In case you have thrift withdrawel

Do you have as much fun when going to Goodwill?  Of course you do!

Aqua Splendor (Once Again)

I only had one hour to spend at Goodwill last weekend, but it was a good hour.  Another aqua typewriter, and this one came with a case.  For more of the finds, see video below. 

Do these things happen in threes?  Will there be another aqua love around the corner soon?  If so, I will grab it. Hands off, people! 

What was your favorite find last weekend?

Linking up with a living space.

What's your type?

 

Personally, I prefer the elegant olivettis, but when I saw this little thing at Goodwill mingling with the other sad office things, I thought "Hey, I like that.  Kinda cute, petite,  and I love a brunette with chocolate keys". Analogy stops there, I promise.  Anyway, even though this Smith-Corona is electric, it was small and cheap enough ($5) for me to put in my cart in order to continue my reselling experiment with typewriters.  And it works like a charm!

 

What do you think?  Will this little brunette beauty turn other people's heads in my antique booth?

Sold Pictures

It is time to show some of the stuff that has sold the last couple of months.  Despite my last hectic weeks when life took over my booth playing time, I have sold just as much as I did for Christmas!  Who knew February and early March would be so good?  Well, then again, what else is there to do in Maine during winter besides ruining knees while skiing or antique shopping? I should have done the latter myself.

 

Lots of random things sold, from that horse needlepoint picture to insulting ammo boxes.  TV-trays, aprons, pans, ashtray, airplane and magazine holder all found new homes.

 



It finally sold!  This old school desk had been with me since I moved into the bigger booth and had sort of become part of the booth itself.  I also used to store my handbag, cell phone and keys in there when I was organizing my booth.  Now where to put it all?

 



 

The lamb planter sold even though I had (unintentionally) mislabeled it as a poodle.  Also, the white hairdryer case sold after I removed the hairdryer inside and relabeled it "Retro White Train Case". 

 



 

The rocking horse is also rocking somewhere else.  With that and my desk gone, I need to find some larger pieces to put in my booth.  It's a rather nice problem to have!

 



Yes, another olivetti sold itself pretty fast.  Ca-ching!

 



Winter. Maine. Hot drinks. Thermos.  All sold. No-brainer, really.

 



 

Enamel dishes, teak pepper shaker, alligator ashtrays and a Tang pitcher.  Somebody's home is getting groovier.

 

I also sold a LOT of mugs, but I am tired of posting mugshots, so just take my word for it. 

Again, Maine. Winter. Hot drinks. Mugs. No-brainer.

 

Has the new year been good for your antique booth or reselling business?



Sometimes a little press helps

Bring me an olivetti, please. 

I finally ventured back to my booth on my crutches, being very careful not to knock down everything in my path, and my booth was all like:

Um, where have you been these last two weeks? Everything is a mess around here!  People are throwing stuff on the floor, stuffing doilies in vases, taking down pictures from your walls and leaving them next door, and leaving their half-finished Big Gulps behind. This is a dump!

Ok, so it was a mess, but really not as bad as I had feared.  And lots of big items had sold, including the typewriter above and the big wooden rocking horse. 

So, regarding typewriters - the owner said the interest in typewriters have noticeably gone up around here and that she will now pick up any typewriter she herself comes across.  One of the reasons might be that the local paper recently did a large story on typewriter nostalgia and included some lovely color photos as well - you can see the online article here.  Sure helps demand when hipsters sitting around coffee shops reading the paper get the idea that this is the next big thing to have!  At least, that is how I am seeing it.  I love my hipsters - they are easily among my best customers.

Have you seen a specific item suddenly get really popular due to certain local press coverage?

Belated Thrift Haul: Typewriter and more

Not one, but two travel alarm clocks.  Tempted to keep the orange one on the right, since I have a hard time parting with anything that was made in West Germany.

Another cute Olivetti typewriter.  Not as darling as my previous aqua version, but when I took it in to my booth and thought I had to figure out how to stage two typewriters there, I suddenly did not have that problem.  My other one (which I had priced ridiculously high just so it could stay put) had sold!

Another find that I will be keeping.  A retro cake carrier from Finland.  I love everything about it.

Sometimes I pick up books only for the jacket art.  This one is fantastic.  And Kipling remains one of my favorite authors.  But I have his collected works, so this will go in the booth.  Look at those haunting eyes...buy me...

Do you sell perfumes?  The Avon one is from 1978, which is kinda cool. Maybe I could stage it all pretty on a mirror tray with a cute old-fashioned brush. I really stink at the feminine stuff...The Chanel would sell easily on ebay (I have sold the good stuff there before), but Avon stuff should do better in a booth setting.

Vintage office equipment has been selling pretty well in my booth.  Love this industrial-looking hole puncher.  Might have to keep this too.  Ok, this is getting bad.

Finally, this was too cute not to pick up for a buck.  I have sold several signs with funny wording in my booth, and not necessarily vintage.  They are great for just setting a light mood, I think.

Well, that was it for last weekend.  Most have already been staged for sale.  Any bets on what will sell first?

Linking up with A Living Space. 

Radiohead: Modern vs Vintage

I found quite a few items this weekend, which I will show in tomorrow's post (even another Olivetti typewriter).  However, this post is about falling in love with radios. 

I did not need another radio. I have a great modern Sanyo radio that is all digital and can beam me stations from my homeland that I (and the kids) listen to all the time.  This radio was one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever - there is nothing as oddly comforting as hearing the monotone weather forecast for your little hometown 5,000 miles away in the morning.  I love this radio.

I also have a radio in the living room and a clock radio by my bed.  I listen to the radio when I drive, and I often stream radio on my computer while working.  Radio junkie?

So, this radio just grabbed hold of me and pleaded PLEASE do not take me to your booth!  There is no electricity there for me.  I am boxy, small and cute like the other guy - and look at my lovely turning dials, the other guy doesn't have turning dials. I want to be with you here in your kitchen, and  I will give you clean old-fashioned sound and even work when the Internet is down.  I will give you crystal clear NPR all day long and especially Kai Ryssdal, 'cause I know you have a complete crush on his voice.

So, he gets to stay.  I think I even might put the two together.  True radio love.

Do you have a radio addiction problem?

(Linking up with A Living Space)

What I Left Behind

I have always enjoyed reading and looking at what almost made the cut to bring home among my fellow thrifters/bloggers.  So, I thought I would document some of my own.  These were the items that I briefly considered yesterday at my local Goodwill, but ultimately left behind.

 

This mushroom plaque (Made in Japan) is something I normally would have picked up, but it had a hairline crack and the wood was not in the best shape either.  Cute design though.

 

 



 

I really swayed back and forth over this small typewriter still in its case.  However, I am just not that fond of the electric kinds, and besides, it was a rather drab beige.  Also, it was above my flinch point at $10.  Had it been aqua or pink however...

 

 



 

Another typewriter!  I have mentioned in the past how I seemingly never run across typewriters in the wild, and here were two.  However, also electric, beige and $10.  This was an easier rejection.

 

 



 

How can anyone refuse a piece of a communist wall? Wait, how can anyone donate a piece of communist wall?  Perfect illustration of how a lot of people REALLY DID NOT WANT THIS WALL!

 

 

Do you sometimes document the things you leave behind at thrift stores?  I might do an occasional series of this.  It does make me feel funny snapping pictures of my rejects though.  Do you take pics at thrift stores?