Friday, April 29, 2011

Cruisin' For Finds

I did some crusing for thrift finds on the internet and came across these beauties. Hope you enjoy, happy weekend everyone!


I think teal and orange look great together, as is the case with this planter. This would certainly brighten up a room.



Gorgeous sunburst clock, I wouldn't have a 
problem finding a place for this beauty!



Love this rodriquez mid century wall hanging,
have to put this on my must find list.



I think the flower pins look great in this mod jewelry box, the white really sets them off. I could see this as a display on a vanity or chest.



I would add this to my collection of textile covered jewelry boxes if it weren't already sold. Great design and something to keep an eye out for.






Aren't these japanese fabric coasters lovely? 
I would be tempted to hang them on a wall.



This isn't vintage, but what a great holder for books this wool felt box makes.
Would look so nice on a book shelf.









Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Be Thrifty with Style

Remember that show on TV where they looked at a room that was decorated with designer furniture and expensive artwork? They would call it the inspiration room, use the ideas and then design a room for much less. Well, today's posting is a take off on that. But instead of a whole room I'm showing just one wall. And the inspiration room turns into an inspiration piece of furniture. The decorating items are all secondhand - culled from thrift stores, thrift sales, book sales, estate sales and resale shops.


Pottery Barn Table with Stools



Table Found on eBay

We had painted and carpeted our living room previously and I wanted to put a sofa/console table on this wall. I saw a table in a Pottery Barn catalog that I really liked, but it just wasn't in our budget. So I started looking around and found a table on eBay for much less that was strikingly similar. I also like the idea of stools under the table like in the pottery barn photo, but I haven't figured out what type I want.





My bare wall (with photo distortion)



Table from eBay seller



In the Pottery Barn catalog they showed the table with a map behind it that I liked,(see above) but it wasn't quite what I wanted (plus that budget thing). One of my great scores (THIS IS WHY I THRIFT), I found this mid century burlap wall hanging at a church sale for $5.00. I think it goes well with the table.



These bowls were purchased at an estate store and thrift store. Each bowl was $5.00 or less. 



Sometimes you have to splurge and I did so with this lamp. I found it at a fab store called Area 51 Vintage Interiors and felt it was just perfect for the table. I paid $165.00 for it.



My dog, Ellie. She has no appreciation for what I'm trying to do.



The round cream Haegar ball vase is one of my favorites. It is marked second quality on the bottom, but I don't see any detractions. I bought it at Goodwill and paid $4.00 for it.



So here is the finished wall. I'm pretty pleased with it. As you can see, my style is more relaxed, it fits me. It took awhile to bring it all together, but good things come to those who wait, right? (And good prices too.) 



Monday, April 25, 2011

Thrift Share Monday

Hope you all had a good weekend.I didn't do a lot of thrifting, but I did get out for a little bit on Friday. Here are some of my thrift finds.





I found a nice mid century ice bucket (should have used a flash, color is washed out in pic) and a fondue pot. I like the style of the fondue pot and it's going in my collection.


Two birds - the first is a eagle or maybe hawk. It is carved out of a solid piece of wood. I'm going to give this to my dad for his birthday next month, as he likes eagles and collects them.  The smaller bird has nice detail and color and is going on my bookcase. (Colors are brighter than pic.)



I like this small mid century plate. I also found a lacquerware box with matching coasters. (To see my posting on lacquerware, click here.)





I was taken with the sculptural quality of this ceramic piece. Lol - when I got it home discovered it was for the microwave! Anyway, don't care, it's going in the living room.

So tired out today - I cleaned and cooked this weekend and baked a german chocolate cake from scratch. It really made me appreciate my mother and all that she did. But maybe next year we'll go out to eat, it's so much work. I see a nap in my future...

This post is a part of Thrift Share Monday with Apron Thrift Girl. So when you're done here, click here to go there and see all the other fine posts.








