Treasure Box Wednesday: Juicy Finds and Nifty Info

Greetings Fellow Thrift-a-holics! And welcome to today's Treasure Box Wednesday post. I was excited to get this one rolling for you all today because of one particular item I never imagined finding at a thrift store-- a Juicy Couture embroidered bag!

I mean, really: while I love some of the vintage inspiration and velvety fabrics on Juicy Couture handbags, I find the prices for them-- even at places like TJ Maxx and Marshalls-- end up out of my price range.

But a walk-through of the Red, White and Blue thrift store on Saturday ended up paying off big for me. Not only was the bag there, but it was a blue tag-- meaning it was half-off.
I loved that the purse was a nice usable chocolate brown. And the little shabby bow and dangling charms and crest on it, I thought were particularly cute.

I love, too, that my purchase money went to charity. A definite win-win!

I also found there these pink goblets...
It's a little hard to see the pattern, but it looked to me very much like some I'd seen on Depression glass. So I went home, checked my handy-dandy Depression Glass book and...
It IS and it ISN'T Depression glass! The pattern is called "Madrid" or "Recollection" and it's made by Indiana Glass. But the shape glass is actually completely modern, and was issued in the 70s.

Now me, I don't really mind it not being from the Depression. But it's certainly interesting information to have.

The last thing I found was this little cuckoo clock planter in turquoise. It isn't marked, but it looked like McCoy to me...
Well, I STILL don't know if it's McCoy. But in the McCoy book, there was this very similar cuckoo clock wall pocket planter...
Mine does have two holes at the bottom where possibly a chain and weights might have hung. But honestly, given my young cat Harry has been testing the physics of ledge shelves in the last day or so-- to see if an 8 pound cat can fit on a four-inch wide wall shelf with knicknacks (The rather disastrous answer here is: Um, NO.) it's probably just as well the planter has no dangly bits to tempt curious paws and jumping legs.

So, that's it for the Treasure Box today! Next post I should be able to give you an update on my friend Scoobie's livingroom transformation.

Take care! (And don't jump on any wall shelves.)

Birth and Rebirth in Collectibles Trends

Do you ever wonder about what specifically spawns certain trends in collecting and decorating? What makes a certain type of item suddenly become in demand, or even have a powerful resurgence after being ignored or reviled for decades?

I had often wondered this very thing in relation to the iridescent glass we think of as "carnival glass" today.

I have been fortunate over the years to pick up a number of carnival Indiana Glass Harvest Grape pieces from the 60s and 70s-- all inexpensively at thrift stores and antique malls.

But I was always curious what it was that triggered modern manufacturers to suddenly start remaking the colorful glass that had been so popular 50 years or more before.

Well, would you believe I recently found the answer to this, in casual reading?

Yup, I'd been going through volume three of the Imperial Glass Encyclopedia, when their section on carnival satiated my curiosity once and for all!
In the 1960s, not only did Marion Hartung publish books on the subject, bringing the glass back into the light (so to speak), but an article in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution newspaper (August 18, 1963) on the topic dubbed old Carnival glass the "Cinderella of Modern Antiques."

In response, Imperial, Fenton Art Glass and other companies began reissuing carnival pieces, many from their original molds. And the revival grew well into the 1970s.

This got me thinking about how it had taken some appreciation from Martha Stewart to get the collectibles community showing renewed enthusiasm in the creamy green glassware known as jadite...
While I've noticed costs for jadite have gone to more reasonable levels in the last year or so, there for a while antiques dealers were offering jadite for princely sums. Where Martha waxed poetic, the market agreed. Everyone wanted beautiful, soothing pieces made of this opaque, aqua glass.

So this got me pondering again: what do you think is a highly underrated collectible today?

As I've always been a fan of the Carnival glass, I notice right now I'm one of the few that finds it magical. Will it have its day again?

And I adore McCoy's art pottery pieces, particularly ones from the 1940s. It always makes me wonder why McCoy pottery ends up being about half the price of Hull, even though their style is very similar...
So my question is open to you folks:

Is there a collectible item out there that you adore and feel hasn't received the attention it's deserved?

