Vintage Rescue Squad

Gatorade, STAT!

What a weekend! What a PERFECT weekend! The triathlon was exhausting, but oh-so-fun. I called it a triathlon mainly for the endurance aspect, but since I ended up going to an estate sale, an antique show, and 3 flea markets, I think it qualifies. I defy anyone else (except for every single one of you) to power through that without flagging.

I also definitely needed Gatorade, not only for energy, but because it was a glorious 70+ degrees here in NOVA this weekend. 

A few weeks ago, a shopowner, who I love, was talking to me about a flea market that she'd been going to. She'd mentioned it before, but never *specifically* named it. I couldn't tell if she was being cagey about not revealing her source, or assumed I already knew about it. This time, she dropped the name, and I was determined to go. It's about 1.5 hours away, but with such a beautiful drive, who cares? And, I remembered that another vendor friend used to sell there. 

Well, this is a TRUE flea market, with more DVDs, tube socks, fenced electronics, Matchbox cars, and yard sale crap than vintage stuff, but the vintage stuff was by and large cheap. Unfortunately, very little vintage furnitute.

At my very first vendor, I scored a trifecta of vintage horse-race photos (what's up with the HORSES lately with me?)*, as well as a sweet Wildflowers of Whittier book with great graphics. I then quickly segued to a table of $1 items, scoring some really awesome 100+-year-old bibles and religious items. I've been looking for champagne buckets, as I sold them ALL last holiday season, and dead violins and typewriters, which I can't keep in stock. I wasn't gonna buy this typewriter (and was only skeptically eyeballing it, since it was newer than I prefer) when the dealer told me it was mine for $5. Hell, I can sell it as a doorstop at that price!

Heading home, I found a teensy tiny antique shop and scored the keys and photos for a ridiculously low price. When they noticed that I bought ALL the photos, they told me to call before I come next time, and they'll bring in more for me. YAY!

Although I only bought smalls this weekend, it's what's paying the rent and keeping the booth vibrant. I'm dreading decorating the booth for the upcoming holidays, so am hoping I can minimize it if I have lots of great smalls.

As an aside, it's always astounding to me that I can travel a mere 1.5 hours and end up in some perpendicular universe (as opposed to a parallel one): I saw a dune buggy driving the highway, passed a dinosaur adventure park, and overheard a panicked mom asking every vendor: "Do you have any Godzilla figurines?!?" It's a good reminder that I don't live in a foofy vintage bubble.

Here's hoping your weekend merited a Gatorade!

*Seriously, I'm petrified of horses. I think I was 11 when I was invited to a birthday party. Once we arrived, we were transported (back then your mom didn't accompany you) to a horse farm, where we were all unexpectedly expected to go horseback riding (can you imagine the lawsuits these days if that happened?!?). I was PETRIFIED, and it showed. The hostess told the stablehands to give me the gentlest horse, but by the time they located it/him/her, everyone else had taken off. I was all alone on this big ole beast who clearly was unhappier than I was. It kept wriggling, trying (I thought) to get me off. It eventually laid down and I jumped off, sobbing to a degree that no amount of cupcakes could console. Never been NEAR a horse since. Shoppers: please buy my horse-y stuff so I can sleep at night.... please?

Working Overtime: Punching the Junking Clock

{WARNING: I need a cocktail just to WRITE about this, so go ahead and get yourself one.}

Day 1 of hardcore junking is done. Personally, I don't think 7 hours of junking is too much, do you?

First up: the last Civitan sale of the year! I'd hoped that all the dealers—well, the vintage dealers—would be bringing out all their good stuff in order to unload, rather than sit on it until April. I'd also hoped they'd be willing to do a little dealing. OMG. What an unholy amount of cr@p I saw. I hardly bought anything, and waffled for nearly an hour over a killer deco vanity, but decided it was just too expensive. I'm still kicking myself, but know I made the right decision. I was left deeply unsatisfied, only buoyed by the possibility of the Big Flea afterwards. That possibility just BARELY erased the vision of a dude selling off his prized beer stein collection and another vendor selling food. Canned food. From a grocery store. You know: canned carrots, green beans, etc. And shampoo. Really?

Upon leaving, I swung by the house to drop off my pitiful haul, and noticed a big ole dumpster around the corner, in front of this old couple's house. I'd noticed they hadn't been around for a long time, and that the neighbors had been parking in their driveway. Could it be an unadvertised estate sale? Within spitting distance of my house? That hadn't come up on my radar?

