Hello Everyone,
It has been a very busy time in Eaglemont of late. Firstly, at the end of June we took part in the vintage clothing fair in the charming seaside suburb of Williamstown, where fur coats, warm gloves and vintage shawls were the order of the day; whilst early July saw us exhibiting at the Camberwell Antiques Fair, with a large stand displaying a wonderful array of furniture, porcelain, silver and decorative objects.
But more importantly has been the creation of the Eaglemont Antiques website;
www.eaglemontantiques.com.au
Before setting up the website, the key questions to be answered were:
Do I need a website?
What could a website achieve for my business?
The internet has been around from as early as 1968 where a small group of universities joined computers together to form a network of communication. The internet (called "net" for short) really started to gain momentum in the late eighties, early nineties, and saw a huge increase in internet population to around fifty thousand hosts.
In 1993, the internet hit a huge milestone of now having the ability to display a website in a graphical format. In 1996 there were approx 15,000,000 users online world wide. In September 2006, Nielson//Net Ratings reported that over 1,086,250,000 now access the internet worldwide. Australia’s population around this time was approx. 20,750,000 and a staggering 14,663,000 users now access the internet.
In Australia this is over 70% of the population! I needed no further convincing that this was the way of the future, and that these are exciting times for us all to enjoy the diversity and creativity not only of the world of vintage, the world of antiques and art, reflecting an international economic climate which sees new opportunities across many boundaries, but also to take advantage of the many lines of communication and distribution that are readily available through the internet.
Presently, we are also enjoying renewed interest in antiques coming from television programmes such as The Antiques Road Show at 5.00 p.m and The ABCs Collectors program on Friday nights, along with the many articles appearing in magazines and newspapers. We are witnessing buoyancy that is reflected in the current phase of “careful selection of furniture and decorative arts to fill big spaces.”
 Once again this year, Eaglemont Antiques is a finalist in The Leader Newspaper’s Business Achiever of the Year Awards, thanks to all those who nominated and voted for Eaglemont Antiques. The awards presentation night is in September and maybe once again this year, Eaglemont Antiques will be a winner! And finally we are of to Sydney in late August to exhibit at the AAADA Dealer’s fair (see below)
With all that in mind, enjoy this edition of the newsletter.
The William and Mary Desk (1690-1725)
 At Eaglemont Antiques we are extremely proud to have on display and for sale a wonderful example of the fine craftsmanship of the 17th century – a William and Mary desk in the high baroque style.
William and Mary is a European influenced style, named after the reign of William and Mary of England. This style has distinct Dutch and Chinese influences and is characterized by trumpet-turned legs terminating in a ball, bun or elaborately-carved Spanish foot. Floral or scroll motifs and Oriental lacquer-work are common details on furniture from this time. Writing desks created during the William and Mary era were usually made of black walnut, ebony wood, or holly, and had a graceful and refined look.
To many people, a writing desk is much more than a functional piece of furniture. It's a cherished accent piece and a symbol of their social standing and discerning taste.
No wonder that stunning traditional desks are sought after to create a tastefully elegant look in stylishly decorated homes. In fact, classically-styled writing desks are always in demand for their beautiful designs, intricately detailed ornamentation and rich tones.
The desk designs we are familiar with came into existence mostly in the 17th and 18th centuries. Desks originally from this era make extremely valuable antiques, and many modern desks are still modeled on their classical styles.
Australian Antiques and Art Dealer’s Fair – Sydney
The Showring
Entertainment Quarter (EQ)
Moore Park, Sydney
Gala Opening and Preview : Wednesday 22nd August - from 6pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 23rd, 24th, 25th August – 11 am till 8 pm
Sunday 26th August – 11 am – 6 p.m.
Each year in August we look forward to exhibiting at the, AAADA fair in Sydney.
This year there is a new venue at the Showring of the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park in Sydney, with twin pavilions that create the space that will hold the single most impressive collection of antiques and fine art in Australia in 2007.
 
Brand new is so yesterday! Antique or vintage is totally where it's at; and of course, for a poodle diva, it's all about trendsetting.
The problem with antique or vintage when it comes to pets is that people didn't treat their dogs quite so well two hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago for that matter. So finding truly delicious vintage items that incorporate pets, can be a challenge.
When I peeped into the sideboard the other day, just looking for a really fun bowl for my water, what I came up with! There on the second shelf were some bowls with bunnies all over! So I began a little research.
I found that the Bunnykins story began in the early 1930’s in an English convent school where their creator, Sister Mary Barbara taught history and in her spare time illustrated the antics of a family of bunnies which have captured the imagination of the young, and indeed the young at heart, the world over.
It may seem curious that a young nun should have originated the characters on which this popular nursery ware is based, but a glimpse at family history explains it all. She was born Barbara Vernon Bailey, daughter of Cuthbert Bailey who succeeded his father as general manager of Doulton’s of Burslem in 1925. Not long after his appointment, he was thinking about developing a new nursery ware pattern and his daughter’s animal drawings came to mind.
 As a child, Sister Mary Barbara, confessed to always being enchanted by the antics the wild rabbits running free in fields. As a child she would watch them scampering across the grass, their bobtails disappearing down into their burrows when ever disturbed. Their antics must have left a very strong impression to appear so vividly in her drawings years later.
Cuthbert Bailey was delighted with all his daughter’s illustrations and launched her first set in 1934. The new Bunnykins ware quickly became popular and before long all Royal Doulton’s existing children’s patterns, using predominantly nursery rhymes, had been phased out. The company’s energies went instead into expanding the Bunnykins range. By 1937 there was a wide selection of useful shapes in both earthenware and bone china, just perfect, as you can for my water bowl.
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