from the 1940's and 50's, and vintage Fiestaware. We use the Fiestaware daily, and Piccolo eats from Fiesta dishes, too. I'm not that worried about the lead in the vintage glazes. I figure there's so many other toxic things in our environment, the Fiesta is the least of it, and I'm going to enjoy. I had a little business, Lucky Penny Collectibles, and had two partners. We would spend many a weekend driving around the Midwest, hunting for treasures. Lots of fun and laughs were had. It seemed like my partners, Bruce and Gary, took to the business more than I did. They became super knowledgeable in many lines of pottery and glass, and became more expert at Fiestaware than I was, and I'm the collector. They really took to vintage textiles. We did a number of flea markets together, until I noticed that most of the merchandise was theirs, and not what we owned together. I was slowing being phased out of the operation. It was okay with me, because wrapping, packing and schlepping all that stuff was getting to be too much for me. It's much easier to pack little dog sweaters, let me tell you. So we parted company, business wise. We're still friends, but I must confess, I don't see them as much because usually I'm so busy with the Man. Every year Bruce and Gary go to Pennsylvania for a glass collectors' convention. They shop at antique malls on the way going and coming home. I found this stop, which I remembered from shopping bags they brought home, on the way to Columbus. It's the Heart of Ohio Antique Center in Springfield. I thought I could just blow through it on the way to Columbus, but after going through one wing only, realized that I needed more time. So, on the way home, I stopped to finish walking the mall, and pick up some little gifties for me. It had been a long time since I had been in an antique mall.
