Monday, March 3, 2014

Thrift Haul: Vintage Typography and Camera Free Mod Furniture, Antique Lamps, Etc.

This is yet another Post That Almost Wasn't. With merchandise temporarily cluttering every surface space while I evaluate inventory and an 11:00 AM podcast scheduled on my busiest hunting day this post was a nearly a note explaining why I'll no longer be doing Thrift Hauls. I'm overwhelmed with inventory, it's a feeling not unlike trying to squeeze your ass into 3-sizes-too-small skinny jeans. No mas, does not fit, not working! Mayday! I decided to go anyway and returned with 2 minutes to spare for my interview! These are my finds from the week:

I am always looking for beautiful industrial metal baskets, I didn't notice the handles of this one were not even when I first scooped it up but it's such a handsome piece, gorgeous shape that I don't feel the photos accurately captured.



See it on Etsy. I loved it as a record rack, would be great for hosting some in the antique mall...if people bought records at all locally. I've never sold one for over $1.00.


And yet another beautiful camera, photographs very well. Random rant, I don't know why when I save these images then upload them to blogger they are no longer the immaculate white they were in the image editor but off-white? It's solved when I save as a .png but those load slow so off .jpeg problem it is. Anywho, Camera is on Etsy.


I wouldn't pick this dress up in a store, too trendy. What's with the geometric tribal pattern on everything shipped out of China these days? Are we going to look back on 2013 and 2014 ten to twenty years from now laughing at our tribal version of retro Saved by the Bell prints on shirts, dresses, purses, hats? Anywho I caved on this brand new brand-name skater dress with sweetheart neckline for the fit alone, very easy to wear dress. From a favorite second-hand spot in St. Augustine.


And then there was a chip bowl. Always enjoyed the look of these and couldn't stop myself from paying for this despite my vow to buy no more glassware. It resides on Etsy. That reminds me, there were some clear glass Scandinavian candle holders, would those sell? Thought I'd leave them behind without knowing more info on them.


Another find for keeps is this trio of stunningly gorgeous Japanese paintings, each depicting a different season. Painted on a texture background, these are too beautiful in person. I have them in my bedroom and enjoy looking at them every day.


I love each one but the still beauty of this snowy scene and the white/blue juxtaposition make this my favorite. I can almost smell the crisp, cold air. And I hate winter, still love this!


My mom tried to stop me from buying this (and she and all who hunt with me have been instructed- I am not allowed to bring more mugs into this crowded apartment) but Kimberly Fireking mugs are an exception. I once sold Kimberly Fireking mugs worth $700 for $27.00 and it still haunts my soul! I pick one up now every time in case it could be valuable. This one is not but a similar one in a pearly-finish is. On Etsy


I took risk on this "antique" (not quite) lamp for $2.00. The wire is terrifying, plugging it in is for the bravest of souls, but I thought it was an interesting statement piece. On Etsy.


A Yuko-bomb! I found this shabby night stand, quite similar to another I scored for free, on a curbside. Needs some work for sure but you can't beat free, and look at those desirable mod legs! I took with me the questionable reading material within, Marquid De Sade's (Sadist and Sadism come from his name) The 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writing. The colorful wooden counter perched atop the stand is from my childhood, it was my brother's and used to sit on their dresser. It brings back memories of solving math problems and playing with Transformers and G.I. Joe's in my brother's bedroom. Took it home from my mom's house last week to use to count the amount of listings/other necessary tasks I finish daily.


For a buck these colorful metal coasters had to come home with me, too. They remind me of similar mod metal cups/coasters? Not sure what that type is called, anyone have hints for me? The back of these say they were made in Italy. They're on Etsy. Again, can't stand the off-white .jpg image scenario, why are you doing this to me blogger, adobe photoshop elements or whatever evil force???!!!


And now as you can see I have a lot of merchandise to sort, document, move to my antique mall booth, donate, lots to list on eBay....

So about that podcast, my reseller interview is up on eBay Scavengers if you wanna listen, they asked lots of good questions. It's also great blog with tons of detailed information on being successful on eBay and online selling. They've agreed to let me do a follow-up interview; I'm curious to learn as much as I can about eBay selling from pros with 10,000 sales under their belts! If you have any questions in particular for them leave them in the comments or e-mail me.

