We carry two main brands of wax polish for furniture. Both are hard wax polishes.

1. Golden Rooster is domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi. While this works fine, there is chemical smell to the wax which I personally find undesirable. It relatively inexpensive.
2. Harrell’s Traditional Wax Furniture Polish contains beeswax and is a bit more expensive but is an imported brand which has been around for over 75 years. It is a well known brand and many professional restorers prefer this wax. Its available in 5 colors (Antique - Khaki - Colorless - Red Mahogany - Georgian Mahogany) though we may not always have all colors in stock.

Golden Rooster (domestic brand which seems to be partnered with Kiwi).

Harrell’s Traditional Wax Polish

A bit about wax polishes

Waxes are generally grouped according to their origin with the main types being:

1. Animal based: Beeswax is a very common componant of furniture waxes though is typically combined with other waxes to avoid what is know as fingerprinting. (Pure bees wax fingerprints easily due to its low melting temperature). Lac wax and Lanolin are also sometimes used.
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In this recent gloomy economic climate, it would be nice to add a bit of color and I though sharing some of the neat distressed finishes we have been working on, might brighten up the days a bit.

 The hand rubber, distressed finish sky blue hutch adds some pleasantness to the room and may even pass as French Provincial, as does the lemon flavored traditional Chinese stool with a worn down finish for that “clean but aged look.”

Lacquer colors like Popsicle, Cherry Candy, Green Apple and Salty Licorice bring more to mind then just plain old furniture.

French country - Chinese country - whatever it is, its pretty cool. These pieces were on their way to new homes.

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I was searching for some photos of Chinese wedding beds and Chinese canopy beds when this humorous page came up on Chris Johnson’s personal website entitled “How to Assemble an Antique Two Room Chinese Wedding Bed.” This along with his main Chinese Bed page is worth having a look at (The photos below are from his page).

I have done this myself and its not as bad as it looks, though it takes a few people to do it (I am surprised two was enough). Amazing how the whole thing collapses down, eh? One thing to be careful about - if there is a missing or left behind piece, the whole thing may be impossible to assemble.

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Quick follow up, on a prior post about antique doors and antique door furniture. Was pokin around on Flickr again and noticed just how many great photos of old doors there ( along with a few good ideas on how to use them, including for sculpture).

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For those furniture importers, wholesalers, trade buyers, interior designers or furniture retailers in the business who were unable to make it to this years Shanghai furniture fair, its worth heading over to our China sourcing blog to see what you missed.

Shabby chic remains a strong look and some of this years other nicer offerings included vintage Italian leather armchairs, upholstered furniture designed in Spain,  leather trunks and  french country style furniture.

To read the full article click over to
“The latest from Furniture in China 2008 expo“

The antique advertiser.com website has a great page of tips called Antique Alchemy which have been compiled from various reader feedback and other web sources.  Its a great little resource which I though I might reprint for you here. As they mentioned on their page - these tips are all use at your own risk!

ACCUTRON ALABASTER / ALUMINUM / BOOKS / BOTTLES / BRASS / BRONZE / CANDLES / CARVINGS

CHINA & PORCELAIN /CLOCKS / COPPER &BRASS / CRYSTAL & GLASSWARE  / DOLLS & TEDDY BEARS / FURNITURE & WOOD PRODUCTS / GOLD /GRANITEWARE /  HORN / IRON & STEEL / IVORY / JEWELRY / LEATHER / LAMPS / LINENS, /  NEEDLEWORK & TEXTILES / MAGAZINES / MARBLE / STEEL / MIRRORS / MISCELLANEOUS / NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES / NICKELWARE / PAINTINGS / PAPER /  PENS & PENCILS / PEWTER / PHONOGRAPH RECORDS / PHOTOGRAPHS / POTTERY /  PRINTS / SILVER / SOAPSTONE / STATUARY & CARVINGS / TEXTILES /TINWARE / TORTOISESHELL / VARNISHING & PAINTING / WOODENWARE

ALABASTER

Don’t soak alabaster in water, and never use an acid to clean it. Use a sponge dipped in soapand water, squeezing the sponge well before wiping the piece.

ALUMINUM

The inside of pots which have been darkened by alkaline foods may be brightened by boilingin them one quart of water to which two teaspoons of cream of tartar have been added. Boil 10minutes. (Cream of tartar may be purchased at most food stores in the spice section.)Lime deposits from hard water may be removed by boiling a solution of equal amounts of water and vinegar in the pot and allowing this mixture to remain in the pot overnight. Then polish the inside surface with a steel-wool soap pad, wash, rinse, and dry. To brighten and remove discoloration, polish aluminum with steel- wool soap pads, rubbing
in one direction only. Spun aluminum pieces should be rubbed in the direction of the surface lines.

 BOTTLES

If you have old perfume bottles that are cloudy from hard water minerals,drop adenture-cleaning tablet in, fill with water and let the fizzing action clean it. The insides of bottles can sometimes be cleaned by swirling lead shot or sand around in the water-filled bottle.To deodorize jars or bottles, pour a solution of water and dry mustard into them, then let them stand for several hours.

BRASS

(See Copper and Brass)

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Any furniture retailer will tell you that, many times the “end all be all” for retail buyers will be just how the item integrates into their home space. Sure, comfort, durability and quality are all top consumer preferences but overall dimensions, depth and height along with usability all have a lot to do with furniture-buying preferences as well. According to High Point Market industry reports, “Foremost, you must understand that the typical furniture buyer is a she, not a he.” Which means “she” is probably not going to spend time attempting to fit a round peg into a square hole (Unlike “he” who will either just hammer it in, or pull out the tools and change the dimensions of the hole).

Sometimes though even the most experienced sales people need some extra help. So what better place the photo sharing site Flickr to see just how real people are integrating items into their homes then on. Unlike glossy magazines like Better Homes and Gardens or ELLE DECOR these homes are real.

There is a article by Jim Green in the furniture industry publication Furniture Today entitled “Knowing Too Much” which touches briefly on this subject.

” A nightstand is a small piece of furniture, with or without doors and drawers, normally placed beside the head of a bed. It provides a surface to set a lamp or place a glass of water, a book, or pair of reading glasses. BUT…a nightstand might not be a nightstand at all. It may, in fact, be a chairside commode. It also may be a telephone table or a stand for a small 20” TV set.

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