Leigh Keno is the founder of Keno Auctions, an innovative auction house with a focus on fine and decorative arts in New York. With almost half a century worth of experience in dealing with antiques, Leigh Keno understands the importance of taking health and safety precautions packing fragile items or while moving heavier items. The following tips can help ensure your safety on moving day.
1. Avoid overpacking. Overpacking can put not only the container at risk of breaking, potentially damaging its contents, but also yourself at risk of injury. Furthermore, a general rule of thumb for packing involves making sure boxes and other containers do not weigh more than 50 pounds. When packing a fragile or extremely valuable object, made of porcelain or glass, use bubble wrap and float the packed box within another box lined with bubble wrap. This will insure that if the box is dropped, that the layering lessens the effect of impact.
2. Know proper lifting technique. Lift boxes and items with your legs by bending your knees and squatting while keeping your back as straight as possible. Bending over or leaning forward with your back while carrying even a 25 pound object puts strain on the spine and increases your risk of injury. Additionally, while bearing weight, make turns with your feet rather than your hips.
3. Remain alert. Keep a close watch on your surroundings while moving boxes and furniture from one place to another. Watch for hazards such as other boxes, packing tools, uneven walkways, dishevelled carpets and slippery floors that could cause you to trip or lose your balance.
4. Dress appropriately. Consider wearing comfortable clothing with no excess fabric that can get caught or stuck on something. Protect your feet with closed-toed shoes and avoid footwear such as heels that may compromise your balance.
Leigh Keno feels that if one follows these four basic rules, you may never have to call your property insurance company to report breakage or your health care provider to report an injury. However, assuming that it is affordable, it is always wiser to consider using a professional crater and mover.
Accomplished appraiser Leigh Keno has worked in the fine and decorative arts field for more than 40 years. Throughout this time, he has been a regular appraiser on Antiques Roadshow and overseen operations at Keno Auctions as president. Leigh Keno also has co-authored a book about discovering hidden treasures with his brother and maintains a site detailing antiques and art discoveries he finds in barns and houses.Places where antiques pickers can find vintage items, antiques, and collectibles include:- Thrift stores. Pickers who are looking for vintage toys, glassware, planters, or sterling silverware can often find something at thrift stores. These stores, whether small or large, are great places for finding hidden treasures at low prices, especially right after new merchandise is put out. It helps to get to know the owner of the store so that they can tell you about the latest additions to the store.- Estate sales. Craigslist and local papers typically list upcoming estate and yard sales. These events are perfect for finding hidden treasures. However, pickers must focus on estate sales that are put on by the family and not an estate-liquidation company. These companies have a better idea of how much certain items are worth and will price them higher than usual. However, a liquidation company can't know about every type of object, so if you are a specialist in, for instance, Chinese porcelain, you may just be lucky enough to find a bargain.- Curbside. When people move or clean out their homes, they often leave unwanted furniture and other items on the curb. Many of these items can be good finds for pickers. Leigh Keno recalls an Antiques Roadshow segment filmed at the Anaheim, Ca. convention center where the owner told a story of her father finding an unsigned shadow box containing marbles, an ivory pool ball and sand on top of a pile of garbage next to the sidewalk. Under a glass plate, one could see a mapped constellation from an old book affixed to the inside of the backboard. Leigh did some quick homework and discovered that Ferus Gallery had a show of the famous artist Joseph Cornell's (1903- 1972) work in 1962 in Los Angeles, not far from where the box was found. He gave it a preliminary on-air auction estimate of $100-200,000 dollars and recommended further research. Not ad for being plucked fromt he top of the garbage!Below is the link to where she tells of her father finding it in the trash:http://urs.pbs.org/redirect/256ffb98ae6419eb45d2d487a/- Online. There are literally thousands of auctions on several auction platforms each year. There are so many, by hundreds of small to large auction houses, that a simple search may turn up a gem that gets missed.
Leigh Keno, the president and founder of Keno Auctions, has written numerous articles and books, appeared on Antiques Roadshow, and lectured across the country. One of Leigh Keno’s passions since childhood is treasure hunting--exploring old barns and houses for antiques and art. In 2000, he wrote a book, Hidden Treasures, together with his brother, Leslie Keno. The brothers were honored to have Luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno invite them to appear on their television programs, which helped the sale of the book tremendously. If you are just getting into treasure hunting, start with your local town history. Take some time to do research, paying close attention to historical buildings and locations. With this information, instead of aimlessly wandering the town, you can go directly to a location with the potential to yield hidden treasures, such as an abandoned home, a local landmark, or the location of an old battle, crime, or disaster. Leigh Keno recalls writing a magazine article about a once famous but mostly forgotten late 19th century Tarrytown, New York Art Pottery, Odell and Booth Brothers during a summer break from college. He did the primary archival research but also decided to find the brick building where it once operated. Upon walking around the building, he was amazed to find shards of pottery from the kiln site which had been discarded! Although they had little monetary value, the small collection of shards added greatly to his knowledge about the objects produced there. When searching for treasures of all types, you must be opportunistic. Keep an ear out for news of yard sales, construction projects, or urban developments in your area. Many yard sales offer old toy collectibles, furniture, or paintings at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, urban developments and construction projects often occur in areas with old buildings or historic sites, where you may be able to pick up valuable items that have been discarded as scrap.When searching for auctions on the various internet platforms, the best place to find treasures is in a single owner Estate sale where objects of all types are included. In these sales, specialists are not always notified if there are items in which they have expertise and search for. You may end up getting an extremely rare piece for 'pennies on the dollar' Finally, look around your own home. Small bits of metal or other material sticking up in your yard may be a sign that something valuable was buried there. Further, if you have an old house, the attic or basement may still contain some old treasures that were left by family members or former owners. The great thing about treasure hunting is that there are countless items out there just waiting for their moment in the spotlight. Why shouldn’t the one who finds that treasure be you? It only takes determination and a bit of luck!
