Vintage Vera

Just a quick post today...better than the nothing I've been doing..as far as posting, that is. I have been listing. Pretty consistently too. And I'm trying not to think TOO hard about my listing. I tend to look at an item and think, "Oh, I have to research that (which I love), or figure out shipping, or clean it first before I can take a picture....I'll pick something easier".
So I've just been shutting the brain off and listing.

Yesterday, I came across this stash of vintage Vera scarves in my inventory. Vera Neumann, that is. All together, although I got them at different times. Which was actually kind of impressive, that they were together. Although it's possible I have more stashed away...somewhere else...

So before I could think too much, I snapped some photos, found this blog post to help determine the age of my scarves and listed them in my Etsy store.

And maybe someday I'll come across the other stash. If it exists.

Lost and Found at the Thrift

You are not going to believe what I *missed by this much* at the Goodwill yesterday. Hubby warned me..."don't go into the furniture...you'll be upset.." Then he made me follow him to go look.

Ok, I know I posted the picture at the top so there's not much guesswork needed on your part.
But yes. That's a retro diner-style table. With 3 chairs. In red. It even has a leaf.

Can you see the price??

Well, let me tell you...15.99!!!!!!

And a big 'ol SOLD sign on it.

Sigh.

Oh well, I moved on quickly. You can't win 'em all.

I did find this at that same thrift which was nice.

The bottom stamp is kind of faint, which may be why they priced it at $4.99. It says "Made in Calif. Poppytrail". Yes it's a Metlox Poppytrail rooster cookie jar.

Seems to be fairly rare. One listing I read said that this appeared about 10 years ago in a Cookie Jar price guide and was valued at over $500!! I know I won't get that. Not in today's market and not on Ebay.

Still a fun find! You win some, you lose some.

What's your 'one that got away' story??

Quick Finds Post...Live to You From Vacation....

Ok, well you KNOW I'm thrifting while on vacation. No clam diggin' for me so far, Little Man got sick and we hold down the fort while the others brave the wind, rain and waves. As the resident gi-nor-mo Preggo, I'm the logical person to stay back. :)

So I'll blast through what I found so far since I don't trust this hotel's internet.
The above picture was from the stop at Goodwill on the way out to the ocean. Our tire had a slow leak, so I got to thrift, while Hubby went to Les Schwab.
Six small Starbucks mugs...small..about 7 oz each. Super cute!! I also found an Exclusively Misook twinset. Sorry, no pic.

Also at that Goodwill I found more Norwegian pewter (an ewer this time) and another Danish silverplate dish. This is the same pattern as the tray I already have in my Etsy shop, so I already know the maker, etc. It's Carl Christiansen. This appears to be a souvenir or gift. It's inscribed "Eloise Greetings from Norway".

Next finds were from an indoor yard sale held to support a pet rescue place. Kind of an ongoing thing held in a barn every weekend...lots of damp, rusty things..but we found a juicer for $5, one of those things that you park your bicycle in inside (so you can train while watching TV, lol) for $2.50 and this plasticware.

Some Oblique plastic plates and Thermo-serv insulated mugs.

Today we followed a posted garage sale sign to a teeny tiny town north of us. It was advertised at the liquor store in town. Since the teeny town was so small we figured we'd have no problem finding it. It was true. It was the only garage sale in town. I should have taken a picture. It was at a place of business...a chain saw artist's shop. If you know the Northwest, you know these places...picture large totems of chain saw carved bears.
Anyway, inside the shop was a mini antique shop/thrift shop. The prices were a higher than a garage sale but I found some surprisingly good stuff.
First this Pyrex:

Then this glass ice bucket by Hoya, Japan

This super fab spice cabinet:

And this assortment. Chrome Japan S&P, Swedish Modern dish by Anchorglass, and a no name milk glass soup bowl. Love the pattern!

I think that was it. Or at least the highlights. I still have to hit my favorite little thrift here, which hasn't been open yet. And there's always Goodwill on the way back on Tuesday!!

What did you find this weekend?

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday!!

It's That Time Again

Have you done your taxes yet?

Not me. I vow to do it early every year, but most years I owe, so I don't see the point of doing it early. Last year we got a refund. This year we may too. Or at least break even.

Every year, too, after I've completed the previous year's taxes, I vow to keep better paperwork. Keep up with all my calculations throughout the year. HA! What would tax season be without me hunting down receipts and adding up an entire year's worth at once?

For some reason February has just gotten away from me.

And tomorrow, we're headed to the ocean for 5 days.

So those taxes will just have to wait until I get back.

Thrift Finds ~ My Estate Sale Method

Before I get into my Estate Sale Method, I want to start with my finds from Friday. I hit a yard sale, a Goodwill and my favorite little thrift. The yard sale was okay...I did score two winter coats by MARMOT for $2 each. That's amazing. Goodwill was a bust. I was pretty picky.

