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Author Biography
Linda Hamer Kennett writes "What’s in the Attic?"
After many years of living on the East Coast, Linda Kennett returned to her home state of Indiana and settled in Irvington to raise her two children. With the original intent of staying for 5 years, she is now on her 24th year in her 1902 farm house, with no plans to leave. She began her estate liquidation company "What's in the Attic?' in 1993 and after 5 years of assisting the residents of the eastside with selling their antiques, she took the advice of friends and started her column to share her experiences. From it's beginning with one local paper in 1998, her column is now carried weekly in over a dozen papers in the mid-west, as well as online with Ruby Lane, Auction Trends and eHow.com.
Today her work takes her throughout Central Indiana viewing everything from heirloom sterling silver to primitive farm tools. In addition to her column and her company she lists among her credits a long time membership in the International Society of Appraisers, 2 time recipient of the Southport Antique Mall Award for Excellence and production staff assistant to the Antiques Roadshow.
Linda Hamer Kennett’s Story Archive
The Jewel Tea Man
It was a simple idea, so simple that he couldn’t believe that no one had thought of it before. Frank Vernon Skiff, Chicago resident and employee of the India Tea Company, was discouraged by the conditions under which coffee was sold by the local emporiums. In many cases the beans … Read More
Pop Goes the Retail
Temporary retail (also known as flash retailing) is projected to turn an amazing 10 billion dollars in 2019, making this the undisputed Year of the Pop-Up. So, what exactly is a pop-up? Pop-ups are short term storefronts or markets which enable merchants to have a temporary physical location to showcase … Read More
Heywood-Wakefield Wicker and Rattan
I had just finished pricing a 1920s wicker rocker at one of my mall booths when two ladies stopped to take a look. “This says it’s Heywood-Wakefield,” said one of them. “It can’t be,” said the other, “they only made blonde MCM furniture.” This is not an uncommon error. True, … Read More
A Gift From the Heart
It was a small metal box, dented and slightly rusted from the passage of time. Tucked in among the antique quilts and family heirlooms, it seemed out of place with Grandma’s keepsakes until we opened it. Carefully stacked in the box were 64 Valentines, one for each year of her … Read More
The Big Boy of Plastics — Texas Ware
Arguably the most innovative decade of the 20th century would have to have been the 1950s. Cars had tailfins, sofas became angular and the dishes dinner was served on went from porcelain to the new wonder plastic, melamine. Melamine, often referred to as Melmac, was first produced in the late1930s … Read More