Consignment Shopping

by Robin Donovan

Filling your closet with clothes you’re not sick of wearing on a tight budget can be tough. And with the economy recovering almost imperceptibly, it might be a while before many of us revisit the mall.

If you have a favorite local Goodwill or thrift shop, that can work. But whipping through racks filled with stained, damaged or hole-filled clothing gets old. Especially when holes don’t make themselves known until you’re out the door with non-refundable merchandise. Consignment shops offer a different experience. Unlike thrift shops that take donated duds, consignment shops allow sellers to receive a percentage of the sale price on each garment provided.

Lucky folks near Lancaster can hit up the Dresscode instead. Located north of Meijer on business route 33 through Lancaster, the shop accepts and sells clothing for teens and adults. Like many resale outlets, the Dresscode is heavy on ladies’ wear, but it’s no thrift shop.

First clue? The $1,199 fur coat hanging in the front room. I don’t know about you, but the last time I spent a thousand bucks on clothing was, well, never! The $5.99 multi-colored scarves hanging next to the coat are more my style. But that’s the point of consignment – you can find items that you’d never see at a thrift shop. An afternoon spent browsing the racks last week revealed more designer items and certainly a consistently higher level of quality than I expect from thrift shops.

According to a cashier I spoke with, $1.99 is about the lowest price offered by the store. Women’s shirts and pants range from about $6 to $10. Prom dresses, of course, are available in abundance (I think most women have one hanging in a closet somewhere) and range from $15-$350.

Ready to clean out your closet? The Dresscode has a $5 annual account fee and sets merchandise prices. Items are allowed on the floor for four to six weeks, and may be donated after that time unless they’re valuable—they’re not going to let that fur coat go to Salvation Army! The consignor receives 50 percent of the sale price.

Careful, now—don’t bring anything that has visible wear, is out of season, or is even rumpled. Anything you’re ready to sell needs to be pressed, on a hanger (you can pick up free ones from the store), and no more than two years old. Your excellent quality items will put cash back in your pocket that you’re free to spend on (you guessed it) new clothes!

Motorcycle Hall of Fame

by Erica Blocher

I step onto the motorcycle, and slide onto the shiny leather seat. I pull on the heavy brown jacket and position my fingers on the handles, ready to hear the verve of the engine and humming vibrations as the motorcycle roars to life. Vroom….vroom…

Alas, I am not really preparing to ride a motorcycle, but perusing the Motorcycle Hall of Fame certainly put this picture into my mind. The Motorcycle Hall of Fame is truly a motorcycle owner and enthusiast’s Mecca, boasting over 100 motorcycles of various kinds and decades; I would know because I personally counted them as I wandered through. The museum is located near a residential neighborhood in Pickerington, Ohio, (Fairfield county).

There are vintage, specialty, and motocross bikes housed in the museum. Visitors are not allowed to touch the bikes but are allowed to take pictures. As a photography enthusiast, I took the liberty of taking pictures of various motorcycles; including Keith Urban’s blue and white 2007 Vengence.

This first floor has the “MotoStars: Celebrities and Motorcycles” collection that has over 50 motorcycles from famous people and celebrities, as well as notable movie props and memorabilia. For instance, there was the Scrambler 900 motorcycle that Tom Cruise rode in the movie MI-3, and a motorcycle sporting a Journey theme that was custom made for band member Neil Schon.

This floor also has unique memorabilia in glass cases, including famous celebrities’ mementos from movies featuring motorcycles such as The Fast and Furious, Torque and other big-name Hollywood hits. A quaint gift/memorabilia shop that sports t-shirts and other motorcycle themed products is also located on the first floor.

I ambled down to the second floor and found myself amid the Motorcycle Hall of Fame feature collection; “Awesome-ness”, which was a compilation of handcrafted motorcycles made by the famed motorcycle builder and activist Arlen Ness, who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1992. The collection chronicles his life, when he built his first motorcycle back in the 1960s to modern times. His more popular builds are showcased, including the “Top Banana,” “Smooth-Ness”, “Jet Bike” and his 1957 Chevy inspired bike called the “Ness-Staglia.” Other famous Hall of Famers include Peter Fonda, Steve McQueen and Jay Leno.

The rest of the second floor had a “garage” type of setting and is dedicated to popular motorcycle makers such Harley-Davidson. This section also had an impressive tribute to dirt bikes. The collection highlighted a display with a variety of bikes over multiple decades and recorded the history and evolution of dirt bikes that originated during the early 20^th century. I learned that not only did the bike first emerge at this time, but the idea of racing also began simultaneously. Pictures of young men in newsboy hats and 1920s clothing atop old dirt bikes were fascinating. I liked that little history lessons on prominent motorcycle figures/ activists and racing background were included in the museum.

My favorite reward for visiting the museum was the photo op. The museum lets visitors hop onto a mounted bike and get their photograph taken, wearing a leather jacket and glasses. The bike is the same one that actor Will Smith rode in the movie I-Robot.

Aside from feeling badass for about 5 minutes of my very straight-laced life, I couldn’t believe that shiny leather seat was the same exact one that held Will Smith’s shapely derriere at one point. Talk about motorcycle bliss.!

Olde Village Diner

By Evie Ebert

After the welcome sensation of bitter cold air conditioning, the first thing that my dining companion and I noticed about Olde Village Diner in Pickerington was that we were the youngest patrons there – by a long shot. An elderly couple held post near the cash register, smiling at each other over their mugs. An imperious older gentleman in a crisp mesh ballcap stretched out his arm along the empty booth, a newspaper unfolded before him with precision like an architect’s blueprint. As we took our seats, the diners and waitstaff discussed a grandchild’s orthodontia and a daughter’s driving permit. The Regulars continued their conversation as they received a warm-up on their coffee and we quietly picked a booth, hoping not to seem too obviously, well, Irregular.