What is your "Cinderella Among Collectibles"?

Treasure Box Wednesday: Thrifting, Stitching and Surprise

I'd caught a glimpse of the images as I'd passed the Red, White and Blue thrift store's hanging decor section. It was amid the art class paintings, the 70s mushroom plaques in plaster, dusty prints and framed posters. I got a sense of color, of intricacy, and, well... a lot of legs.

The section was crowded. I would have needed a cattle prod and more chutzpa than I certainly could ever summon, just to take a peek. I decided to pop back later, when the area was less... leggy.

So I bobbed and weaved around the store, and returned 20 minutes later to the spot, to find it much more managable. And that's when I got to see the first side of the three framed items that had been stacked and taped together.

The mermaid needlework had my attention immediately. Not only for its size, and color, but the fact that I knew how much work went into the thing...
At least a foot-and-a-half square, the design was chock full of mer-people...
...jellyfish, sunken ships and thready kelp.
On the other side was Rapunzel, letting her long hair down for the prince to make his grand entrance....

And this one had all the detail of the first... Castles and flowers and the great effort of the thing was remarkable to me...

I had no idea what the third one was (it was firmly taped inside facing the other two), but given it was in the same sort of frame and size, I expected it might be another Grimm tale. Perhaps Cinderella? Snow White? I looked forward to getting it home and finding out.

When I did, I was in for a big surprise. As it happened to be depicting my very favorite of childhood tales...

Alice in Wonderland.

What luck! And as you can see, the piece is as lush with detail as the other two...

Here's our friend the Hatter...
And even the Cheshire Cat makes an appearance. Albeit how much of him remains there at any time is up to him...
Moving on, at the Ohio River Boulevard antique mall, I found a Victorian luster portrait plate for just $6...
And at the Salvation Army on the South Side, I uncovered a McCoy pinecone patterned creamer (this had been a part of a tea set at one time), for just a few dollars...
It was a fun week of finds and very easy on the pocketbook in total... Perhaps this pocketbook...
Which was a whopping $1.50.

So that's Treasure Box Wednesday for this week. May you find your own delightful surprises, treasures, and perhaps even some Wonder in the days ahead.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Everything in its Place

To quote Popeye, "I'd had all I could stands, and I can't stands no more." This was Saturday, after days and days of snowfall, which had kept me indoors, staring at the walls.

I mean, I love my house. But there is such a thing as too much togetherness.

So in spite of continual flurries, I decided I would make a truncated trip down Route 30, as long as the roads were clear.

But the Thrifting Gods were kind, and I uncovered a number of things I knew just where they would go.

I'll start with my most surprising discovery. See this little handled green crock?...
The chartreuse limey color attracted my eye as I have quite a bit of this color in my kitchen, between my pseudo-retro coffeemaker and toaster, and some Lemongrass Fiesta ware.

But turn the bowl over and...
McCoy? I won't even make you guess the price, because it wouldn't be fair. I'll just tell you: $0.79!!

That would be my cheapest McCoy piece yet.

Interestingly, at another store, one of the workers there was talking about how he feels there's no market for McCoy anymore. That he has quite a bit of it in the store, but no one buys it.

I'm not so sure about that. I think it might have more to do with the color of the McCoy rather than McCoy itself. As a McCoy amasser, I noticed his pieces myself as I went a-traveling. And I personally wasn't interested in it because it was almost all yellow. I haven't spied yellow as being a particularly trendy color at the moment.

I wonder whether if it comes back into fashion, people will be more interested in his pieces for their decor?

I just thought it was interesting how markets change.

Anyway, at the L&L Fleatique, I found a great mint green vintage desk lamp I simply couldn't pass up...
In great shape, with lovely lines, and an $8 price tag, I had it in my hand pretty quickly!

On my journey, I also snagged a bunch of these lamp crystals. I knew just what I needed them for, the question at the time was only how many I needed. Fortunately, I guessed correctly...
You can see them in their new home here...
And last, I got this pretty hobnail Moonstone bottle. I have been swapping some of the dollar store bottles I'd had on my stained glass window ledge for more interesting vintage pieces, so the bottle now resides here...
It's missing its stopper, but I don't think that really detracts from it's beauty.

