|
FrontRangeLiving.com -> Home Design -> Dogwood & Cattails Antiques
 A BUNGALOW BECOMES A HOME AND A SHOP: Dogwood &
Cattails Antiques
By Niki Hayden
At a time when many high-tech employees work from home, Jan and John Bowers
have taken that contemporary approach one step further. They’ve turned their
1920s bungalow into an antiques store and live upstairs. And while workers tap
into work via computers, the Bowers live much like proprietors of one hundred
years ago. Commuting to work consists of taking a cup of coffee from the kitchen
into the dining room. Their Loveland mom and pop shop, called Dogwood &
Cattails Antiques, specializes in 1800s Americana.
"I always loved the china and glass areas of department stores,"
Jan says. But once she discovered antique porcelain and glassware, she was
smitten by the craftsmanship and variety. John, too, embraced American Brilliant
Period cut glass with gusto and both decided that devoting their retirement
years to antiques would keep them young.
 "You’re constantly learning something in this business," Jan, a
former teacher, says, "either through other dealers, or researching
directly from the companies that once made these pieces." Jan describes a
90-year-old dealer who shows up regularly at the large antique shows with
more stamina than others half her age, ready to ask and answer questions.
"That’s what keeps you going," Jan says.
Discovering collections that surface in the marketplace, chasing down an
important fact for identifying an object, diving into books and attending
seminars—these are the activities that renew antique dealers, and sharpen
their wits. Some only sell at big shows. Others buy or rent space on main
streets. The Bowers took another route. They bought their downtown Loveland
bungalow about four years ago when they decided that the gypsy life of traveling
from show to show was too transient for them.
 They imagined themselves selling only American Brilliant Period
cut glass, often the 19th century choice for wedding gifts, each bowl
or plate with deep polished crevices, shining like a million diamonds. From
pitchers to lamps, napkins rings to vases, the heft and craft of cut glass still
enthralls them. But times change and the Bowers now refer to their stock as a
well-appointed dining room.
China, glassware, linens, silver, centerpieces, tea sets are the objects that
surrounded the ceremony of dining in the 1800s to 1940. With each elaborate
and beautiful place setting, eating was an event. And every bride coveted
elegant dinnerware. Collections of glassware, silver, linens and porcelain turn
over when a collector dies or decides to downsize a collection. But these days,
it doesn’t necessarily pass on to another collector.
John says that he is more likely to sell to people who are furnishing a
house. Just a few years ago, he was selling to collectors, but the economic
slide of stocks in the last few years had an unexpected consequence in his
trade. "People often begin serious collecting in their fifties, when their
kids are grown but they are still working," he says. "They have about
twenty years of building a collection. But when those 401-K accounts declined,
we saw the effects of that. Now we have a more diverse group of people buying
antiques." This diverse group is likely to be younger buyers less
intent on one category of antiques.
 Although the Bower’s collection stops at 1940, the look and feel is about
1890. Blue and white china complement pink porcelain. Fanciful silver spoons
line up alongside knives with mother-of-pearl handles. Jan has chosen each piece
of her collection with an eye to small vignettes: Irish cream-colored Belleek
ceramics from 1860, glowing slag lamps in pastel colors and crisp white linens.
White wicker conjures up a summery look when tea is set with white pottery.
"The ceremony of tea is returning," Jan, says, and delicate teacups
are reminders of a late afternoon relaxation. Silver teaspoons and embroidered
tablecloths join teacups at the table for devoted tea lovers.
The charm of Dogwood & Cattails lies in how Jan assembles her
collections. You can see the same attention to partnering linens, china, glass
and silver at one of the few large shows she attends. A swath of pink and white
fabrics sets the stage for delicate pink glass and porcelain. Blue and white
combines with blue glass and white linens. Lamps give off a soft glow. American
Brilliant Period cut glass glimmers. American Victoriana, at its best, exudes
prettiness. Rather than purely fussy, fine Victoriana revels in detail and
daintiness, bold color and sensual flourishes.
 Glassware and silver sparkle in the soft glow of candlelight. The long list
of silver utensils reminds us that this precious metal made Colorado famous in
the 1870s when silver adorned ordinary items. "There was even a container
for canned milk," Jan exclaims. Bon-bon spoons, fruit spoons and delicate
olive spoons line a shelf. But Jan’s heart is in glassware—Brilliant Period
cut glass, with its thick sides and geometric engravings are at the heart of her
collection. "Of course, researching this can drive you crazy," Jan
says.
That’s because motifs were passed back and forth between glassware houses.
And often jewelry stores, which carried Brilliant Period cut glass, forged their
mark on the bottom of a piece, too. About nine major houses that include names
like Hoare, Hawkes, Corning and Libbey produced the glass, but research can be
nearly endless. "Most of these houses were back East, in places like
Pennsylvania and New York," John says, "from the 1880s to about 1919.
By the 1920s, the glass was lighter, more delicate. in World War I, they couldn’t
get some of the ingredients they needed because of the war effort. And, then,
tastes change."
 The American Cut Glass Association at
www.cutglass.org is a good place to
start. Eventually you’ll know your way around the terms and historic decades.
Jan has tried to stay within the years of the late 1800s of cut glass,
she says, because that represents the zenith of workmanship. Later, pressed
glass from molds, which doesn’t require such labor-intensive methods, would
make inroads in shop windows.
And while some dealers have flocked to Ebay.com on the Internet, Jan has
misgivings. Glass is unique when it comes to determining quality. Often cracks and
chips cannot be seen with the naked eye, much less on the computer. Run your
fingers around the edges and sides of a glass bowl. You may be surprised at the
nicks and scrapes that fingers will discern.
"It’s not only women who are attracted to cut glass," John says,
"men like the craftsmanship. Ladies love the beauty." Part of being a
successful husband and wife team, Jan says, is that they both love antiques, but
each looks at the objects they love differently. When they do buy a collection,
they’ve both come to appreciate craftsmanship, durability, quality and beauty.
"We do better if we look for glass together," John says, "It’s
more than just one perspective that way."
Photo from top to bottom:
- Jan Bower sits among white summer wicker
- Painted pink cameo porcelain, English, Fairy lamp, Nailsea glass, late 1800s
- Brilliant Cut American glass, lamp, late 1800s
- Belleek, Irish porcelain, 1860s
- Oriental hand-painted porcelain and silver, most late 1800s
- The music room is transformed into a showroom.
Dogwood & Cattails Antiques, 1020 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland, Colorado,
80537; 970-669-8007
|