Stuff was being dragged outside, and other (crappier) stuff was being chucked in the dumpster. I asked the guy if this was an estate sale, and his reply: "Um, it's a FREE sale" nearly FLOORED ME. I TOLD you I have some junking mojo going on! I only picked up a shopping cart, a book, and 6 untouched boxes of "Clark's Boilfast O.N.T. 6 strand cotton skeins" In a variety of colors. I don't need them, but I reckon someone will (and I think I'll be seeing them next weekend, hint hint). Oh, and one LONELY skeleton key!

The Big Flea was really good, which is only fair, given that Civitan was so bad. Prices were still high, and apparently every two-bit dealer has figured out that ephemera is the hot ticket. You wouldn't believe what old photos/loose ephemera/dice/skeleton keys were going for! Guess I'll be sticking to my trusty estate sales. 

I didn't buy ALL that much, but scored an even dozen Crown canning jars (from Canada, approx 1930s—my grandma used them), the horse print, a cute barkcloth pillow, books ... random stuff, but all good. And, my "hat-whispering skills" (as Karla calls them) magically showed up. I could've sworn that the little ol' lady who sold them to me just might have worn them last Sunday. 

I saw all my vendor peeps, Liz came out to shop/dish together, and we had a blast. But you KNOW I'm a HUNGRY grrl, and I need more junking. Phase 2 is tomorrow.

The best part: when I got home, I had a postcard inviting me to a reprise of the Barn Sale next weekend, "with many new antiques". 

I swear, my mojo is firing at all pistons.

Junking Triathlon!

I'm ready for a BIG junking weekend! I've been working so hard and long lately, I deserve this.

Cleaned out the car, went to the bank, mapped out my timetable, and am uncharacteristically going to bed mega early (for me). I'm already in my jammies, and it's not even 8:00. I'm telling you: BIG junking plans!

I did some early training, hitting a promising estate sale before work this morning:

I didn't get all that much, but am ecstatic about my finds. The jumbo horse trophy (16") is from the 1929 Cincinnati Horse Show and was for the child amateur (10 years or under). YOWZA. It was expensive, but anything horse-y sells immediately in our shop. 

Initially, I had passed on the wooden crate; I briefly considered it and 3 others, turned away, and another woman swooped in. I heard the distinct sound of teeny wheels grinding, and realized it is wheeled! I hovered nearby, pretending to be interested in some ancient National Geographics, and the minute she let go of it, I grabbed it. Plus, it was only $5. 

The tin is "Radiant Polish Mop Dust." If you say so. My house must be filthy if I've never even HEARD of mop dust. 

Checking out, the cashier wigged out over the jumbo Ouija board. Seriously. She said she's afraid of them, and asked me to get it away from her. 

The morning whetted my appetite for junking and I'll be good to go for a looooong weekend of junking! Isn't it hysterical that we ALWAYS look forward to junking? Even for us dealers, it NEVER feels like work, does it?

Where's the Fun in THAT?

I randomly came across this DC-area Craigslist listing while Googling something else.

"Going out of business- RETIRING – Listing of inventory of merchandise for sale. All inventory sold for one money....

Great start for Flea Market Business or Thrift Store Business - Over 700 square feet of merchandise -- Lot of collectible Dolls, Toys new and collectible, Vintage Jewelry, Tools (new and used), watches, knives, swords, pottery, lamps, kitchenware, glassware, books, records, salt and pepper collection, pictures, frames, oriental vases, oriental carvings. Also, various table top showcases, floor showcases, folding tables and misc. shelving. Lots of good new and used merchandise. All for $5,000.00 CASH or best offer. 

I'd like a gander at *some* of that loot, but nah, I like finding it all myself. For less than $5,000. Apparently that "one money" includes lots of random capitalization as well. 

A great junker has to EARN their stripes, right?

Recalibrating?

I have NO IDEA what's going on with me! Maybe it's the change to colder weather, the near-constant rain the last few days, or the lethargic after-effects of my Friday night massage, but I cannot motivate this weekend. 

The estate sales offered didn't sound inspiring (Asian/teak/high-end newer stuff—ho hum). 

