First Spring Thrift Haul

How cool is this little crewel owl, huh?  Only problem is...



 

You gotta make him yourself.  Or maybe that is not a problem, but rather a blessing.  For the crafty folks. Like not me. 

Actually, I often pick up vintage crewel kits, and they sell pretty well on ebay, depending on the style.  And they are so easy to ship - which is the only reason I will sell on online. So, this guy will likely not get to hang out in my cool booth club.

 

 

I found this genuine vintage purse for $0.99.  Super cute and in great shape.  She will get to hang out in the booth, heck, she even gets to skip in line.

 

 

Speaking of booths, I found this in another booth in my antique market all bundled up in tape and tossed in a basket with lots of junky cutlery.  This, however, is not junk.  This, my friends, is Kongetinn from Norway, which is a pretty collectible pewter pattern featuring vikings and Norse mythology. These are also the older kind, not the more modern ones, and they should do pretty well on ebay (I will let you know).  And again, cutlery is a breeze to ship!

 

 

This was a $3.99 Goodwill find.  I rarely find these lamps anymore, and to the booth it will go.  Oh, how I wish my booth had electricity!

 

 

Finally, what is Mad Maine without her mugs? These are the ones I found this weekend, all for $0.99 each.  Which do you think will sell first?

 

Well, that was my little haul.  I plan to take a little trip out again later today since I have some free time, and I am already excited to go out treasure hunting on a mundane Monday.

 

(Linking up with a living space and Apron Thrift Girl).

 



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?



Mugs revisited

These two Taylor & Ng Thanksgiving mugs were among the mugs that sold last month - just 4 months later than expected, but hey, who's counting.  The point is - they sold. 

I have talked about mugs being good sellers for me before, and even though I hardly visited the booth at all this last month due to a ski vacation that led to crutches and then the cat nearly dying twice, I returned to my booth knowing that at least some of my mugs would have sold.  And they had.  Along with a lot of other bigger stuff (which was more unexpected, and which I will talk about soon). 

But, again, the point is that I knew that at least some of the mugs would be gone.  I never spend more than $0.99 on mugs, and I always price them at $5 in my booth.  Not the biggest profit, but a decent ROI (and my antique market does not charge commission).  And since they are in seemingly endless supply at the thrifts, I'll take it. 

Maybe I should open up a sister booth and call it Mad Mug?  Something to ponder. Cheers!

Monday Thrift Report

Only a couple of things to post from this weekend, but they were pretty good. Also, according to one of my many New Year's Resolutions, since they were big items, they were taken straight to the booth - thus the low quality photography. Oh well, something's gotta give. 

This is such a cute wooden rocking horse.  Looks sort of vintage, but not sure.  I really like the color combo.  Homemade perhaps?

 

 

Couldn't resist this turtle picture.  Not exactly Mad Men, but a fun office piece nonetheless.

 

 

 

I have lots of embroidered linens that I have picked up here and there, but have had no good way to display them in my booth.  This weekend I found this iron bedspread stand, and for now it works as a sturdy display stand.  I had washed and ironed all my linen, but from this picture it looks like I need to improve my ironing skills.   I also have lots more linens to display but lack hangers.  Anyone know where to get hold of hangers for a good price?

  

 

More mugs.  80s kitsch. Flamingos. Florida.  Enough said. Wait, there is a bit of my brown paneling.  Should definitely have placed these against my aqua walls. 

 

So, what were your favorite finds this weekend?  Also, do you sell linens in your booth?  Any tips?

 

Linking up with A Living Space and Young Heart and Sue's Rednesday - check out other fun weekend finds there.

Retro Gold Thrift Haul

I popped into a local Goodwill briefly on Saturday while hubby "volunteered" to take the kids to the grocery store next door and pick up the last things needed for dinner.  I did not expect much besides a little bit of solitude and quiet, which was badly needed for mom at the time - besides, I never have had much luck with this GW on a Saturday.  However, the Retro spirits were shining their groovy light on me.  Check out what I came out with!


Wall flowers mushrooms

 



These mushroom wall plaques are the real deal and about a foot across. Made in the USA back when this country made groovy plastic stuff.

 

 

                  More mushrooms (and butterflies) on these stackable Japanese mugs.  I sell a lot of mugs in my store.

 



 

 

                                This is such a cute vintage mug - I am thinking it will be picked up for Valentine's Day. 

 

 

 

                           I like this pair of groovy vases too, especially the blue, aqua and white color combo.

 

 

 

 

                             A large pretty Pyrex bowl - with no chips or dishwasher fading.  Price was right too.

 

 





 

                                                       Another Pyrex, also in good condition - but no lid.

 

 

 

 

Yes, that right - not one, not two, but three Pyrex finds in the same place! Love this little fridgie - no lid, but I have a few spare ones from before (always pick up these dishes with their lids, even if the actual dish is in bad shape - I prefer to think of it as saving them *for parts*).

 





 

 

Two homemade aprons.  All aprons I have put in my booth has sold.  I price them at $10 a piece. How do you price aprons?

 



 

Not necessarily vintage, but I would love to know the pattern of this bowl/votive.  I picked up a couple of plates in this pattern before Christmas since I liked the design.  They look sort of Scandinavian to me and are quite heavy.  Any ideas?

 

 



 

                              Darling small lime green mustard jar with a weave pattern.  Tempted to keep this one.

 

 

 

                                                         I love this small magazine rack - great design and size.

 

 

 I love the 70s Tupperware cups and have several already.  They are so versatile - picnics, parties, everyday use.  And they have the best colors.  My kids love them equally and are very particular about which color belongs to them.

