Books!: Text, Science, Comic, I love 'em All! (Gotta Catch 'em All!)
Oh, books! They appeal to all of my senses and I just can't get enough of them. I have a hard time resisting books, but I hold back. Otherwise my home will become a literal library of sacred tomes. I especially love comic books, text books, science books, and vintage books of all kinds.
Vintage Planters: Animal-Shaped, Mid Century Modern
My planter collection is getting out of control! I continue to encounter fun animal shaped and vintage McCoy Pottery planners and fiercely scooping them up. I'll blame this one on my plant fixation.
Train Cases: All Colors and Sizes
I love to use these to host art prints at fairs and for storage, and train cases are just so pretty and sell well. It's hard to resist them whenever I encounter them, no matter what condition they are in. I've gotten better at only bringing home the best ones.
Suitcases: Especially Everything. (Everything.)
Ah, the beauty of suitcases. I'm not sure what I love more: the design, their excellent storage abilities, or the exotic travels they've been on in their long lifetimes. Vintage suitcases are pure eye candy and have so much appeal to me.
Toys!: Especially Dinosaurs and Robots
I stop to peer at every toy I encounter on thrift adventures, it seems. I already have more toys than an adult with no children needs, but I continue to occasionally scoop up special ones. I've been using them for a lot of fun crafts these days.
What Things Do You Have Trouble Resisting at the Thrift Store?
I cant resist a nice vintage piece of jewelry. i try to limit what i bring home and it is so hard. i go in for jewelry and usually see nothing and still come out with a huge bag of treasures.
ReplyDeleteI do miss encountering the big bags 'o jewelry frequently. People are prone to pricing them individually these days.
DeleteI cannot resist vintage coffee cups/mugs, or anything with a Hawaiian theme. Oh yes, there is the occasional need to pick up any Pyrex that I see.... :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I left out my mug fixation. I've got it bad. As well as a mild Hawai'i obsession. It's close to Japan, after all! ;) No,l but really, things from Hawai'i charm the pants off of me.
DeleteI can't resist anything with an owl on it!!! I will buy it..lol I also can't resist brooches...I'm a sucker for a cute brooch :)
ReplyDeletexo,
Eeka
http://ericaliveloverandom.blogspot.com/
Both good obsessions to have ;)
DeletePlates...it's a disease. They don't sell but I must have them!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that too. I've stopped buying them because like you said, they don't sell! And they're cumbersome to boot.
DeleteMe too. Old transferware plates, or any other kind I find charming. Cup/saucer sets, too. It's an addiction.
DeleteMe too... my excuse is the kids... I mean why don't they need a huge bucket full of plastic dinosaurs? lol. I will have to take a picture of "their" collection on day. The planters... total weakness and that I have to own all by myself. They are just all so unique and colourful... they just have to come home with me.
ReplyDeleteI have no kids and no excuse for the toys. Bad me! ;)
DeleteVintage art deco black and silver frames. I have more of them than I have wall space for, but I just can't resist. However, I know that if I should tire of them, I can always sell them on eBay.
ReplyDeleteKaty
That's the fun part, these purchases are an "investment" :) Excuses, excuses...
DeleteI agree with the vintage books! I just bought an awesome like-new vintage early 70s book about recycling items instead of throwing them away. It's awesome! I also LOVE glass/dishes and vintage rhinestone jewelry.
ReplyDeleteI need to do a sequel to this list, I have trouble resisting all vintage kitchen bits in general. Especially glasses and mugs.
DeleteI don't even particularly LIKE dolls and I've been having trouble lately with old 30's and 40's cloth dolls. They're piling up in the vanity chair in my boudoir like some kind of horror movie! But I can't resist their sweet (or sometimes, completely surreal) little hand stitched faces. And hats. Lord, the hats I have.
ReplyDeleteOh my, that does sound like a horror movie come to life!
Deletecoffee mugs, & I have a thing about containers - cookie jars, canisters, storage jars.
ReplyDeleteI have all of the same fetishes. ;)
Deleteunusual coffee mugs, pyrex, vintage kid's books, vintage kitchen ware!
ReplyDeleteAll my weaknesses, too!
DeleteVintage textiles, vintage vinyl dolls. I have storage bil=nsof them in my basement. EEK.