Edit: Kari shared how to change the annoying auto-color-change Blogger's been doing! Check out this link for steps on how to turn that setting off.

Did you find anything interesting this weekend?

Linked to: [Nifty Thrifty] [Thrifter|Maker|Fixer] [Sir Thrift a Lot]
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41 comments:

  1. Hey, that lamp looks very similar to one my folks had it the early 60s. I don't know the official name for those coasters, but definitely include the word "aluminum" in the title. I have a set a friend gave me as a house-warming gift. I did find an estate sale on Sat. Posted about it yesterday.

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    1. Ah ha, that helps to ID the lamp. The seller called it "antique" but I knew otherwise. Will have to check out your estate scores, thanks for the helpful hints on the items.

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    2. Was just thinking-- I'm not sure if that lamp was new to my folks or not. Could have been handed down from older relatives. Guess I'm not being much help. Sorry!

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  2. annodized aluminum coasters...

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  3. Lamps are super easy to rewire. Even I have done it a few times. One time, about 20 years ago, I found a cool lamp that needed to be rewired. I went to a lighting store to get the supplies and have my husband do it. The old lady who worked in the store said, " You will do this YOURSELF! You don't need to ask a man to do this for you! I am going to show you right now, its not that hard at all!" And then she showed me how to rewire a lamp myself. I thought that was really awesome of this lady to empower me to do these sort of things myself, I will never forget that small moment! So, my point is, if someone wants that lamp, scary wiring should not stop them! Its a really kick ass lamp! I also love those coasters! What a great bargain!

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    1. I have a pile (yep...) of lamps that need to be re-wired, teach me your ways! Will have to learn post-haste and illuminate my home and shop with some beautiful lamps.

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  4. Major frustration I have with Blogger too! None of my pictures upload with any of the photo edits and are always a yucky grey. Frustrating! And it just started this past few months.

    Love the coasters!

    I have been working on my eBay store. I'll have to check out the Scavengers blog. Love finding blogs that are new to me!

    Have a wonderful day and I hope March turns out to be a stellar selling month!


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    1. I used to go back and color-correct the images and try again and it always does that-- that or then go back and save the image as a .png file in which case it will upload perfectly...but then it lags load time. So weird, glad I'm not alone there.

      Hope March will be good to you, too. I BOMBED so hard this February, so painful...ugh...

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  5. I hate when Blogger uploads my images sideways. Drives me nuts!
    Hey, I just listened to your interview on Ebay Scavengers. That was great! They seem like such nice people. I added them to my blogroll and I'm going to listen to their podcasts while I work. And you look great in that little dress btw. :-)

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    1. They were real nice, love how forthcoming they are with sharing their eBay selling tips with others :) Will have to think of some good questions to ask 'em. Thanks for listening to the podcast!

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  6. What Fire King mugs did you sell so cheaply? I have one that appears no where online, it's obviously very rare - a closed down Canadian department store from the 1970's. Have no idea what that would be worth, but that said, I am going to let it fester on eBay for $200 for awhile. Who knows, right?

    I know nothing about photos, I am sure you can tell from my blog, so no advice there! lol

    Vinyl fanatics creep me out around here. You can spot one from a mile away - and hear them breathing in excitement & whatever else as they eagerly flip through them. I heard a guy in an antique market breathing over records from 5 booths over!

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  7. These beauties, I knew they were unique-- why the hell didn't I research!? https://www.etsy.com/transaction/164629039?

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    1. Whaaaa? Those worth that much? Crazy! I have to keep my eyes out.

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    2. Same. Still depressed :( Siiiigh, want 700 more in my savings account......

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  8. http://www.mydesertcottage.com/2014/01/pictures-looking-little-dark-these-days.html Here you go:)

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    1. HELL YES! Thanks for sharing, that was driving me crazy!

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  9. Thanks for doing the interview with us. Your blog really helps highlight why all the "junk" we buy is actually valuable and sought after by collectors. Your photos are gorgeous. It's so important to have that eye when scavenging.

    My fear is that in 20 years there will just be a glut of cheap Walmart Chinese-made merchandise and broken electronics since everything produced now is so cheap. What will be vintage in the future and will it be worth saving?

