Huzzahs for the Thrift King Thrift Store

(Insert trumpet fanfare here: Da-da-DAAAAAA!) Here ye, here ye, Pittsburgh area thrift fans! There is a new thrift store in town, right off Route 30, at 100 Lowry Street in Jeannette... And it is called: The Thrift King!

I popped in there last Sunday, tempted by the sheer size of the store, and I was not disappointed. While I may not have purchased anything this particular run, what I did find was selection and great presentation.

First of all, picture aisles you could actually move down while someone passed you with a cart. This is unheard of in the world of thrift stores in my area. I've grown accustomed to being run over by enthused shoppers overcome by the tunnel vision which can accompany serious thrifting.

The clothes, too, seemed to be in great condition, and the shoes were seriously tempting-- lots of newer styles still appropriate for today.

The furniture section was serious-- it's own room and filled with options. There are shelves of housewares, books at the back, and more collectible stuff and jewelry in cases up front.

All in all, a really bright clean store. So I will definitely be hitting this again on my Route 30 travels.

Their hours are Monday through Saturday 9am to 7:30pm and Sunday 11am to 5:30pm.

Their address is 100 Lowry Avenue, Hempfield Township, PA 15644 and their phone is 724-374-5011. You can check out their web site at www.thethriftking.com

NOW for one other order of business today...

Here's your chance to help out a fellow Thrift Shop Romantic reader...

Does anyone here know a reliable person or business who paints furniture using an industrial spray painter in the general Pittsburgh area you'd be willing to recommend? Someone has a dining set that needs a smoothly painted facelift, and I didn't have any recommendations for her myself.

You can either leave a comment here, or email me directly at thriftshopromantic[at]mac.com

Thanks in advance! And Thrift Happy!

A Trip to the Faire: Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival

"I took a trip down to look at the fair
When I arrived, there was nobody there..."
--Renaissance

I've had the song from the 70s prog-rock band Renaissance running through my head since yesterday. And like that song, my quiet morning in rural West Newton, PA, suddenly transformed into a busy, bustling, magical afternoon of jesters and joking and majestic color.

Welcome to the Shire, where anachronism, entertainment, games, and swordplay abound-- along with food, crafts, and heavy textiles swelter under sunny skies.

You could start with some games. Tell me, how are you with Ye Olde Archery? Can you split your foe's arrow in twain? ...

(No, me neither.)

How about lob produce for fun at some poor dude in the stocks, in "Vegetable Justice"? (I had to take a pic of that, it just made me laugh...)Maybe some grog is more to your liking?

Or you'd like to sit in a wooded glen and enjoy a musical performance...
A parade signals a joust will begin soon...

Here comes da Queen...
And here a rather oversized version of His Royal Majesty. Just look at that papier mache turkey leg behind him... It must be four foot tall. (It's good to be the King!)...

Sir Mitri, of Spain, seems to be eyeing up this girl's lunch...
He gets so busy jousting, pillaging and wenching there really isn't a lot of time for a sensible meal these days .

We all gather for the upcoming tournament. A local Faerie has a minor wardobe malfunction, but doesn't seem to mind.
The crowd gathers, and it's ready to see some energetic combat!...
I notice my favorite knight from last year, Sir Roderick, has made his debut once more. This time, he's on the side of good. I guess he learned his lesson from last year's "cheat to win" mantra...

He wears the colors of black-and-gold... Always popular in Steelers territory.He takes on Sir Mitri, though Spanish-English relations don't seem to improve for the exercise.

Having won a test of skill, Sir Roderick bestows upon a shy spectacled princess, his "Queen of Love and Beauty" favor for the day, giving her a garland of flowers. She didn't know quite what to do with all the attention.

Along the way, I picked up a couple of pieces of handcrafted jewelry, a fine lunch of fish and chips, and a rather remarkable case of sunburn-- the latter souvenir was completely free.

I am a girl who always enjoys a bargain. :)

Hope you all have a terrific rest of your Labor Day weekend. I'll see you again later in the week.

