So WHAT did I end up buying?

By Kitty Lapin Agile on January 18, 2015 • ( 1 )

Vintage/junk shops are one of my guilty pleasures. Sure I have enough junk of my own, though not as much as my friend William Price. I take a camera along always:

1.To see if a friend might like me to go back and buy something for them.

2.To see if Jeff Wagg can use it for a College of Curiosity mystery object.

3.To show it to my husband to see if he likes it (he lives here and gets veto power, though he rarely enforces it)

4.To share online, via my blog or with friends.

Here are some items from my last visit. I did end up buying a few small things that my husband was VERY happy about. Now for the objects I did NOT buy. (also if you want to see more items I rarely buy, check out College of Curiosity mystery object as I save those for Jeff’s site.)

this vintage sign doesn’t seem to vintage anymore

This wooden sign has been here for quite a few visits. I never noticed it until gas prices started dropping.

yes the nose lights up!

My friend LIssa had this light on the bar in her home. Many homes had bars in them. Our home did not have a bar, but almost all my neighbors had nice bars. Many bars had this novelty light of a Charlie Chaplin type character with a red light up nose. I am really temped to purchase this, and perhaps send it to my friend Lissa. In the late 1960’s alcoholism was not a disease, it was a novelty lamp.

real wooden shoes

These were probably actually worn..

Tourist wooden shoes

Real wooden shoes, and tourist wooden shoes, cost a lot of money in Amsterdam (where my husband goes for business). These are far cheaper. It’s one reason I’ve never bought wooden shoes while in Amsterdam.

someone got therapy, I hope

Some old paintings are fun. In fact, many artists make a good living buying old paintings and updating or changing them. There is a thriving etsy market for old paintings redone. This is just puzzling. I’m not saying it is bad, the transition from face to skull to whatever. It’s not bad enough to be re purposed. It’s not good enough to hang on a wall as it. I hope it will find a good home.

This is a munitions lamp with bullets. After WWI it was common for returning servicemen to make lamps or vases or whatever out of shell casings. Many were elaborately decorated. This one seems simple, and I’m unsure if it is of WWI or WWII vintage. It could look great cleaned up with a new shade.

What I did purchase!

So what I did purchase were the two small bears and the small finials. The finials look great re purposed as topiary, using wool needling. The bears have “Switzerland” marked on the bottom. My husband and I adore Bern Switzerland, but whenever we go we rarely buy anything It’s quite expensive. I have longed for the small black forest style bears they sell for years. A couple like these two can easily cost $100. They are hand carved in Switzerland. I found these in a display of a world traveler. There were beautiful vintage Japanese dolls, salt and pepper shakers marked as being from Mexico to Madrid, and these two bears. For $5 each, I’m happy to have reminders of my trips, without spending the money. My husband was especially delighted as he has also been tempted to purchase a bear set for $100

The finials I would to find more of, but I imagine most people would throw out the ends of curtain rods. These finials are quite beat up, which makes them perfect for how I re purposed them.

So another fun day at the vintage shops!