2011's Greatest Thrift Hits!

Here is the much awaited 11 Best Thrifts of 2011! Alright, let's be honest, much awaited by me. I had a really hard time narrowing down my finds. I do consider myself one lucky girl to have such a predicament.

Coming in at number 11 was this Paul Mccobb Planner Group side table manufactured by Winchendon. I never shared this with you in my Hunted:: Gathered segments because I had high hopes of refinishing it quickly. Well, we all know how that goes. This was my find during our Santa Rosa trip and it even has the rare donut shaped hardware.

For my longtime loyal followers, number 10 should come as no surprise. I was completely smitten by these feeders for people. Both found this year but on separate occasions.

Number 9 made it to the list due to its rarity and newness to my home. It was a good thrifting day where the thrift-gods were watching over me. It is a Russel Wright designed teapot for Yamato in the Theme Formal line of 1964. 

I had to include some of my favorite prints that I've amassed this year. Number 8 is by New Hampshire artist Calvin J. Libby.

This piece was done my David McCall Johnston for the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne's birth and is a series of four of which I own two.

I still can't get over the colors on this wall hanging which is why it is my number 6.

This mixed media piece tugs at my heartstrings and I don't think I'll ever part with it. The simplicity of the figures makes it all the more evocative.

I may be cheating a bit for this hit but there was no way I could separate my wooden toys. Since they fall within the same category, I am declaring them my number 4 find of the year.

This is also the first time I show this piece though I've alluded to it before. It is a Drexel Declaration China Cabinet that I found at the thrift. The boy and I rented a UHaul and brought this puppy home. It sits proudly in my dining area. It is missing one of the glass doors but apart from that, it's in great condition.

The pressure is building. Only two more to go...

You didn't think I would forget my Finn Juhl chair did you? I am so proud of this find, I even took it to a local woodworking school so that they could analyze the construction of it for a Chair Design course. One of the students jokingly asked if he could take a mallet to it to take it apart. I didn't say a word because my face said it all!

Finally, my biggest, though STILL unconfirmed find was this print by Arnold Newman. (Can you believe it Sixballoons?)I emailed the Arnold Newman archive and a local high-end photography gallery and did not hear a peep. I a friend of a friend who is a photography curator at the Getty and she referred me to a photographer that once worked for Newman and made some of his prints. When I contacted him he told me that he thought it was one of his prints, and if it was an older one it would command a higher price. He referred me to Commerce Graphics in New York because they handle the estate of Arnold Newman and he thought they would be better suited to answer my questions. I haven't heard a peep from them either. So even though I don't have a Certificate of Authenticity, I have received some confirmation on it and I just have to remain persistent. Now the hard part is making the decision to part with some of my greatest finds so that I can save some money for a bigger target (an Eichler!).

All in all, 2011 has been wonderful. I would love to hear how 2011 was for you. I've made my very first link collection and I hope you will join with your wrap up list for 2011!

Hunted::Gathered: 12/26/11

I hope everyone shared some great times these past few days, even if they were just about relaxing and enjoying the simple things in life. I wanted to share my finds one last time before the year was over and I'll wrap it up next week with the 11 Best Thrifty Finds of '11. I hope you will join, I'm planning on making it a little link party. Even though my post will be about my 11 Best Thrifty Finds you can include any "11 Best ________ of '11". Fill in the blank with whatever you choose and lets wrap up this great year and look forward to the next!

Now on to my finds for the week.

I'm sure you all know that I love all things Scandi... well here is the latest haul. I found a lone Arabia cup in the Anemone pattern, a JIE Gantofta figurine designed by Elsi Bourelius a vintage Dansk teak stopper that goes with this glass decanter by Gunnar Cyren, a Lundtofte server piece, and a vintage Dansk teak cheese tray by Vivianna Torun. I love the rich blue hues in the ceramic pieces and my heart goes pitter patter for teak!

I have to say that the thrift gods were definitely on my side this weekend. I went by a thrift that I had not been to in about a month. I saw this teapot and thought it was quite nice. It had been marked down from $60 to $40 but it was still a bit rich for my blood especially for a thrift.

I caressed all of the curves on the handle, the lid and the body but I still wasn't convinced.

 I was intrigued enough to take a picture of it to research it when I got home.

I turned it over and saw that it was designed by Russel Wright. I had never heard of this line of his and was skeptical when I read Designed in Japan. I figured it was a manufacturer similar to Oneida and that it was not a vintage piece because the condition was just too good.

Boy was I wrong! This is where the thrift gods come in. I walked away from the piece and continued on my merry way for the day. When I got home I decided to do some research on the piece and my heart sank. This is what I found along with this. I tried to convince myself that the piece would still be there the following day since it had obviously been sitting on the shelf due to the markdowns. I was there first thing in the morning. I went to the display case where it sat the day before and it was gone! Ahh crud, serves me right! I decided to search high and low before leaving the store and I am glad I did. They moved it to a different display case and to top it off it was 50% off. Thank you thrift gods!

