Month: July 2022

If objects could tell stories

My niece Evie made it to the finals in several events for her state swim meet yesterday. Great for her, but good for me too since it gave me a chance to go shopping before going to see her swim in the finals. I went to the Goodwill Outlet on the west side of Indy because my parents were having lunch, and it seemed to be the closest option to Evie’s meet.

The first great find of the day was a vintage cooking set – similar to one I remember playing with at my Granny’s house when I was a kid. It looks like it was designed to be something like an easy bake oven – with a power cord that had been cut off (probably for the best since it was a little rough…and definitely old). I loved the stove, but the thing that delighted me about it even more was finding a little note tucked inside along with some of the tiny metal pots and trays that said it had been owned by Janet Kinsey Beanblossom and she’d received it around 1944.

I was also surprised to learn a little more about the creators of another object I’d found – a tiny dollhouse dresser. I had to scavenge through the bin to find all the pieces, and didn’t notice it at the time, but it seems to have been signed by its creators on the bottom of one of the drawers.

The next great treasure of the day was a 1919 Singer Sewing Machine. Whenever I find a vintage machine I love thinking about all the outfits or home decor items that had been sewn on it…and all the hours that its former owner would have spent on it stitching those items. Admittedly, this one is in rough shape…but it is still a treasure…having survived for more than 100 years and also surviving the Goodwill Outlet bins. I found the base earlier in the day but didn’t see the machine…so I ended up letting the base go…but I realize in hindsight that I should have grabbed it and put it back if I didn’t find the machine…because I later discovered the top of the wooden traveling case…and then the machine itself.

Good finds from Gary

On the way back from a trip to Chicago, I convinced my husband to stop with me at the Goodwill Outlet in Gary Indiana because I was shocked to find that there were no thrift store outlets (with bins) in Chicago. Which left me wondering where all their old stuff goes (but that’s something I can mull over more on another post).

The Outlet in Gary was delightful. They allowed shopping to continue in different sections of the store while rotations were taking place, and the rotations were announced with a train whistle sound effect played over the loud speaker. They also had several bins of books – which I haven’t seen at the Indy-area outlets in quite some time.

We only stayed for about an hour, but we still managed to find some treasures. I’d say Chris was the big winner of the day since he stumbled across a set of mix-matched vintage silverware. It is likely all just silverplated but there are some beautiful Oneida, Rogers and Community patterns in the mix, as well as a couple unique pieces. I think my favorite treasure was a set of screen printed holiday cards that hadn’t been used…or maybe it was an old science book that had many charming illustrations.

I’ve also been trying to do some live videos to show off my finds (long before I get photos posted on the web). Here’s the link to the video I did for this “haul” – https://fb.watch/erKDnhI4s0/

Field Trip!

I was up in Chicago for a few days for work and decided to end the trip with a visit to a new (at least newly relocated) store by the name of Architectural Artifacts. It was kind of like being able to shop at a museum – there were rooms and rooms full of amazing tables and art and other unique objects – including some of the topiaries from the movie Edward Scissorhands (who doesn’t need one of those?!).

The building was formerly a Catholic school, and it still had a little of that vibe going on (and a few remnants like blackboards and locker cubbies in some of the classrooms. There was also a lovely cafe – where Chris and I had a lovely breakfast – and the space doubles as an event venue…complete with a pickleball court in the middle of the school’s old gymnasium. It is also worth noting that we found easy parking behind the building (under the elevated train tracks) – so all in all it was a wonderful way to end a great trip up to the windy city.

The other neat thing to note about this spot is the fact that there were QR codes scattered throughout the building that told about the history or other interesting facts about various objects. We watched several of the videos and found that it was a fun way to learn a little more about the objects we were looking at.

Serving up more treasures

While athletes were battling it out at Wimbledon, I was scouring the goodwill outlet on Indy’s east side for some treasures.

I loved how the patterns kind of tell a story…outfits for a young woman, a sexy bathrobe for a man, a wedding dress, maternity outfits, and kids clothing.

I also experimented with a live walkthrough of these items if you are interested in seeing any up-close: https://fb.watch/eczwB0yXAn/ – feel free to check it out and let me know what you think.

Game, Set, Match!!