Silver Eye Center Goes Down the Rabbit Hole with Maggie Taylor

Here in Pittsburgh, the Silver Eye Center for Photography has been showing a collection of works from artist Maggie Taylor, along a theme near and dear to my heart. It's These Strange Adventures, a surreal trip through Wonderland and other remote areas of imagination.
What I found most intriguing-- and I thought you folks might, too-- is that her work is done by layering Victorian engravings, photographs and objects into Photoshop, and creating an illustrative scene from them. So what were once ancestors being sold on Ebay suddenly transform into a serious-faced Alice carrying a Cheshire cat on a moody landscape. Or the King and Queen of Hearts posing, both realistic and cartoonish, for posterity.

This work illustrated a fascinating book of Alice in Wonderland, where the Alice here is portrayed by many different "Alice's" of different ages, in different antique photographs to complete a single story...
Perhaps that Drink Me bottle did more extensive personal alterations than height!

Another interesting thing about the work is its use of vivid vintage colors... shades that make the photos look hand-tinted, the way old lithographs or portraiture would have been during the day.
One of my favorites is Alice here with the dodo and other creatures in the Pool of Tears. Look how seamlessly these individual images were combined to create one full scene...
For my good readers in the Pittsburgh area, there's still time to see this show at the Silver Eye Center. It runs through August 21, 2010, and it's located right on Carson Street on the South Side.

The address is:

1015 East Carson Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 431-1810
www.silvereye.org

Oh, and before we go today, because I thought this would make you all laugh...
Do you think my cat, Alice, is trying to tell me something? It doesn't seem.... subtle.

Have a Wonder-ful rest of your week!

Treasure Box Wednesday: The Land of Snow and Fog

Sometimes Mother Nature tosses you a curveball. And boy, does she have one wicked arm!

I mean, let's just take a look at last Friday, shall we? Last Friday, I left my home in the morning to a thick gray mist...


A very thick mist...


I mean a very, very thick mist... Like, where'd the downtown skyscrapers of Pittsburgh go? They were there yesterday, weren't they? I was so sure of it.


The whole ride, it was like Hollywood fog. A horror movie fog. The kind of fog Adrienne Barbeau would be packing her bags because of. And that some other director would be trying to recreate for a mediocre remake.

This fog was not creeping in on any little cat feet, either, no sir! It had big honkin' boots on and it planned to stay a while...


For instance, you should be able to see a river or three off there.

But as morning passed, the fog gave way to sun. And a lovely sunny day. And spring temperatures. And a warm weekend that was perfect for errands. And the wind was balmy... and deceptive.

Deceptive enough to trick the azaleas to pop their buds. And the cherry trees to get all dressed up in pink or white.

Or white...

And so this was this morning. April. Snow on the car, snow on the daffodils. Snow on the azaleas...


Can't you just hear them weeping a bit? The poor dears!

Here, the snow drifts into the backyard. You can see the flurries glinting in the light, captured... frozen in time before it froze my plants...


But then, it was gone. It snowed steadily today, and yet... the moment passed. But the azaleas are still asking for a light sweater.


And the cherry tree has decided to pretend that nothing odd ever happened...

Such is Spring!

• If you missed Sunday's post, "Looking at the Sunny Side of Life" with a vintage promotional booklet, click here.

Otherwise, bundle up! (Or wear shorts. We'll see what happens next.)

A Knight- er, Day- at the Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Faire

Today we're going back in time. Back... back... way back... no, a little more...

Okay, stop! Stop! Stop here! (screeeeeeech!!!!)

Here. To the middle ages. When kings were kings, and chivalry was alive, and cell phone technology was large and clunky and...

Okay, well. So a little anachronism creeps in now and then.

Yes, folks, today we are going to the Greater Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival! For those who love pageantry, fantasy, romance-- and a certain amount of silliness-- this might just be the place for
you.

If decorating your home, you can actually find some very unique (and even tasteful) handmade items to integrate into your decor. And if decorating your own person, there's no shortage of jewelry and clothing to choose from there, either. This, in addition to exciting jousts, handsome knights, medieval nibblies, and wandering minstrels-- well, it makes a pleasant day out.

So let's enter through the guarded castle walls on this beautiful September day, and see what's in store!...


