Harlem, New York, Oct 10, 2020 -- The Queen of Harlem Commandments Book Now Available online at Queenofharlem.nyc. The book has received a 91% positive rating and has received ***** 4.9 out of 5 on Amazon.com.

The Queen of Harlem Commandments is the first book by Michelle Smalls, a Harlem powerhouse who turned her pain into prosperity by following a code of conduct she first learned living the life of a street boss.

Ms. Smalls’ journey is not unlike many young women of color living in the inner cities that learn early in life how to rise above pain, loss, and disappointment. Through it all, the Queen made no excuses. Instead, she made commandments.

This book shares Ms. Smalls’ moments of heartache, triumphs, betrayals, and disloyalty she believes in order to survive and be successful in the hustle of life, you must respect the Code and follow the Commandments.

About the book: The Queen of Harlem Commandments book and journey chronicling Ms. Smalls’ journey is not unlike many young women of color living in the inner cities that learn early in life how to rise above pain, loss, and disappointment.

Through it all, the Queen has made no excuses. Instead, she made commandments! This book shares Ms. Smalls’ moments of heartache, triumphs, betrayals, and disloyalty. She believes that in order to survive and be successful in the hustle of life, you must respect the Code and follow the Commandments.

A virtual book tour will be held on October 19th, 2020!

About Michelle Smalls: Michelle Smalls is known as “Queen of Harlem” to many in the community. Michelle’s goal is to put smiles on the faces of young people, by way of giving back to the community at large. Michelle is an influencer, serial entrepreneur, real estate broker, and philanthropist.

For well over a decade, Michelle Smalls as a social impact leader has always placed a high priority on youth and the community. Michelle intuitively sees the needs and desires of her community, as an inspirational leader who focuses on problem-solving.

She takes full action and hosts outstanding charity events like her Christmas Toys and Coat Drives, Community Halloween Parties, Back to school drives, preparing teens for their proms, and having an all-girls basketball team. Ms. Smalls is a pillar in the Harlem community. She is transforming the lives of our youth by empowering them with love and opportunities that could build a tighter bond in our lifetime.

Website: www.queenofharlem.nyc
Instagram: www.instagram.com/queenofharlem_commandments
Instagram: www.instagramcom/queenofharlem
Facebook: www.facebook.com/queenofharlemcommandments

Book information: Book Title: The Queen of Harlem Commandments – Author Name: Michelle Smalls – Genre: Biographical Fiction – Publisher: Michelle Small – Date of Publication: August 18th, 2020 – ISBN: 979-86742533112 – Number of pages: 218 – Word Count: 42,000 – Formats available: Paperback and Kindle – Price: $24:95 Paperback, $12:00 Kindle Website to purchase: www.queenofharlem.nyc

To purchase your copy(s) of book today log on to https://www.queenofharlem.nyc/

Media Contact:
WA Public Relations Company
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St. Petersburg, FL, USA, October 11, 2020 -- A pair of handsome, centuries-old chambers that served for a time as executive dining rooms for Schenley Imports Company, the former New York City-based liquor company in the Empire State Building, and then later exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum in Florida, will be part of a massive, 600-lot auction slated for October 18th by Burchard Galleries.

The Sunday auction event, starting promptly at 12 o’clock noon, will be held live in the gallery (with social distancing and other protocols in place), at 2528 30th Avenue North, St. Petersburg. Internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will be accepted. Many photos can be viewed now, at www.burchardgalleries.com.

“This is the best auction in the 35-year history of Burchard Galleries,” said Jeffrey Burchard, owner of Burchard Galleries. “We’re offering lifelong collections of important treasures, plus the contents of a Lake Hollingsworth mansion in Lakeland.” The catalog is jam-packed with Tiffany art glass and lamps, Steuben pieces and Russian sterling silver objets de vertu including Faberge.

The list continues with important paintings, prints and sculptures by listed artists, to include Anthony Thieme (Dutch, 1888-1954) and Peter Max (German-American, b. 1937), plus vintage lamps and lighting, two large Stella music boxes, European porcelains, Galle, Moser, Baccarat, Lalique, Sevres, Dresden, Meissen, Capo-di-Monte and even a 1901 Stieff/Shaw grand piano.

Also offered will be antique Chinese carved jade, snuff bottles, important grandfather clocks, elegant 1920s French dining and bedroom furnishings, KPM porcelain plaques, Asian bronzes, Mougin Brothers French pottery, miniature clocks, vintage Victorian and Deco purses, African masks, sterling silver services, estate Oriental carpets, diamond watches and palatial chandeliers.

But the auction’s undisputed headliners are the so-called Schenley Rooms, which came into existence in England long before the company was founded. They are true gems of English Georgian and Jacobean décor. The historic chambers were painstakingly taken apart, crated and brought over to the New World, to typify what company officials called “Schenley elegance.”

