Murano Glass, Dichroic Glass, and Foil Art Glass

Recently, I took part in a discussion regarding the differences between Murano glass, Dichroic glass, and Foil glass. Among the opinions put forth in this discussion, were that Murano glass can be identified by its perfection and complete lack of any bubbles, Murano glass is used in glass blowing, and dichroic glass is glass with a specially treated decal paper. Although each of the opinions expressed is essentially true, I thought perhaps an article regarding these beautiful styles of glass.

Murano glass is not necessarily a “brand” or even a ‘style” of glass. Murano glass is glass made on the Venetian island of Murano, Italy. Much like Limoges is china made in Limoges, France. There are many different makers of Murano glass just as there were many different companies making Limoges china. Glassmaking in Murano began possibly during the 9^th century, and so prominent were the Murano glassmakers, that by the 14^th century they were among the most affluent members of Venetian society.

The master glassmakers of Murano experimented with different forms and styles of glassmaking that are still practiced today, including Smalto (or enameled glass), Aventurine (glass with threads of gold), Millefiori (into which pieces of multi-colored glass rods are incorporated during the manufacture process), Lattimo (a style of milk glass), and more. Most Murano glass is created using the lampworking technique, and there are several well known Murano glassworkers still making this wonderful glass. Venini, Salvati, Barovier & Toso, Seguso and more are still crafting Murano art glass, figurines, bottles, vases, wine stoppers, and a variety of beautiful pieces.

Shown below are examples of Murano glass.

Dichroic glass contains multiple layers of vaporized and fused crystalline metals (such as gold and silver), metal oxides (such as magnesium, aluminum, chromium, and others), and silica, all of which give the glass its dichroic properties. The finished glass work can contain as many 30 to 50 micro-thin layers. In some instances, a protective layer of quartz crystal is also utilized. The number of layers, the metals and oxides used and the thickness are all involved in the creation of the beautiful dichromatic patterns and colors found in dichroic glass.

The primary characteristic of dichroic glass, is that, it reflects a different array of color, depending on the angle of view, as certain wavelengths of light either pass through or are reflected in the glass.

What follows below are examples of dichroic glass.

Foil art glass is essentially glass which contains foil (copper, gold, silver, etc.) which creates designs within the glass. Dichroic copper foil is sometimes used in the creation of foil art glass, so in that sense, some foil art glass is similar to dichroic glass, however, as the method of manufacture is somewhat different between the two styles of glass.

Shown below are examples of foil art glass.

Murano glass makers have also utilized foil in some of their beautiful creations, with fantastic results. Here are two examples, one with silver foil, and one with gold foil.

This does not, however, mean that all foil art glass is Murano glass. If it hasn’t been made by a Murano glassmaker, then it is not Murano glass. Just as dichroic copper foil may be used in foil art glass, does not make foil art glass containing this type of special foil, dichroic glass. By and large, these are three different, although often similar, “styles” of glass. Each one beautiful in its own right, and each one with those who enjoy it. I hope this article is helpful, and if my readers have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave them. They are always welcome.

Thanks for reading!

Art Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

One of the areas of collecting and online selling that has become very confusing over the years, is the difference between art deco and art nouveau. Repeatedly on ebay and other online sales web sites, you will find art nouveau labeled art deco, and vice versa. This confusion has led to a decrease in sales of mismarked items to collectors who do know the difference, and disillusionment among new collectors (and unknowledgeable sellers) who have mistakenly purchased one style while thinking it was the other.

In response to this, I have written this article that I hope will sufficiently distinguish between the two styles to the point where little or no question about which is which.

Beginning with the more popular art deco, which was a style of design that was made popular during the 1920’s, after the decline of the art nouveau style. Art deco is best identified by stylized and geometric designs, bold colors, and the use of plastic and glass. Art deco is an eclectic and artistic design form that has its origins in Paris, France during the early 1920’s. Art Deco was popular in virtually all areas of design, including architecture, art, sculpture, fashion, film, and more. It was considered elegant, glamorous, modern and functional. It survived as a popular style of design up through the early years of World War Two. It should be remembered that just because something is done in the art deco style, it may not necessarily be from the 1920’s or 30’s. The art deco style experienced a resurgence in popularity during the late 1960’s, and which continued up into the 1980’s, especially in the areas of graphic design and art.

Here are some examples of Art Deco, in various design settings:

Art Nouveau was an earlier style of design, dating back to the early 1880’s, which found its birth in the French schools of art and architecture. Art nouveau is best characterized and recognized by stylized natural forms, softer or muted colors, and the use of natural objects such as leaves, vines and flowers. Other common themes contain females with long tendril-like hair, scarves, and flowing robes and dresses; as well as long free flowing curves throughout the design.