Thursday, April 21, 2011

Brass Razoo Boutique

I am amazed at all the creativity that comes out of thrifting and recycling. Not only in the people who buy, but also the people who sell. Such is the case with Elise Vaughn, owner and designer of Brass Razoo Boutique in Nampa, Idaho. With the concept of redesigning and recreating recycled items, items are fashioned into high quality pieces. The jewelry designed by Elise, is made using bits and pieces of vintage, antique and contemporary pendants, chains, links, stones and beads. Each piece is one of a kind. Elise also redesigns some of the clothing she sells. Home decor pieces are carefully selected and redesigned by Elise and Kirsten Grove.




Redesigned furniture pieces by Elise Vaughn of Brass Razoo 
and Kirsten Grove of Simply Grove line the walls 



Their offerings are unique and eclectic, ranging from vintage to retro to modern. Pride is taken in providing high quality pieces at affordable prices. You can see their great sense of style not only in the items they fashion but also in the decor of the store.







Redesigned Furniture



Redesigned Vintage Dress by Elise Vaughn




Jewelry designed by Elise



Hand turned walnut necklace forms by Vur choo Oh soh 






If you live near Nampa or are driving through, make sure you stop at this resale gem, the Brass Razoo Boutique. It is located at 115 13th Avenue South, Nampa, Idaho, 83651. Their hours are:  M-F 1:30 - 6:30, Saturday 10:30 - 5, closed on Sunday.


If you would like your store featured on Gone Thrifting contact me at jcblogger4@gmail.com





Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Thrift Find, Heller Plates



My new stash of Heller. I need to get more plates and balance out the colors. The coasters are not heller. I thought the planter went nicely with the Heller and have two other larger ones that are yellow too.




While hitting the thrift store pavement last week, I came across some nice sturdy Heller plastic plates. On the lookout for things to use on the deck, I purchased a whole stack in colors that I liked. 

After getting home, I did a search on Heller and was pleased to find that they are collectible, (I would still like them even if they weren't) as this is always a bonus with thrifting.  As a newcomer to modern design, I wasn't familar with Heller, but am learning as I go.

Conceived by Italian designer, Massimo Vignelli,this melamine tableware is made to be stackable. (It won an award for good design in 1964.)  Originally produced in Italy, it was introduced later to the U.S. and produced by Heller who added more colors and Heller tableware became very popular. Apparently it is still in production and sold by Unicahome in white.


Here you can see some of the colors they were made in


Here is some cutlery made to go with



I like this color combination. You can also see some other pieces in the line.


Nice Ice Bucket





The yellow Heller pieces look really 
nice on the gray table, nice and cheery!


I think these will be great for outdoor summer gatherings. I have added Heller to my list of things to look for.









Sunday, April 17, 2011

Lacquerware




It's my guess that with most people thrifting leads to collecting. Collections come in all shapes and sizes. Two's a pair but three is a collection (we're not counting sets here). One item that I like to collect is lacquerware from Japan. I don't have a large or expensive collection, but several items I have culled from estate sales and thrift stores. 

Lacquerware comes in all kinds of shapes and forms: jewelry boxes, dipping bowls, trays, plates, chopsticks, containers, bento boxes, even furniture. Japan is not the only country that makes lacquerware, it's also made in China. Though I'm sure each country has their own process and of course their design.








I think these trays are very contemporary in their design.



These lacquerware plates are from Vietnam



Nice design on this bowl



Aren't these goblets gorgeous? 
I'd take those bowls in the background too.




These lacquerware dolls make me think of Kokeshi dolls, another thing I collect.To see a posting I did on Kokeshi dolls on my other blog, click here. You can see my obsessiveness here too.



Tall Lacquered Chest




These cabinets are nothing short of spectacular. But here I go again, getting all carried away.I started looking at jewelry boxes and ended up here.



Dragonfly Rice Bowls





So keep your eyes open for lacquerware. You never know where it's going to turn up. Believe it or not, sometimes it's mixed in with the plastic (but that's our secret,shh). What do you like to collect?