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.