Saturdays are great for thrifting (and relaxing), but I had quite a bit to do around the house. I decided to give my friend Molly (She of the fish plate. It was returned, for those of you following that drama.) a call and see if she wanted to go thrifting in the afternoon. I told her it was going to be my 'carrot' for getting things done in the morning, but she was leaving town and asked if I wanted to have my carrot first. But of course.
When I swung by to pick Molly up, her neighbor's little dog was loose and tried to attack me. It was rather comical as this dog, who probably weighs about six pounds, thinks it weighs about sixty. Molly was read-ta-go, so we popped into the Salvation Army (SA) right by her house, even though I'd been there just a couple of days before. There was this great set of dishes I had resisted and wanted to re-resist.
Syracuse pottery with a fleur-de-lis pattern and brown accent pieces, this set had it all: creamer/sugar, two sets of salt and pepper, a little pitcher, and even DEMITASSE CUPS AND SAUCERS. At $33.00 it was very difficult to pass up, but I had. Three days later and it was still there AND the crazy manager of the store with the big afro had marked it up to $50. Not that it isn't worth that, but its a thrift store...you're supposed to mark things down, not up. (See images of this great china that could've been mine below.) Now you're probably asking yourself, "Why should Brian resist such fantastic dishes?" The answer isn't easy, but suffice it to say that I have five sets already (Temporama, Metlox Shore Line, Mikasa Pom Pom, Poinsettias dishes for the holidays, plus my grandmothers Royal Doulton, amid various other mix-n-match things) and don't have a single place to put this gorgeous set.
I sucked it up and continued to move through the store where we found a fantastic little ashtray shaped like a French horn and a cluster of orange acrylic grapes on burlap. I passed on the ashtray because I already have enough decorative/liberated ashtrays in the house and while the grapes were desirable and matched the amazing lamp hanging in my living room, the burlap was incredibly ugly. Then, the day's shopping motif appeared unto us....JESUS. It was a pearlescent Jesus and lamb in perfect shape. Everyone who knows me or has been to my house knows that I have a penchant for the Virgin, and while Jesus does make an occasional guest appearance, it isn't something I normally collect. But fascinated I was...
From there, we grabbed a coffee and went to the DAV...where there wasn't a single thing either of us wanted. We nosed around and checked it all out. I debated over a couple of leaf-shaped wooden dishes (wood is my new obsession, it adds such warmth to the table. HA!) and Molly considered a small desk which she was thinking about using as a catch-all in her entryway.
We left empty handed and headed across the street to the Treasure Chest where we were interrupted mid-browse by a woman who came back into the store after tapping my car in the parking lot. No damage, but she was awfully nice and the interruption was assuaged when the German-accented salesclerk said my favorite words "Everything is 30% off." There were tons of great glass things in the Treasure Chest: some little sherbets, cocktail glasses and some small bumpy plates Molly should have bought. "Too small," she said. But she was into bumpy, she was specifically looking for bumpy. I picked up a couple of red and gold candlesticks and found a small orange lamp that we almost came to blows over. It was then that he appeared unto us yet again, only this time it was a beautiful vampy Jesus--with eyelashes that any woman would kill for and pursed lips painted the most lovely shade of red. This time he was accompanied by his mother, the BVM, but she wasn't half as pretty as he.
I began to wonder if JC was following us, if he had a message to deliver. I turned around and yep, you guessed...bigger than life on the wall, an intricately woven tapestry of the one and only. This Jesus was different than the others, kind of cartoony and looking as if he used to be in a biker gang. He was flanked by a picture of Clark Gable and some straw dolls, which came together to form a slightly strange altar.
We left with our goodies and headed south to a couple of stores on the other side of town. I must say that the pickings were slim, but at the SA, there he was again, right next to a painting of the Taj Mahal. He looked like paint by numbers, but the artist still needed some practice. The paint was too thick and the colors weren't distinct enough. ("Criticism is an act of love" --Chairman Mao) But here he was, Jesus number four.
Finally, after mulptiple manifestations, his message became clear: thrifting isn't just about shopping, buying and collecting. Thrifting is a holy endeavor, one that we must undertake with respect, consideration and thoughtfulness. Thrifting is a form of social meditation that heals communities, people and world. Remember that, next time you're shopping with Molly.
