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Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

katiesparkles

One of the Regulars
Messages
187
Location
Rhode Island
I've been on the lookout for a decent stand mixer for a couple years or so. I would have gladly settled for a Sunbeam Mixmaster, and I nearly bought a groovy vintage one from a guy at a flea market several months back, but he apparently didn't believe I really would walk away if he didn't move a bit on his asking price.

Finding a KitchenAid, though, at a Value Village no less, was more than I dared hope for, especially considering that this one is a Hobart-made unit. Hobart sold KitchenAid to Whirlpool back in the mid-1980s; the scuttlebutt in some circles is that the new lookalikes are decidedly inferior. Me, I don't know enough to have an opinion either way. But I surely did home right in when I caught a glimpse of it shortly after I walked through the door.

As far as I can tell it works fine. No funny noises, the speed settings work right, etc.

GEDC0911.jpg

My neighbor found one of these at the Salvation Army a couple of weeks ago too. Jealous (and happy for you :D )!

I still need to take pictures of my finds.. just can't seem to actually find the time. Sigh :(
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
69 Firebird

My sons found a 1969 corvette and a 1969 firebird at a garage sale a while back. Not bad but they were in played with condition to say the least. :rolleyes: They wanted them anyway though.
Yeah, all the 69 Firebirds I find are well played with! Oh, your talking about Hot Wheels.:D:D:D
 

Shangas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,116
Location
Melbourne, Australia
In one day, I bought my first cravat, a new, sky-blue short-sleeved shirt, and a long-sleeved dress-shirt with french cuffs, all at the same shop, for under $20.

And it all fits perfectly! I love the new french-cuff shirt. I need more shirts. All my shirts are old, second-hand, hand-me-down junkers from my dad and my brother. Half of them I end up throwing out because they're stined or have broken buttons or something. Trying to build up a decent selection of proper shirts.
 

Flicka

One Too Many
Messages
1,165
Location
Sweden
Bought this nifty little writing desk yesterday very cheaply. I'm guessing it's '40s but I'm not sure. I bought it from the mother of a teenage girl who wanted to 'fix up' her room & get rid of the old furniture.

Open:
6033fc52.jpg


And closed:
eab85e23.jpg


Last week I bought two new (or rather, used but new to me) kitchen chairs for my 40s-50s inspired kitchen:

ae3dacf8.jpg


Seems my colour-scheme is going to white/yellow/red/sky blue. Not intended; it just happened! :)
 

Flicka

One Too Many
Messages
1,165
Location
Sweden
That writing desk is beautiful. Wonderful find!

It was. I polished up the brass and used my own home-made polish on the wood and now it looks smashing! It's clearly much better off with me than with her! ;)

Now I just need to find a chair to go with it...
 

DNO

One Too Many
Messages
1,815
Location
Toronto, Canada
Very sweet desk Flicka...congratulations on a great find. We should all be thankful for those people who hate 'old stuff'. Thank goodness there's a lot of them!

The top is interesting...it doesn't have the sort of slatted/louvred look that most roll-top desks have.
 
Last edited:
Messages
10,930
Location
My mother's basement
Another fluorescent desk lamp, this one a crinkle-finish job I spotted at the South Tacoma Value Village store yesterday evening, after a complete washout at the Lakewood Goodwill. (The third Thursday of the month finds me with a couple hours to fill in those sunny climes.)

I wanna say late-'40s/early-'50s on this one. No identifying marks on its exterior.

GEDC0952.jpg


And it works just fine. It even came with a perfectly good tube.

GEDC0954.jpg
 
Last edited:
Another fluorescent desk lamp, this one a crinkle-finish job I spotted at the South Tacoma Value Village store yesterday evening, after a complete washout at the Lakewood Goodwill. (The third Thursday of the month finds me with a couple hours to fill in those sunny climes.)

I wanna say late-'40s/early-'50s on this one. No identifying marks on its exterior.

GEDC0952.jpg


And it works just fine. It even came with a perfectly good tube.

GEDC0954.jpg

$7? You did just fine as far as I am concerned.:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap
 

Flicka

One Too Many
Messages
1,165
Location
Sweden
My 'polish' is nothing fancy. I don't know where I picked up the recipe because I'm a compulsive hoarder of old school household tips. Anyway, it's just 1 part lemon juice and 2 parts olive oil. Unlike wax, it doesn't really coat, so you can still see imperfection in the wood from the right angle, but it makes it shine and deepens the wood's natural colour. Scratches and such are really hard to spot (because they end up the same colour as the surrounding wood) and the upside is that there's no build-up or residue like a wax-based polish eventually causes. It's the best thing I've tried. Beats store bought polish by whole yards. Compared to those it's also more eco-friendly. I mean, there is nothing harmful in it - you could even put it on your salad!

For brass I always use a paste of vinegar, flour and salt. It gets rid of stains like whoa! Further tip - after cleaning the insides of your furniture, smear a little sunflower oil mixed with lavender oil along the edges of the drawers for a nice smell, before lining with paper. And if the drawers squeak or are hard to pull out, rub a candle against the wood and you're rid of the problem.

You see what I mean about my enthusiasm for house-keeping tips? ;)
 

Shangas

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,116
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Very sweet desk Flicka...congratulations on a great find. We should all be thankful for those people who hate 'old stuff'. Thank goodness there's a lot of them!

The top is interesting...it doesn't have the sort of slatted/louvred look that most roll-top desks have.

It's called a cylinder desk. Instead of the slatted rolltop lid, it has a single,curved lid, that you just push back. Very snappy.

One thing I love about these old desks is all the cubbyholes...
 

Flicka

One Too Many
Messages
1,165
Location
Sweden
I just had a surreal experience - I was going through a rarely used cupboard when I spotted something ornate and metallic. I pulled out a vanity set consisting of brush and mirror that looks to be early 20th century. At first I had no idea where it came from but then I remembered that my mother coaxed me into taking it because no one wanted it when my grandmother died. She had them on her vanity desk, but I had no idea who she inherited it from and the initials didn't ring a bell.

I phoned my mother up and at first she had no idea what I was talking about, but then she remembered. "There was some sort of long tray as well," she said. "Like for pens or hair pins." So I dug around some more, and lo and behold - there it was. Mum couldn't figure out whose it might originally have been, but after thinking a bit she said she thought there was a Jansson somewhere but she had no idea who it had been.

So here is my mystery vanity set, badly in need of some polishing:
fd9c24fe.jpg

06f66be4.jpg


And the mystery initials - looks like EJ or IJ to me:

3effbdaf.jpg


It's farly big; each piece measures about 10 inches and massively heavy. You could clobber an intruder senseless with the mirror!

Anyway, a nice find! :)
 

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