Northwood Daisy & Drape Aqua Opal Vase

When I first started collecting Carnival Glass back in 1991, we only knew of the existence of the colour marigold. We spent a couple of years collecting the odd pieces at Antique Fairs and once we discovered there were other colours, our collection began to take off.

We got to know someone who was a dealer and eventually he brought us our first piece of aqua opalescent Carnival. That piece was a Drapery rosebowl. I fell for the beautiful Butterscotch finish straight away and was eager to know what else existed in this wonderful colour.

The one item I decided I wanted there and then was a Daisy & Drape vase. The exquisite little flowers wound around the neck sucked me in and I had to have one. At the time I believe they cost a fair amount and my dealer friend was reluctant to get me one. He advised me to wait and unfortunately he never managed to acquire one for me.

Years went by and I kept looking for the right one. It had to have a wonderful Butterscotch finish and lots of colour. I eventually saw one on eBay in America in 2010 and bought it. The photos were wonderful, absolutely no damage. The parcel arrived and as I took the piece out of its wrapping I began to feel that warmth of excitement that you get when you have the piece you've been waiting for. Then, a huge sinking feeling came over me as I saw the feet. One foot had a large sliver off the inside. The seller took it back no quibles and insisted he hadn't noticed and it didn't show in the photos.

So, back to square one.

Then, in February of 2013, as luck would have it, one appeared in the auction at the Tampa Bay Carnival Glass Club Convention. It looked beautiful and I was determined to bid on it.

I e-mailed my good friend, Christina, and asked her to look it over for me and to bid for me if she thought it was the business. Luck was on my side that day and I won. Christina sent me some photos and as if that wasn't good enough, dear Nancy Young from UK, another collector who was over there kindly agreed to bring it back for me. When I got it I was over the moon and it was well worth the very long wait, even if it did take me twenty years to get it. So I know I have said it before, but a big "Thank you" girls. Having freinds in Carnival Glass clubs across the world definitely does have its advantages!

Now I have just one more want in the aqua opal stakes and that is a Dandelion mug. Oh well, as the saying goes, "Everything comes to he who waits."

The Ellen & Keith Richardson Collection UK