Then I hit my favorite little thrift and struck paydirt.

Of course I love my rainbow stripe Polaroid camera.

I also found a Bell & Howell Super 8 Movie camera with movie light. That baby works- is bright and hot!
Finds also included:

• Seth Thomas folding travel alarm clock
• Westclox folding travel alarm clock
• Some kitschy stationery by Hallmark called "Metrically Yours"
• vintage tickets

And the last item. It deserves its own picture.

Sometimes I don't even know why I pick things up. Maybe the thought that UGLY SELLS is so ingrained into my psyche (from much real life experience) that I unconsciously reach for things like this.
Anyway I flipped it over and saw the name Louis Marx and a 1964 date so I brought it home.

Did my research. These are part of a line called Blame Its and this one has sold from between $35-$50 on Ebay.
Go figure.

Anyway, moving along to Saturday morning. There was an estate sale advertised for the next town over. I'd kind of been waiting for it, it had been postponed due to weather a couple of times. It was advertised as a Hoarder's Sale. I guess that just meant there was a ton of stuff, not that we'd have to climb over piles of boxes and risk finding dead animals. In any case, it was clean but packed full of stuff.

Now, I'm not an agressive person. Don't really want to elbow people out of the way to get to the vintage cameras. I also don't really like getting up early and waiting in line. So this estate sale company is just my speed. They're smaller and don't give out numbers.

I had a feeling this one would be busy however, despite it being out near me in the Boonies. Lack of yard sales this time of year means dealers are probably willing to travel.

I got there a few minutes after it opened and the house was pretty full. Full, of stuff and people. Being my usual un-aggressive self, I avoided the DOLL ROOM and wandered the house as it came to me. My Estate Sale Method is to look for under-the-radar, funky vintage items that no one else bothers about. These items are usually cheaper--50 cents to $1.

After an hour, my bag was full and I was ready to check out. Here is transaction #1

I also got myself a galvanized watering can that I'd been looking for. These don't look like much, but the sale of the label maker will cover the cost of this first transaction. The reverse painted silhouette picture, the perpetual calendar, vintage post office rubber stamps and the Old Maid cards (from the 1930s) will also sell well. The trivet is made in Israel and the black thing up top is a vintage 2 hole punch. These and the vintage playing cards are all great Etsy store fodder.

I stowed my purchases, drank some more coffee, grabbed another bag and headed back into the now thinned out house.
Here's the next transaction:

• vtg Scrabble game
• yellow Betty Crocker Fiesta Ware bowl (chippy..but still cute)
• colored aluminum coaster and stir stick set (score!!)
• small stoneware owls
• silverplate baby spoon with clown
• Limoges egg cup
• mid century vase 
• Mexican folk art snail by Carlos Villanueva (score!!)
• unmarked stoneware woman with pot figurine (looks like Metlox poppet..but probably Japanese)
• 1960s starfinder chart
• Salamander lion bell
• I also found some glass ink well bottles..but forgot to put them in the picture

It's hard to see, but in the bowl are these amazing BAKELITE drawer pulls.

Sorry for the long post, it was a lot to find in 2 days!
I may not come home with the furniture and antiques, but with my Estate Sale Method, I paid less than $50 (at just the estate sale) and plan on making a minimum of $350 from these items. Plus it's just fun!!

I'll be linking up to Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl

As Requested~ RED Sears Cutlass Manual Portable Typewriter

In my manual typewriter post a week or so ago, I mentioned the red typewriter that we picked up at Goodwill for $1.29.
Well, it's been cleaned up a bit and ready for sharing! Still have a bit more cleaning to do, and the case too. But here it is!!

Looks way better than we expected. Hubby was tempted to leave it on the shelf when he saw the condition, but the low price swayed him.

So glad we grabbed it!

Groupon Deal for Vistaprint- Time to Get Business Cards

When I saw this deal at Groupon today: $17 for $70 worth of Custom Printing-- I immediately thought of business cards.
I've recently switched to business cards instead of a packing slip...but they are pretty expensive. This is a good deal though!

If you need business cards, or were thinking about it..check it out.

And if you'd like to do me a favor..this is my affiliate link for Groupon. I think you may have to enter Groupon and then search for this deal. It was a Seattle deal, but it was online, so it should be available. If that doesn't work, go ahead and click the link above and don't worry about it. I couldn't find a way to attach my affiliate link to that particular deal.

Let me know how it works!!

Adventures In...Running an Upscale Thrift Booth

Store where I have my 'Boof' (pronounciation courtesy of Little Man)

I was calling this "my booth in an antique store", but it's not really accurate. It just helps people understand what I'm talking about. The owner of the store where I have my booth doesn't even call it an antique store. There are antiques, but there are also vintage, handmade, upcycled, new, gift items...it's a mish-mosh of things.
So she now calls it an Upscale Thrift Boutique, that works for me.

