hen Fred and Gail Taylor began restoring their 1928 bungalow in South Tampa, Florida their attention naturally was drawn to older and antique furniture. This eventually led to their full-time involvement in the antique furniture restoration business even though they both had corporate backgrounds.
Over the years, their willingness to share their first-hand knowledge and experience with customers led to the development of a seminar to help enthusiastic but uninformed owners and collectors identify their furniture. This seminar has since been presented around the country at conventions, malls, antique shows and private group meetings for collectors, admirers and restorers of vintage furniture.
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Their DVD, "Identification of Older & Antique Furniture," is an invaluable source of basic information for the antique hobbyist. This DVD is a beginner’s guide to determining the age and authenticity of furniture using construction techniques, materials and styles.
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Fred used the seminar and the DVD as the basis for his book, "How to be a Furniture Detective” which uses the Sherlock Holmes approach to determining the age, style, wood and condition of a piece of furniture. His easy going writing style makes it feel more like a conversation with an old friend than a technical work on furniture although it is loaded with technical and historical information. |
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Fred continues his daily involvement with American antique furniture by writing a syndicated series of monthly columns under the bylines "Common Sense Antiques" and "Questions and Common Sense Answers" for antiques and collectibles publications in the U.S. and Canada.
“Common Sense Antiques Volumes I and II”, 60 columns each, have been compiled, edited and updated in two downloadable .pdf files with numerous color photos |
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Fred has published articles in other major publications including Antique Trader, Chicago Art Deco Society, Northeast Magazine, Professional Refinishing, The Antique Shoppe Newspaper and Style Century eMagazine. He also writes the monthly "Furniture Forum"column for Antique Week, "Ask Fred" for New England Antiques Journal, "Furniture Specific" for Auction Central News and served as a columnist for WorthPoint.com.
He also participates in the AllExperts online forum and responds to over 300 inquiries a month from readers about their older and antique furniture. |
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