As popular as it was, the art nouveau style of design had virtually run its course as a popular style, by the beginning of World War One (roughly around 1915-16).

Here are some examples of Art Nouveau, in various design settings:

Remember to keep in mind when you come across a possible piece of art deco or art nouveau, art deco is harder and more geometric, while art nouveau is softer, more flowing and often contains organic objects within its design.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding this article or any of the others on this blog, please feel free to open up and let go. They are always welcome, and encouraged. Thanks for stopping by.

Pretty Good Week

Howdy Folks,
Well, the Big Bonanzle Block Party sale in Whiskey Jack's Bonanzle booth was a pretty good time. I had the pleasure of visiting with a lot of people, and I had a fun time. The day started out with yard sales! A nearby town had it's annual community wide yard sale event, and I managed to find some pretty good treasures, including a vintage 1940's era bakelite bankers lamp, some antique Noritake china (circa 1918 according to the backstamp), and other great items.

Perhaps my favorites were a set of 4 large ex-library books from Doane College. These books were from their college library and they each contain several issues of LIFE magazine as well as page upon page of newspaper articles. The books are from 1947 and 1948. The end of World War Two and the very beginning of the Cold War. The articles are amazing, covering everything from returning war vets to the "red scare". Although I did purchase them to resell, it just might be awhile before they are listed online. I am having far too much fun reading them! Each book contains hundreds of pages and thousands of articles, so it might take me a day or two.

It seems eBay has another new policy (at least new to me). Apparently they can (and do) restrict the amount of time an item can be relisted. Let me explain how I found this out. I listed four vintage Gillette safety razors. They did not sell. I relisted them. Again, they did not sell. When I relisted them a second time, I was allowed to relist three of them, but not the fourth. The razor that I was not able to relist was one of two 1959 Gillette safety razors. One was listed and one was not allowed be relisted.

According to the "error" message I received from eBay when I tried to relist the razor, eBay can restrict certain items from being relisted, when any of several situations occur (such as low DSR's, complaints, nonpayment of fees, etc.), none of which applied to me. My account is current and in good standing and I am a top rated seller and a power seller. Even more interesting is the fact that, according to the "error" message, there is no list of restrictable items. It is done on a capricious and arbitrary basis by eBay.

I have to wonder if this is another of eBay's methods of pushing out the small seller in favor of larger sellers that bring in more revenue for eBay through their fees. Although I have no proof of this, it does seem in line with eBay's apparent move to shed itself of smaller sellers that don't generate as much revenue for them.

I have asked them for an explanation for their decision, but as yet I have heard nothing back from them. They promise an answer within 24-48 hours, but that time limit has passed with no response from them, so I am not holding my breath. If, however, by some strange quirk of fate I do hear from them, I will post their answer here.

Has anyone else experienced this type of capricious and arbitrary action from eBay? If so, I would love to hear about.

Until next, take care, and as always, your comments, thoughts and suggestions are always welcome!

Whiskey Jack is Back!

I am sure you may have noticed (well, at least I hope you noticed) that I have been gone for a bit. Well, I'm back now, and getting fired up about getting things rolling again. Both on eBay and in my Bonanzle booth, as well as new articles for this blog.

The part of the country where we have moved has quite a few auctions, and choice picking spots, and I have been taking advantage of both, and I have managed to find some fairly good items which you will see in my eBay auctions and in my Bonanzle booth. I have closed my eBay store (as I have mentioned in a past article), but I still run auctions on eBay. I have also fired up my Whiskey Jack's Trading Post booth on Bonanzle, and I have started putting some items in there that I have not had in there before. So be sure to stop by and say howdy.

I also have also started a genealogy research service. I have over 30 years experience in genealogy research, and have successfully traced several family histories.

In addition to all this, I have launched a new website, www.WhiskeyJackOnline.com, which acts sort of like a portal to both my eBay auctions, my Bonanzle booth, and also has more detailed information on the genealogy research service. Be sure to check it out!

Also, (yep, I have been busy!), I am getting ready for the big Bonanzle Block Party Extravaganza on September 18 - 19, 2010. I will be running my sale on September 18th from 2pm - 5pm (pacific time). Everything in my booth will be 25% off for this sale, and as I said, there will be several items that I have not had up before, so be sure to stop by and at least say howdy. I'll be looking for you!