They serve up typical diner fare with hints at the establishment’s Greek history, the open-face meatloaf sandwich sharing menu space with lamb gyros. On the dessert board, rice pudding and galaktoboureko are listed right next to the fresh pies du jour. Breakfast items are served all day, and this gourmand was particularly intrigued by the Friday special of all-you-can-eat fish and fries for $7.25.

Olde Village Diner is cozy, the walls are lined with booths and the windows trimmed with toile valances. Metal and red vinyl swivel stools stand at attention by the bar, and white boards on the walls boast the daily specials. The friendliness of the staff put to rest any worries about feeling uncomfortable about our first-timer status, and soon I was halfway into a cup of black coffee. When our server noticed we were working on a crossword puzzle, she cautioned with a wink, “No cheating!”

We finished our meal by splitting a slice of apple pie a la mode, molten ice cream pooling artfully around the flaky, homemade crust. As we paid our bill, our server recalled an older couple who comes in every week. The wife clips out each day’s crossword from the newspaper and staples the solutions to the back. Penciling their names at the top, they meet at the diner and tackle the week’s puzzles together.

It’s not hard to see how the Olde Village Diner could become an extension of one's own hearth. And if I lived near Pickerington, I’d certainly investigate that all-you-can-eat situation on Friday.

Blue Shoe Arts Studio

By Jen England

Every artist is unique in his or her talents, and the Blue Shoe Arts Studio/Gallery, located near Carroll in Fairfield County, is home to many unique artists. The program is dedicated to helping artists with disabilities express themselves and find their voice, aspects of their lives that deserve to be showcased yet often get stifled. BSA, which began in 2004, has been home to great creativity and beauty. It's all in the paintings. And the pictures.

Ohio's Rich History

BY Jourdan Corbitt

For all of the wives constantly criticized for the countless knick knacks collecting dust in their hallways and for all of the husbands who've compulsively retained every bus ticket and trinket gathered through years of travels and experiences, your day of vindication has arrived. On September 18, in the small office of the Fairfield County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society in Lancaster, ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ replaced small pockets of chatter as auctioneer Mike LeMay appraised several members' heirlooms, collectibles and so-called trinkets.

With fifteen years of experience and attendance at a bona fide auctioneer school, LeMay examined the table with hands behind his back and eyebrows bent. An associate, George Barnes, who specializes in evaluating glass, joined LeMay in his analyses. The two men encircled the table of cherished history like hawks, seeking telltale marks and sizing up the conditions of the artifacts. Together, they applied historical meaning and monetary value to treasures that had been passed through families for so long that their origins had become the stuff of legends.

One all-star contributor to the night's events was Sally Dupler, who brought several items to the table. The first was a beverage tray with a Native American's face painted on it. Barnes ran his hands around the length of the raised rim, declaring it to be a product of the Iroquois Beverage Corporation, from the 1940s or 50s, with an auction value estimated between $60 and $75.

Next, Dupler learned that a green glass pitcher her husband purchased on a whim at an auction was Victorian hand-blown glass from the turn of the century, hand-painted in the style of Mary Gregory. Barnes valued the piece at $200. Dupler also submitted a colorful glass bird (see picture) with a foot-long single glass feather for a tail. Barnes immediately determined the figure to be Venetian glass, citing the gold-speckled face of the bird as--a style for which the Italians became famous . The value of the item was $75-100; however, he noted that the birds were usually created in pairs, and a set would easily double the value. She also provided a dancing figurine frozen in a classic European-style waltz. The piece originated in Dresden, Germany, according to the appraisers, and was made between 1920 and1930. If the hand-painted porcelain item were mint, it would be valued between $75-100.

Richard Hartle was next to present some personal history and recalled his first memory of the wooden clock he brought to the event. At his birth home in Lansing, Michigan, he recalled being five years old in 1927 and seeing the clock. The appraisers determined it to be an oak kitchen clock from the Ensonia Company. After Richard assured them that the eight day clock still kept perfect time, they determined its' auction value at anywhere from $150-225.

Next, president and librarian of the local chapter Sue Hothem told the story of her stein. While stationed in Stuttgart, her father traveled to Tubingen, Germany in search of a pleasant souvenir for the otherwise ghastly memories of World War II. The glass stein had a metal handle with an eagle as the opening valve and was valued between $50-75.

Perhaps the most outstanding treasure of the evening belonged to Karen Feisel. Her great-great aunt knit a double quilt in the 1880s that remains in perfect condition to this day. With approximately seven stitches per inch, this incredible heirloom is what's known as a sampler quilt: that is, it features several squares, each with different design styles.

One element of antique auctioneering, LeMay explained, is the history behind an item. The more that is known about an item's background, the higher of value it will garner. LeMay estimated that this mint quilt – that had never been washed and only ever touched to be re-folded – would fetch close to $1,000 at auction.

There were several other items of equal importance discussed that evening; the aforementioned is just a sampling that sparked conversation among the attendees. Also among the mix of heirlooms was a gun, a baby plate, a tintype photo, a child's rocking chair and an early-edition printing of “Alice in Wonderland.” Even though it can be exciting to discover how much meaningful trinkets and treasure might fetch on the market, it was obvious that the night at the Genealogical Society was not merely about assigning monetary values to priceless family heirlooms. Instead, Treasures from the Attic allowed attendees to share and listen to memories, experiences and heritage and learn a little more about their fellow community members.