ReplyDeletei can never resist bed linens to use as fabric for my quilting. especially those striped ones from the 70s.
ReplyDeleteBOOKS! Since I would rather buy used books anyway, hitting up the book section at Goodwill is dangerous. I also can't resist mugs, purses, and bowls (big or small and preferably Pyrex). And if I had the budget, train cases and suitcases (especially round ones) would be high up on my list, along with vintage afghans.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your thrifting posts :)
ReplyDeleteOk, my top 5 irresistibles are: BOOKS! (esp. vintage children's, vintage science/natural history, and books in the series' which my kids are currently into reading), GLASS! (esp. retro 40's/50's/60's, coloured glass, jars, nice sets of unusual drinking glasses, anything functional I can find a purpose for), CLOTHES! (esp. vintage, jeans, kids' clothes), FURNITURE! (I have picked up some great little pieces over the years which you would just never find the like of in modern furniture and at great prices too!), CROSS-STITCH! (vintage cross-stitch - when it's good it is SO good, make lovely gifts for mother-in-laws etc. too!)
Van, you have more influence than I think you realize with your blog. Ever since I started reading I've started to pick up toys and dinosaurs everywhere I see them despite the stares I receive from other adults wondering why I'm on my knees digging through the toy bin.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my real obsession is glassware especially drinking glasses.
Pyrex & stationery are my two things..
ReplyDeleteOh yes, stationery is another good one!
DeleteI totes feel the same way about suitcases! I have really been holding off on buying them because they take up SO much room, but I just got the idea to start keeping my sewing equipment in them now. So I have my eye out for a train case for the same purpose! :)
ReplyDeleteI see that a lot of us have the same "disease"!
ReplyDeleteThese are the top five things that I'll never pass up:
1) a Lucky Cat (maneki neko) or anything with a lucky cat on it
2) anything with an owl on it
3) any paint-by-numbers painting
4) cobalt blue glasswear
5) anything Tiki or Hawaii/Polynesian themed
It's hard to stop at five...the list goes on & on :-)
But we have fun, don't we?
I adore maneki neko! Actually, excellent list in its entirety! :)
DeletePretty much the same as you....additionally, decorative tins, especially in blue & turquoise designs; old linen calendar towels (WHy? I don't know); white ironstone dishes & soup tureens.
ReplyDeleteI'm selling my collection of decorative tins now, they look nice as a collection in the shop :) I've move on to new victims...
DeleteI never leave without a vintage book(1)! I'm trying to collect all these Golden Book Encyclopedias and I only have 4. I like to get cheap frames(2) and sometimes I frame pics from the vintage books. I like barware/carafes(3) and interesting wall art(4)especially if it's something I can hack. I also seem to bring home shelving which is good for my knick knacks (5).
ReplyDeleteI have one hard case piece of luggage for craft storage and I'd like an accompanying train case but can't seem to get my hands on one.
Oh, I love barware and interesting wall art, too!
DeleteVan, it seems you have opened a Pandora's box here. We all have our faves, don't we? Question is, can I limit myself to just the top 5? I'll give it a shot -
ReplyDelete1. Scarves. I give myself the excuse that they're a happy piece of pretty and they don't take up much room. But even little chiffon neckerchiefs start to take up room when you have a few hundred of them ...
2. Anything hand-painted or hand-embroidered (or beaded), especially if it's small: handkerchiefs, napkins, change purses, tiny china plates, etc. The amount of time and skill that someone put into it just appeals to me so strongly I cannot resist. And if it's small, well, surely I can squeeze in just one more, can't I?
3. Decorative boxes or storage containers: tin, wood, ceramic, glass, basketry, sparkly plastic, lacquer, yes train cases, cigar boxes too: you name it, I want it. After all, we must store all our fun little doodads in something equally fun, mustn't we?
4. Kitchenware: especially clear glass cereal-sized bowls in interesting patterns (I seem to have a thing for them, I don't even understand it myself): Japanese or Korean domestic-use bowls or plates: suager and creamer sets (this one is really nuts, because I take my coffee black! but they are just *so*cute*): English ironstone or transferware: and most of all, Depression glass. I regularly find the odd piece or two at the thrifts for just a dollar or two or even less sometimes. then I look the same piece up on Ebay and giggle to myself.
