Vintage Rescue Squad

Jumbo Flash Card Prescience

When I purchased the set of 30 (26 + 4 additional vowels) jumbo alphabet flashcards (11" x 14"), I had greedy etsy visions dancing in my head. Oh, sure. I could sell them as a set easily, but I thought it'd be more fun to spread the love, offering them up singly. Not only would I make a little bit more money, but it'd be fun to see which words/letters sold quickly.

Naturally, I would've bet BANK on the word "NEST," and of course it was the first one to go. Second was "QUEEN," and third was "MILK." All make sense to me. I would've bet one of the more patriotic ones would've been next, or possibly some of the animal ones. But, no! Want to guess what was the 4th to sell? Any takers?

FOX, and I'm willing to wager that it's because I used the word "foxy" as an etsy tag keyword. Oh yeah. All that useless 80s slang is coming in handy. Now I just have to figure out how to make "overalls" and "xylophone" equally alluring. No matter what, I solemnly swear that whichever is the remaining last flashcard standing will be proudly framed and displayed in my home. Said promise will most likely bite me in the "ice cube," but I pinkyswear.

Weather-Related Etsying

Fine. If the weather wants to be all icy and sleety, I'll stay in my pjs.

 

I have NO PROBLEM staying on the computer all day.

 

I'll just list new items in my etsy shop.

 

Which is also fine, since I got a lot of hits, and a handful of sales. Except now I'm completely over-caffeinated.

Extra! Extra!

Because I've worked for a newspaper for the last 28+ years, I'm pretty entrenched. And boy, do I love me some vintage newspaper/journalism items. Fortunately, my super-amazing sister knows it, and indulges me. She gifted me TWO of these miniature metal newsboys this past weekend! Woo hoo! One for the office, and one for home. I've had a perma-grin ever since.

 

And, it was perfect timing, as I got this GREAT game at an estate sale last weekend. I'd seen it online in the teaser photos, and was smitten. A little pre-sale investigation (pun intended) informed me that it was originally released in 1937 (!) and was based on the real-life reporter who covered the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. It was later reissued in the '50s (which is what this edition is, I think).

I couldn't go first thing in the morning, so went during my lunch hour, praying that the game was still there. The sale had been advertised as vintage TOYS TOYS TOYS, so I knew the collectors would be out in force. As I walked up, I saw Beth walking out—oh, no! A rival! Fortunately, we don't always buy the same things. I asked if she'd seen the game, but she couldn't be sure. CURSES! Fortunately for me, it was still there, and now it's ALL MINE.

 

And that's a good thing, because the game pieces are these teeny tiny metal telephones (and a single airplane) and I would've quit that newspaper job if I'd known that. 

The Good Stuff.

Chuck delivered my killer table today! To celebrate, I brought in some of the good stuff. New year, new look, new prices. Earlier, I mentioned the seltzer bottles and grocer's scale, but you didn't know I was bogarting the new-to-me hanging scale, folk art lighted star, WW2 arena pulldown, and gentlemen's shoes mirror, didja?

 

I love walking away from the booth and feeling like I've hit my stride.

Damn, that felt good.

Junk Management

You've heard the story from every dealer/junker: the junk has taken over our homes. I've got junk piled on top of junk. When you live alone, there's no one to look askance at the piles, or make snide remarks about the skillful maneuvers we make to accommodate the junk. And that's not always a good thing—it runs unchecked. Dare I say rampant? For the new year, I've vowed to get a grip.

 

Over the first weekend, I did some rearranging (starting with the dining room) and even made a vignette of my favorite things. You know you had it bad when even the cleaning lady comments on how nice it looks.

 

A key vow was also to pitch or use any furniture that cost under $20 or is broken. In furtherance of the catch-and-release program, I placed many curbside finds BACK on the curb for another lucky junker. This has always been one of my favorite pieces, but it had broken in transit over a year ago. Uber-resistant to any and all fix-up attempts, it now claims proud residence in my bedroom.

In another bold move, I'm having a shed built, so I can get even MORE items out of my house. Of course, that's just another 8' x 10' space I can fill up, but I can put all the items I'm saving for the Lucketts fair there temporarily.

