May’s Lovely Start…

My estate sale experience on Friday was…disappointing. I should have been able to pick up a load of vintage goodies at this huge house but well, it just didn’t happen–too many high prices and unpriced items dampened my spirits. And Sunday was a bust at my neighborhood thrift store. Sigh. That’s how it is sometimes.

So Tuesday, May 2nd, (after days of trying to source with very little to show for it) I was thrilled to find a few lovelies at my thrift store I was practically singing “Hallelujah!”

Thrift store goodies

This 1997 beaded Christiana picture frame (still with tags!) was a such sweet find. The Christiana brand is perhaps best known for their lovely beaded purses. I bought one years ago that I still use.

I found a bit more Waterford in the shape of an Irish coffee mug, Lismore pattern. Just the one, but worth picking up even as a singleton.

I almost missed this large Italian pottery bowl on the bottom shelf–it’s a hand-painted bit of mid-century modern cool. This is just fabulous. My only hesitation was due to the size and shipping cost. Then I thought “Girl, don’t leave this behind.” I didn’t. It was too crazy good.

I could picture this bowl on the coffee table in a room like this.

Total paid for items: $22.65.

I was talking with one of the thrift store managers and she mentioned that donations are down which surprised me because I always see folks dropping stuff off. But I do have a few bags of stuff I could bring in and it would be great to get rid of them. Some of the items are things I bought to sell and they are lingering too long and I’m ready to be done with them. Others were mistake buys–things that, in the clear light of day, I realized were just not good enough to bother with. It happens.

A private pick

Then on Wednesday a former co-worker invited me to rummage through some boxes of artwork that some nuns were getting rid of…and he let me have it for free! How sweet is that!

The wood carving of Mary and Jesus is just so beautifully done and would appeal to any mother. The Sacred Heart of Jesus print is an old lacquered one in an old frame, circa 1930s to 1950s. Neither of these brought up exact images in Google Lens.

These are just two of the things I picked up. Possibly more to come in the following months as the Sisters continue to downsize. Though I think I’ll make a donation next time to help them out. Many of these religious orders struggle financially nowadays.

Bottomline

Sourcing for vintage inventory is equal parts exciting and frustrating so it helps to get a few “wins” now and then. Frankly, while I still adore hunting for vintage things, other aspects of this biz are seriously wearing me down–the constantly rising fees for one. But that’s a topic for another day.

Hoping your May is full of blooms,

Karen

P.S. The lead photo shows some of our euphorbias and delicate coral bell blooms.