5. My new love: Tonala pottery.
I could go on and on . . . but all I'll say is thank you Van for asking the question. This was fun to think about.
And if you ever come up here to go thrifting in Chicago, you'll have to arm-wrestle me for the toy dinosaurs!
When I thought about it, Kitchenware is a big one I should have put on the list, too. I have so much of it, I could open a strict kitchenware shop! :)
Deleteokay I lurve suitcases, old thermos(thermoses or thermi whatever the plural is), mirrored vanity trays with the cheap metal goldish frames, vintage coats (yes fur, sorry PETA people I am from the south....we eat and wear dead animals down here), hammered aluminum and I can't resist a nice piece of cheap vintage/retro/antique furniture. (and I could go on and on.....)
ReplyDeleteNice list! Mince could go on and on, too...
DeleteOh, wow. I LOVED reading through everyone's 'fetishes'! lol
ReplyDeleteLove vintage linens! I can't stop buying them even though they don't sell well here. Without realizing it I guess I've started a collection of odd thimbles. lol I was called to a house that was downsizing to look at some furniture and the lady had a thimble collection that she was selling. Some of them were really cool - very different - so I bought them from her. I kept about 20 from the collection. And I can never pass up a small wooden box - cigar box, trinket box, whatever. And, of course, vintage jewelry. :-)
Oh, I like the idea of a thimble collection. Very unique!
DeleteI'd be willing to swap a few plastic dinosaurs for a thimble or two... lol...
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to be completely subjective and say I can't resist the oddities at the thrift. Quirky decor, taboo books (or at least taboo at the the time they were written), creepy dolls and generally-speaking, whacky miscellany. I've been pretty good lately and just documenting what I've seen instead of taking in all the crazy crap I come across in the thrift. I only buy what is exceptionally strange now, lol.
ReplyDelete<3 Jackie @ Let's Go Thrifting!
Good rule on only bringing home the EXCEPTIONALLY strange. We need to open our wunderkammer-style museum of thrifted oddities one day soon, Jackie. Surely there's an art grant out there somewhere for it...
DeleteAnything that I deem a super cool find {it's usually something vintage}
ReplyDeleteI used to follow that rule. Then the house...oh, it became overwhelming. ;)
DeleteI want you to know, anytime you post, I read you FIRST! Love your style and quirkiness. I've enjoyed reading everyone's lists and realize, I like way, way too many things, which is why I need a booth or a store or some way of selling. I love planters, especially animal planters; those little cactus holders of the 40's. I have been collecting bird prints since the year I married, which was over 35 years ago, so I say, I started the bird trend. Old linens, bark cloth and anything beaded. I had kept the globe from my childhood home in the 50's all these years and I have 2 more globes that I've picked up, plus atlases and maps, love that look. Devil ducks and rubber ducks, interesting graphics on mugs and diner ware plus tile trivets. Milk bottles and old kitchen ware, plus Pyrex. Years ago I found an old advertising box for "Rubbers" and used it as a coffee table. Any wooden boxes and old advertising signs...how about next time I will write about what I DON'T like? Oh, and I buy a lot of old recipe books and children books are a favorite...the series at the top of your post are wonderful. Hmm, what won't I collect? Ugly, scary dolls is the only thing that comes to mind right now and clowns. I'm afraid I could just go on and on...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Suzie! I'll have to do a few more lists too, to be honest ;) Open a shop, lady!
DeleteAs you have probably already notices i have a serious milk glass obsession....and all animal figurines. Ducks, owls, kittens, lambs, dogs...I need them all!
ReplyDeleteTeehee, I love those both, too.
Deletenot sure if you know but the best thing about those books you posted...you might get lucky and have some ANdy Warhol illustrations...not the whole series had warhol illustrations...u lucked out if you have numbers 5, 7, 15, 21, 27, and 33, to be exact.
ReplyDeletegreat blog!
A.L.
1. Digest style comic collections, usually peanuts
ReplyDelete2. neck ties with cute designs
3. welch's jelly jars with cartoon characters
4. glasses with foreign beer logos on them
5. copies of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band's record "Whip Cream and Other Delights"