 

                                                                    And finally - my favorite find of them all:

 

 

 

 

This owl(?) crewel picture is really big, and I love the expression, colors, design, signature and year (74).  When I first spotted it, I thought it would be such great eye candy to my booth.  Then, by the time I got home, I was getting attached.  Now, I have it real bad and can't stomach the thought of being apart. So...he is now hanging in the TV room.  Hey, I do get to keep a vintage kitschy thing once in a while - and even hubby approved.  Eye candy for the home instead.

 

So, all in all, my impromptu visit produced some great items.  Maybe all my items came from the same home?  They certainly look like they could.

 

Is it true that the times you have the lowest expectations, you find the most fun things?

 

Linking up with a living space and Apron Thrift Girl - check out other weekend finds there.



Après-ski Thrift Haul

I went skiing in the Maine mountains yesterday with the family, which was great. I have skied since I was a meter tall, and even though I mostly go cross-country skiing, I do enjoy downhill for the thrill as well. Furthermore, this particular place is NOT a resort in any sense of the word and is visited by friendly Mainers who just want to ski, eat their homemade gorp, and warm up in the rustic lobby with a real stone fireplace and vintage ski posters on the walls.  No fancy overpriced ski shops, women in fashionable furs or metro guys with their flashy city gear. And the lift tickets are only $15 for the entire day - unbeatable!

So, after a day of skiing, what better way to end the day than with an appropriate Après-ski at one of the best Goodwills in Maine? I only stop here whenever we are traveling, but it is one of my all-time favorite GWs.  And guess what, though not pictured, I also got a small wallet there that still had 6 bucks and change in it!

Anyway, I got a great Dansk Kobenstyle enamel pan for $4, and everything else was 50 cents to 1 dollar. A couple of owls (I basically pick up ANY owl these days since they all sell, some vintage-looking hemplike napkins/placemats, a super-cool game with great 60s illustrations both inside and out, a mini iron frying pan, a Pyrex bowl, a Curious George piggy bank tin (that is newer, but looks vintage), ceramic Tiki salt and pepper shakers, a couple of flower-power votives, a Scrabble soup bowl and three mugs, including a Cathy cartoon mug from 1985.  A couple of months ago, I would not have picked up newer mugs, but I have seen so many oddball mugs sell in my shop that I am expanding my range of the 80s stuff beyond smurfs and Garfield.  Also, I regularly pick up odd game pieces, especially from scrabble and domino games as well as dice, and they always disappear - crafters love them!  This Scrabble soup bowl will be cute holding some tiles in my shop. 

All in all, a great end to a fun day in the mountains.

What did you find this weekend?


December Recap, Cliff's Notes Edition

The good news from December:  I made the most money to date in my booth, about 3X what I normally make!
 Despite the fact that I was missing in action for the entire two last weeks of the Christmas month, the stuff seemingly sold itself.  I went back to my booth today for the first time in 18 days, and it was not a pretty sight.  Stuff shuffled around, books and tins on the floor, other people's merchandise left in my booth, ugh.  But then I got my check, and I felt a lot better.  Big things sold and lots of little things sold, and I have a lot of open shelf space to fill up.  And guess what my number one seller was?
Once again: mugs!  I sold about a dozen mugs in December - as I have said previously, Mainers sure like their coffee, tea, cider and hot chocolate in retro mugs.

What was your biggest seller in December?

Thanksgiving, then full charge ahead

Taylor and Ng Thanksgiving Mugs with proper use of Top Hat

Funny how having my mom in town for an extended visit meant absolutely no time for my antique booth.  It doesn't help that my lovely mom does not see the charm in having such a booth and can think of a thousand better ways to spend my time.  I love my mom, and will gladly sacrifice my booth for her, but I still feel guilty about not going by for almost 2 weeks.  When I finally did stop by, the store owners said they had been all worried about me.  Aw, the love!

I have finally sat down and priced a whole bunch of items for the coming Christmas season, and I plan to give my booth some proper loving tomorrow.  At least when I did go by my booth after such a long absence, a lot of stuff had gone missing - including my beloved red Coleman cooler.  It will be interesting to go through the official sales sheet.

Do you feel torn when visitors come to town?  

Mug Shot

Some of my current mugs in my booth - I picked up the smurf ones this weekend

Everybody needs a coffee mug.  They are so irresistible at thriftstores  - abundant, quirky and the prices are always right.  I never leave without checking out the mugs. I have a shelf full in my kitchen, and I LOVE my mugs (and could not part with 3 of my favorites ever).  Naturally, I have put coffee mugs in my booth as well to resell, and they are modestly successful - I have sold a few every month.  Incidentally, one of the two items that have ever been stolen out of my booth was a mug - a milkglass mug with a Canadian flag on it.  Not pointing fingers or anything, but I have a feeling that some shifty Canadian is drinking their guilty pleasures out of that one - just sayin'.

Anyway, I have always liked the Otagiri mugs - they have such great designs and their handle is the perfect shape (and easily recognized).  I have sold about 10 Otagiri mugs of various designs in my booth - sporting owls, cats, ships, bears, seagulls and fish.  The embossed ones always seem to disappear paticularly fast.  Also, being in Maine, every mug with a lobster on it has sold.  I have a few Taylor and Ng mugs as well, but have yet to put them in my booth (it's a ten-step program, folks).

Mugs don't bring in the big bucks, but since it is a steady seller, I don't mind.  I never pay more than 99 cents, and I always price them at $5.  Thus, the 3x investment minimum is fulfilled.

Do you sell mugs?  Are they a good seller for you?  Do you have a favorite mug design?