I think that he also wants me to go back for those dishes!
BW
When I swung by to pick Molly up, her neighbor's little dog was loose and tried to attack me. It was rather comical as this dog, who probably weighs about six pounds, thinks it weighs about sixty. Molly was read-ta-go, so we popped into the Salvation Army (SA) right by her house, even though I'd been there just a couple of days before. There was this great set of dishes I had resisted and wanted to re-resist.
Syracuse pottery with a fleur-de-lis pattern and brown accent pieces, this set had it all: creamer/sugar, two sets of salt and pepper, a little pitcher, and even DEMITASSE CUPS AND SAUCERS. At $33.00 it was very difficult to pass up, but I had. Three days later and it was still there AND the crazy manager of the store with the big afro had marked it up to $50. Not that it isn't worth that, but its a thrift store...you're supposed to mark things down, not up. (See images of this great china that could've been mine below.) Now you're probably asking yourself, "Why should Brian resist such fantastic dishes?" The answer isn't easy, but suffice it to say that I have five sets already (Temporama, Metlox Shore Line, Mikasa Pom Pom, Poinsettias dishes for the holidays, plus my grandmothers Royal Doulton, amid various other mix-n-match things) and don't have a single place to put this gorgeous set.
I sucked it up and continued to move through the store where we found a fantastic little ashtray shaped like a French horn and a cluster of orange acrylic grapes on burlap. I passed on the ashtray because I already have enough decorative/liberated ashtrays in the house and while the grapes were desirable and matched the amazing lamp hanging in my living room, the burlap was incredibly ugly. Then, the day's shopping motif appeared unto us....JESUS. It was a pearlescent Jesus and lamb in perfect shape. Everyone who knows me or has been to my house knows that I have a penchant for the Virgin, and while Jesus does make an occasional guest appearance, it isn't something I normally collect. But fascinated I was...
From there, we grabbed a coffee and went to the DAV...where there wasn't a single thing either of us wanted. We nosed around and checked it all out. I debated over a couple of leaf-shaped wooden dishes (wood is my new obsession, it adds such warmth to the table. HA!) and Molly considered a small desk which she was thinking about using as a catch-all in her entryway.
We left empty handed and headed across the street to the Treasure Chest where we were interrupted mid-browse by a woman who came back into the store after tapping my car in the parking lot. No damage, but she was awfully nice and the interruption was assuaged when the German-accented salesclerk said my favorite words "Everything is 30% off." There were tons of great glass things in the Treasure Chest: some little sherbets, cocktail glasses and some small bumpy plates Molly should have bought. "Too small," she said. But she was into bumpy, she was specifically looking for bumpy. I picked up a couple of red and gold candlesticks and found a small orange lamp that we almost came to blows over. It was then that he appeared unto us yet again, only this time it was a beautiful vampy Jesus--with eyelashes that any woman would kill for and pursed lips painted the most lovely shade of red. This time he was accompanied by his mother, the BVM, but she wasn't half as pretty as he.
I began to wonder if JC was following us, if he had a message to deliver. I turned around and yep, you guessed...bigger than life on the wall, an intricately woven tapestry of the one and only. This Jesus was different than the others, kind of cartoony and looking as if he used to be in a biker gang. He was flanked by a picture of Clark Gable and some straw dolls, which came together to form a slightly strange altar.
We left with our goodies and headed south to a couple of stores on the other side of town. I must say that the pickings were slim, but at the SA, there he was again, right next to a painting of the Taj Mahal. He looked like paint by numbers, but the artist still needed some practice. The paint was too thick and the colors weren't distinct enough. ("Criticism is an act of love" --Chairman Mao) But here he was, Jesus number four.
Finally, after mulptiple manifestations, his message became clear: thrifting isn't just about shopping, buying and collecting. Thrifting is a holy endeavor, one that we must undertake with respect, consideration and thoughtfulness. Thrifting is a form of social meditation that heals communities, people and world. Remember that, next time you're shopping with Molly.
I think that he also wants me to go back for those dishes!
BW