Welcome to "The Shire," a village of shops, restaurants and performance stages integrated into the landscape of West Newton, PA.


We're grateful today we wore shoes with a little bit of traction on them, because we'll be walking over fields, down glens, and into dappled forests. Starting off, we think a little bit of shopping might be in order. We'll peruse wares today from intricate pewter goblets, light switches, and necklaces, to delicate Celtic-inspired earrings, heavy brocade cloaks, incense, leather-works, forged weaponry, hand-blown glass and more.

Like here at Delight's Fantasy Art tent, we pause and are struck by the artwork's bright colors...


You examine some original tapestries and clever mousepads, while I set my sights on a print that would work well in my William Morris red-and-green livingroom...


We head down the forest path and encounter the Duck Lady. Ah, there are some strange and unusual characters in these dark times! This particular one has a serious duck fetish and a repertoire of about a million duck-inspired puns...

Here she chats with a teeny little princess who is wary of any person with a strong duck fixation.

But as the rest of us quack up, the toll of bells calls to us-- and we find ourselves mystified by a truly remarkable performance...


The instrument is the Carillon, and the artist is "Cast in Bronze." The carillon consists of 35 bells, played by a modified keyboard which uses the hands and feet-- and from what we read, this is the only musical act in the world to feature this four-ton medieval instrument.

The musician, Frank DellaPenna, performs his haunting compositions to the accompaniment of recorded vocals and other supplementary melodies. One of the pieces is an intriguing medley of "Tubular Bells" and the "Phantom of the Opera" theme. We end up mesmerized.


We also end up with some CDs to play in the car. For folks who'd like to learn more about this performance and see Cast in Bronze in action, click here and go to the Media section, to check out the videos.

Appetites whetted with shopping and music, we stop for a bite to eat. Should it be soup in a bread bowl, a giant turkey leg, or...? Ah, there it is! Fish and chips and an ice cold beer-- lovely! Then a bit more wandering before the jousting begins.

This fellow in blue tells us he'll be our wizard for this evening. He basically gives us the run-down of what we can expect from the jousting today, and who our resident Knight of the Realm will be...


And this is our knight-- Sir Roderick. He's pretty dishy, which is probably why we, his people, put up with his less-than-sportsmanly "Cheat to Win" motto. He's also a bloodthirsty sort... but he wears black and gold. Always fashionable here in Pittsburgh. (Er, The Shire.)


These are Sir Roderick's challengers, Sir William in the red, and Sir IDon'tRememberHisName in green and black.


Based on his shield emblem, he may be Sir Drinksalot-- what do you think?...


Here we see the Royal Court...


The king and queen speak, to open today's jousting festivities...


And then on to the main event!


Sir Drinksalot ends up wounded due to dirty dealings by our Sir Roderick. Sir William challenges Sir Roderick to a fight to the death and... Oh wait. The exciting conclusion ends up being the 5pm show. Gosh, this is more complex and dramatic than WWF wrestling!

Well, let's do a bit more wandering.


Need any pence from Ye Olde Money Store?...


We encounter some unexpected pirates...


And in order to be fair to my male readers, we have for you this buxom wench... See, I think of you guys, too!


And in M. Sotherden Art Glass, I become entranced by some beautiful hand-crafted glass and sterling silver necklaces. These two pendants will come home with me! I love the irridecent sparkle!


I notice the owner has a web site (msotherdenartglass.com) as well as an Etsy shop where she sells her work (msotherdenartglass.etsy.com ). Gosh, these Renaissance folks are awfully forward-thinking, in some respects, aren't they? Why, Etsy won't even exist for them for several hundred years!

Well, we take in one last musical act, and then we consider calling it a day.


Need to make a pitstop first?...


Comfy? Then we get back in our time machine and set the dials for 2008. Thanks so much for coming along with me today!

• If you missed last Wednesday's Treasure Box post, click here to see the Fruits of Thrifting.

• And did you seen last Sunday's "Fleaing Lambertville and Discovering New Hope"? If not, click here.

Otherwise, perhaps I'll see you this Wednesday for our next Treasure Box feature.

As they say in Medieval times, "Huzzah!"