My Tips on How to Shop Vintage
I come from a long line of collectors. My mom has a natural ability to find treasures and make them beautiful in a home or to entertain. She learned some of her skills for antiquing and vintage finding from my grandmother, Mary, who never passed up an antique shop and had a house full of special things with a story behind each one. My aunts, Kathy and Mary Elise, (I told you there are a lot of Marys in our family!) inherited the same love of old things and seeking out treasures to decorate a home. I remember countless trips to antique stores and collectives and flea markets with them. Some might think that would be pretty boring as a kid, but I loved it.
My mom taught me how to find things that I loved or was drawn to and to start a collection… so that I always had something to look for when we went on the hunt.
My mom collected ironstone pitchers and big wooden bowls, blue and white spongeware, Amish and antique quilts and American splint baskets and shaker items, colorful braided rugs, and bake-a-lite anything. I learned how you literally sniff out a fake when you are shopping for bake-a-lite by rubbing the matte colored handles with your thumb and smelling it. There’s a distinct smell to the real thing and I still find myself doing that whenever I see anything that might be bake-a-lite.
My grandmother collected horse racing relics and mossy cement statues and cocktail glasses and shakers. She moved to the beach on retirement and collected sand dollars and beachy things. My grandfather was the cook of the family (I remember a needlepoint she found somewhere that hung in their kitchen that said “Cook wanted. Irish need not apply,” - which she used as her excuse to stick to toast and tea and leave the cooking to my grandfather! He collected serving platters like ironstone way before Martha Stewart made them noteworthy. He was always looking for big antique cutting boards and vintage knives and big white platters.
I have some of his carving sets - a knife and a sharpener with deer shed antler handles that remind me of him every time I use them. The sharpener is still one of the best tools in my drawer!
My Aunt Tere (Tess is named for her) collected blue and white quilts and old rosaries and mini sewing machines that really worked if you hand cranked them and needlepoint samples where early handiwork helped teach not only needlework but also the alphabet and numbers. When she had three sons and no daughters, I became one of the people she passes down treasures to, and I am so lucky! Aunt Tere also has an amazing collection of vintage Halloween decor.
My Aunt Kathy collected religious medals and relics like Mother Mary statues and older baskets and Franciscan apple plates and yellow ware bowls. She LOVED to go antique shopping and knew so much about the collectibles we saw - she was particular about what she brought home and only left with it if it was really special.
My Aunt Mimi (Mary Elise) also collected yellow ware bowls as well as vintage wooden toys. She was the baby of the family, younger than my mom by 13 years, and still loves all the toys and baby dolls. We tease her about her toy collection with grown children and no grand babies yet, but she doesn’t mind a bit and keeps those toys ready and waiting for visiting children so she can play with them!
I started a thimble collection when I was really little; looking for thimbles when we traveled or went on an adventure. I also collected green ceramic bowls in all shapes and sizes, learning how to spot the real ones by the markings on the bottom. I was for sure the only kid in college who had an Amish quilt hanging on the wall and shaker chairs around an old vintage wooden table and antique dresser, all of which I still have today. After college, I started collecting vintage cast iron, Wagner Ware or Griswold are my favorites. As well as Magnalite roasting pans and Bauer green ceramic kitchen bowls.
I would frequent the Alameda Flea Market in the Bay Area the first Sunday of the month. You have to get up before the sun to be there when it opens at 6am to get the best finds! I was always looking for furniture for my little cottage when I was single and then our first home after I married Brian - and nurseries when we had our girls. I have two friends, Alicia and Marisa, who are the best pickers to go along with, and we have made countless trips to the flea market.
It’s always good to bring a friend or two who knows you well enough to say, “You are crazy - that’s not going to match/fit in your house,” or “Oh my goodness you can NOT pass that by!” I love the look of old things and mismatching textures and chipping paint colors and making them look livable and cozy again.
Finding just the right piece for a home is not easy - and it usually doesn’t happen when you are looking for it. Don’t be afraid to shop for new things to fill the gaps and make a cozy home… but don’t pass up those vintage pieces you love when you find them. They’ll always have a place somewhere in your home or to pass on to a friend or for a new project space down the road!
When we moved to the ranch, the old 1868 ranch house was a blank canvas for all things vintage! My mom and aunts were cleaning closets as they’d often do (the lifestyle of a collector means some things must move along when you bring home new finds). I would load up anything they were giving away to fill the Bunkhouse. Old furniture with the family stories they came with - and sometimes families before ours! Paintings, (we love vintage paint-by-numbers in simple wooden frames) ceramic vases, platters, and quilts that had seen better days but looked right at home in the old Bunkhouse.
Ranch life was favorable to the pieces falling out of favor in other homes. I still like to mix and match and move things around - we’ve used the Bunkhouse as a dorm-style retreat for guests, for storage and the keeping of things. We breathed new life into the old bones with a new kitchen addition we call the “test kitchen” for Five Marys recipe development and entertaining and after seven years we finally “moved in” to the old homestead house from our cozy little cabin (that used to be a chicken coop). It lacks insulation, central heat, and has plenty of nooks and crannies for drafts and bugs… but we crank that wood stove and add some extra wool blankets (thrifted on one of those flea market trips) and we’ve made it a cozy space for us to weather the winter temps and cool off in the summer days for now.
Tips for Vintage Shopping…
• If you are collecting pieces of certain vintage brand or genre - don’t just buy it because you find it. Make sure it’s in great shape and fits in with your current collection.
• Buy the best quality items you can find so you don’t get home and realize they are quickly falling apart.
• Cull your collection so you don’t get too cluttered.
• Become familiar with and knowledgeable about how to differentiate between the real thing and a reproduction, especially if you are collecting.
• Don’t pay an authentic antique for a reproduction or import!
• Most antique dealers will bargain with you, so don’t always pay the sticker price. Ask what their best price is!
• Change things up! I am always moving things around and repurposing items for the bunkhouse or for Camp or my Farm Store or new office. Mix them up and sometimes you’ll find new life or a new angle for something you thought was on its way out!
• Ask family! These days, most people think “no one wants this junk anymore…” and gives it to Goodwill. Put the word out that you are interested in anything they are giving away or looking to sell.
Where to Shop…
• Any antique store you pass on the road - there are treasures buried in all of them!
• Etsy and eBay are great places to look for pieces to add to your collection - be specific and know what you are looking for.
• Goodwill or Salvation Army can be a great place to shop - especially if you are in a “high rent” neighborhood! Goodwill also has an online eBay like sales space for their collectibles.
• Check your local auctions! We have a local auction house that holds a new auction each week from estate sales they manage or things people bring in. It can be a lot of junk - but boy, have I found some TREASURES by checking the listings each week!
• I also keep an eye out for local farm or barn auctions nearby… when a farm changes hands or the next generation is ready to move on, they’ll often hire an auction company to liquidate everything down to the last box of tools in the barn. Those are usually a live auction format and so much fun!
