Monday, January 6, 2014

Thrift Haul: New Years Sale / Wall Hangings / String Art, Paint by Numbers, Plaques

The visual artist in me has trouble resisting unique retro wall hangings, but they don't sell well locally or online. Doing inventory I realized I have at least 74 vintage wall hangings left! I theorize part of the problem were the rushed photos that didn't give a good idea of scale. To start the year fresh I've decided to re-take nearly all of my merchandise photos and I wanted to host super sales all month while I'm at! Let's review my Retro Walls collection and look at the sales:


I've had the giant black boat plaque in Southern Crossing Antique Mall, it's absolutely huge and gorgeous and I don't mind it being around until it sells, but it needs to go! It's on Sale on Etsy for $25.00. (Buy HERE)The gorgeous wire art piece is on sale for $15.00. (Buy HERE)


Speaking of string art, I have this beautiful Red Boat Piece on sale for $9.00. Buy HERE.


And Golden Gate Bridge piece on sale for $9.00 as well. It's a  stunning piece, love the copper/black contrast. Buy HERE


And then there's yarn art, which I absolutely love! The Clown
(Buy HERE) and Rainbow (Buy HERE) pieces are $9.00, there's a small teapot here for $6.00.


And more yarn! 1) Adorable Big Eye Kids piece for $6 Buy HERE (2) Adorable panda art piece for $9.00 Buy it HERE (3) Beautiful large botanical piece for $15.00 Buy it HERE (3) Retro Vase piece for $6.00. Buy HERE


And then my love of kawaii couldn't let me resist these big eye style cute pieces, all on clearance: 1) Big Eye Art Pair, 1960s for $8.00 - Buy HERE (2) Child Artwork set for $6.00 Buy HERE (3) Holly Hobby Style set for $6.00 (Buy HERE) and (4) Colonial American Style Set for $6.00. Buy HERE


A match part of the cuteness set is this adorable nursery rhyme plaque. I love the colors and how it resembles my favorite classic cartoons. On sale for $8.00. Buy HERE.


And who could resist some retro owl and mushroom groovy wooden plaques? (1) Mushroom plaque, $6.00 Buy HERE (2) Owl Plaque, $7.50 Buy HERE.


I love these Mexican hand carved framed paired with dramatic velvet paintings to add instant retro flair to a room. (1) Puppy Love Painting, $9.00 Buy HERE (2) Seagull Painting, $9.00 Buy HERE


These two Asian style pieces are gorgeous, too. (1) Japanese Garden screen print clearance at $25.00, Buy it HERE (2) This gorgeous Paint by Numbers piece sustained a little damage, clearanced out at $7.50. Buy it HERE


I love wooden plaques, the kitten piece is a personal favorite find, I'm surprised it hasn't moved yet. He can be yours for $10, Buy it HERE. The odd kitschy clown can be yours for $6.00 here.


Another part of the wood plaque collection is this fun boat plaque is on clearance for $10.00 See it here.


And you can't go wrong with mushrooms. These mushrooms have languished for a while, they're a favorite score. On clearance for $18.00. Buy Here.


This adorable pair of owls are just perfection. On clearance for $18.00. Buy HERE.


Eagle plaques like this have sold lightning fast in the past but this guy hasn't budged. On clearance for $12.00. Buy HERE. This one's a BIG mark down!


This fun kitschy housework plaque is on sale for $6.50, I love the colors! Buy HERE


I loved researching information on the local North Floridian artist who painted these owl pieces. Own the fair on clearance for $12.50. Buy HERE.


I really enjoy this novelty large spoon and fork and the impact they make on the wall. On clearance for $9.00 for the pair. Buy HERE.


I adore these dramatic pagoda pieces which their chiaroscuro affect. On clearance at $18.00 for the pair. Buy Here.


The blue and green boat piece is another personal favorite I keep on display in my house. On clearance for $25.00. (Buy HERE.) Someone said The Clown art looks like David Bowie and I can't get that out of my head! On sale for $15.00. (Buy it HERE.)

Keep an eye out on My Shop, I'm trying to clear out for the new year and pieces will be going on sale left and right! E-mail me if you have questions about group deals or have any other questions! This new years clearance may be the last until Christmas, the wall hangings will be on sale for one week only. Also, the shipping prices on these listings have to be estimated for the farthest distance, the pieces are usually large and heavy and shipping adds up quickly, I'll refund any differences in shipping. You can message me with your zip code and I can try to calculate a lower rate for you.

Also, one last thing, please be sure to check out my editorial schedule for 2014 if you haven't yet. I was wondering if two posts per day would be too many? What do you think? Let me know in the comments. Always open to suggestions and collaborations, too! And for those who asked, I've detailed new ad rates and business services here.

What were your first finds for the new year?! Do share your finds and posts in the comments.

