About Us
I'm a generalist appraiser/valuer of antiques and collectibles with more than 50 years of experience. Since I have also worked professionally for decades as a conservator and restorer, I have that as an uncommon edge, in that it's usually very easy for me to spot repairs, replacements, marriages, and other forms of unoriginality.
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Given (2)
"The the French Lick-West Baden community is small in population but large in its historical..."
Read more
"The the French Lick-West Baden community is small in population but large in its historical impact. Their museum does an ever-increasing excellent job of communicating that history and its impact. Be sure to visit it."
"Courteous, knowledgeable staff; quick yet careful work; will suggest alternative procedures for..."
Read more
"Courteous, knowledgeable staff; quick yet careful work; will suggest alternative procedures for those watching their budgets."
Recent Activity
Personal property appraisers like myself don't usually have repeat customers so much as satisfied customers that recommend us to others. However, as a specialist in antiques and collectibles, I actually have had true "repeat customers", organizations that have hired me, sometimes annually, to...
(more)
Personal property appraisers like myself don't usually have repeat customers so much as satisfied customers that recommend us to others. However, as a specialist in antiques and collectibles, I actually have had true "repeat customers", organizations that have hired me, sometimes annually, to hold "Antiques Roadshow"-type presentations for their patrons.
The fear of personal contact and the ongoing monetary uncertainty fueled by Pandemic stopped all that; and for nearly two years now, things have been bleak.
William J. Lawrence
Appraising antiques and collectibles is a profession that requires hands-on examination of the stuff and direct contact with their owners. Consequently, I've had only one potential job between March, 2020 and now, and that's been cancelled due to the Delta Surge. At this point, I'd be very...
(more)
Appraising antiques and collectibles is a profession that requires hands-on examination of the stuff and direct contact with their owners. Consequently, I've had only one potential job between March, 2020 and now, and that's been cancelled due to the Delta Surge. At this point, I'd be very surprised if my business begins to recover at all before well into 2022.
Bill Lawrence
Actually, my expectations for Q4, 2021 are the same as they have proven to be for the last seven Pandemic-squashed quarters: negligible to nothing.
Bill Lawrence
(more)
Actually, my expectations for Q4, 2021 are the same as they have proven to be for the last seven Pandemic-squashed quarters: negligible to nothing.
Bill Lawrence
I have tried working with other businesses in the antiques and collectibles game., but the results have become increasingly negligible as the game itself continues to fundamentally change.
Bill Lawrence
(more)
I have tried working with other businesses in the antiques and collectibles game., but the results have become increasingly negligible as the game itself continues to fundamentally change.
Bill Lawrence
Actually, as an appraiser, someone who sells his knowledge as an in-person service, I've technically never been closed, just haven't had any jobs since January, 2020. And with the Delta Mutation now "running wild", I doubt I will have any soon, either. RATS!
Bill Lawrence
(more)
Actually, as an appraiser, someone who sells his knowledge as an in-person service, I've technically never been closed, just haven't had any jobs since January, 2020. And with the Delta Mutation now "running wild", I doubt I will have any soon, either. RATS!
Bill Lawrence
Like all businesses, banks have profit as their primary objective, as much as possible, whichever way they can get it. But wasn't kicking people when they're down once pretty much universally held to be bad form? Perhaps, or so we'd like to believe. But now, in these times when increasingly...
(more)
Like all businesses, banks have profit as their primary objective, as much as possible, whichever way they can get it. But wasn't kicking people when they're down once pretty much universally held to be bad form? Perhaps, or so we'd like to believe. But now, in these times when increasingly greed is thought to be good business, "bad form" seems to increasingly be falling by the wayside. And at least in my opinion, society as a whole will eventually be much poorer because of it, and most significantly in ways that will cost more than just money.
Bill Lawrence
This is indeed a fraught issue, especially during this pandemic when many small businesses have been repeatedly pushed to the brink and barely have any financial resources left. But that situation has also apparently clouded the thinking of many small business owners.
First and foremost, the...
(more)
This is indeed a fraught issue, especially during this pandemic when many small businesses have been repeatedly pushed to the brink and barely have any financial resources left. But that situation has also apparently clouded the thinking of many small business owners.
First and foremost, the increase from $7.25 to $15 would NOT be implemented immediately but gradually between now and 2025. So before everybody begins to tear their hair (or in my case, what's left of it), we need to know what "gradually" actually means in terms of time and amounts. In other words, those small businesses that are already paying above the current $7.25 minimum will have some breathing room while the rest will likely not be impacted as severely as they fear from just looking at the raw dollar spread. Finally, we can hope and perhaps even work towards insuring that those incremental steps do in fact allow as many small businesses as possible to be definitely on their way to full recovery by the end of 2021.
So how about restaurant workers who are currently supposed to make do on "tips"? Where I live, an area which has the highest cost of living in my state and the 5th. lowest average yearly salary in the nation, too many servers are paid well under $3.00 an hour. And they are often expected to do considerably more than wait on tables. In my opinion, those workers are long overdue, I don't care what excuses the restaurant owners make.
Last, it has been, I believe, at least 12 years since the minimum wage has been upped. Pandemic be damned; that's simply far too long, And again in my opinion, poverty , even more that ideological and cultural differences, is the main stressor on this county's unity.
Bill Lawrence
As an appraiser/consultant/restorer I work out of my home. Therefore, while I've had no work since mid-March, 2020, my "rent" is my mortgage, which along with all my standard monthly and seasonal bills except property taxes and electricity is fixed. The good news is that my current "income"...
(more)
As an appraiser/consultant/restorer I work out of my home. Therefore, while I've had no work since mid-March, 2020, my "rent" is my mortgage, which along with all my standard monthly and seasonal bills except property taxes and electricity is fixed. The good news is that my current "income" consists of fixed-amount pensions that so far cover those fixed expenses. The potentially bad news is that non-fixed monthly expenses such as food, gas, and the unforeseen continue to rise, if variably. The end result is that I'm luck to have $50 left at the end of each month, adding to my savings account is a thing of the past, and I had better be back to work by mid-2021.
Bill Lawrence
Your poll early this Spring suggested that roughly 1/3 of our small businesses had no more than a one-month cash reserve. But this pandemic has now lasted seven months. So I’m wondering if my account mother’s stark but experience-proven Small Business Rule # 1 isn’t worth repeating: You should...
(more)
Your poll early this Spring suggested that roughly 1/3 of our small businesses had no more than a one-month cash reserve. But this pandemic has now lasted seven months. So I’m wondering if my account mother’s stark but experience-proven Small Business Rule # 1 isn’t worth repeating: You should have a minimum of 1 year’s reserve to carry you through a crisis. In other words, your reported poll results were bad enough. But if you had included those respondents who had no more than 6 month’s reserve, my guess is that the crisis potential would’ve been far greater.
Thus on one hand, I applaud your proposed legislation. On the other, I wonder just how many small businesses might find it just another hardship to come up with an even irregular contribution to such a fund. Or to put it another way, before you go to the considerable trouble AND expense of trying to get your crisis fund legislation enacted, I suggest you seriously consider just how many small businesses would actually be able to participate in and therefore benefit from it.
Bill Lawrence