“Discriminating” Finds

A few finds I’ve bought recently…

Estate Sale Brass

I haven’t gone to any estate sales this year but five days ago decided I might as well stop by this one since it was less than two miles from my house. I wasn’t feeling super excited about it though. Out of over 100 photos advertising the sale, I didn’t much that intrigued me or looked special. But…what the heck, I’d go, wander through and see what I could find. Sometimes these type of sales have some hidden gems!

Well, I visited the sale two hours after it had opened and it was sad. The house was run down and dirty, nothing was priced except for the furniture, and the items were all very run of the mill–sauce pans that had been used for decades, worn silver-plate trays, Beanie Babies, valueless knick-knacks, damaged things.

I walked through rooms twice hoping to catch sight of something special, anything, but in the end I only bought two small brass vases from India that had a pleasing design and nice heft. This vase is just 6″ tall, but weighs over one pound. I think the clean design and shape could work well in most decors–from traditional to mod. I could see this with a huge bouquet of droopy tulips.

Here’s the funny thing…both the vases have a polished side and an unpolished side. Who  only polishes one side??! I’ll need to give them a thorough polishing before I take the listing photos.

It’s not often I leave an estate sale with so little. But perhaps in this case that was a good thing!

Neighborhood Thrift Store Finds

Well, the sale was just two blocks from my neighborhood thrift store so I decided to pop in. I spotted these handmade artisan pottery candleholders right away.

My immediate thought was that the shape and color of these look Danish mid-century modern. They are not Danish and possibly not that old, but quite fabulous. I could picture them on a teak sideboard or table. So far I haven’t been able to find out who the potter is.

I also bought a small Pryex 25 ML standing test tube (#3022). It was dirty, but otherwise had no defects. I thought it would be about a buck, but it was marked $3.05. Good grief! I almost didn’t buy it because the price seemed a tad silly, but I really wanted it to add to a lot of two scientific beakers. When I got home I researched the price of this particular test tube and discovered (shut my mouth) that this item sells for $25-35 new. I had no idea this kind of item was so expensive.

Travel Finds

I’ve been traveling the last few days and I love trying to find goodies for my store in new places. (Don’t you?) Alas, alas, I didn’t find much with “meat on the bone.” And at one Indie thrift store I know I paid too much for this tiny shell and brass “doll’s purse.” I know I did. I think I was seduced by its cuteness! I may just add this to my cubbyhole display of “small things”!

Later we stumbled on a 60-vendor antique mall. 🙂 Oh boy, I could have spent hours here but my husband has a limited threshold for places like this. In the end I did a 20-minute sprint around half the store.

Well my heart skipped a beat when I spotted this pretty Italian micro-mosaic picture frame in a locked case. This particular vendor had great items and knew the value of them, but with a little negotiation (she happened to be on hand) I got $25 knocked off the price. Still it was expensive and part of me was saying “Are you crazy?” But I do believe there is more money to be made on this piece. It is likely early 1900s and I haven’t found any missing glass pieces, including in the super tiny white and red checkerboard border. They don’t make them like this anymore.

Anyway, I am trying to be more discriminating in my purchases…and trying not to overpay!

As always, happy hunting,

Karen