One of the rooms, called the Georgian Room, was built during the Georgian period (1714-1830), during the reign of the Georges. The circa 1740 room is fully paneled, with a fireplace mantel, and surrounds a 560-square-foot area. It was originally from the Bull Inn, Guild Hall, London.

The Jacobean Room dates to the Jacobean Age, which began in 1603 with the death of Queen Elizabeth I. The 350-square-foot room, with stained glass windows and a fireplace, dates to 1610 and undoubtedly came from a typical early Jacobean, many gabled house, in the heart of London.

Around 1960, when Schenley moved its headquarters from the Empire State Building to new quarters in Rockefeller Center, the decision was made to not provide space for the new rooms. That’s when Theodore “Ted” Wiehe, Schenley vice president, approached officials at the soon-to-be-built St. Petersburg Museum if they’d like to exhibit the rooms, and they quickly agreed.

The rest of the auction catalog may not have as colorful a back story as the Schenley Rooms, but they’re no less important. The 15 art glass lamps include wonderful examples by Tiffany & Co., Handel, Duffner & Kimberly, LeGras, Schneider, E. Miller and others. Also offered will be Satsuma porcelains, Ginbari cloisonne and more than 100 perfume bottles and large factices.

The list of noted, listed artists is lengthy and includes names like Robert Butler, Jim Carson, Ted Coconis, Henry Robertson Craig, Edward Curtis, Herbert Laurence Davidson, Pierre De Belay, Robert Elwell, Vassily Grachev, Patrick Hennessy, Eugene Lancerag, Nikolai Lieberich (bronze bear), Josef Lorenzl, Pierre Jules Mene, Alphonse Mucha, Walter Schott and Syd Solomon.

Other artists include David Stribbling, David Tutwiler, David Wilkie, David Bruno Zach and others. The more than 75 pieces of fine estate jewelry will feature diamond brooches and rings, Mexican and Southwest Indian jewelry, Orianne gemstone jewelry, an emerald and diamond bracelet and more. Also sold will be Russian icons, Japanese watercolors and Asian bronzes.

Previews will be held by appointment only, from Wednesday, Oct. 14, thru Saturday, Oct. 17, from 12 noon to 6 pm in the Burchard Galleries showroom. Watch the website for an upcoming gallery tour video, at www.burchardgalleries.com. To make an appointment, call 800-520-2787.

To learn more about Burchard Galleries and the Sunday, October 18th auction, please visit www.burchardgalleries.com.

About Burchard Galleries:
Burchard Galleries is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign a single piece, an estate or a collection, you may call them toll-free at 800-520-2787; or, you can send an e-mail directly to Jeffrey Burchard, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To learn more, please visit www.burchardgalleries.com.

Media Contact:
Jeffrey Burchard
Burchard Galleries
2522-2528 30th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33713
800-520-2787 or 727-821-1167
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http://www.burchardgalleries.com

As this year’s COVID-19 emergency has led to countless live events being canceled, businesses that depend on live events for their livelihood have been challenged to rethink and retool in order to survive. “The event industry was the first to be hit and it will be among the last to come back,” says Josh Daniels. Daniels and his partner Caroline Winata own and operate Sacramento-based Giggle and Riot Funbooths.

Sacramento, California, United States., October 12, 2020 -- As this year’s COVID-19 emergency has led to countless live events being canceled, businesses that depend on live events for their livelihood have been challenged to rethink and retool in order to survive. “The event industry was the first to be hit and it will be among the last to come back,” says Josh Daniels. Daniels and his partner Caroline Winata own and operate Sacramento-based Giggle and Riot Funbooths. “A lot of companies in the event industry are closing,” Winata says.“So we’re doing all we can to adjust to that.”Winata and Daniels have taken this challenge as an opportunity. The partners have expanded their business deeper into the virtual realm, creating virtual photo booths to go with the virtual events now being held by families, universities, corporations and non-profits. “We’re still doing weddings, and people still want to remember their weddings,” says Winata.

“We had a wedding recently that was held simultaneously in California and India, so we set up several cameras and a web gallery so that all the guests and family members could participate in the festivities.”

Other events Giggle and Riot Funbooths are working with include “back to school” events, online conferences, fundraisers, even a formal gala, complete with a virtual red carpet.

“Organizations are getting creative, and we’re a part of that,” says Daniels. “We worked the San Francisco AIDS Foundation when they held their gala. They even had meals that people could order and have delivered. This time is challenging, but it is an excellent time to be creative.”

These virtual events may not be the same as an in-person gathering, but they have certain advantages, and Giggle and Riot Funbooths are aiming to make the most of these unexpected advantages.

