Old Bed - Made of Rosewood

Phew..at last I manage to update my page once again. It has been a while since I last update due to unforeseen circumstances.(Limited access to Internet)

Recently as usual during my trip to east coast of West Malaysia, I drop a shop which sell second hand furniture's. It's located in Kuantan town.Took my own sweet time lingering around that 3 storey shop looking any item that might be affordable for me to own 1.
I asked the shop owner what does he have in hand for I'm looking for something old. He then took me to the second floor of his shop. There I get to see many beds lying around and gosh..there so many of them.

Few of things in there attracted me to investigate further. I noticed 3 baby cot... 3 wooden baby cot and it's very nice. at a standing height of 4 feet. But what can I do with it??
Carefully browsing through the whole place I the noticed a big dark colour head board with a shell shape carving on it. Obviously my sixth sense drive me to touch it. and yes.. very smooth & hard wood. Looks like Rosewood but since I'm not a professional in woods I then asked the owner what wood is it for the bed.

Only then he told that it's Rosewood.I then immediately asked for the price of the bed.It took him quite to answer me. He then quoted RM800.00

RM800.00 for a bed??? wow that's sky high! I then checked with my dear wife about the current price of modern bedroom set. Was told it ranges from RM800.00 to RM4000.00 for average quality type of bed. I then asked her again would you like to own a bed made of Rosewood for the price of RM800.00? without hesitation she give an immediate answer..YES!!!

She told me we can never afford to own 1 without forking out thousands of RM.Since we are both collector, we share the same passion. Antiques!!!

I the asked the owner where did he get it from and so on.
He then told me that he got the bed from a malay man in Kemaman, Trengganu.That was his grand father bed passed on to his family members for years but when it comes to him.. It's no longer in fashion... the design is out of pattern. Not relevant to current lifestyle where they prefer modern furniture's. The bed was bought in the 50's.

That's all I get to know about the bed itself. Without hesitation.I bargain the price to RM600.00. This time around a fail to persuade the owner not like before I often manage to bargain up to 50% discount.This time I FAIL!!! I guess he knows the value of the bed hence, I'm at the losing end. AT last he gives me RM50.00 discount & I finally bought it at RM750.00.

It cost me additional RM400 just for the transport from Kuantan to KL.

It is now resting in my make shift workshop waiting to pampered, cleaned & to be given a whole new world. It's now only 10% done. Long way to go. I haven't' even complete sanding the whole bed yet but, I get to see the beautiful Rosewood grains now. What a beauty!!!

Metal Trunk/Luggage

Just add another item at home. A metal Trunk/luggage.Got it when I was taking a walk at AMCORP Mall recently.It was an old rustic metal trunk.Try to look for it origin but I couldn't locate it. All I can see is only the 'BOMBAY' embossed on the ledge with some numbers printed on it left and right front panel.

It wasn't in a good condition though.But this are the things that excite me most. I fancy reconditioning the item that I've just bought. I'll be able to watch the transformation from an old junk to another collectible item in my living room.

As usual, I have allocated time for my antiques. For refurbishing and maintenance.
I only allow myself to allocate not more than an hour per day. I need to have an equal share of life cycle. Currently, I'm working on my Double Bass and now I have this metal trunk in my so called workshop.

I wish I could share all of the photos of my collections with everyone but gotta wait till I fixed my PC at home.

JOHNSONS BROS

1 famous name in the dining ware products. I owned 1 brand new dinner set which were bought in England a few years back and now me and my wife scouting for any dining set that could bring the whole family back through time.

We started scouting around for dining sets a few months back. It wasn't really an easy thing to do I must admit. Being new into this arena (Dining/tableware)I reckon that we have start from scratch about the whole thing. Gotta know which is which, which is the most prominent, Most expensive and which is in demand.

In Malaysia to owned 1 set of Johnson Bros set is status claimed by itself. Most of them will place it in their showcase instead of using it to serve. I believe it's the culture where they treasure their belongings when it's quite expensive.

Never knew that I could find one Johnsons Bros product in Malaysia especially if the product aged more than 50 years old. Malaysia has been independent for 57 years and those days only the richest can afford to travel outside Malaysia.

We have been asking around for Johnsons Bros product and unfortunatelty not even 1 of the dealer has it in hand. They speculate that price will range from RM20 above. Wow!!! that is expensive. I was thinking I will never have a chance to own it.

Our recent trip to Ipoh destined us to find 4 pieces of Johnson Bros plate. The design known as 'GREYDAWN'.We stopped at a stall and the trader was packing his stuff since it's about 2pm. (Time for them to hit back home). We saw quite a number of light blue plates on his table and asked how much will it be. He then quoted RM5 per piece.Not keen into looking at it I just took the place examine it since my wife have decided to grab a few to complete our current set. Whilst examining the place for any defect I saw the print on it back and wow!!!! It's Johnsons Bros!!! I then asked the trader again how much will it cost for this plates? He reconfirmed RM5 and if I were to take more than 4 he will reduce the price quoted.

Well, having it all in front of us we then just flip those plates looking for the print hoping we could find more of it but luck was not at our side. We could only find 4 pieces. Extremely fine and the quality is far much better than any product produced in England ( I haven't come across Royal Albert yet).

And now..... we will scout further hoping we could find more of Johnsons Bros product and wish that we will be able have a complete set in our dining room.

