Thursday, January 29, 2009

hunt & gather

I like to collect.
I like stuff- old stuff.

I am tired of the term "vintage"
the whole vintage/grunge thing of the 90's spoiled the junk scene in Portland.


Man, back in the day
(insert old hippie voice), I used to go to Goodwill presort and get stuff

BY THE POUND,

I mean really cool old clothes
-

V I N T A G E
,

coats and dresses, beautiful (well not beautiful as they were in the HEAP, but clothes with the potential to be beautiful, with a little TLC & SOAP.

clothes to make my mother weep.

I will pay you not to wear that (1950's wool swing coat with fox collar, for example)

Not anymore,

no sireebob.

not anymore.

You can no longer find cool cheap stuff at Goodwill, anything that looks remotely old, has the price jacked up to an absurd level.

Fortunately the pricers don't seem to be very educated on what truly has value, so occasionally something slips through.

Today, for instance there was a big, partial set of Noritake china
strewn all over the dish aisles.

I picked all the pieces I could find and put them together in a little display. I hope someone that loves vintage Noritake will find it, and not some professional "picking," for a chi chi Multnomah village antique store.

Rearranging the shelves in Goodwill is one of my favorite activities.

It is part treasure hunt, part cloak and dagger, because you never know when some employee is going to come around the corner and ask you what the hell you are doing with those plates.

I like to think of it as leaving a trail of crumbs for my fellow collectors.

Today I also gathered several pieces of vintage Pyrex fridgeware
which I know is HOT right now with all the hipster, craft bloggers I read.

I am currently limiting my dish consumption, but I will purchase if I find something truly remarkable in milkglass, Mikasa stoneware from the 70's, pieces of my Noritake collection or Fiestaware.

I did allow myself to buy a Waldorf seasonal celebrations book ($2.99) & a beautiful, large wrought iron looking doll bed, with a coverlet & pillow ($10) .

5 comments:

  1. The link to the noritake china isn't working for me.

    My mom has some pyrex fridgeware I have my eye on. I might snag it when she's in purge mode if I'm lucky.

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  2. goddamn link! do you have any idea how long it took to find that discontinued pattern!!!
    (waves fist in the air and curses like a sailor with a stubbed toe)

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  3. ok, Doozer the link is fixed, I think. Now the world can see what is sitting in a big, fragile pile at the SE Grand Goodwill

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  4. OMG! Get the fridgeware, before she gives it to Goodwill, like my mother did recently.

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  5. Nice, I like that china pattern. Sadly it would just be broken in my house.

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