Posted by Days keep on zipping past though at times I would be hard pressed to tell you what I did all day. Though I do get to my neighborhood thrift store about 2-3 times a week. That’s always fun but it’s been quite busy and I haven’t been finding much the last few weeks. In fact I am always amazed when I see my favorite YouTube vloggers load up their carts every thrift store shopping trip. Of course the stores they frequent are about three times the size of my local store, but I also think I’ve gotten a lot pickier. Some folks buy $3 or $4 items to sell for $10 or $12, but that’s not the model I follow. Too much work for too little $.
Here’s one I almost bought (and my youngest daughter thinks I should have)…
I love handmade pottery pieces, but have no trouble passing up chunky, out-of-date 1980s pieces, like this one…
And this hefty bean pot/soup tureen was a no-go. It’s just not what folks are looking for right now.
But I did find a few bread-and-butter items, like this pretty painted ceramic flask/hand warmer from Portugal which is a museum replica of a centuries older piece. Would be pretty on a shelf with other blue and white pieces or even used as a unique vase.
This little hand-painted camel bone ring box is of no great age, but very colorful and exotic and in great condition. Very boho.
I normally don’t buy cutesy things, but this 1960s/70s Maltese ceramic dog bank, complete with stopper, was in wonderful condition. I can just see some little girl adoring this. (Would make a great Christmas gift!) There is a similar version in white by Lego, Japan, that is fairly common, but I haven’t found one painted like mine, nor is mine marked Lego.
I love this cut crystal and sterling silver cruet set. Likely from the 1920s-1940s it’s a nice quality piece. The glass plug has some damage at the end, but is still usable. If I were to keep this though, I would likely use it as bud vase and scrap the sterling silver stopper.
This is my wild card find! I couldn’t pass up this small intriguing primitive bronze of a prostrated man offering a lotus flower. What is he?! After hours of research I haven’t found anything like it, but I did find paintings with similar figures prostrated like this offering flowers to Buddha. So I’m guessing it has a religious connection.
I almost didn’t buy this Waterford crystal golf club paperweight. Just not my thing. At home when I peeled off the price tag I saw it was acid-etched with some event. Did a bit of research and found that the Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley was a golf tournament played at Coyote Creek Golf Club by senior golf pros like Lee Trevino, Jim Dent and Fuzzy Zoeller. A neat bit of memorabilia for golf buffs.
So there have been a few goodies here and there. Enough to keep my store ticking along.
Of course one of the dangers of sourcing is finding things you swoon over. I was searching eBay for undervalued mid-century paintings and found this skinny abstract. Wow, I really liked this. I thought the colors and textures were fabulous. So in the end I used a little of my store profits to buy it for myself. (Now I know some of you may be looking at this and shaking your head, that’s okay.) No signature is visible but it has written on the paper in back “Helen Lustgarten.” It definitely has some age.
Will I keep it forever? Hard to say. Honestly, I’m at an age when I should be downsizing my belongings, not acquiring more. But for now, I’m happy with it.
How’s your hunting going??
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 