Thrift Store Finds
Seems that Nick and I have a new little routine going on and I like it. It goes like this … he drops me off at a great thrift store (Value Village), goes off and does some shopping/errand running of his own, and then comes back to get me at a predetermined time. Last time we did this, I had an hour to shop. This time I stretched it to an hour and 15 minutes.
So here is what I got, spending a total of $19 (about $22 after tax). That is 12 pounds (14 with tax) for my UK friends.
The most exciting find of the day for me were these 6 perfect Duraline Hotelware small bowls, made by the now defunct Grindley Pottery of England. The pattern is called Carnival and these babies are rare! All Duraline dish wear is date stamped on the back, so I know these were made in 1984. And since, as the name Hotelware suggests, they were meant for use in hotels and restaurants, these types of dishes usually show quite a lot of wear. But not these ones. They look as though they were never used at all. A real score for $3.99 for all six. They were scooped into my cart asap and a wee happy dance was done. Ok … the dance was done only in my head.
Next up was another piece of perfect Duraline Hotelware, this one being an oval plate, which I believe was called a Chop Plate, in its time. This one was made in 1987 and cost me $2.99.
It goes perfectly with the small bowl, right? I can picture some of Nick’s baked Springrolls being served in this set-up, with some dipping sauce on the side. Too bad there was only one of them.
Over one aisle I practically leaped on this vintage Pyrex casserole dish. I was just searching ebay for one of these divided ones, so we can reheat two types of leftovers in one go. What I had bookmarked to my wishlist was much more expensive than the $7.99 I paid for this one, which came in perfect shape with absolutely no chips or sharp bits and only a small amount of scratching to the charming bird pattern on the lid.
Then I picked up this cute juice glass because I liked the primary colour tulip print. I thought that maybe it could be one of those vintage glasses known as ‘Swanky Swigs’, which used to be sold with jelly inside them, but upon researching it when I got home I realized it’s not because it’s a half inch too tall, and the jelly glasses had a rim/lip around the edge, to which the original lid would have been attached. No problem though, as I still really like the glass and it was only $.69.
Once again, with my limited shopping time allotment, I had spent too much of my time in the housewares area. But, hey, I have a real love of vintage dishes. But with about 20 minutes left I moved along.
Over at the shelves where they have stationary and related things I found an origami set that contained a book of instructions and a pristine stack of thick beautiful paper. I have been surprised in the past by how expensive origami paper is, so I was happy to find these 60 sheets with a variety of patterns and corresponding solid colours on the back, plus a pad of smaller papers (called tea-bag paper in the world of origami. News to me.) I’ll try some of the projects in the book, however will probably use most of the paper in my card-making.
While in that area of the store I was approached by a woman who wanted to talk. And I am always one to talk to strangers, so took some of my precious shopping minutes to hear what she wanted to tell me. I was glad I did because it was interesting.
She was a writer and told me she often went to the thrift store for inspiration for her stories. She felt she had found just that in what she held in her hands. She had found a nice journal with a lovely cover. Carefully written on the first page was a female’s full name and the sentence, ‘In this book I will write all about my new life’. I think you probably know where this is going. Yes, the second page was completely blank, as was the rest of the journal. Apparently this person’s new life hadn’t happened as she had anticipated, or if it had, it was not anything she chose to write about.
After a shiver of goosebumps, I went to the check-out desk. My time was up.
Thanks very much for your visit. Have you found any cool thrift store finds lately?
xo loulou