Now, there will be lots of Bonanzle booths having sales during the block party, so this will be a good chance to score some really good deals. I have been putting together some promo videos for the block party, and I thought I would post on here for you all to see. I have never "embedded" a video in a blog posting before, so before I try to do it, here is the web address to view the video (just in case I mess this up!). Just click here.

CRASH!

Howdy All,
Well, here I am staring at my computer, and thankful that at least I can now sign in! Caught one of those rogue security program viruses, and it crashed my computer. I am in the process of reinstalling just about everything and trying to get things back to some semblance of normal. I can't say I'm "up and running" just yet. More like "up and limping"! I lost quite a bit of data, but I think I can get much of it back. Thankfully, when I reinstalled TurboLister, it found my old files and templates, but I expect it will be awhile before I can get things back up and listed on eBay and Bonanzle. However, with eBay raising my store listing fees by almost 600% (and calling the new fees their "lowest ever"), I have decided to close my eBay store. I don't have enough sales through my eBay storefront to really justify keeping it, so effective March 30th, the Whiskey Jack's Trading Post eBay Store will be closed for good. I will still run my eBay auctions, and I will probably have a few fixed price / best offer items, but at .50 cents per item insertion fee, these will be limited to 1-3 items only.

On the Bonanzle front, I am still trying to get caught up. After moving last October, we are STILL unpacking things (can you believe that!), and trying to get somewhat organized. I fully intend to start my Bonanzle auctions as soon as I can. Although I am retired now (since January 2009), I have taken on a part time job due to the current economic situation in our country. I know, I know, the recession is over, and Washington wouldn't lie to us about that, would they? But somehow I think they forgot to let the rest of us in on how that worked, because I still see the recession going strong all around the country.

All that aside, however, I will still be selling on eBay and Bonanzle, and I will continue to try to get the very best deals for all my customers. And, I still hope that Bonanzle will continue to grow, and become a major online marketplace, and eBay's major competitor. One of these days eBay, watch out!

Unfortunately, however, this blog has taken a backseat to everything that has been going on. And I not only apologize for that, but I regret it as well. I will not, however, give up on it. I have been planning some new articles on various subjects that I have not covered before, as well as some new websites that I have come across that I think my readers will find very interesting. I am also toying with the idea of trying to do some interviews that will be hopefully be not only entertaining, but informative as well.

So stay tuned, and thanks so very much to all my readers for hanging in there and being patient with me. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of you.

Until next time, stay safe and my best wishes go out to all of you.
Whiskey Jack

A Crash Course In Ebaynomics

Ebay Does It Again
A Crash Course In Ebaynomics

I received an email today from eBay. A reminder that effective March 30th, the new eBay fee schedule will take effect, and that I am right on track for the lowest rates! This email went on to say that the "cost of selling on eBay is about to be dramatically reduced with our lowest insertion fees ever."

I went to the link provided in the email to check out the new fee structure. And what did I discover? Ebay lied. Imagine my surprise.

I currently have a basic store subscription which costs me $15.95 per month. Most of my items are between $1.00 - $24.99, so my per item insertion fee is .3 cents. Although my subscription rate will remain the same, the per item insertion fee will jump almost 600% to .20 cents per item. In order for me to retain my current .3 cent per item insertion fee, I must upgrade my store subscription to an anchor subscription of $299.95 per month.

Perhaps this is some sort of a new revised math or something, but in my mind a rate increase of almost 600% sure doesn't sound like "dramatically reduced...lowest insertion fees ever".

Apparently, eBay must think we are all a bunch of moronic dolts. How can anyone actually think that changing insertion fees from .3 cents to .20 cents is dramatically reducing fees to their lowest ever.

In fact, this little fee deal that eBay is pulling is nothing more than an attempt to scam new eBayers into purchasing a store subscription. It is also accomplishing something else, however. In reading the eBay seller forums, many of the sellers have seen right through eBay's lies, and have called it for what it is. An attempt to push out those sellers who do not sell enough high price items, and thus increase eBay's profits.

Increasingly, eBay has been romancing large retail outlets and stores, which will bring in substantial profits to the eBay coffers. And the truth of the matter is, that although eBay needed to smaller sellers during it formative years, we are no longer needed and no longer wanted. Many sellers have developed a loyalty with eBay, but that loyalty is not reciprocated by eBay. Nor will it ever be.

If eBay continues along its present course, as I suspect it will, it will become just another large online big box store, and the atmosphere of friends and family that made eBay an enjoyable experience will be completely lost. It is not far from that now.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my articles, and please remember that your thoughts, comments and suggestions are always welcome and encouraged.