hometown tourist: the vintage industry

Okay! So. That was an unexpected hiatus. Have I mentioned I was on the board of directors at my kiddo's preschool this year? I volunteered to be the publicity lead, which was great. And also a lot of work. I made some great stuff this year, and I want to share it all with you, but I'm going to take it easy as I make my reentry into blogging.

Having dropped the kiddo off at day camp for a couple of hours, I went on an errand binge. The last place I stopped wasn't on my list, but it's one of those places I always want to stop until I do some mental math and calculate the cost of imaginary damages my offspring might commit.

The Vintage Industry is kind of an antique mall, with separate stalls set up for different vendors. It's just floor to ceiling packed (two floors), and many of the vendors have an amazing ability to style their spaces. A few, not so much, but in every corner there's good stuff to find: mother-of-pearl buttons, embroidered handkerchiefs, library drawers, locker baskets . . . Okay, I'll shut up now and disgorge the cell phone pics (it's true; I'll never learn).

Located on 21st + Main in Springfield, Oregon.

thrift store finds: may 2014

Bring isn't exactly a thrift store, but a reuse store that features mainly building materials. But they do have a large furniture warehouse at the back and a gallery space at the front that sometimes hosts a collection of harder-to-find items or art shows of stuff made with recycled materials. Today's post features things we spied at the store earlier this month while hardware shopping for a project.

Here's a wallpaper cutter from the late 19th century.

 A gigantic Low-Voltage Circuit Tester.

An antique trunk and an accordion my kiddo was pretty set on. (I think he's convinced he could school his music teacher if only he was allowed to touch the accordion.)

Another antique trunk. This one was priced rather high, even during the 50% off furniture sale. I went back on another day and someone had tried to force the lid shut and broke the back off.

An army trunk.

A mid-century drafting table/light table/desk with brass fixtures.

And those are just a few of the cool things we spied. They also had three rows of antique theater seats and a couple of sets of lockers that somehow escaped my camera. I'll stop back in this week and snap some pictures for a future post . . . unless you get there to buy them first!

Thanks for reading.

Linking up to:
The Cottage Market

chalkboard coffee / train table

Due to our kiddo's recent interest in jumping off of the couch, it seemed like a good idea to trade out the rectangular coffee/train table's corners for something round. I decided on a pedestal table, and I kept my eye out at thrift stores, estate sales, and yard sales for more than six months before leaping (almost literally) at this one a couple of weeks ago.

It had a mission-style base, little wooden casters, a scabbed-up top with peeling veneer, and someone had let their 24-hour reserve tag on it expire at St. Vinnie's. I paid for it on the spot; it was 50% off yellow tags day, and the table had already been marked down from $49.99 to $34.99. Too good to let it get away.

After running home to clean out my car and grab a screwdriver, the kiddo and I drove over to disassemble and load it up. It all happened so fast that I neglected to get a photo of the fully assembled table, but here it is, back home, after I'd started sanding and puttying the top.

I left the cracked veneer in place, but secured it with wood glue and putty. When the time comes to refinish it, this will hopefully make it easier to remove the chalkboard finish; I'll just have to peel off the veneer and start with the wood underneath. 

The table was dining table height, so after getting it home I had some further disassembling to do before I could cut it down by nine inches to make it coffee table height.

I measured and marked, then used masking tape along the line to help reduce splintering.

 

A circular saw, carefully used, took off the extra base, and after reassembling and a little more sanding, the kiddo and I rolled on two coats of zero VOC primer on the top.

That night, after the kiddo's bedtime, I painted on the chalkboard paint (tinted to the kiddo's specifications) in three coats four hours apart. I kept the windows open, a circular fan pointed towards it, the kitchen and bathroom fans on, and the central air circulating to reduce fumes. It worked really well, and by morning we were ready for the three days of curing time recommended on the label.

It was ready for chalk prep (rubbing with the side of a stick of chalk, then erasing) in time for the kiddo's birthday. Hooray!

We love it so far. The color isn't what I would have picked, but it's classroom-chalkboard-green so it doesn't offend me either. More important are the increased play area, improved traffic flow, and reduced risk of injury. Plus, super cute, in my opinion.