“For instance, these are not always synchronous events, so they are not so limited to one moment in time,” says Daniels. “We’re offering more go-at-your-own-pace options now. These ‘events’ can live longer online than they would in person.”

Giggle and Riot Funbooths is well-positioned to deal with the current situation; they have long combined high technology with their warehouse of creative props and outlandish costumes to enliven their photo booths. But with props and costumes not possible at this time, they have delved deeper into virtual possibilities, aiming to make their fun booths as much fun as they were before - but virtually. Virtual props are just part of their custom offerings.

“Each event we do in all these cases has been custom-designed to meet the event design and brand design,” says Daniels.

“We’re also looking at backgrounds, so that people who are getting married, say, and wanted to go to Asia for their honeymoon, can play with that.”

Part of Giggle and Riot’s way of adjusting to this “new normal” is in showing their clients how to use the photos and videos that are created to maximum effect beyond the momentary event.

“A big part of what we’re working on is making sure it’s an effective tool for our clients, so it’s engaging with them and showing them how they can promote it on their social media,” says Daniels. “It’s a way of getting people engaged, and capturing people’s moments, and giving them something from the event to remember.

“In some ways, it’s exactly the same as it’s always been,” adds Winata. “It’s about fun and engagement and participation.”

Winata and Daniels have also continued to expand their adjacent business of teaching other photo booth owners around the United States how to adjust their businesses in this difficult time. Ever-creative, the duo says that they have long aimed to help other business owners to up their game: “We all operate in different areas, with different clients,” says Daniels. “We aren’t competitors, we are all part of the same community. We want to keep our industry healthy.”

But one thing is for sure, says Daniels: “Things aren’t going to be the same even after they go back to normal. Even once we can do weddings live again, there will still be a virtual element. The virtual tools we’re creating are going to be great for events forever because organizations are always looking to get people more involved.”

“The goal is always to connect people,” adds Winata. “Whether it’s in-person or virtual, the goal is to help create and capture good memories of the event, whether it’s a wedding or a graduation or a gathering of like-minded people.

“The ways we do that are changing, by necessity,” she adds. “But the goals remain the same: to connect, to engage, to allow people to be together, however possible. And we’re going to keep doing that, by whatever means we can.”

About Giggle and Riot Funbooth:
Giggle and Riot Funbooths was created by the top notch wedding photographers at Milou and Olin Photography so that guests can have a non-lame photo booth experience at events. We believe the world needs a little more woohoo and a little less snoresville. Amazing fun for drunk people (and their designated drivers), birthday parties, corporate events, weddings, engagements, and just about anything else you can think of! We arrive early to roll out the red carpet as you shimmy, shake and mug for the camera in our innovative, open air photo booth. Giggle and Riot Funbooths specializes in custom photo activations.

Contact:
Caroline Winata
Giggle and Riot Funbooth
1515 N C Street,
Sacramento, CA 95811
9167608414
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http://www.giggleandriot.com

New Hamburg, ON, Canada, October 9, 2020 -- An online-only Canadiana & Historic Objects auction highlighted by the outstanding lifetime collections of Dick Withington and Brian Stead will be held on Saturday, October 24th, by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., based in New Hamburg. The 699-lot auction will begin at 9 am Eastern time. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

The auction is packed with Canadiana, clocks, art, pottery and stoneware, art pottery, furniture, folk art, decoys, historical objects, lamps, lighting, rugs and textiles. “This sale is the perfect storm,” said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions. “We’re unleashing the rare clocks of a renaissance man, Dick Withington, juxtaposed Brian Stead’s Canadiana furniture and pottery.”

Regarding the Withington collection of scarce American and Canadian clocks, Miller said, “Dick Withington died in 1992, but the family retained his collection until now. In a pre-Internet world, collectors were astonished by what Dick found ‘the old way’. Today they’ll find no duplication.”

American clocks from the Withington collection include a rare, circa 1825 H. Clark shelf clock featuring ivory escutcheons, upper and lower doors and dial marked “H. Clark, Plymouth, Ct.” (est. $2,500-$3,000); and a 20th century Trippensee Mfg. Co. planetarium, manually operated with a wooden pulley driven by a cord, 30 inches long by 19 inches tall (est. $2,500-$3,000).

All prices quoted are in Canadian dollars. Internet bidding will be via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and the Miller & Miller website (www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com).

Also from the Withington collection is a Canadian 1920s Pequegnat Clock Company wall regulator No. 1 in a dark oak case, having a metal dial with Roman numerals, original hands and 8-day time only regulator (est. $2,000-$2,500); and a Seth Thomas double-door ‘peanut’ style clock in rosewood veneer, made in America in the 1870s, having a metal upper dial with Roman numerals and 8-day time and strike round brass spring-driven movement (est. $2,000-$2,500).