Finally, I'm being pro-active in adding to the etsy shop! AND, in a final push, I've reduced the price of my 2012 Dreaming of Junking calendars. Get your FREE shipping, and let's start planning our junking roadtrips. I've already booked my trip to Warrenton/Round Top!

Bad, Bad Padlocks.

While restocking/foofing the booth today, I could hear what appeared to be a lecture about taxidermy items. Sure enough, when I peeked around the corner and down the aisle, I spied a video camera trained on a woman in a flowing caftan-like purple shirt—who was holding a stuffed critter. WTH? I scurried up front and asked the cashier if she knew what was going on. Silly me! It was the former owner of a local palmistry/esoterica shop filming, and she had permission. Okaaayyy. Whatever. None of my beeswax.

 

not the padlocks in question, but my sister's

After a few minutes, she moved to the booth next to mine, and began a mini-lecture on padlocks. She proclaimed that the offending padlocks were giving off a "very bad vibe," and that they were most likely NOT used to lock up valuables, but PEOPLE. "Possibly prisoners, or a family member that needed to be restrained." She swore that she could never buy one of "THOSE" padlocks. With all the fortitude I could muster, I stifled a snort.

 

She and the crew then moved into my room, and I saw that she had some random hangers-on—mesmerized shoppers hitching a ride. She zeroed in on the pocket watches in my glass case, and proclaimed that they all gave off a positive vibe (whew). She elaborated that pocket watches were valuable not for monetary reasons but for sentimental reasons blahblahblahblah passed down through generations of men blahblahblahblah and that they always hold nothing but good karma blahblahblahblah.

Meanwhile, I'm frantically trying to lock eyes with ANYONE to verify that this is really happening, and to stifle the inevitable raucous laughter. What made it all the more dubious is that just then the cameraman zoomed in on a watch right up front, and asked "is there any watch in particular that is giving off strong karma?" and she started babbling about that VERY SAME ONE, which COINCIDENTALLY he had already zoomed in on. I couldn't stick around for the story because I was screaming inside.

I swear, I can't make this crap up. But I'm tickled that I'm selling items with good karma, and not evil items that were used to restrain family members. I'm still wondering if she ambled over to the nearby booth that has a taxidermied duckling and ancient Chinese binding shoes. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess they have bad karma.

2011 in Review: Killer Junk

As an experienced procrastinator, I always wait a week into the new year to make any and all proclamations, as well as enforce any and all potential (if not feasible) resolutions. Tomorrow I begin in earnest (coincidentally, it's also the first big flea market of the year), but tonight I'm ruminating—just like most people did 6 days ago.

When junking is a way of life (as well as a semi-livelihood), we don't always step back and take the long view. We can celebrate the quick fun scores (and big sales), but remember too many dud sales we attended. Too many bum steers. All those fruitless gas-wasting trips. All those high hopes dashed by an estate sale of overpriced ho-hum colonial furniture and Hummels. Instead, I'd like to spotlight the GOOD. Herewith, 2011 in VRS junk: 

 

Best Junk That Made Me Squeal: Bountiful lot of poultry ribbons purchased at a flea market late in the year. So squeal-worthy that I cannot part with them yet.

 

Best Estate-Sale Purchase I Now Regret Selling: I'd long ached for a sign EXACTLY like this, so when I saw it at an estate sale, it was a no-brainer. The fact that it was also at an estate of a notorious clock-and-watch-hoarder was just a bonus. I still cry, however, that I parted with the sign.

 

Best Bait to Trap a Revered Dealer: When I scored this lot of letters at online auction, I had no idea that it would lure Alice and Jay into my booth at the Lucketts Spring Fair and I'd get to yuk it up with some ab-fab dealers. Natch, Alice bought them ALL. Both are more endearing in person than you can even imagine.

 

Best curbside find/downtown parking experience: Faithful readers know that I work in downtown Washington, D.C., and have to move my car every two hours (don't ask). When I saw this chippy enamelware hoosier piece curbside, I abandoned any pretense of urban hipsterhood. Yes, go ahead and stare at me, you downtown highbrows; you'll be jealous later.

