Posted by Friday was a tedious day of listing items and doing Spring cleaning, so I decided that Saturday was going to be a day of fun…and for me that included hitting a few sales!
First was a fabric remnant sale where I always find great pieces. My first pick was this P. Kaufmann cotton (or cotton/linen blend) fabric in a blowsy floral. It looks so English cottage to me.
I bought the showroom sample piece below because of the name on the tag. It’s made by Wind of Belgium, a high-end fabrics company. The fabric is a quirky blend of stiff silk with polyester soutache decoration.
This Romo (made in England) “Elsa” linen fabric is so darn cool. It’s tempting me to make some pillows with it!
But my favorite fabric was this stunning silk brocade featuring dragonflies. I was a smitten kitten. My photos don’t do it justice.
Even my husband (who doesn’t care about stuff like this) thought it was beautiful. It’s only 28″ wide, but I got four yards of it. There was more on the bolt, but I didn’t want to hog it. After I had my piece cut, another woman said she wanted some too! It was that beautiful.
Next I headed to an estate sale. I found lovely things, but prices were…well pricy.
Here’s what I decided to buy…
First this delightful vintage Fuji handmade beaded evening bag with a barrel bottom which was pristine.
And I liked this small box of bone dominoes from Mexico. The lid is also bone with a bit of scrimshaw.
And I was charmed by this set of nested cloisonné dragon boxes which seemed to say “Buy me.” These are not antique but do show signs of some age with light pitting. I’m guessing these are 1950s-1970s.
The total came to $70. (Yikes!) I found the head honcho and asked if he’d take $50. He looked aghast and hurt, “Oh I couldn’t. I couldn’t do that. I have 12 people working here today.” I was rather surprised by his response. First his staffing situation really isn’t my concern and second, it was day two of the sale. Things shouldn’t still be full price. I was sympathetic but also not willing to pay $70. In the end I got the items for $60 (about 15% off), but honestly, I should have walked away or tried to come on Sunday when everything would be 50% off. (And it turns out the domino set is missing three! Drat.)
Still I should make a (small) profit. I decide to list the 25 dominoes in a destash lot for jewelry makers and crafters and I’ll list the box separately.
Pricing the little cloisonné boxes was a struggle. They are not antique or of exquisite craftsmanship, but they are vintage and unique in that they nest. Prices for similar (un-nested) boxes are all over the place. In the end I priced them at $65 (with free shipping) which I think is competitive.
Am tempted to keep the beaded evening bag, though I don’t need one! I’ll likely list it for $40 with free shipping. I’ll do better on the fabrics which I haven’t started researching or listing.
So overall it was a fun morning, but to be honest here, I should have walked away from the estate sale without buying. 
The day ended fabulously with a date with my friend Niki to go see the Rodgers and Hammerstein play “Flower Drum Song” at our local theater. In a word…WOW! The singing, dancing and acting were all superb. Plus on opening night they have a gala party afterwards with nibbles and drinks. Didn’t get home till after 11:00 p.m. which is late for an old fogey like me!
As always, happy hunting,
Karen
P.S. My new Chairish store has 14 items live now, but so far no offers or interest. We’ll see how long I have to wait or if it will be a total boondoogle!
Hunting for Vintage 