Thanks for taking a peek!

p.s. want to see these photos larger? just click on them.


Linking up to:

Coastal Charm

My Repurposed Life

it's not you, it's me

Very short "Dear John" letters to the things I didn't bring home this week:

Dear Pink Trunk / Toolbox:
I promise, if I had a place for you . . .

. . . and I wasn't so afraid of your adorable-but-lead-filled pink paint . . .

. . . I'd take you home with me. You have that look everyone's trying to copy with chalk paint and faux rust, but baby, you're the real deal. 

Sadly, my kiddo might decide those paint chips look like candy and so, for us, this must be good-bye.

Dear Giant Letters with Neon Tubing Inside:

I would try to tell you how awesome I think you are, but I was never as good with words as you. 

Dear Orange Metal Tool Organizer:

Your orange paint is gorgeous; you are gorgeous. But I admit I find the fact you pack heat (even if it is only a sander) to be the teensiest bit off-puting.

Dear Thingamabob:
I love a little mystery and I think you'd make a great lamp, but I just don't feel like I really know you.

Are you a pressure cooker? A boiler? I just can't gauge.

Dear Cabinets That Would Make the Perfect Play Kitchen:

Stay alive; I will find you.

Linking up to:

Junkin' Joe at the Cottage Market

thrift store finds: vintage scales

 

The white "Family Scale" came from an estate sale and the brown postal scale came from a thrift store, both within the past few months. Both are in good working condition and measure accurately.

I think they'll make charming display pieces at weddings on the candy or favor tables.

I can also picture the scales being used as uniquely awesome cake stands (with the cardboard cake board attached to the scale's top with some adhesive tabs).

And I think the family scale would look extra cute on a baby shower table!

I always think it's curious how I find things in batches, like theses scales, or my hoosier boxes (of which I now have three), or pianos (I only have one, but I saw several at thrift stores in the months before and after purchasing mine. It must have been piano season).

Have you noticed that, too?

Thanks for reading!

Linking up to:
The Cottage Market 
Helene's Legacy

thrift store finds: raspberry patch

I can't tell you much about Grace Paull, except that she was an extremely prolific children's author and illustrator. I found this book (Raspberry Patch) downtown at the Assistance League Thrift Shop for $1. 

The copyright date is 1941, and the illustrations alternate between b&w and color lithographs.

It tells the story of a bright, curious little girl and her mother who go to pick raspberries one July day, and discover various creatures (daddy long-legs, bee, butterfly, grasshopper, etc.) hiding in the bushes. 

I like it for a lot of reasons. The storytelling is sweet and nostalgic, all of the illustrations are nicely composed, and the limited color palette in the color lithographs is all about summer and light and discovery.

Copies are available reasonably priced on Alibris if you'd like a copy of your own. I'm hanging on to this one for now; it feels like a treasure so it must be one, a bit like the leaves and fir cones my kid keeps collecting.

Thanks for reading!

p.s. you can make these photos larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that, clever you!

Linking up to:

The Cottage Market

Helene's Legacy 

sweat, or tears, or the salt sea

"'Do you know a cure for me?' 'Why yes,' he said, 'I know a cure for everything. Salt water.' 'Salt water?' I asked him. 'Yes,' he said, 'in one way or the other. Sweat, or tears, or the salt sea.'"

—from The Deluge at Norderney

by Karen Blixen, writing as Isak Dinesen

This photograph has hung in our bathroom(s) for fourteen years now; I like it (alot), but I was ready to change things up a little bit.

I found an oil-painted seascape on canvas at the Village and traced chalk letters onto it.

White acrylic paint to fill in the tracings.

Ready to display.

Other examples of quotations painted on thrifted canvases:

1. A Beautiful Mess
2. Style By Emily Henderson
3. Southern Belle Soul
4. Young House Love
5. Six2Eleven

By the way, didn't Karen Blixen have a crazy-interesting life? 

Any artwork change-ups going on in your spaces lately? Do tell!

Thanks for reading.

Linking up to:
The Cottage Market

p.s. you can make these images larger by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that, clever you!