Lucky Day

Yesterday I went thrifting.  Not headline news, I know.  But I had a great thrifting day, and that is always something to get excited about. 

For starters, it was the first time, in a long time, that Amy could go along.  Out of school, and back from Alaska, she was free to accompany me.  And not only did that make shopping all the more fun, but I think she brought me luck, too.

I never fail to hit pay dirt at an actual antique store.  After all, they are in the business of selling vintage treasures from the past, and I love browsing among the bits and pieces of  days gone by, trying to choose one or two new pieces for my museum like collection of old stuff.  (I pretty much want everything I see!)

No, the real thrifting challenge is shopping at one of the two charity shops in town.  St. Vincent de Paul, or Goodwill.  While they sell used items, they do not necessarily sell vintage items.  (Well they do sell vintage-mostly from the 80’s though-but I don’t want to go there…)

Both stores have  sales every week.  At Goodwill, all items with the featured color tag are half off.  This week, the tag color was green, and  I found this cute little Hawaiian shirt.  It was marked at $3.99, but I got it for $2.  It will help protect me from too much sun when I am working in my garden.

 

While I always enjoy browsing around Goodwill,  my two best treasures of the day were at St. Vincent’s.  I found this box of vintage writing paper for 75 cents.  It has a very pretty floral motif.  The box also doesn’t have a bar code (introduced in the mid seventies) but does have a zip code (introduced in the late sixties) so it isn’t that old-but still a lovely find. 

And then, the piece de resistance!

A piece of art pottery by Royal Copley!

Now if there is one thing that makes me go absolutely weak in the knees, it’s art pottery.  Some day I will write an entire post about the subject, but if you do a Google search for Royal Copley,  Hull,  Roseville, or McCoy to name a few, I think you will see what I mean.

Royal Copley was made in Sebring, Ohio by the Spaulding China Company  from 1939 to 1960, and I would guess this fish planter was made in the 50’s, during the time when Oriental decor was in fashion.  I paid $4.99 for it, which is a bit pricey for me as far as St. Vincent’s goes (I like to stay in the two dollar range)  but, I found the same planter online for $32.  Plus, I really like it!  I’ll use it to store pens and pencils on my desk.  

After shopping, I took Amy out to lunch where we laughed and chatted like two old and dear friends.  We had so much fun together!   And that, in my book of what makes a good thrift store outing a success-is priceless.