Large Glass Biscuits Container

Just add another item to my living room. It was a large Glass container looks like a over sized bottle comes with an aluminium cap.It's height measuring at 2'. Came across it recently when I was roaming at the usual place (Amcorp Mall). Not familiar with the product I then asked around about the value (Price & age) of the container.
I get to know that price were placed based on the size and the number of air bubble appear in the glass itself. To my suprise, the more bubbles it has the expensive it gets and the smaller the container the higher the price will be.
Something which a bit awkward I would say. Always thought the bigger and the clearer the container the higher it price will be.

Somehow I manage to get it at RM40.00. Reasonable I must say since the known price for it is around RM80.00 - RM200.00. Wow ...those guys could have a fortune if they manage to sell it.

Took it back home and place it on my TV rack. After a while struck my mind I should do something to this container and not to have displayed on its own. Only took me a while to figure out what I can do with my container. I'm gonna put some guppy inside the container.I went to Pudu recently and grab a few male and female guppies.

My luck was at my side I must claimed. Over night my female guppies gave birth to a few guppy fry and now I have more guppies in my makeshift aquarium.

DOUBLE BASS

Recently on my way back to Kuala Lumpur from Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. I've decided to use the old trunk road which will take me pass by a few small district to Kajang. I pass by a place known as Beranang and while driving I saw an antique shop. Being a collector, I must admit this is a must visit which took at least two hours.

I can't recall the name of the shop but the owner is an actor. As I walked into his shop he welcome me with a greeting and offer me to look around his shop for anything which interest me. As usual my wife will scout for her dinner set. I notice a few stuff placed at the corner of the shop that catch my eye. It is the lesung keropok!! Curious to know the price of it I asked the owner how much is he willing to sell it for? He then quoted RM400.00 I then smiled knowing that I only invest less than RM100 for one. now I know how much value it carries.

He displayed quite a lot of antiques on shelve but I must admit the price are a bit too high to my budget. While roaming around his shop Me and my wife notice on a small Islamic art also known as 'KHAT'. Made of copper it is the verse of 'Qursi'. With wooden framed I then grab it without asking for the price which I believe will not be more than RM50. At the same time I noticed a Double Bass frame placed on the wall where he placed all of his items need to be repaired/refurbished. I then approached the item and suddenly crossed my mind that I can convert this Musical instrument into something useful. Ahah!!! yes, I can always convert it to a wall clock. All I need is just to get the clock machine and place it on the instrument.

I took the instrument out of it place and ask him to quote what is the price he looking for for this wreck instrument. He hesitate to quote the price for the instrument was not really an instrument since the only thing left is a piece of the Double Bass front body. No Neck, Bridges or anything. After a long negotiation, He then agree to sell it to me for RM30. Obviously it is not fair for him to sell that wreck for more than RM50. He then asked me what do I have in mind for this abandoned musical instrument? Told him I will convert it to a wall clock. But it need lots of work prior displaying ti on my wall.

The first layer of it frame has been ripped off which means I need to balance out to the whole body. Wow, sure it was not an easy job. I've got to scrapped all of it, Clean it up, apply one coat of varnish then only I will be able to work on the clock engine.

It is now sitting at my workshop lying down waiting to be cleaned and to be given a new look. Since I am working full time in a financial institution. I can only accommodate a few hours a week to work on this poor guy...

Adverts

It's kinda fun collecting those old metal advertisement plate. I've got myself a few. Cigarettes advertisement for known as 'torchlight'. I do own quite a number cigarettes can with it brand displayed on it namely Rough Rider, PallMall, Rothmans, Camel and few more.

Having all of it displayed on a side table, It's kinda an adventure taking you back through time. It reminds me of younger where my neighbour will give me 10 sen as a rewards if I were to go to the nearest shop located approximately 5km away from your place. 10 sen is big money those days. I can grab myself candies and cookies for sure back then.

I choose to have those ads as it is since I personally believe if it looks brand new, then it's not an antique anymore. I wonder why some people like to change the whole furniture/item so it looks brand new. It turns out as if it is a reproduction item.Defeat the purpose of collecting antiques.

Kuantan

Recently I was in Kuantan for a trip. Obviously I will definitely pay a visit to the flea market located at PADANG MAJLIS PERBANDARAN KUANTAN next to the state mosque.

There is only two antiques trader trade there. One with lots of items and the other less than 10 items placed on his mat.

I visit the trader with load of items. There where Chinese calculator know as 'sampuah' in hokkien. Asked him to quote the price and to my surprise he quoted RM50.00 and claimed it age more than 70 years old and with all of his stupidity he showed me the metal tag nailed to the calculator which says' MADE IN CHINA'. I asked him how did he define that this is an antique or not? Another silly answer I've got from him, "The design tells you a lot".

Not satisfied with the answer, I then questioned the metal tag since I am very sure back then those Chinese didn't place a metal tag on their product. They print on the wood itself.
Then another questioned posed to him on how did he distinguished is that item an old calculator? I asked for the slot where we can slide a wooden plate act as a cover for that calculator? I can't just imagine his level of arrogant and ignorance of being questioned in front of the rest of crowd in front of him. He murmured.. " If you want to buy this thing then just give me the money and walk away. Don't questioned me on the authenticity of my item."
I then advised him to respect his customer by not cheating them with a faky.