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    1. 'Twas fun, thanks for the invite and kind words! I appreciate how you understood we're all curators and not just "junk peddlers" - even some family/long-time friends don't quite understand that I don't just sell random stuff I find. I often wonder the same thing about our mass produced world and all the junk we're going to leave behind. There's so much already manufactured that we could shut down all production of new things. Especially when you're a hunter you realize how overwhelming the amount of Stuff in the world is!

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  10. I think the metal basket is from an old refrigerator or freezer and could be why the handles are uneven. Also, I think maybe Japanese paintings may be bamboo placemats that someone framed. Very cool items this week. I learned something about Fire King and how to change the settings on blogger so that was useful too.

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    1. Hm, that would be awesome if that's what the basket was for. Not sure what the paintings are, but I love them hung up in my bedroom.

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  11. Great items, as always. I'm getting ready to head over to listen to your podcast now :)

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  12. I totally hear ya about the trendy tribal prints. What in the world?! I'm not doing it. . . BUT If I found a dress with such a perfect fit like that in a thrift store, I would of totally bought it too! It looks great on you!

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    1. Thanks! Glad I'm not alone, so weird the random things declared trends. More striking to me because I'm in a bubble away from malls/cable tv...

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  13. I too am in awe of the Saved By the Bell pattern all over the place. Everything in stores now look like my 7th grade wardrobe.

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    1. And then everyone just buys it, too! I guess we all need clothing replacements and if it's all Tribal versions of Saved by the Bell in the store we gotta get what's there?

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  14. OMG I SO SO FEEL this post--the how can I do this one more day!?!?! and then I do it and voila it's so easy and then done! I'm off to read about your what annoys blog readers the most post because being on vacation I MISSED IT

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    1. Thanks for checking it out. It's all the merchandise and storing it that gets overwhelming for me! Augh ;p And using eBay. We all have different parts of the job we don't like. My favorite part (though also challenging) is staging the photos.

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  15. That's so funny, Van. I just spotted that same Chips bowl in the thrift the other day. I was going to pick it up, but it wasn't in the best condition. Drat!

    <3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting

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    1. I regretted it the moment I bought it, went against my no-more-glassware rule but it was so beautiful it won me over. I make sure not to buy anything with flaws these days, too.

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  16. nice finds as per usual :-) those coasters look like they might be anodised aluminium. I'm a little obsessed with anodised aluminium at the moment so I am very jealous as they would go perfectly with my picnic cup set :-P. As for the photos- I had the same issue - I found this webpage (http://www.blogbranch.com/2014/01/stop-images-uploading-dark-blogger/#.UxW270KSw5s) and it seemed to make my photos a bit lighter. hopefully that helps :-)

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    1. I'll have to check that link out too, thanks for sharing and for the info on the coasters.

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  17. That end table IS similar to mine! And PLEASE educate me on Kimberly Fire King mugs that are worth $700!!!!!!!!! I see them often and pass them up because they seem to just SIT in my booth!

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    1. I listed the link earlier in the comments, still SO SAD that I didn't sell them for the correct price! I want 700 in my bank account. I don't think they'd sell for that price locally, only online. Locals might think you're bonkers!

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  18. I'll take that imported Jackson 5 album off your hands. OK bye thanks.

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    1. Bwahaha. I love my Jackson 5 Record collection :D

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  19. Hi Van - before you torture yourself any further, how did you find out that those mugs were worth $700? When I checked closed auctions on eBay there seems to be many and they aren't selling very well, with the highest being $98 for six. What am I missing?

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    1. On a blog someone had just one of them go up to $350 on auction so I added the two together. Hit or miss I guess, lightning make have struck for me? Mine also sold lightning fast, right after it was listed which never happens for me which led me to believe it was more valuable.

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  20. Wow, you had a busy day! Glad you got everything done. I would have thrown up my arms!

    Love the Japanese paintings! What great finds they are.

    Regarding that old lamp, I would make sure you state very clearly in your listing that it definitely needs to be rewired for safety's sake. And if I'm not mistaken, all old lamps should be rewired, regardless of whether there are exposed wires or not. You don't want someone buying a lamp and then blaming you for any mishaps (or worse yet, fires). Don't mean to scare you, but it's much better to err on the side of too safe than not safe enough.

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    1. Yep, agree. I think I did notate but let me double-check.

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