Mr. Miller described Brian Stead as “a quiet collector of Canadiana. Authenticity and originality were his foremost criteria. ‘Would be, could be and should be’ would never cut it with Brian.”

Furniture pieces in the Stead collection include a painted pine armoire made in Quebec, Canada in circa the 1850s, having raised panel ends, 72 ½ inches tall (est. $2,000-$3,000); and an 1870s Waterloo County (Canada) painted pine corner cupboard with mahoganized grain painted finish, dry scraped interior and two-piece stacked construction, 82 inches in height (est. $1,500-$2,000).

There are four oil on board paintings in the auction by the noted Canadian artist Homer Ransford Watson (1855-1936), all from the collection of the late Jack Wilfong, Watson’s paper boy. All are framed and signed. Watson has been characterized as a painter who first painted Canada as Canada, rather than as a pastiche of European painting. Works in the sale include the following:

- A 1926 painting titled verso, Spring on a Country Road (but listed as On a Country Road by Muriel Miller in her book, Homer Watson – The Man of Doon). The image area is 12 ½ inches by 16 ½ inches. It’s housed in a nice painted wood frame (est. $2,500-$3,000).

- A work from the 1930s titled Winter Afterglow, contained in a gilt wood frame. Watson incorporated outdoor elements in many of his paintings. Winter was no exception, as this scene gives the viewer a valley vista through an opening in the trees (est. $2,500-$3,000).

- An untitled 1930s painting, framed behind glass, with many key Watson trademarks and drama: the sky giving a premonition of inclement weather, the wind-swept oak tree with cattle fording, a bend in the Grand River in the direction of home (est. $2,500-$3,000).

- An untitled 1930s painting, framed behind glass, 13 inches by 17 inches (sight). Watson liked capturing atmospheric situations; the drama created here, with the partially-blocked sun, pending storm and light reflection on the river, is very effective (est. $2,000-$2,500).

Another noteworthy painting in the auction (and a candidate for top lot of the auction, with an estimate of $4,000-$6,000) is an oil on panel of a horse attributed to Canadian artist John J. Kenyon (1862-1937) titled Craigie from the 1890s. The 13 inch by 10 inch work, in a gilt plaster frame, is expected to spark a bidding war, as paintings by Kenyon are rarely offered at auction.

Two other lots carrying estimates of $4,000-$6,000 are a rare copy of Volume 1 of Philip Miller’s Descriptions of the Figures of Plants (English, 1760), boasting 300 color copper plates (lithographs) and numerous pressed folia between the pages; and an early 19th century example of Newton’s Celestial Library Globe (English), on a Victorian-era cast iron base, with 12 applied engraved gores, a brass meridian and ornate cast tripod base; the globe is 17 inches in diameter.

Also up for bid October 24th will be a Canadian-made Wettlaufer decorated child’s wagon (Oxford County, circa 1890), one of only five masterpiece wagons made for Adam Wettlaufer’s grandchildren, this one built for Clara (est. $3,000-$5,000); and an English cased dueling pistol set made by William Chance & Son (London), in a mahogany case with brass inlay and complete with six tools, percussion caps tin and powder flask, in a velvet-lined case (est. $3,500-$5,500).

Miller & Miller Auctions has a Watches, Jewelry and Decorative Arts auction scheduled for Saturday, November 21st, at 9am Eastern. It will be webcast from the New Hamburg gallery.

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions and the firm’s upcoming auctions, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com. Updates posted often.

About Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.:
Miller & Miller Auctions has introduced new updates to its online auction platform. “We’re committed to delivering a simple, dependable online bidding experience,” company president Ethan Miller said. “We’re continually investing in our digital platform to provide quality service and capability.” Mr. Miller said the most recent update involves an exciting ‘refresh’ to the online platform. “There’s no learning curve or major changes to our operations,” he pointed out. “This update will simply present users with an improved experience as they navigate our online auctions.” Miller & Miller Auctions has also launched a new mobile app for iOS and Android. Bidders can now choose to participate virtually in auctions using a phone or tablet for a convenient, portable experience. They can place bids and receive instant updates and notifications with a few taps. Miller & Miller Auctions is Canada’s trusted seller of high-value collections and is always accepting quality consignments. The firm specializes in watches and jewelry, art, antiques and high-value collectibles. Its mission is to provide collectors with a trusted place to buy and sell. To consign a single piece, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (519) 573-3710; or, e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To learn more, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com. Updates are posted often.

Media Contact:
Ethan Miller
Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.
59 Webster Street
New Hamburg, Ontario, CD NeA 1W8
(519) 573-3710
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https://www.millerandmillerauctions.com