Note: An iphone is in my near future (merry christmas to me!) which will hopefully prevent these occurrences in the future.

What did you find? Did you share at Selena's?

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas....

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays with friends, family and loved ones. I wanted to share a little bit of my holiday obsession... I've had it since the tree-lighting at Rockefeller center and even went out and bought his cd (yes I said cd!)

If you haven't heard it... here it is!

MERRY MERRY!

Stay tuned this week for my 11 best thrift finds of 2011! I hope you can join!

Hunted:: Gathered: 12/20/11

I'm running a bit late this week but I couldn't let the week pass before sharing my latest finds with you.

Get a load of this funny little guy by Jean Ellsworth for Pacific Stoneware. I couldn't resist taking a picture of his bum, it cracks me up every time! It reminds me a lot of the Stoneware Design West planters.

This copper enamel plate is by Mary Sharp. She taught the likes of Evelyn Ackerman and Gim Fong here in California and was also friends with fellow enamelist Annemarie Davidson. 

I'd been refraining from buying California pottery for a while now but I couldn't resist this black Bauer sugar container. I know black is usually more desirable and its in pretty good condition so I made an exception.

I also found a set of small enamel bowls that look like they would match a Desco-ware set or even Le Creuset but I'm really at a loss. They are heavy so it makes me believe they are vintage... anyone  know?

Lastly, I found a whole bunch, ,10 to be exact, of Lundtofte taper candle holders. I'd seen these before, usually one piece at a time, but ten in a Ziploc proved too hard to resist!

Well, I hope everyone spends the holidays in good company and with good food!






 Linking up with Selena and Sophie

Hunted:: Gathered: 12/13/11

Is anyone else wondering "Where did this year go?". Christmas is less than weeks away, I have a milestone birthday coming up AND I'm trying to make it to 100 blog posts by the end of the year! In between house hunting, watching the lunar eclipse and working late, I've managed to do some estate sale shopping as well as thrifting.

Here are some of the latest and greatest, most from the same estate sale!

This little container caught my eye because of its retro graphic. I'm not crazy about cats but I am crazy about anything Scandinavian. It's a Laurids Lonborg piece and is small enough to hold some q-tips in the bathroom.

This bowl was designed by Eva Zeisel and is my first piece of hers in this line. It is her Schmid Ironstone line in the Stratford pattern. There were two of these bowls, mine being the largest. The other one had a lot of browning and crazing throughout so I left it behind.

My last piece from that estate sale was this Oiva Toikka bowl from the Flora line. It's about 9 inches wide and in great shape. Can you believe I bought all of these pieces on the last day of the sale, meaning 50% on everything! I did miss out on a few things like a Just Andersen Pewter complete condiment set. By the time I reconsidered, it was GONE! I also missed out on an Arabia pitched in a sunflower pattern and a Heath Casserole but by no means am I complaining. 

Last but not least, this ashtray/ bowl/ planter piece is by Robert Maxwell. It is the first piece of his that I find that doesn't have a large chip in it. I like its slightly grotesque details and its white glaze, if it had another level or two it would look like the Colosseum!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season, may it be merry and bright!

I'm linking up with the lovely ladies at Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl.

Hunted:: Gathered: 11/26/11

Hey everyone! Boy has it been a while... I never imagined how my life would change once I started working and it is draining! I've slowed down a bit on the thrifting but I have managed to find some pretty sweet goodies.

I found a pair of cute Figgjo Lotte shakers. They are in pretty good condition except for some of the design rubbing off on the little man. I also picked up my first ever Nymolle dish. I probably paid a bit much for it but I couldn't resist the charming design.

This next piece was purchased more for the sake of research. As you can see it isn't in the best shape, it has a significant amount of water damage. Even so I was intrigued because underneath some of the dirt and damage I could see that it had a pattern. It was signed on the bottom but it was hardly noticeable. It turns out it is a piece of San Ildefonso Pottery by Maximiliana "anna" Montoya Martinez. She was the older sister of renowned potter Maria 'Montoya' Martinez. It's pretty exciting to me to own a piece of history, despite its condition.

I also found a beautiful set of Vera napkins in the Lacy Fern pattern me thinks.

I found this stunning signed Don Bowman abstract watercolor but I am still baffled as to what it may be worth. As many of you know, Ebay can be quite overpriced and auctions can be hit or miss. In either case it seems promising!

This next piece caught my eye because of its beautiful colors. At first I thought it was someone's school project but upon further research at home I found that it is actually a piece by Raku potter and instructor Kenny Wayne. Last year I came across another Raku piece but it looks quite different from this one. The Raku firing process is pretty neat, if you're interested in learning more about it you can do so here and here.

