SMASH!

Alas, recently while I was gone on a 3 day backpacking trip up in the Shenandoah National Park, there was a slight accident involving my beloved rooster pitcher I blogged about in an earlier post.

You see, apparently I was not careful about putting it back upon the shelf. I put it in  a bookshelf that was not completely full of things and one of our cats decided to jump inside the shelf and here is the result:

Needless to say, my husband was probably not too happy about breaking the news to me, as I'm sure he knew what was going to happen....must I say I cried a tear (or two)? Yes, I know, it's only a thing, but a favorite thing at that!

After sharing this with my some of my fellow vintage bloggers and resellers, one of them (Mad Maine Vintage Shop) suggested I turn the pieces into a mosaic of some sort. Why didn't I think of that? Luckily the trash had not been put out and I was able to rescue the pieces and will turn them into something else. Next time I will be more careful about where I put my collectibles.  Stay tuned to see what I turn the pile of shards into!

Updated: 24 Jan 2014:  These shards ended up in trash. I decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Lesson learned. More to come....

Theming It Up at the Thrift Shop

My space at the local thrift shop consists of only a set of shelves. This was the only space available to me so I'm trying to make it work.

I've decided that I want to devote part of the space to a dedicated theme each month. After finding these adorable little girls' musical trinket boxes (too cute to pass up, under $3 each), February's theme is going to be horses.

Enchantmints Horse Ranch Music Box

They will go really well with this vintage Carrigaline Pottery (Cork, Ireland) hunter ashtray...
 

... and Secretariat and Seabiscuit collectible Breyer horses....

 Also going on the wall space, this vintage Kentucky State souvenir plate.....

I just love this set of horse head bar utensils.....it's hard for me to part with them!

Unfortunately I did not inspect this large beer stein (made in Holland) very well before I purchased it, as it has a small chip near the base. I will discount it and add it to the shelf anyway because I think another horse lover might like it and besides, it could also be used as a pencil holder or something else. If it doesn't sell, I'll keep it!

And lastly, I thought this 1997 game for children, called Horse Show, contains some beautiful horse playing cards that a crafter could turn into any number of things (mini note pad covers or a garland,perhaps?). Maybe some youngster who loves horses would love to have them.

To those of you who sell in thrift shops, do you frequently create a theme in your booths?

A Fun Way to See the World!

Yes, thrifting is fun, but did you know it can also be educational? 

I've been going through some of my finds and it's amazing how many of them have origins in other countries. It's makes me want to find out a little bit more about them and where they came from.

Take this red chicken pitcher I found at a local consignment store. The sticker on the bottom says it's from the Republic of San Marino and it's marked SA Ceramiche Titano.

The glaze work done on the rooster is just beautiful!

 

Now, I have no idea where San Marino is, so I decided to look it up...

According to Wikipedia, the Republic of San Marino "...is an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy situated on the Italian Peninsula on the north-eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. Its size is just over 61 km² (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe..."

After a little more research on the internet I discover that San Marino is internationally known for two products - postage stamps and pottery. I found this on a website (Italian Pottery Marks) with a posting by the administrator, Walter Del Pellegrino:


"Unadorned simple utilitarian pottery such as cups, plates, washbasins, etc., have been produced in San Marino since its inception seventeen hundred years ago but artistically decorated wares did not make their appearance until the mid twentieth century. In 1955 the government took notice of this new industry growing in its midst and to its credit decided to help promote it by creating an International Exhibition of Modern Ceramics. From June through October of that year the exhibition took place at the Kursaal Congress Center and met with great international press coverage." 

Upon further reading, I see that the company, Titano, was established in 1952 and produced pottery up until 1981. The company was named after the mountain that the city of San Marino was built upon. It was established by six employees of the Marmaca factory (1947-1964), the most important ceramics factory in the history of the Republic of San Marino.

I found some pictures online of the beautiful Titano pottery here:

San Marino Ceramics

It seems from looking at the gallery, that the black and deep lava red color of my rooster is characteristic of San Marino pottery.

Here is a picture of a commemorative stamp celebrating the ceramic artwork of San Marino.

Now that I've done all this research and haven't seen anything similar to this little Titano rooster pitcher online anywhere,  I'm finding it hard to part with. I think it's found a new home on my kitchen bookshelf!

If you have children, sharing the background of your finds, either domestic or foreign, would be an interesting thing to do with them, as it would teach them geography and history in a way that is enjoyable.