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

43 comments:

  1. I have been hitting the thrift stores hard these past couple of weeks to restock from the holidays, I have been hit or miss with wall art, I think it depends on the subject. (?), There is this very successful ebay seller, (who is now selling on Etsy) They take all those wall hangings such as the scrolling mushroom art and owls (plastic stuff) and they spray paint them all these mod colors such as orange, lime green etc, and they sell very well for her. I thought about doing that to some of my items,,,,but to tell you the truth, I don't think I have the heart to alter vintage items. Unless they are damaged, I just couldn't spray paint them. It just seems wrong.

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    1. I've seen the spray painted items work really well for different people locally and on Etsy. I tried it for a couple of items that were hard to move and it did help me mark up the price and sell some stuff that hd been hanging around for too long and that's hard to sell locally anyway. If it's a REALLY bad paint job on the vintage item to begin with (like mine were) or damage I can see the change being justifiable. Otherwise I'm on your boat a bit, not a big fan of the spray painted vintage items. Seems wrong like you said, and for me a seller feels like cheating somehow, too? I'm crazy ;)

      A LOT of my Etsy photos were rushed to meet my Monday Thrift Haul deadline so I'm excited to re-take the photos so people can have a better idea of scale and just see the item better. I'm sure that'll help move some stagnated items. With art too it depends on the right person seeing it at the right time, it's easier to brand your own art line you make where you can give it consistency rather than random bits I've picked up over the years.

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    2. Oh by the way, I can't share details yet but I'm working on a project related to the painted-vintage-items issue that I hope I can produce and release this year!

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  2. Even before I read the text my first thought was, "That clown looks like David Bowie!"

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    1. Haha! I didn't see it at first but now I can see nothing else! He is David Bowie the clown forever, I think I'll change the item description to match!

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    2. I thought the same thing before I read the text. Maybe it's Barnum & Bailey's take on Ziggy Stardust,lol.

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  3. Happy new year to you ;) I've been intrigued with those string art pieces, but haven't yet taken the plunge to buy any. Mostly because they're always damaged! I'll agree the wall hangings,paintings and prints can be difficult to sell, unless you really slash the price. They have not done well in our booth, nor online so far..

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    1. The most I've sold one for at the local antique mall was $65-$75, it was a HUGE gorgeous viking ship on velvet that was nearly my height. I've sold a couple of cool boat plaques, velvet paintings and string art pieces but they're a hard sell. I hope taking some improved photos that show scale better will help them move. Art's a fickle thing to sell. Seems like it either sells lightning fast or sits awhile.

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  4. I agree; I have no luck selling wall hangings or framed art, yet I LOVE to buy it! :) Those pagoda pieces are calling my name...thanks goodness I don't have one free inch of wall space left to hang them! Happy new year!

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    1. Happy New Year to you! Looks like we all have to let artwork sit at the thrift stores, I think I'll resist bins with them! They're no fun to have sitting around gathering dust.

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  5. I think you can get more for some of these on ebay. I would think etsy has more of a glut of vintage/retro because it draws a hipper crowd that get the trends sooner and fade faster. I sold a fork and spoon set last week for $14.99 plus shipping that had a broken/repaired tine on the fork and a big chip on the back. I also looked up your Ozz Franca big eyed boy and girl set which sold recently on ebay for $29.99 plus shipping. http://tinyurl.com/mhj9ekf.

    I like how you showed scale.

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    1. Well damn! Yeh I'm bad about getting on to eBay because listing on it is so foreign to me. Good points, I think I'll be listing these on eBay next :) Thanks for looking that up for me.

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    2. Oh just noticed those two are the matching set while mine aren't, still definitely got to get listing on eBay. I want to take some photos of myself holding the items for scale soon, too.

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    3. I feel the same way about Etsy. I keep thinking I want to open an Etsy shop but I keep putting it off because it's the listing process is different to me.

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    4. I've heard a lot of eBay sellers say that an initial confusing thing is not having a shipping calculator. Now that I've been on Etsy for a year and have intuitively learned what things will cost to ship through trail and error eBay's shipping calculator confuses me. Gonna power through and try to figure it out ASAP, it has higher fees but I know it's the way to go for faster sales.

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  6. I agree with everyone-- art is hard to sell. I couldn't even unload it at a garage sale. Hope you have better luck.

    I'm more used to Etsy and just started listing on Ebay. I wish their pages were more streamlined and easier to figure out.

    About posting twice a day-- I guess the only way to know is to try it. I used to post everyday but don't think it was much appreciated. But then again my blog is not yours. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks on the twice a day posts. I don't think I'll be ready for those for a while to come, need to build up the inventory of posts. I was thinking of it as a desperate measure if my stock of posts builds up the way I want it to! Hope we both have some luck unloading on eBay, excited to move out my current stock and get a fresh start.

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  7. I can't resist string art. Reminds me of my Grandma! I haven't tried selling it because I love it too much! Same for anything crewel related. All of this is much to my husband's disgust (he hates it) and wishes it would clutter up my booth instead of the house.

