Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Thrift Store Finds

Here is my haul from a recent trip to Value Village. It was one of those good days at the thrift store and I actually had to retrace my footsteps and put some things back on the shelves! And of course, now I keep thinking of the things I left behind and wishing that I hadn’t. Anyway, plenty came home with me as it was …

(01) I like to collect cute mid-century ceramic figurines, so always scan the knick-knack shelf to see if I can find something good. I’ve never had any luck in finding an actual true vintage figurine at the thrift store, though, relying on eBay instead. But this little poodle is the real deal, complete with his original “Giftcraft” foil sticker which dates the item to be from the early to mid 50s. It looks like he was kept safely in a cabinet for 60 years as he’s in perfect shape with no chips. For $2 I couldn’t resist him, although in all honestly, as cute as he is I wish he was a cat!

(02) During this thrifting haul, I began a new collection that I am now keeping my eyes peeled for at the thrift stores, that being pieces of this ruby-red glassware. When I found the mug last time, I didn’t know anything about it and a helpful reader identified it for me as Arcoroc from France. Thanks Dana :) And then this time I scored these two stemmed goblets. From what I can gather, Arcoroc Ruby Red items of this style have been made as far back at 1963, but I can’t really say how old my new glasses are. Regardless of their age, vintage or not, I love them! They were only $3 for both and are in perfect shape.

(03) Ok, we’ll skip over this next set of finds quickly because you have to be bored reading about the additions made to my vintage Corelle collection. These are our everyday dishes, and I’m still trying to find certain pieces to complete our set, particularly bowls. This time I found 2 more soup bowls with a green line, exactly matching the ones I found here. Those ones aren’t vintage but go nicely with the old patterns. The find of the day here as far as this stuff goes is the saucer with the green flowers on it (Spring Blossom Pattern circa the 1970s), and the matching sugar bowl. These were considered a good find because they’re pretty rare, and I’ve been looking for a saucer for ages to use as an under-plate with the matching pitcher (milk jug) that we used to serve salad dressing. Another score in this haul is the ‘Blue Onion’ cereal bowl, also from the 1970s. (If you’d like to see more of this collection being accumulated, click here, here and here. )

(04) Here’s a Pyrex Brand clear glass casserole dish I found. We needed a new one because we use these all the time, and I recently chipped the handle on our old one. This ‘new’ one is probably from the 60s and is in perfect shape.

(05) Also Pyrex Brand is this small clear glass bowl. This is a newer item and I bought it particularly for the ‘handiness’ factor. When I got it home I noticed it was actually a measuring cup and must have been part of a nesting set. Nick and I laughed when I showed him that it’s marked 1 3/4 cups … how often is it that one needs exactly that amount of something?!

(06) I couldn’t leave this leaf behind! It’s a tiny heavy vintage crystal piece that originally would have been made specifically as a personal ashtray. Did you know that a good party host back in the day always had a stack of tiny ashtrays at the ready so guests could have their smoke while talking to people and not have to break the conversation every time they needed to drop ash. We don’t smoke cigarettes but I thought this little piece would be a cute spoon-rest or olive-pit receptacle.

(07) I am always on the lookout for pieces of Grindley Hotelware that are in good shape. Considering this kind of dishware was used in restaurants, it saw a lot of use and pieces are often well worn and chipped. The neat thing about Grindley is that they date the production of each of their pieces. This cream pitcher in the ‘Bordeaux’ pattern was made in May of 1963, and I got it for a buck. I love it! If you’d like to see another hotelware thrift store score, check out these bowls I found.

(08) Check out the vintage but brand new tablecloth I found! I love the cheerful colours which go nicely with our kitchen. Perfect for spring. Well, that is if I can bring myself to wash it for the first time and take away its crisp, never-been-used finish! Oh, I know I will but it’s hard to do with vintage linens. I estimate this one to date back to the 60s. One of the items I put back on the shelf because I just didn’t need it was an unused brand-new vintage Christmas tablecloth of the same ilk (but in Christmas colours and featuring images of Santa). I really don’t need a Christmas tablecloth, but I wish I’d bought it to give as a gift. It would have been perfect for my sister. Oh well.

(09) Enjoying creating things with paper, I grabbed this set of card-stock. It was never used and still wrapped in its original packaging and then covered by another bag, so I didn’t really get what I was buying, but liked the colours because it’s pretty hard to find nice paper with more masculine colours and prints, for when I make cards for a male. Anyway, this is a selection of different pads, pre-cut to different sizes, each pad containing a variety of complimentary prints. There are also coordinating ribbons and buttons, and some brads. Neat! I thought it was good value for $2.

(10) I had a chance to take a quick look at the books this trip, (before Nick arrived back from running his errands to pick me up). I liked the author Wally Lamb’s first book, so I thought I’d give this one ‘I Know This Much is True’ a go. The book looks like its only been read once, if ever, and there was a Valentine card stuck between the book and the dust-cover from the mother of the person who previously owned it, stating how proud she and her father were of her. Such a sweet little extra tidbit.

I didn’t buy it for this reason, but examining it I discovered that it is a First Edition hardcover from the first printing of this book, which is apparently a collectible for that reason and worth considerably more than the $4 I paid for it. I found similar copies going for $90 listed on the internet, but I can’t see myself going into the book selling business anytime soon, so I’ll probably read it and donate it back so someone else can take that on if they’d like.