Saturday, my sister called me FROM a rummage sale, announcing that she'd done an end-run around me (not even telling me she was going). I'm proud of her for thinking like an entrepreneurial junker! I couldn't go anyway, as I was hosting an outdoor Halloween bonfire chili fest at my house, and needed to get ready. I rarely entertain, since my teeny tiny house is jam-packed with junk. I'll entertain, if it's outside.....

Today, I met her at the rummage sale (she bought a large piece of furniture that wouldn't fit in her car). I'm not a huge fan of rummage sales, and this one was loaded with the requisite baby and kids' stuff, loads of clothes, and an alarming amount of rollerblades and really bad furniture. I only managed to get the 2 giant candlesticks and ironstone-ish crackly platter. $8 total.

And although I stopped by the shop to pay rent and help my sister move some things in, I didn't bring anything. I was pleased, however, to see a few things had unexpectedly sold, much more than I'd anticipated!

I like to think I'm recalibrating or storing up my junking karma for NEXT weekend. I'm saving my money, energy, and luck for a triple threat: last Civitan sale of the season, last Big Flea of the year, and a bonus Chartreuse tag sale. Let me at 'em!

3 Lucky Winners!!!

What a response! I'm so thankful for all who left comments and entered my triple double fudge blogiversary giveaway! It made me feel all warm and squishy and tingly, introduced me to a lot of new blogs I get to check out, helped me destash, and learn what junkers REALLY want. As always, I employed the "random number generator" for each giveaway and ....

DRUMROLL PLEASE: THE RESULTS

Winner: Lauren!

The box o' ephemera was the most-popular prize, with 32 lusters.

Winner: Angie!

The aprons were the second most-popular prize, with 21 sexy hot mamas.

Winner: Susan!

The chandelier was the least-popular prize, with 14 drama decorators.

So, Lauren/Angie/Susan, send me your snail mail so I can send them out next week (I'll also email you directly). Thank you all SO MUCH for playing along, and it was my pleasure to share with you all. As a reminder, a few commenters did not indicate which prize they wanted, so I couldn't really enter you in a specific giveaway. Perhaps I didn't make it clear: I was having 3 separate giveaways. So sorry....

I'll do another one, once the alleged etsy shop opens. In the meantime, happy junking

Foofing, and Revealing Myself as a Ratfink

Weekend before last, I brought a ton of new stuff into the booth. I knew I'd be there all day foofing, so was settling in. First order of business was covering up the dead space.

Grasshopper (aka my sister) has this amazing French grate, and we both knew it needed a primo space. We agreed to move it upstairs, and I decided to attach some of my larger ephemera to it. I am soooo loving it that I've offered to buy it from her, but we're seeing how it goes for now.

Since my booth is so large, I've created a rotating central spotlight space, intending to draw people in. Basically, you need to walk all the way around it. It seems to work; every time I show up, there's someone deep in the booth.

I only pencilled in the larger pieces; of course there's furniture piled on top of furniture, suitcases everywhere, and my precious garden statues flanking the entry. I also just noticed how uncharacteristically regimented I am: I always go clockwise around anything. Hence, the arrows. Didn't even realize I'd done that!

While I was foofing away, minding my own business, I heard a big TINKLE/CRASH in the next booth. Whoops! I went over to investigate, and saw a 10-year-old (?) boy holding 2 pieces of a formerly 1-piece twee floral teacup. I instinctively knew this was an accident, but also know that no way/no how should kids be left alone in an antique store. Unfortunately, my *vendor mode* took over, and I said "I'll go get a cashier" and took the broken pieces up to the front desk. Am I the biggest ratfink or what?!? When the family tried to leave, the cashier asked if there'd been an accident, presented the evidence, and the Dad went OFF on the poor kid. Now I feel like a ratfink. As it turned out, apparently, when they heard the crash, the parents had asked if that was one of the kids, and he'd lied; but, I still felt bad. Poor kid had to pay for the damage. $14 for a teacup.

The worst part of the story (to me) was that in the interim, while I didn't realize it was all the same family, the nasty FATHER decided to show his stripes. I always have a typewriter in my booth. I know to put a "this is not a toy" sign on it. While I was foofing, I heard the dad typing away, and the younger son say: "Dad! It says 'this is not a toy'!" To which the dad replied: "That's intended for YOU, not for me."

For being a ratfink, I got a karmic kick in the @ss: I broke one of my own mirrors. Well, only the mirror fell out of the back of the frame, so I'm hoping no bad luck is coming my way....

Auction Mania!