Well, it's time to move again. I was asked to change booth spots and things moved pretty quickly. I discovered that my spot was open last night so today is moving day!

I thought I'd share my last set of booth pictures before I show you the new spot later in the week.

First of all, I gotta say that my Hubby is my Hero. I've said it before. He's highly supportive of my business and would actually love to quit his job and be part of it with me. I'm working on building it up and someday maybe he'll be able to! So he shops with me, cleans my items, does all my packaging for shipping, and lists his Man Finds (another post about that later) when he has time.

And... he helps at my booth.

These pictures were a couple months ago when I was right in the middle of first trimester and my energy was Nada. Zip. Zilch. I basically sat and watched while he rearranged my whole booth. (A necessary job when running a booth...gotta keep things fresh!)
Today he will be indispensible. Moving the whole booth is a pretty big job. He's got that ability to quickly see what goes where and fit it in. You should see how much he can fit in the back of our car on vacation!! When I see something at a thrift store and I say, 'Will it fit in the car?' He just shrugs and says "Of course it will."

This big oak cabinet/bookshelf just sold yesterday, thank goodness. It sold to another vendor and fits her style very nicely. It was an original fixture when we first opened the booth and was used as display out of desperation. It is super heavy, so we hadn't gotten around to replacing it. It wasn't going to survive the move so the timing of selling it was perfect!!

You can see I experimented on selling shoes at the booth. These belonged to a friend who wanted me to sell them online. I decided to try them here first since they weren't major high end brands. More than half of them have already sold, so that was good!

A lot of this is already different. See these lovely bifold doors? Hubby again. Made me dividers like this for pretty much the whole booth. It's nice to have a background and not see the back of what the next vendor is selling. In this spot, he also built me an amazing clothing closet out of a vintage door. I'll get pictures when it's moved into it's new spot. I know it's hard to picture. :)

Overall, the booth has been fun. November was a slow month. We pretty much broke even with the rent. Then December was amazing!! Then January was back to being bad. (Weather related issues..) This month seems to have started off pretty well. We should see some sales after the move as well. Things always look new in a new spot!

I don't make tons of money with this. It's mostly a hobby at this point. An experiment. And a place to keep things available for sale instead of in storage. I can't get around to listing all this stuff online at once..so it gets a chance here first. If it sells, great! If not, I can give it another chance online. Of course all my items that would sell for REALLY good money online, don't come here first!

As we get closer to Baby #2 (a boy, did I tell you?) I'll probably scale back the space. I already talked to the owner about possibly getting a smaller space for awhile. She was understanding and said she'd halve my rent and then move some of her stuff into the other half. So that should take some pressure off, come spring.

So that's my update. I'll get pictures of the new spot in here ASAP!!

Serendipitous Thrifting

1974 Fisher Price Little People Castle

So here's the story.

Last week, I was at the 'antique' store where I have my booth, and I saw a castle (similar to just like the one above) on the counter. As I checked it out, I couldn't help but gasp. It was like a part of my childhood came rushing back. I had this exact same castle when I was a kid!! And I had no memory of it until I saw it again.

The woman was selling it on consignment and she had all the Little People and accessories. Royalty, thrones, knights, horses, the DRAGON! We totally had all those pieces.

My son would LOVE this. So I asked and found out she was asking $100 for the whole thing. It didn't surprise me...if I were selling it, I'd pop it online and try to get double. The dragon alone can sell for $25.

But, $100 for a toy for my son? With pieces he may lose? Parts on the castle he could break? Go ahead, call me cheap. I prefer the word 'thrifty'.

Fast forward a week.

Enter a Goodwill you haven't been to in awhile. Accompany your son to the bathroom, then to the toy section. Almost fall over when you turn around and see YOUR 1974 Fisher Price Little People Castle sitting on the shelf!

The price?

Get this. ...$2.99.

A sales clerk said she had just put it out. Talk about serendipity.

There were no dragons or Little People to go with it.

But if you're 4, Lego guys and Jean-Luc Picard will do nicely.

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl and Thrift Share Monday

O What a Month!

This is how our road looked about a week and a half ago.

To some of you readers from colder, snowier climes, this doesn't look like much. But here in the rainy, temperate Pacific Northwest, we're not used to this!

Or to this:

Ice encased trees!

Our power and cable lines are not used to it either. We were without power for 3 days and without INTERNET FOR 7 DAYS!!!

That pretty much spells death of sales for an online reseller. And my January backs that up. It was s....l....o....w. I guess on the bright side, it meant fewer packages to deal with the old skool way. I had to look up the addresses on my phone, handwrite the labels..and get this....stand in line at the post office! The internet spoils me so much.

So now I'm trying to play catch up. Here's hoping February is better!!