Monday, 21 September 2015

Thrift Store Finds

It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve shown you some Thrift Store finds, but that’s certainly not because I haven’t gone! I have but summer was a busy one and I never got around to taking photos.

Here are the things I found while visiting my parents in Barrie (this trip). They have really great thrift stores there and my mother and I always check them out when I visit. This last trip we made it to Value Village and Goodwill (where they were having a sale … everything for 30% off if you spent $30, so we pooled our purchases and got an extra great deal!)

We’ll start with the find of the day, which actually could be the find of the year. These side plates by Grindley are very rare and very collectable. I was thrilled to find a stack of 11 brand new ones for only $1 each.

This thick durable crockery, called Vitrified Duraline Hotelware was originally designed for use in restaurants, cafeterias, and hotels, so they got a lot of use, which is why they’re hard to find these days, especially in perfect condition. The pattern on these plates is called “Country Fair” and matches some cereal bowls and fruit bowls that I have (seen here). An interesting thing about Grindley Hotelware is that they stamp the date when they were made on the back of each piece — these were made in 1972, so they’ve survived for 53 years. They’re in such pristine condition that I imagine they were spares that had been put away in storage.

Next up are more side plates. I just couldn’t leave these perfect Corelle ones behind, as I collect vintage Corelle. These are the dishes we use every day, so I get good ones when I find them, especially priced at only $.75 per plate (versus the $2.99 they are at the Toronto Value Village). The pattern is called Old Time Blue, which stopped production in the 70s, making these plates at least 40 years old.

I love blue glass, so picked up this little fruit bowl for 49 cents. It has no marking or label so I don’t know what it is, but it’s shiny and pretty and will be handy for something.

I’m always on the lookout for nice looking plant pots, so got this white one with a cute detail around the top.

[Note : I don’t put my soil and plant directly into this type of pot, that doesn’t have a hole in the bottom. Instead I use another thin plastic pot that does have holes, and plant into that and then put that into the ceramic pot. This way excess water will drain away from the roots, which is necessary to keep plants healthy. Also, this is a good way to change things up because you can switch the ceramic outer pot anytime you want without disturbing your plant.]

Moving over to the linens department, I was happy to find two 100% cotton vintage table cloths. They’re both square with the floral one being a small one, perfect for a little side table we use where entertaining out on the deck. Each was under $4. They’ve both been used already — you can see the green one covering our table when our friends Chops and Leslie came over recently.

I also found a couple of vintage tea towels that I couldn’t resist at a dollar a piece. Our kitchen is open concept and our tea towels are always in full sight, so I love to find interesting looking ones.

The floral one is a nice soft linen and will work well this autumn.

The one with the bar scene is made of cotton and had never even been washed before. I love that there’s a cat and dog in that bar!

My fingers found this next item before my eyes did. This large square scarf, with hand bound edges is made of silk that is thick and lush. It appears never to have been used, purhaps because the greens and purple didn’t appeal to the owner, or the mod look was not their style. That’s ok, because it is mine. Here in Toronto it gets so cold in the winter that I often wear two scarves, a soft silk one wrapped close to my neck and then a woolly one over that.

I didn’t recognize the brand name Codello, but a quick search indicates that this is a luxury make from Europe. A good find for $2.99.

I really like these long vintage plastic necklaces and have a variety of colours, with different shaped beads. They’re very lightweight and comfortable to wear — great for throwing over a t-shirt. I wear them all the time, so picked up this nice black one with no deliberation. It was $1.99.

This type of necklace would have been a low-cost option back in the 50s and 60s. I actually prefer them to the “real” thing (such as this jet one I thrifted a couple of years ago) because the beads are attached to the cord so there is no worry about breaking one and having the beads go all over the place, which is something that certainly can happen with long necklaces like this, especially vintage ones with old fragile cords.

I’ve been wanting to read Tina Fey’s book Bossy Pants, so picked it up when I saw it. I’m actually reading it right now and love it.

Lastly, I got this never-been-used-before genuine leather cushion. It has a zipper at the back and the insert is down feather filled. I have to say that at first I wasn’t thrilled with the colour combination of turquoise and fuschia, and actually put it back on the shelf. But then we needed one more item to bring us up to the $30 that would result in 30% off everything, so basically it was free and reduced the cost of the other stuff too, so why not?

I didn’t anticipate how well it would go with our favourite chairs, these vintage colour-blocked ones that are located in the kitchen. It’s an understatement to say that these chairs get a lot of use — we used them all the time, and the cushion goes really well with them and is very comfortable.

About these chairs — I bought them from a friend of a friend who had hired me to dj his studio opening party. His business was refurbishing vintage furniture. While I was at the party I spotted these chairs in his work area. The vintage hardwood frames were solid (and a brand I should know but forget). The coloured thick vinyl was also vintage, remnants from an old factory. They didn’t have enough of one colour to redo a whole chair so they mixed up the colours. I absolutely loved them and bought them on the spot, using the proceeds of a win from the slot machines at the casino. I had gone to Casino Rama on a lark the week before with my mom, and not only did I win one big prize, but I won twice that day. I had enough to share a bit of fun money with my family and to get these chairs. That was fourteen years ago and I haven’t been back to the casino since but remembering that fun time makes me think I should go.

And that’s it!