NOW I see what all the hubbub was about! Why-oh-why was I so afraid of auctions? Of course, the 2 I've now attended are by the same auction house, and are smaller, somewhat more informal than I imagined, and kinda farm-y. But sooooo much fun. I can't decide what is my favorite part: listening to the auctioneers, watching the escalation of prices on things that seem incredible ($13 for a box of patterns? $450 for a vintage child's tractor?), or seeing people's compulsions up close and personal. Clearly, at the last sale I was pegged as the crazy book lady; at this one I was the broken furniture lady.

My sister, her husband, and I got there early to inspect, and upon first glance, it didn't look too good. Lots of clothes, lots of brown antiques, lots of broken furniture. But you know what comes with broken furniture, right? 

Chippy furniture! I got this sweet vanity (with custom glass top) for $15 (outbidding another woman) and the drawer-less dresser on the right for a mere $2 (outbidding not a soul). John joked that for $2 it's cheaper than therapy. For $2, it'd be worth it just to break it up. He also suggested I buy a pickaxe for $1 as a package deal. I don't care! I was leafing through Terry John Woods' New Farmhouse Style earlier in the week (upon Theresa's suggestion) and saw on p48 a dresser used outside. Bingo! This will be awesome on my front porch for potting tools, etc. Or, of course, I can use it as firewood. Maybe it wasn't my sanest purchase, but it's worth $2 to say I got a dresser for $2. 

Grasshopper and I loaded up both our cars for a grand total of under $100 (and that also includes a buyer's premium). A lot of the stuff I got was in box lots, which was loaded with crap. It always reminds of that scene in "The Jerk" when Steve Martin is leaving, saying "All I need is this ashtray. And this hat. And this trashcan." That's what happens when someone won't pay even $1 for an item. They just keep adding more. I did get a trashcan, a cake carrier (crusty Tupperware), and an ungodly amount of paper clips and thumbtacks.

I love the black instrument case, the box lot of horse ribbons (!) although they're only about 20 years old, and the bingo set. I also bought this History of England flash card set off another dealer. I'd been bidding on the lot, but he got it. He didn't even want them!

In fact, nearly everyone at this auction wasn't looking for what my sister and I were interested in. Many of the boxes I got went for $1, $2, tops $7! 

We were there for 6 HOURS. What really bogged down the sale was all the coins, jewelry, and weapons. TOOK FOREVER. The tables of boxed goodies were the last to start going, but I'd made a promise to myself that if I had to use the port-a-potty 3 times, it was time to go. I'd hit my limit.

Left behind: a box of games with a TON of old dice, 2 giant boxes of tattered lace, good old military pamphlets (which sell well in this Pentagon-laden area), and vintage hats with millinery flowers. I just couldn't stand being there that long.

If I'm gonna use a port-a-potty all day, it'd better be in Warrenton. 

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Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway anytime before midnight Friday EST. You'd be crazy not to; today I received the new issue of Country Living featuring black decal chandeliers and aprons. They are sooooo onto me. 

Books, Books, Books!

I've always loved books. I started reading early, declared myself an English major the day I entered college, and always wanted to work in publishing. I'm currently in 2 book discussion groups, one of which I founded over 20 years ago.

Knowing my predilection for book-hoarding, it shouldn't surprise you that today was one of the highlights of the year for me: the semi-annual library sale (half-price day)! YAY! Since I always set my tractor-beam towards the "old books/collectibles" section, it's mandatory that I wait until half-price day. I bite my nails and pace in the 3 days leading up to half-price day, knowing I'll miss out on some good stuff, but these books can be costly.

I struck gold today, though:

The little blue book is Flore Coloriee de Poche du Littoral Mediterraneen de Genes a Barcelone y Compris la Corse (1902) aka "Cool Old French Book with 144 Colored Floral Drawings".

The big fat book is Carpenter's Principles of Human Physiology (1850). I'm a big sucka for anything with physiology drawings (phrenology in particular—so keep your eyes peeled for them)! It's got loads of detailed 19th-century drawings of digestive tracts and other internal organs. I wish I'd had this book when that young doctor came by and cleaned out my booth of all medical-related items to decorate her new office. 

