My Weblog

Royal Port Weighs in on Country Living Magazine's Predictions of the Next Big Collectibles!

When we received the latest edition of Country Living I noticed it was the issue that focused on the next big collectibles.  Make sure you check it out and see how we compare.  I always like seeing what is hot! I also like to see if we are keeping up with the times!  Mike, Sam & I try to stay hip and trendy!!  Some of their 7 categories seem to fit right in with our inventory at the Royal Port.  Category one is Wooden Sock Darners as well as Sewing Accessories.  That has always been a love of mine.  Our photo captures a few of our darning eggs along with a beautifully done quilt patch and some handmade spools.  A nice collection that is reasonably priced for any collector.  Our shop is full of many sewing and weaving items from various time periods.  Category two falls into an area that for those of you that know us is right up our alley, Iron Farm Tools.  I took a quirky photo of some of our small items but have you seen the latest iron hay lifter on our  porch.  I love it.   For Mike, the rustier the better!  So I think we rock in that category!  Category three is another favorite of ours, the Factory Cart.  Industrial salvage is very hot right now.  The factory carts are a perfect fit in our Feed Mill environment.  Our architectural inventory looks right at home on the carts throughout  the shop.  It helps create nice vignettes of various types of inventory.  The same is true in using them as a coffee table to display personal collections and create your own unique space.  Category four is Educational Ephemera such as diplomas and class photos.  My favorites are the early group class photos in front of the early schoolhouses.  I am always on the hunt for them.   I love them for the history of the architecture, as well as the clothing and styles of the time.   We love Category five, Graphic Signage.  This includes advertisements and road signs with great graphics to create unique wall art.   We have had so many terrific signs over the past 17 years come and go from the shop.  I had to add a photo of our huge directional arrow.  Can't miss that one!  Well we fell a bit short on Category six,  Natural Curiosities.  This would be in the Taxidermy department.  We actually did sell an early duck recently but it isn't really our department!  Finally, Category seven is mother of pearl flatware.  They are beautiful.  We look for early flatware including the mother of pearl.   We currently have a few settings of wood and metal but fall short on this category.  I will keep my eye out for mother of pearl.  Well I think we did well in 5 of the 7 categories.  Not too shabby!  Keep us on your list for places to go to keep up with the latest trends.  We have lots of other categories that fill our shop daily.  Stop by and take a look!   See you soon.  Suzanne

Where has the Time Gone? November is here with a Bang!

October has come and gone.  It was a busy month for stocking up the shop.  We also had a very successful Ghost Tour, selling out again this year.  We look forward to our next big event in Salem, the Yuletide Tour which is December 3rd from 10am-6pm.   We should have tickets/booklets early next week. Today,  I added a November Album of new photos of all our recent finds.  It includes a variety of things especially small things perfect for Christmas Gift Shopping.  One of my favorite setups from our new inventory is this Salem County, NJ Pie Safe.  It is a perfect height and size for a kitchen center island.  Wooden or yellow ware bowls would fit nicely underneath to hold potatoes or fruit.  You could even store your pots and pans.  The screening is in perfect condition.  It has a nice red patina.  Displayed on top of this pie safe is also a nice one door cupboard.  I have it displayed on a surface but it would also make a great hanging cupboard.  This type of small cupboard is perfect for displaying that small collection.  One of my other favorite photos has my favorite little guy in it.  Enjoy the November Album of photos.  Please feel free to email or call with any questions.  I will be adding more photos throughout the month.  Follow us on facebook for updates.  Suzanne

Walking Ghost Tour of Salem City, NJ

On Friday, October 28th at 7pm the Rotary Clubs of Salem are having the 5th Annual Walking Ghost Tour of Salem City, NJ.  It is a very fun event.  The tour goes along Historic Market Street where guides tell tales of sightings along the way.  Everyone meets here at the Royal Port and gathers into groups on the porch. Tour goers meet back at the Royal Port for hot drinks, cider and baked treats.  It's a great community event.  The event benefits the Salem County Historical Society.   Tickets are $5.00 and may be purchased here and at The Bank in Mannington.  Please feel free to call for additional information at 856-339-0400.  Hope to see you there.  Suzanne

Great Time had by All at the Royal Port's Annual Anniversary Open House and Customer Appreciation Day!

