meadows@meadowscollection.com

Welcome to meadowscollection.com

First off...what is The Meadows Collection?

We are!

Adela and Mark Meadows, we have been professional antiques dealers since 1980...The Meadows Collection is the name of our business.

Our logo...

...shown here and on the top of each page...is an antique raseur used in the early inns and taverns of Alsace and Flanders. The word raseur translates to a person who is boring. When a customer  had had a bit too much to drink or  became an annoyance, the inn-keeper  would set the house raseur in motion. Crafted of a fanciful figure in tole with a counter balance weight at the bottom, the piece would oscillate back and forth...back and forth...until it eventually stopped...at which time, the boring person knew it was time to leave.

We specialize in antiques and vintage decorative arts that are definitely not boring and pride ourselves on always having objects that are a little bit out of the ordinary...we like to say that they are  "Just as unique as you are."

You may have read our book, Quimper Pottery...A Guide to Origins, Styles, and Values, seen us on television including  multiple segments of Collectible Treasures on HGTV, or read about us in the Antiques Journal,  Maine Antiques Digest, Country Register, or West Coast Peddler.

We began in group shops, went on to have our own shop, and have traveled extensively...lecturing for various groups and exhibiting at  select antiques shows. We also lead shopping tours in France and sell through our web sites.

We have always had a fondness for vintage decorative arts in general and European art pottery in particular and, as well, are especially enamored with what the French call art populaire. The literal translation would be "art of the people" and I suppose that the Americanism that comes the closest is "folk art"...but it's really more than what that term typically brings to mind. Instead, it's more on the order of unusual items and curiosities...including old, well-loved tools of the trade...any trade.

We also specialize in vintage decorative items that are associated with wine...whether it be growing the grapes, bottling the wine, or drinking the results! Not to mention our long-standing passion for photography.

meadowscollection.com is published on a regular basis. It's turned out to be a great way for us to share with you the knowledge we have accumulated in our years in the antiques business.

Regular features include the Peek into the Gallery link where you'll find an informative article and the page entitled  Memo from J-P which puts the spotlight on a particular item that was selected by J-P, short for Jean-Pierre, our feline Chief Financial Officer. His choice might be a painting, a great pottery figure, or a kitchen item from long ago...whatever strikes his fancy!

A click on Shop in Your Slippers takes you to a selection of pieces available for purchase, and allows you to do just that...shop for unique antiques and vintage decorative arts without having to leave the comfort of your home or office computer. 

The Quimper Pottery link will whisk you to our site that is a monthly publication devoted to French faïence, particularly pieces coming from the town of Quimper in the region of northwestern France known as Brittany.

Shameless Book Plug is indeed a shameless plug for our book; there you will find ordering information for purchasing an autographed copy of your own instead of spending all that time lurking in the book store.

The France Shop 'n' Tour link provides a glimpse of what it's like to come with us on one of our tours...hint, it's an incredible amount of fun. And finally, Fun Sites to Check Out lists other web sites that might be of interest.

The Meadows Collection is about finding the unusual...we're not tied to any specific era or particular country of origin; even though we lead tours in France, we just may come up with an American folk art carving...or a Hungarian vase...you just never know...and neither do we...that's what makes it so much fun and unique!


The Meadows Collection
“Just as unique as you are.”

 

...and a vintageKeystone  photograph taken in a German doll factory...

Further information about these and other unique vintage decorative arts can be found in this issue's Shop in Your Slippers pages.

The Meadows Collection Home Page.....Peek into the Gallery     Memo from J-P
Shop in Your Slippers.....Quimper Pottery     Shameless Book Plug
France Shop 'n' Tour....Fun Sites to Check Out