So that's the story for this Wednesday.

• For those of you who missed Sunday's post on Westmoreland County pressed glass, click here.

Have yourselves a nifty, thrifty remainder to your week!

Treasure Box Wednesday: 40s Finds and Push-Button Magic

While shopping malls bustle with holiday-goers looking to return that itchy Christmas sweater for something they're really going to use, I usually end up hitting the long and winding road of Route 30 for a thrifting extravaganza.

Not only do I manage to avoid the hustle and bustle, but quite often I find the fortune of vintage goodies.

At the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg-- one of my favorite haunts-- I came across this small and nifty McCoy vase from the 40s...
I particularly like McCoy from this era, as many of the vases have an organic, art nouveau art pottery feel, with fruit, nuts, berries and leaves incorporated into the designs.

At the same indoor flea market, I uncovered this Depression era ceiling fixture, which is very similar in color and general style to my downstairs chandeliers...

I'd like to use it at the end of my entryway hall, before my bookcase, where it gets a bit dark. It should showcase the ol' leatherbound classics nicely. And at just $5, how could I go wrong? It cost more than that during the Depression!

At the Red, White and Blue thrift store on Route 51, I snagged this pink fringed lampshade...
Amusingly, an elderly male customer there stopped me to tell me he highly approved. It's true, folks, that when you see decent fringed shades second-hand like this, it's not a bad idea to pick them up. They don't come cheaply if you have to special-order them. In fact, they can cost far more than your lamp!

And then there's another Fleatique find... This large, satin 1940s Valentine, still in its original box...
Yep, you know a Valentine has to have been a big deal when it comes in a decorative box and not an envelope. And as we look in the inside, as well as out, we see there's a lot of "Darling"-ing going on here...
We just don't do it like that anymore, do we?

Lastly, I'd wanted to just share a little home improvement success with you all-- and maybe spread the empowerment your way. For a long time, I'd had a very bent, almost unusable dimmer switch in my livingroom. First the dimmer knob broke, and a bad incident with the replacement caused the switch itself to bend.

I'd noticed that VanDyke Restorers had reproduction push-button switches with dimmers built into them. So since I have some of these original switches, I thought I'd order one of the repros and have it installed.

But-- with a hands-on tutorial from my dad over Christmas (because who doesn't do electrical work on the holidays, right? :) ) I was able to actually install the thing myself...
I need to fill in some paint where the old switchplate was now, but the whole thing works like a charm. So for my female readers who weren't sure whether they could do this sort of thing, I can tell you, it is possible. (Make sure you turn off the power to the switch first, so it's perfectly safe, and the rest is pretty darned easy!)

Three cheers for girl power!

Anyway, that's it for the Treasure Box this week. I hope you all had an excellent Christmas, if you celebrate, and to everybody, I wish you a fan-tab-u-lous New Year! Be safe, and I'll see you in 2010!

McCoy Pottery: The Price of Popularity

On my thrifting travels yesterday, I came across a couple of collector's books from the '80s for $5 a piece, and one of them was The Collector's Encyclopedia of McCoy Pottery by Sharon and Bob Huxford.

Given my only resources on the McCoy I collect were from a guide that contained other collectibles too, I thought it would be handy to have a whole book dedicated to these unique vases, planters, cookie jars and other pottery items.

It was terrific to see the wide range of products and styles McCoy did since its beginnings in the early 1900s. But the thing that surprised me most was not the diversity-- but the 1980s prices for these now sometimes pricey and sought-after pieces!


Any McCoy fan in possession of a time machine would be wise to leap into it now, head to the time of MTV's heyday, big hair, and parachute pants. And there, get thee to an antique mall and snatch up what McCoy you can find to bring back to 2009!

I wouldn't say you could retire on the investment. But you'd definitely have done well for yourself. Money for Nothin', even. :)

I mean, here is a favorite piece in my collection-- this McCoy shell planting dish from 1941...

