Sweet Finds: Ceramics, Fabric, Silver

Haven’t been buying much, but lately everything I’ve bought is…well, kinda sweet. Like this vintage Labor Deruta (Italy) ceramic relish tray. I spotted this on a cart at my neighborhood thrift store. It hadn’t even made it to the shelves yet, but I recognized the style and moved darn quick to put it in my shopping basket!

Ceramics from Deruta, Italy, are still made today and are quite desirable (aka sellable!) with the older, more elaborately painted pieces being sold in the hundreds to thousands of dollars. (Definitely a BOLO item!)

A few days later I found this hand-made ceramic bowl. I think it’s a student piece because it’s slightly out of round and has a tiny wobble, but it has such a fun vibe with the hand-painted sunflowers not only on the inside but the outside of the bowl.

Something about it just said “Buy me.” So I did! Will any one want this wabi-sabi piece? Hard to say, but I thought it was worth a gamble. In a world of mass-produced cheap stuff, items like this are jewels to me.

I recently bought some fabulous fabric remnants which inspire me. (I plan on dusting off my sewing machine this summer.) Fabric, while not a huge seller for me, is an enjoyable part of my business. I have fun searching for appealing, special pieces, and bonus, fabric is so easy to store and ship!

I spotted this blue and yellow fruit-themed toile right off.

It’s by Braemore Designs and just a bit over a yard. Not big, but so pleasing. It has a substantial weave and would make a beautiful throw pillow.

This linen “Tree of Life” print by Colefax & Fowler is called Pennryn and is in a word fabulous. I have a full 4.5 yards of this high-end designer fabric.

I’ve got two yards of cool, mod 1970s Everfast cotton. This cotton has a bit more weight than I find in similar cotton fabrics made today.

I’ve also had some online finds that please me. I bought this tiny sterling silver creamer from an eBay seller. It’s British and hallmarked for 1865! Love that.

I’ll be honest, I’m going to keep this for myself for a while. I enjoy using little creamers like this for my morning coffee and it’s fun to think of all the folks who have lovingly used it over the years (and years).

I also made an offer on this handsome, hefty silver cross, marked Sterling, USA. I have a small collection of BIG crosses I wear all the time and thought this would be a good addition.

Some of you know that vintage sterling silver charms have been a passion of mine for over 20 years, but more recently I’ve been focusing on selling them. So far the only way I’ve had to source them is from other online sellers. I don’t find any at thrift stores, rummage sales or estate sales, so I search online to find bracelets or charm lots that have some “meat on the bone” with at least a couple of stellar or rare charms along with the more ordinary. I don’t make a huge profit because I am “paying up” for these, still the charms are selling and it’s a way to bring more folks to my store.

Here’s a lot I just bought. (This is one of the photos from the listing.)

Some of the charms that “sold” me: a mechanical beehive that opens, a beautifully initialed love token inscribed 1884 and a vintage Mickey Mouse with tag. The sale of these three charms will cover the cost (I paid $90) and the rest will be profit, which in the end should be $100-$125.

And one last online find was a vintage quilt (72.5″ by 84.5″) I won in an auction on Shopgoodwill for $48. It has a collage of wild cotton fabric strips sown together then quilted in a machine-stitched circular pattern.

I adore quilts both for their workmanship and practicality. This one just arrived and it’s in beautiful condition. I just need to give it a run through the washer.

I’ll close for now. If you haven’t visited my shop for a while, please do take a peek. I have a number of items on sale and always lots of new listings.

As always wishing you happy hunting,

Karen