Conrad Biernacki

    In a time long ago (the 1950s) and in a land far away (Niagara Falls, Ontario), little Conrad combed his neighbourhood building his first two collections-popsicle sticks and cigarette packs. For some unknown reason, having a lot of the same thing mattered. Thinking back on my cigarette packs, I could see how a collection of similar objects with different colours and designs could be intriguing. And being able to expand my collection for free had its advantages. Collecting popsicle sticks still illudes me…but I did have end up with a big box full of them!
(Just as a footnote, Niagara Falls is more than the Falls, hotels with heart shaped beds, a casino, and loads of embarrassingly tacky tourist attractions. There is a real town there with about 70,000 real people…well, sort of real. Notice how I no longer live there …Sorry Mom and Dad-nothing personal!)
    And as you might expect, stamps and coins followed. But from the beginning of high school through getting an honours BA in Urban Geography from Brock University in nearby St. Catharines, Ontario, and an MA in Geography from the University of Toronto, not one thought of collecting had ever entered my mind. That is, until, I had finally decided that I had had my fill of university residence food and wanted to do my own cooking. That meant finding an apartment and equipping the kitchen with some pots and dinnerware.
    That was about 20 years ago now, but I still remember the day I went downtown to one of the large department stores looking for a set of dishes. I bought a starter set for four of Johnson Brothers blue willow pattern dishes for two reasons-it was on sale, and I remember that my mother used to have a blue willow bowl. Since I enjoyed cooking and having guests over, I quickly realized that I needed additional place settings and serving pieces such as platters, vegetable bowls and tureens. But before I had a chance to get back to the department store, a friend had taken me to a large antique market that took place here in Toronto every Sunday. To my surprise, I saw lots of very inexpensive old blue willow items. I started by buy them and soon amassed a collection of several hundred. I liked the look and subtle differences I could see in the old pieces and soon sold my Johnson Brothers set. I became amazed at all the different makers' marks.
    Wondering if I was the only one who did this sort of thing, I found an ad for a willow collectors' club in the U.S. I joined in a flash and looked forward to receiving the bimonthly newsletters. Then one day I asked the newsletter editor if I could write an article. I send it in and was quite thrilled to see it appear in the next issue. That opened the floodgates. Every issue had one of my articles. I began a Toronto blue willow collectors group, and for several years we had our own newsletter, meetings and fundraising activities to buy ceramic artifacts that were donated to the Royal Ontario Museum, here in Toronto. When the U.S. editor was looking for someone to take over the newsletter, I volunteered. Now my little apartment was the North American, or should I say global, headquarters for blue willow collectors.
    When I was collecting blue willow, I did exactly what I tell my students today NOT to do. I bought everything in sight-chips and all-without knowing anything about what I was buying, except that it was blue willow. I kind of did it all backwards. I bought lots of pieces and then did the research.
    At the same time all this was going on, two things happened. First, I realized that blue willow dishes did not exist in isolation. I learned about the great potteries in Stoke-on-Trent and about the other items they made. Second, I took a course about the decorative arts taught by one of the Royal Ontario Museum's curators. That really opened my eyes to all the other wonderful old things that I could learn about-and buy!
    And that's exactly what I did. I kept my best pieces of blue willow, sold the rest, and moved on…to anything and everything. Ceramics, glass, silver, furniture and art of any type and time period. Whether an object is from the ancient World or was made yesterday, if the design is appealing (and I can afford it), it comes home with me. Over the last 10 years, I have focused mainly on tiles (mostly English, Dutch and American) and parian (an English type of porcelain made in the Victorian period for busts and statues).
    Why tiles? I bought one about 15 years ago to use on my dresser as a place to put my watch. It was an attractive transfer-printed Victorian floral design with colourful hand painting. Several years went by before I bought another. Then I bought one after other in rapid succession. I had learned quite a bit from my first collection, and made fewer mistakes. I was very cautious about condition and knew about the makers I was buying. Today there are hundreds and hundreds all over the house. I enjoy tiles because each one is a miniature picture. And, until about five years ago, they were quite plentiful and usually under $20. With these little flat squares you can practically document the whole history of ceramics! (I find this rather interesting.) They look great framed. (And they pack very securely, if you are buying them on eBay!)
    Pursuing my interest in tiles, I found two collectors' groups: TACS (Tile and Architectural Ceramics Society) in England, and Tile Heritage in the U.S. Both have great newsletters! Through my research on English tiles, I have met several other collectors in various parts of England. My annual summer trips there have now become a series of very enjoyable visits with other collectors.
    After graduating, my first real job was as a freelance writer for various antiques and interior design magazines, mostly in Canada, but also in Australia, England and the United States. My subject area expanded from antique china to include all types antiques. It then grew to include residential and commercial interiors. I worked in the interior design field for several years, then joined that staff of an interior design magazine. I next worked for an auction house and then a TV program on home decorating. For the last five years I have been teaching decorative arts courses at the Royal Ontario Museum and George Brown College.
    One of the most exciting activities I am currently involved with is the annual lecture event held at the Royal Ontario Museum, Collecting the 20th Century. It all began over lunch on day in June 1997. Susan Scott and I were looking for a project that we could work together on. We both enjoyed 20th-century objects and thought the time might be right for an event to celebrate them. We were right. Lots of people came to our first event in 1998 and that encouraged us to make it an annual activity. Between these events my time is spent teaching and collecting.

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