That's it for this week! I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving and a fruitful long weekend! Until next time...


Linking up with the lovely Sophie!

Hunted:: Gathered: 10/30/11

Guess what time it is everybody... It's thrift-share time! I've been feeling a bit under the weather this weekend so I took it as an opportunity to catch up on some homely duties. I also needed to catch up on organizing some of my latest finds as well as taking photos of them. So now that I've done so I can share them with you... aren't you excited! I know I am.

I finally found a fairly priced set of nesting Matryoshka dolls. I was pretty amazed at how small this set got. The smallest one is about the diameter of a penny, in height that is! This set also had the original tag on the bottom, it's in Russian so I have absolutely no idea what it reads.

This set of goodies comes from an estate sale... on their last day so it was all half off! The sale was not advertised as a mod or scandinavian loaded sale. There were many antiques and random bric-a- brac so imagine my surprise when I found these. I also hadn't planned on going to any estate sales that weekend but did so because I succumbed to the call of the Estate Sale sign on the street corner. The first piece I picked up was the iittala Stellaria votive. It was on a table with a lot of your typical porcelain and ceramic figurines but I recognized the shape. I picked it up and all was confirmed by the beautiful  i  . I was happy with my find though I was worried about the price. It had a blank price tag which can be bad news when you get to the register. I then went to the pantry which had been cleaned out of the pyrex that probably graced its shelves and found a fun little coaster set by Laurids Lonborg. The box originally contained 22 coasters but it only had 9 left. Not bad for paper coasters that were probably produced quite a few decades ago! Then... underneath some papers I got a peek of that fateful  i  again. I pulled it out and was excited to find a set of glasses by Tapio Wirkkala for iittala! They were still in the box, with their stickers, seemingly never used and with their original price tag of $58 but no signs of the estate sale price tag. So I worry again... especially because this estate sale was being held by the company that I have complained about in previous posts. I took it to the register and luckily the 'main' guy was too occupied chatting with one of his employees and so another one of the guys tended to me and sold me the Tapio set of glasses for $5! YES!!!

This goes to show that you NEVER know what you're going to find at your local estate sale so don't underestimate them.

Now on to this little birdie... I don't know anything about it other than the fact that I love it. Isn't the texture amazing... and the pattern... oh the pattern!

I happened to find the rest of the yellow stash of Dansk plastics that I'm assuming came from the same donor as the previous yellow goodies I found. It was at the same thrift, a week or two apart, it happens. They were all designed by Gunnar Cyren, known because of the GC marking next to or under the Dansk marking.

Now if you want to get a glimpse at how I really felt with the Tapio glasses, take a look at this clip! (hopefully you won't get offended)






I hope you enjoyed my goodies. I'll be linking up with the lovely ladies of Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl

 

No thriftshare this week but....

I minor update on the status of my table.

I still have to condition it and oil it and find a top for it but you can get the picture.

In retrospect there are quite a few things I would do differently after learning to use some tools in the shop but that's how you learn right?

I'm also sad to say that I missed out on a great craigslist piece. It was posted last week but I was working towards a deadline so I didn't even think of checking craigslist. My mind was on maximizing sleep. Are you wondering what it is?

1st dibs- Dixon Lane Antiques

It was a brass Sarreid chest. It was $100. It retails for a few thousand... sigh.

But....... dahn dahn dahn (suspense music) ....  I did find a great mid-century china cabinet on saturday! It didn't fit in my car so it is still at the shop. The boy and I are renting a uhaul van on friday and bringing the baby home. It was manufactured by Drexel and it's a sought after line designed by KS and SD. Oh.. and it has ceramic pulls!

Any guesses?

Hunted:: Gathered: 10/09/11

Ayayay! I'm back from a wonderful (northern) Tour of California and find myself with so many things to do but not enough time to do them! I'll share some pics from the boy and I's trip so stay tuned... You'll see some pics from the Bay area, Yosemite, Levi's Gran Fondo and Sequoia National Park. We put 1600 miles on our car in less than a week... it was way too much driving!

I managed to do some thrifting and I went by one estate sale in Berkeley but walked out empty-handed. I had missed out on great deals on Danish furniture and just missed out on a Michael Lax Lightolier lamp. The thrifting wasn't fruitful either, we were pressed for time so I had to drive by some that looked promising. Ironically enough after going to several thrifts the day of Levi's Gran Fondo (the boy was going to be riding for approximately 6 hours), and driving through several towns in the Redwood Empire I only found one thing and it happened to be around the corner from our hotel. It's a project, but as a hint... it is from the 50's, it is by a notable designer and was manufactured by Winchendon Furniture. Enough about that though... let's get on to the goodies!

I found a vintage Chemex Coffee Maker. This is the first time I've ever found one of these and it looks to be unused. It's in the original box, has the original filters and has a little instruction book/ brochure. I'm tempted to brew a batch in it to see if the 'acidity' from coffee really is filtered.

