Well, That was Lucky!

After a disappointing start to the week I stayed home for a few days. I took care of this and that. Talked to friends. Packaged a few orders. And found lovely things around our house that I could add to my Etsy store. It was great.

But on Thursday I HAD to head out for some dental work. Not so great. Don’t get me wrong, my dentist is fabulous and kindness personified but it’s never fun having four dental implements in your mouth and feeling like you’re drowning in saliva!

But I survived and on Friday I decided it was time to get back to my neighborhood thrift store for a quick perusal. I hadn’t been there since Monday and the sad jewelry debacle.

Well, I eventually made it over to the jewelry counter and holy smokes, the rhinestone seahorse pin was back!! How the heck was that even possible??!! The only thing I can think is that when I looked at it originally at the checkout counter on Monday morning and decided not to buy it, the pin got forgotten behind the counter and the staff didn’t put it back right away. That’s why I didn’t find it Monday afternoon when I hustled back to the store to see if it was still there. When I didn’t find it I assumed someone else had bought it.

Regardless, it was there Friday morning in the jewelry case and my heart skipped a beat. I put on my best poker face as I asked the sales clerk to set it aside for me. This time I was buying it!

This amazing 1960s DeLizza & Elster Juliana rhinestone seahorse was made in different color combinations and three years ago one in the same fall colors as mine sold on eBay for $230.

Here’s a short, interesting article about DeLizza & Elster jewelry.

I’m still gobsmacked how this turned out. I believe that success in a vintage biz is mostly due to hard work, perseverance and knowledge, but I’ll admit for this purchase it was all luck. I need to do more research but will likely price this around $250.

On that same thrift store visit I also picked up this carved wood spice box/caddy likely from India or Indonesia. Each compartment has its own lid which is not typical. This box is not wildly old, but a bit of boho fun and perfect for storing small treasures. I could see this in a girl’s room if it got a light color wash or was prettied up with some painted features.

So these two items are all I have bought for my biz the last seven days. That’s gotta be a record! But that’s been okay too because it encouraged me to let go of more things from my collections–like this mid-century modern Alvin sterling silver stoplight jigger with all of its enameling intact.

Cute, right?! These routinely sell on eBay from $100 to $150 and they’ve likely sold for a bit more on other online venues, but a few businesses have them priced well over $400!