We wanted to thank everyone who stopped by on Saturday for our Annual Open House. (the Minnick's have been regular customers and friends for years)  We had a very busy day.  Customers and friends, from all over, coming and going throughout the day. We continue to be overwhelmed by your support.  We enjoy the fact that our customers can make themselves at home when they come to the shop.  We appreciate your thoughts and excitement about our inventory and setups.  We enjoy being able to offer new things on a regular basis.  I wanted to share a quick customer creation as a result of a purchase on Saturday.  My friend Rita bought a really unusual scoop.  She was also lucky enough to pull a $20.00 Sammy bucks towards her purchase.   Before we arrived at the shop on Sunday she had already had her husband Dan create a light for her home and put it in place.  An email greeted us with the completed photo.  Very creative idea.  Thanks to everyone for a great day.  Sammy had fun too!  Looking forward to Christmas Open House on December 3rd.  Suzanne, Mike & Sammy

Royal Port Antiques at the Historic New Castle, DE Antiques Show on Sunday!

Are you looking for something fun to do on Sunday, August 28th? We are bringing our antiques on the road to our next show in Historic New Castle, DE.  In its 24th year, the Historic Newcastle Show is an outdoor show on the waterfront in Battery Park. Admission is $7.00 or $6.00 with a card (print out the card included in this post).  It's one of our favorites. The show is from 10 am -4 pm.  We've been planning and preparing.  Our inventory for the show will include furniture, stoneware, baskets, architectural, garden accessories, treenware, and of course the unusual.  If you're looking for something and are going to the show send us an email and we'll see if we have it. The weather is up in the air for Sunday but we hope to see you at the show.  Make sure you stop by the shop.  We are always open rain or shine. (open until 5)  We are about 20 minutes from the show.  Make a day of it and stay for dinner in Historic Salem.  See you there Suzanne & Mike

Benches and Stools...What's New in August at the Royal Port!

We added some fun inventory from some local house and farm picks.  We never know what we will find on our travels.   Make sure you check out the August Album. I will be posting another album next week as we catch up on some  additional inventory.  We brought in a lot of fun stools and benches as well as some other antique items to the shop this week and last.   They range from a 19th century mortised bench with original paint  to several folding benches.  We also added some smaller benches and stools.  The red ones are old milking stools.  A few others left for Virginia yesterday to be used for garden stools.  We added a lot of fun and quirky things.  Make sure you check out the album.  Also don't forget to add our Annual Customer Appreciation Open House to your calendars.  It is on Saturday, September 17th from 10am-6pm.  Looking forward to it.  We have been getting ready and adding as many new things to the shop as possible.  It's a great day to see everyone! Lots to eat! Sammy bucks are back too.  That was a lot of fun.  Stay tuned for more inventory.  Suzanne

A Quick Photo Tour of Royal Port's 2nd Floor!

Today I decided to get some quick shots of our 2nd floor.  I will be doing this from time to time so you can visit both floors of the shop from your home.  The Porch and Picker's Field are next.  Click on the link for Royal Port's Second Floor Album.  If you see something and need more information give us a call or email.  Don't forget to mark your calendars for September 17th from 10am-6pm for our Annual Customer Appreciation Day at the shop.  If you are not part of our mailing list give us a call or email us your address.  Postcards will be sent out in a few weeks.   Have a great weekend.  Suzanne

A Quick Photo Tour of Royal Port's First Floor!

We are always looking for ideas on how to make our webblog better for our customers.  Recently it was suggested that we need to add to our blog some photos of the shop as a whole not just individual items.  It was something I have been wanting to do.  So I took a trip around the first floor and added an Album of Shop Shots.  I will add the second floor next week.  If you see something in the photos and need more information about it don't hesitate to call or email.  If you have additional ideas of things you may want to see on the webblog feel free to let us know.  We appreciate the feedback.  Hope everyone is having a great summer.  Don't forget the Farmer's Market on Thursdays in Salem City from 10am-2pm.  Great produce, baked goods, flowers, barbecue and so much more.  Hope all are having a great summer.  Suzanne 

New Inventory in June at the Royal Port!

June has been a pretty busy month for us.  We were at Ocean Grove, the Mullica Hill Show and the Harbor Fest in Cape May.  We met a ton of new people as well as many of our faithful customers.  We look forward to meeting a lot of you again at the shop. 
We have been redoing the shop, especially the second floor for the past few months. I thought I'd share some photos of one of the new booths we did last week and a link to our new Album for June.  Feel free to call or email with any questions about the inventory in our June Album.  Let us know what you think of our new album format and what else you might want to see on our site.  Enjoy the beginning of summer!  Suzanne, Mike & Sammy

Some Photos from the Royal Port Antiques at the Mullica Hill Show!

Just a quick post today.  I wanted to share some photos of our space from the Mullica Hill Show last Saturday.  We actually brought a Corn Crib with us.  It was a hit!  We are the first space as customers enter the show.  This was a real crowd pleaser.  Mike and I had fun setting up an outside room.  It did sell and will be headed to Cape May!   Take a peek at the Album.  It was great seeing so many of our regular customers and meeting so many new ones.  See you at the shop.  Enjoy the beautiful weather.  Suzanne