The purple book is AMAZING: Household Elegancies: Suggestions in Household Art and Tasteful Home Decorations (1875). It's also loaded with drawings, with a lot of household decorating projects, mainly focusing on botanicals and other nature-inspired elements. An excerpt from the introduction:

"Home! Is there a sweeter word in any language than that of Home? What can bring brighter pictures of joy; what can give images to remain longer on the mind; what can we treasure more tenderly than memories of Home; and where, in all the earth, can happier hearts be gathered, but in the delighted precincts of Home? ...

"To the ladies of America, lovers of Home decorations, and ardent imitators of every hint and tasteful suggestion, we present you these pages, and offer our greeting, with the cordial wish, that in every Home where enters this dainty volume, there may be a welcome rich and long remembered."

There's more, and it's GOOD. If one of us wrote like that, we'd be the new Martha. Nay, Martha would be TOAST. I need to do some research on this Mrs. C.S. Jones.

Oddly enough, it's like reading a modern day blog. It also has amazing 19th-century advertising in the back with killer graphics.

The small black book is Union Prayer Book (1894), a rabbis' manual for Yom Kippur services. This is only the second old book with Hebrew in it that I've come across. I'm not sure members of the tribe are all that into scrapbooking/mixed media with Hebrew, but if I've only found 2—they must be pretty scarce. I've been told that the reason I find so few old Catholic bibles is that the Catholic church didn't allow people to have their own bibles; they were to take all biblical information directly from their priest. I didn't know that! Maybe it's the same in old-time Jewish households?

In addition, I found a 1906 German-English dictionary. I'm a HUGE lover of dictionaries and have them in nearly every language. I also bought 2 decorating books (Decorating on a Dime and In the Romantic Style) as well as a few contemporary novels, all for under $1! Libraries are our greatest societal treasure, on oh-so-many levels. I'm proud to me a member/contributor/customer. Seriously. Call me a geek.

Many of the books I buy are strictly for the graphics, or the unusual subject matter, and many are destined for my alleged etsy shop and/or the artists' retreat vendor show I hope to do this summer. I know it's appallingly tragic to disassemble these books for art projects, but I'd rather they live on in an art form than be destined for a trash bin. Of late, I feel like I'm running a rescue squad for books....

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At the last Big Flea, I picked up this amazing 5-book set: Personality Development: A Practical Self-Teaching Course, published by the Better-Speech Institute of America (1939). Oh.My.Lord. I sooooo wish I'd had this back in 7th grade health & home ec. It definitely would've piqued my interest! I've been sitting on this book set for about 6 weeks. It's a total hoot, with a huge emphasis on posture, modesty, grooming, etc.

You know: "Your make-up is important." 

And, as a parting note, something to make us all feel better (if we lived in 1939):

Ta-da! We're underweight! I just might laminate this page and staple it to my driver's license. Or possibly staple it to my forehead on days I'm feeling fat....

My Own Private Barn Sale

Yesterday, my sister sent me an APB about a barn sale starting Friday way out in the boonies. She had to work, but I hightailed it out there this morning.

What a beautiful dilapidated farm it was! As I pulled up, my heart was a-pounding. I'm a BIG SUCKA for junk spilling outside of any sale. If you're like me, your eagle eyes zoomed in on that amazing hutch. Well, tough; it's MINE NOW.

I quickly saw it, as well as yet another Mary lawn statue (also MINE NOW) and was starting to go into the next barn when I realized I was gonna be there a long time. It was only then that I realized I was the only person there. No panicking about missing anything, no shoving. Turns out the people running the sale are dealers/collectors in Rappahannock, VA, and came closer in to offload. They've started a mailing list and will be doing this every few months. Yee ha! 

Most of the items were more primitive/farmy than I prefer (and many items were too expensive for this cheap gal), and they admitted that dealers had arrived at 7 a.m. and had picked them fairly clean. The woman started telling me about some awesome things that had sold earlier, but lalalalalala I can't hear you. Don't even want to know.

I didn't buy all that much, but it was sooo worth it. I'd been searching for a NFS anchor/display piece for my booth. I've decided to mark the accursed armoire down to a ridiculously low price so it'll MOVE. As soon as it's gone, this sweet hutch is coming in with a NFS sign on it. Either that or a hefty pricetag.

Tomorrow, my sister and I are going to our second auction, and then I'm dragging her back to the barn sale, as they've promised they're bringing more items. It's either that or pay her some "finder's fee" she claims she deserves.

Truth be told, this wouldn't have come up on my radar, so it's awesome that she's finding all these boonie sales.

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Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaways, open until midnight EST Oct. 30th.