In 1983, the price was listed as $7-$10. Nowadays a nice McCoy piece in perfect condition of this size tends to average around $30-$40 from what I've seen in my area. Fans of McCoy, I'd love to hear from you about the prices in your neck of the woods!

A cornucopia similar to this one, but be-tasseled, can be found in the encyclopedia...

The 1983 encyclopedia listed it as $5-$8. I'll have to check, but I think I paid about $10, and that, for today, was on the low side.

And this swan vase, listed the same price as above, was from 1946...

I've seen these swans in other colors-- cream being one of them. Usually they run around $20-$30.

This vase in "wheat" from 1953 was listed as $5-$8...

I think I paid $20 for it because I really liked the organic yet streamlined design to it, as well as its soft, blended harvest colors. I haven't seen another one like it to know what they're running around here.

This geometric/deco style vase is from 1941...

In 83, it was list as $5-$8 as well. I paid $11, and I recall feeling I got quite a steal. I've seen it in other colors, and it's been about $25-$45.

This pot and saucer from 1961 was listed a $4-&7...
While I got mine from the Salvation Army, I've seen pots like this at antique malls charging $12 for a highly-damaged and considerably smaller piece.

This little jobbie here I got for $4 yesterday....

It needs a good cleaning, but is otherwise in great condition. But in 1983, it was worth $1.50-$2.50. I would have greatly overpaid!

Anyway, I thought you all just might appreciate getting to see how at least one collectible item has appreciated over time. And it hasn't just happened with McCoy. I mean, collectors of jadite will attest to how what once was a common yet lovely Depression era glass got some attention from Martha Stewart and suddenly prices went through the roof. Only now am I starting to find jadite at more reasonable prices.

And what collectible will be next, do you think?

I'd love to hear from you all about how you've seen collecting change over the years, and where you think it's headed!

Until our next post on Wednesday, folks! Happy hunting!

Treasure Box Wednesday: The Real McCoy

You know the old saying about death and taxes? Well, I'll give you two guesses what I was doing this last Saturday instead of thrifting?

Heh, well, I DID get a LITTLE bit of thrifting in around the tax appointment. It came in a super-mini Cliff's Notes version of my favorite Route 30 trek. And there I uncovered two pieces of McCoy pottery.

This one came from the Good Samaritan thrift store, and boy, does it need a bath!


I think fondly of it as my "breadpan" piece... though, it actually was intended as a planter. You can see the mark on the bottom here:



Now this lovely leafy example came from the L&L Fleatique and I understand it is also McCoy. And it's got a totally different mark-- the earlier "NM" for Nelson McCoy.



The Garage Sale and Flea Market Annual tells us that McCoy "used a variety of marks over the years, but with little consistency, since it was a common practice to discontinue an item for a while and then bring it out again decorated in a manner that would be in synch with current tastes."

It goes on to say that all marks were in the mold, not ink-stamped like many porcelain and pottery makers had done. And apparently because McCoy never registered its trademark, there is a company in Rockwood, Tennessee using the McCoy logo on their pieces. (Many, the book says, are dated #93). So it's definitely a case of buyer beware!

In fact, I suspect I saw a piece of this repro McCoy in the form of a pottery bookend this weekend. The quality just didn't seem the same, and the stamp just looked so... new. NOT the real McCoy. :)

Anyway, I thought you all might enjoy seeing where these vases have been living, as I've accumulated them. Here is my mantle right now.


And here's a view of the Hazel Atlas Moderntone Platonite dishes-- I'm not fully happy with the table-setting, so this is a bit of a work in progress...




And see that pink bowl below? That is the missing Big Mama bowl of my Pyrex set. It's now complete. How amazing to have been able to find these pieces so close to the same time!


Well, that's the dish on this week's Treasure Box Wednesday. If you happened to miss Sunday's post of "Battier Homes and Gardens, 70s Style," click here.

Otherwise, I'll hope to see your bright and shiny faces on Sunday (or thereabouts) for our next feature.