I hope to share with you in my next post some pictures of some of my favorite thrift store and flea market finds from other countries.

Have you ever been curious about an object that you have found enough to want to run a "background" check?

Today's Found Secondhand Treasures

Today I decided to go to a local thrift store and see what I could find for my flea market space for when it needs re-stocking. I spent way too much time in that store. The problem is, as you shop, the sales people bring out more and more stuff, so I always end up making several trips around the store before I decide it's time to go. I did come up with some good finds I think will do well in my space at the flea market.

One of my friends who owns Mad Maine Vintage Shop (see her blog under my list of favorites) says she always does well with mugs. I paid 90 cents each for all of these....

Here's another pair, and the inside has a small design too...

Originally sold by Anthropologie, no longer avaialable

These are by far my favorite. I think they would be great for a cup of hot New England Clam Chowder that I am so fond of! I might have to keep them!

Crab Sea Spray Mug, sold by Anthropologie (no longer available)

 

I also have a collection of Disneyana in my space. I found these cute Minnie and Mickey McDonald's Disney World commemorative glasses ($2.90 for the pair and thick glass) and this cute coffee mug (90 cents) marked Disneyland that will be added to the shelf.

Sold on eBay!

And for your morning orange or tomato juice, how about this cute little glass pitcher with lid for only 90 cents (though I'm thinking mimosas or Bloody Marys)?

And tucked underneath a few items on one of the shelves, I found a large wood trivet decorated with a pig. I almost passed it up, but when I turned it over I saw  a "Made In England" sticker on it, so I decided to grab it for only $1.90. 

 

These commemorative plates ($2.90 each) are from Germany and I found out by looking online that they celebrate International Days of Hiking in the country. They are from 4 different years and 2 different towns in Germany. I like them because they remind me of something you would see in the mountains or woods and that's where our home is and also where the flea market is located at. So I think they will sell well, and anyone who is interested in hunting scenes might appreciate them also.

This cup and bowl with a painted train ($4.90) was made in Portugal. I think it will be a darling breakfast set for a little boy. Unfortunately the tag said it had 3 pieces, but I could not find the 3rd piece and have no idea what it was supposed to be (plate, maybe?). Maybe I'll go back tomorrow and look again. But it was too cute to pass up and it will go in my booth so maybe someone will like it also.

What do you like to look for when you visit thrift stores or flea markets?

Welcome to the Road to Retro!

I recently decided to turn my love of thrift store shopping into a little business. I have always enjoyed searching thrift stores, consignment stores, flea markets and other secondhand venues for bargains and the occasional "steal".  I have sold a few items on eBay and Etsy, but this is my first attempt to have a space in a real storefront at a flea market/antique mall. Unfortunately in the area where I wanted to have a space, there is a lot of demand, so I had to resort to being on a wait list for my top two desired flea markets. As far as the third place I inquired about, (just opened in Nov), there was a small shelf area available for $40/month. The good thing about this location is it is right off an exit on I-81, a major thoroughfare running N-S along the western part of Virginia where our home is. In addition, one must pass this flea market to go to Shenandoah Caverns, a major tourist stop in this area. I am hoping that this market will be an ideal place to set up shop, especially in the summer months when lots of folks visit the caverns. I especially like the owners who are very friendly and obviously love what they're doing.

My first task at hand was to figure out what items I decided I could part with. I have a habit of falling in love with my finds, even when I buy them specifically for resale. For example, I found this cute owl cookie jar at a Salvation Army Store that I was planning on reselling, but I decided I couldn't part with it, so it is sitting on a shelf in our home. 

 

Once I decided what to put in my space I searched Etsy and eBay to see if I could find the items and see what other sellers were pricing them for. On eBay you can even search completed listings. I tried to price my items close to what I saw on the Internet but also decided that I want to make 2-3 times what I paid. And I have to consider what type of customers will be shopping the flea market (tourists).

For sellers, a good website that is useful for seeing what the demographics are for stores in your area is www.bundle.com.


I spent about 2 hours the first afternoon putting stuff on the shelves and I wasn't very happy with the result. The shelves are very high in between which is a waste of space. I decided to go back the next day with some items to give me some vertical space to work to work with. I still had a few things that ended up on the floor. Hopefully the next time I go back I would have had enough sales to move things around (I even had a few sales while I was arranging my space). The results:

 

 

If you sell at flea markets or consignment stores, do you find it difficult to part with some of your favorite finds?