 

Best oversize item: When Linda (no blog) randomly gifted me this mamma jamma ledger-that-time-forgot, I knew that I would never—and I mean NEVER—see anything of this wondrous magnitude again.

 

Best Craigslist Score (tie): These are so dear to me that I haven't even mentioned them on my blog. I just quietly fondled them for a few months, and then placed them in the shop. When a dude listed 8 amazing vintage seltzer bottles (plus original crate) for a song on CL, I couldn't drive to the boonies fast enough. Not to be outdone by ...

 

Best Craigslist Score (tie): Do I even need to elaborate? Cutie-patootie pink shell motel chairs? Seller telling me that she won't be home so just take them and leave a check under the doormat? What zip code is this? Hell, what decade is this?

 

Best/Most Profitable 3 Hours of the Year: 2011's Art & Soul retreat/vendor night (with Snis, Beth, and Suzy) was even better than last year. For a vintage seller, it's like a feeding frenzy of buyers we can only dream about. Money + instant de-stash = GLORY.

 

Best 230 Items: When I purchased ALL of Theresa's remaining vintage costume patterns while visiting Warrenton, I finally felt the power of "what if I buy them all," which is now my new m.o. I subsequently bought new luggage, of course.

 

Best Etsy Purchase. No, Wait, Best Birthday Present: As studious and devoted etsy fans, Snis and I spend a previously unheard-of sisterly presence on etsy. When I received a package with these glorious vintage VRS letters in the mail, I initially couldn't recall whether I'd ordered them (but it was plausible). Instead, my kick-ass sister had as a gift. Who's the bestest sister?

 

Best Secret Score from a Secret Store: I haven't blogged about this find either, mainly because I'd lusted after one for so long. Secondarily because it's been sitting (dirty) in Snis' garage for 7 months. Oh, how I love this butcher's scale. I love the enamel. I love the numbers. I love the arc of its giant height. Hell, I even love its grubbiness. Moreso, I love that few people know about this shop of wonder.

Despite all these wonders, I had a crappy year. My beloved Cody, ever-faithful companion of 12+ years, passed away. I turned 50. I had a heart attack. It's easy to focus on all that and play uber-hostess to my pity party. But, my favorite quote is "Even a bad year has 52 weekends." It's true. As junkers, we have our weekends—and they keep us going. Right now, I've kicked 2011 to the curb, and am ready to tackle 2012. Bring it.

Best Junk Score of 2012 (Already!)

For the last 2 months, I pretty much stopped junking—partly because of the holidays, partly to focus on my health, but mostly to get a tenuous yet sustained grip on the glorious junky clutter in my home. More on that in a later post.

I cannot recommend the cold-turkey approach to junking. It's unsettling, and left me feeling incomplete and uninteresting. So, yesterday, Snis and I headed out for a visit to the Great Strasburg Antique Emporium.

 

And now, I fear, I just may have found my greatest score for 2012—a mere 2 days into the new year! Look at this awesome table, which is precisely what I'd been jonesing for. Furniture hasn't been selling very well, and I've grown tired of what I have, and even more tired of schlepping smaller tables, chairs, and whatnots into the shop. What I really wanted is some WOW pieces that can "host" the myriad smalls that sell more reliably. You can't see from this photo, but the metal base is actually a dreamy minty green, and that drawer resting on the base actually attaches to the underside. I can't wait until it's delivered and I can rearrange the booth!

 

The emporium has been under new management, but I hadn't been by in over a year. Most of it is still the usual suspects/usual items, but a full half is now dominated by 4-5 of MY KIND OF DEALERS. It's astounding! I got the table from my ab-fab Big Flea dealer Chuck and his buddy Jim, as well as a kick-@ss mirror. They're all about store closeouts, so always have good display pieces and funkier shop pieces. The above photo is from Hip and Humble, another local duo with great vignettes.

 

And don't get me going on Homefront! Between all these new-to-me dealers, they've got more cubby and industrial pieces that I can dream about. It's like a warehouse of wonders!

After two months of my junking moratorium, I'm now buoyed by prospects for the new year! I feel like junking with a vengeance! I'm slowly loading up the etsy shop, kicking tired items to the curb, and planning out my flea market assaults for 2012. I am junker, hear me ROAR. Or something like that.