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    1. My boyfriend hates the crewel related bits but I love them and string art, too. :D

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  8. Happy New Year! No luck here either selling wall hangings on either Etsy or eBay. The only exception being nursery decor like your little boy in the hay and even those don't sell for much. I am putting the last of them in the donate box and will not be purchasing anymore.

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    1. I'm lucky I sold some paint by numbers, velvet and crewel pieces on Etsy but I'll try to avoid wall hangings in the future. I don't like them hanging around cluttering my apartment and mind in the meantime, I've had one sit someone in the antique mall for over a year, I'd completely forgotten about it.

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  9. I wish I had more room on the walls - I am always a sucker for anything nautical looking. Cheers!

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    1. Me too! I won't mind keeping the nautical pieces in the meantime if they don't sell.

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  10. I'm thinking long and hard about that fork and spoon!!! My granny had those on her kitchenwall growing up and I always wanted them! They are fascinating to a child

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    1. Vintage stuff fascinated me a child too and those novelty spoons would have done the trick! Never would have guessed I'd grow up to sell the stuff ;)

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  11. The eagle plaque is perfect for my brother since his soccer team symbol is an eagle and this one looks neat, very good price! Oh the novelty spoons remind me of Africa items, maybe because of the wood carving work?

    I think posting twice a day is way too much, even daily posts are a lot of work! Personally speaking, I have a good social life and I want to keep it like that, I know many bloggers out there only have online friends and that's alright but I have a life out there. I blog whenever I feel inspired but my 2014 goal is to blog 4-6 times a week. Let's see :D

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    1. I agree the twice a day thing may be too much, not just for me as a writer but overwhelming for the reader. I may resort to it if I end up with a backlog of posts that MUST be read. I'd balanced it out so it would be two easy-reading posts. The sale's for this week only if you'd like the Eagle ;D

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  12. I'd personally love two posts a day!

    Also, I wanted to mention that I love that your blog gets emailed to my inbox at night. I look forward, every evening after my kids are in bed, to sitting down and reading your current posts. If it reached my inbox in the AM it would probably get lost and deleted in the hustle of the day. I don't know if that's something you do on purpose or if it's just my email provider, but wanted you to know it's appreciated!

    One more thing: upon your recommendation, I bought a Vitamix! I've seriously never consumed so many vegetables! I LOVE it!

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    1. Thanks Kristen, it's starting to look like I'll definitely have enough post overflow to make that happen at the rate I'm going. The PM e-mails were not intentional but it looks like The Powers that set it up knew what they were doing. Also, SO GLAD you love the vitamix! You don't look back after getting one, really helps you get in as many veggies as possible smoothy, easily, and deliciously.

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  13. So much lusciousness in this post Van--all that wall art YUMMY! Thanks for always linking up and bringing awesome goodies--

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    1. And there's much more to come, lots to photograph this week :) Thanks for always hosting the link-up.

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  14. Oh my gosh I LOVE the green and blue ship. There's a very similar painting in my son's room, only it's in color and slightly bigger. And I have such a weakness for black velvet paintings!

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    1. Me too on the velvet, I may end up keeping the shit piece, it's stunning.

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  15. Wowsa! You could open your very own Retro Art Gallery with all those vintage pieces. I like how we can catch a glimpse of yesterday's post on your monitor in one of the shots.

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    1. Well, not yesterday's post but the prior day's. I'm just now catching up on my Thrift Core blog studying.

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    2. Ah ha, good eye there. I was rushing to get these photos done Saturday or Sunday afternoon before rushing out to an anime con, left a post up ;)

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    3. Oh and yep I have a hell of a lot of wall art and no wall space to display them in the store, especially if I end up getting this new larger antique mall booth. Definitely trying to stay away from wall hangings into the future, this isn't even all of them! And even with the sale they did not move.

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  16. Clown items never do really well for me, too. I guess it has to do with the creepy clown factor. I am surprised, though, that your needlepoints and yarn art haven't sold because those have sold for me, at least on eBay. Maybe it depends on how long you've had them listed.

    Wow, with your new editorial schedule, you will be blogging full time, non-stop! That would be a real challenge for me, but then again I'm not making any money off my blog just yet. Good luck with all that. It will be very interesting to see how your blog morphs over the course of the year. You've already made a lot of changes to your blog since you started. I am amazed at your continued commitment to blogging; so many of the blogs I follow have been discontinued.

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    1. I've sold two kitschy creepy ones I marketed as such, someone bought into the morbid factor. I sold a very bright cute watermelon one on Etsy but the others do need some improved photos, that may help. As some has suggested they're also going to eBay which will help.

      When I first started blogging it was really hard to keep caught-up with it because I wasn't used to it but with more blog-writing practice/updating image editing software/photography practice it's gotten faster and easier to write more posts. I also have hundreds of ideas that I've been holding back on and I feel ready to let 'em loose on the world! Maybe too many but we'll see how it goes :)

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    2. Oh and I just really love the hell out of blogging, combines all my favorite things: writing, journaling, graphic design, web design. Truly addictive for me.

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