I'm become a regular in the plastics section ever since I found a Sergio Asti Heller Ice Bucket. I've seen these fun Dansk fish trivets on Etsy before and I finally found one of my own. I also found half of a Rosti salad serving set... still hoping I'll find its matching counterpart.

These shakers were the only other thing I found during our trip. They are fun shakers made of walnut, maple and rosewood (or purpleheart). I also passed on some Iittala Kekkerit glasses. I feel I am one step closer to finding a stash of Ultima Thule.

Also a first for me is a Bitossi piece. It is an ashtray and appears to be from the Rimini Blue line by Aldo Londi. I've always loved these pieces because of the beautiful color and hope to one day find or barter for one of the animal figurines.

Last but certainly not least I found pieces from a line I was unfamiliar with. It is the Raymor line for Roseville and it was designed by Ben Seibel. The line is usually referred to by collectors as Roseville Modern Stoneware (RMS). If some of you didn't know this, don't worry, I just found out about it myself... :)

The first picture is of a bean pot with a Beach Gray bottom and Autumn Brown lid and the above picture is of soup bowls? I need to double check on the size. I found a total of 7 and only one of them seems to have been used! They were also being sold as a set, not individually so I got a great deal.

I have a crazy week ahead but I have much more to share, I'll post when I get a chance to breathe!


Can't wait to see what you found...

Linking up with Sophie and Selena.

Hunted:: Gathered: 09/25/11

I can' believe it's fall already! When did that happen? My colorful finds this week are an indication that I am in absolute denial. I am also excited to be going on a mini-vacation later in the week. The boy and I are going on a road trip to Santa Rosa. He's been training for Levi's Gran Fondo and has been talking about it for months! We're going to milk it for all its worth and are going to see as many sights as we possibly can. Can you believe that we have yet to venture north in our years here in Cali...

Anyhow... let's get on to the real reason of why you're here: thrift goodness!

In all of my time thrifting this was the first time I've found a Michael Lax Copco kettle. Crazy isn't it? It's in pretty good shape except for a couple of chips in the enamel on the lid.

This next piece is a bit tricky... it's looks almost identical to an Oiva Toikka glass in the flora pattern but it doesn't have the daisy imprint on the bottom. This was actually at the thrift several weeks ago along with many others but I chose not to get them. This time around there was only one and I couldn't resist. It's sitting on a lovely teak end-grain cutting board/ cheese tray by Selandia. You can never have too many of those lying around... hehe.

I've passed on a couple of these Blenko water jugs in the past but the price was just irresistible this time around! Isn't the color great too? I also found another vintage Diane von Furstenberg scarf. This one has a neat butterfly print.

How great is this mid-century style print? The colors and shapes are fun and lively. I don't know a lot about it other than that it has some batik elements. It isn't signed and it has a couple of tears but I find it to be stimulating so it came home with me.

Lastly, I found a Krenit-style oblong bowl. I recently found some signed Krenit bowls which was great for comparison and I don't believe this find to be one. Everything looks almost identical but there is a big difference in the weight of the bowl. I'm thinking it may be a Normann Copenhagen repro. I also snuck in a Freeman Lederman creamer that I found, I've seen it attributed to Kenji Fujita but it isn't marked so on the bottom. 

I'll be linking up to Sophie's and Selena's. 

Also, stick around this week for a brief update on my table project!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

It's Aloha Friday...

It has been a while but...

Have a fantastic Friday and a fruitful weekend!

Hunted:: Gathered: 09/17/11

I'm baaaack! Sorry for falling off the face of the earth, was quite busy working towards a deadline...
Now that it's over I can share my lovely finds with you.

I'll be keeping this one short and sweet but rest assured that I have plenty of goodies to share at a later date...

My first finds are salt & pepper shakers by nambe. The line is called topsy turvy and they were designed by Neil Cohen.

hehehe... isn't this an interesting print? well, I was captivated by the colors, the figures and the title Painfully Coy. I took several art courses and was ok at interpreting art but this one... well... I just don't know what to say

I was surprised to see this vase at a local thrift. It looked scandinavian so I picked it up. It is a Holmegaard vase designed by Per Lutken. It is actually signed and dated by him too!

Lastly, my utmost favorite find of the week. I just can't stop looking at it. There was something about it that immediately drew me in. I love the subdued colors and the subject matter reminds me all too much of my childhood.

It isn't signed and it's on fabric. I don't really know what to call pieces that were done on fabric... anyone out there know? Anyone seen anything like this before? I don't know where to start looking! Is it Japanese? Is it Chinese? Is it Mexican? Whatever it is... I'm definitely keeping this one and I don't say that often.

I'll be pairing up this week with Sophie and Selena! Have a great week!