Northwood Tree Trunk Aqua Opal Mid-Size Vase

I purchased this 12 1/2" Tree Trunk vase privately from Aaron Hurst during the 2014 Tampa Bay Convention. It was love at first sight. What attracted me instantly was the magenta action that starts just above the bottom and ends just below the top. All the little hobs are a creamy opal color and the shine! Let me tell you it's got a killer shine! It's a fascinating piece of glass.

It was found by a young fella who paid $100 for it at a yard sale in a little town in Kentucky. He put it on eBay and he was bombarded with emails from people asking if he would end the auction and take their offers to buy it outright. One of those people was Pete Bingham, who was sitting at his computer while working, away from home, in Seward, Alaska. With many ups and downs the seller finally agreed to pull the sale off eBay and sell it for a price, a five figure price which had changed and headed North several times. Pete's wife, Paula, flew to Kentucky to pick up the vase before the seller changed his mind again.

Now, Pete didn't get a chance to see it for another month until he left work in Alaska to go home for a visit. Instead of flying home though, he flew in to Kansas City, MO instead where he was to join Paula at the April 2007 HOACGA convention. The first thing she did when she picked him up at the airport was show him the vase. He was overcome with its beauty.

When they got to their room at the convention, they laid the vase on a pillow and put it on the table near the window so passerbys could see it from the hallway. Aaron Hurst was the first to see it and wanted to buy it. Pete set the price steep and Aaron knew what he had paid for it. Pete told him it wasn't for sale for any less, hoping to throw him off to discourage him from buying it. Pete and his wife were just getting ready to move to Seattle and the money would have been nice but it was just too pretty to sell.

Aaron kept coming by the window of their room to stare at it. Then, Tom Mordini walked into Pete's room and they both decided to pull a trick on Aaron so Tom put the vase under his arm and walked into Aaron's room like he'd just bought it. Well that set Aaron afire and he quickly went to Pete's room to seal the deal before he lost it. To their surprise, Pete and Paula relented when he paid their price. What else could they do? They had to let it go. It's one of those pieces they wish they had never parted with.

They wrote to congratulate me when they heard I bought it from Aaron and told me the story. They were glad to know it will have a good home for a long time with me here on the Showcase. I, for one, am glad the story went down just the way it did. Aaron kept this vase for a very long time and said he really enjoyed it.  I thank my lucky stars that when he decided to sell it I was in the right place at the right time. It's the prettiest aqua opal Tree Trunk vase I will ever have the opportunity to own. I have envied none other. It's the one!

About an hour after I wrote this article, my good friend and collector on this website, Rick Graham, sent me this email.

"Christina, I have a great appreciation for Tree Trunk vases and have long enjoyed them. I was very happy to see tonight your aqua opal mid-size Tree Trunk vase, what a beauty. I enjoyed your story of its history although I already knew something of it. I thought you might enjoy having this photo that I "borrowed" of it off eBay on March 18, 2007 when I saw it listed. It is a good thing I got it when I did as the listing soon disappeared. Congratulations on being caretaker of such a beautiful piece of glass!"

Thank you Rick. I am awestruck at how close-knit and connected we all are. What are the chances someone would have downloaded and kept this picture all these years and then sent it to me an hour after I wrote about it? Only someone who loves Tree Trunk vases like you. I've  added your eBay photo to the others at the very end so all the good folks reading this article can see what drove hundreds of collectors mad! I mean real mad...

Yes, the auction disappeared quickly, just when word of it was spreading like wild fire. Pete remarked how the person he bought it from on eBay was bombarded with several nasty complaints for stopping the auction and how he should have let the auction play out. This fella will always wonder what might have been if he did. If he had only known this vase was his once in a lifetime find....his needle in the haystack. Sigh...now see...this is what happens when you don't join a good Carnival glass club. I'm just saying...

The Christina Katsikas Collection