Learn about your antiques and collectibles with Georgia Caraway

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Faith

Eisenberg Elegantly designed brooches and clips made of Austrian rhinestones of exceptional brilliance The markings to look for: Eisenberg Original, Eisenberg Ice and the letter “E.” Some Eisenberg is not marked.

There are some jewelry manufacturers that everyone should recognize whether you are a collector or are lucky enough to inherit some of the family jewelry

Boucher This jewelry promises to be imaginative, and of high quality, usually with rhinestones and emerald, ruby or sapphire pastes Designs are insects, flowers, leaves and other 3-dimensional designs Pieces are marked MB or Boucher

Chanel Best known for Maltese-cross brooches set with large faux emeralds and ruby cabochons, and ropes of simulated Baroque pearls and gold-tone chains Chanel was expensive when it was first introduced and still is Pieces from the 1970s are signed and sometimes dated.

Ciner. High quality rhinestones, turquoise, pearls and small colored stones combined with superior gold-plating. Beautiful designs. The company is still in business. Marked with Ciner logo

Coro Early pieces of figurals with a clear Lucite central stone, known as “jelly bellies” are most collectible Forties vermeil pieces, such as animal and flower brooches; retro bracelets and cuffs; and double clips called Coro Duettes which can be worn together or separately, are also highly sought Look for marks: Coro, Coro Craft, Coro Duette, and Vendome

Miriam Haskell. Handcrafted pieces featuring clusters of baroque and seed pearls, rosemontee rhinestones in floral or abstract designs, and filigree gold-tone metalwork. Haskell is still produced Some is marked with her name, but much is unsigned

Hobe Made of faux stones and semiprecious stones, such as turquoise, jade and agate Romantic brooches and pieces in the Victorian and Byzantine style Usually signed in a triangle or oval

Schiaparelli Surrealist art inspired these fanciful designs Uses a variety of colored stones and pearls, pastes, glass leaves and shells Early pieces are unsigned; later ones bear the Elsa Schiaparelli signature Fakes, with the name misspelled, are abundant

Trifari. Produced a broad range of jewelry at all price levels, including rhinestone pieces, vermeil brooches, jelly-belly animals (using Lucite or faux moonstones for the center) and enamel flower brooches. Trifari used many trademarks, including T, TKF, Trifari, and Jewels by Trifari

You may find a treasure trove of costume jewelry in Mom’s or Grandma’s or Auntie’s jewelry box and they probably thought of it as “junk jewelry” Also look for damage, replaced or missing stones, repairs or worn plating Invest in a jewelry loupe and look for those signatures

Dr Georgia Caraway, former director of the Denton County Museums for 14 years, will be opening the Howe Mercantile on Howe’s Founders Day, April 25. In addition to Tips, Tools, & Techniques: Caring for Your Antiques and Collectibles, she has written four Denton history books and is working on a 5th history about the North Texas State Fair and Rodeo.

Founders Day vendors expand to Davis Street

Keep Howe Beautiful has decided not to limit vendors to just the downtown area. Due to the overwhelming inquiries from vendors, the organization will also allow for vendors to be all along Davis Street in front of First Baptist Church on April 25 also

The event will take place from 8a-8p with a free downtown concert from 6p-8p

Each parking space will be a vendor booth and will be on a first-come-first-served basis and there is no charge for vendors to set up shop on the two streets that afternoon There will be a vendor registration booth set up for guidance on setting up

When limited to the downtown area on just Haning Street, vendors are limited to 33 parking spaces. However, opening up Davis Street creates room for much more foot traffic for the annual event.

There is a planned horseshoe tournament and lawmmower races downtown as well as special performances from dancers

There will be a bicycle repair at First Baptist Church where Jeff Carter and others will fix all youth bicycles including chains, and tires

This is the 29th year that Howe has celebrated Founders Day In 1986, the event featured a rodeo on the grounds where the youth softball fields now are The event has had its ups and downs of attentdance, but this year appears to be the largest since the first one