thrift store spoils, ch. 24: Domino Mobler, Libbey Prado, and Dale Chemical

A spring break trip to North Carolina and Merlefest, a focus on getting some Etsy and Ebay items listed (and some sold—yay!), and good old fashioned procrastination have all kept me from posting about my thrifting finds. 

Now, though, I'll just jump right in. And I may as well start with something big, something found at the Manassas SA on 25%-off-everything day (the crazy SA day I swore off a few weeks back). 

I bought a très cool piece of mid-century modern furniture.

This Domino Mobler sideboard and hutch, made in Denmark of teak and teak veneer, was marked at $199. That's a good enough price in my book any day. But I was there on the aforementioned discount day, so I paid about $150 for it. Score!

I called the hubby from the store and texted a photo, wanting him to talk me out of buying something so room-altering. But, wouldn't you know, he was the one who talked me into bringing it home. The piece was too big for our Honda Pilot, though, so I hauled only the sideboard portion home that morning and returned with the hubby in the evening to pick up the hutch. 

And the only two problems I see with it are a one-inch or so's worth of water damage to the veneer on the bottom right side—damage probably caused by a spill or leak that affected the carpet the piece was sitting on, and (maybe) a couple of missing drawer runners. You see, I've looked up photos of this piece online, and the narrow drawer I've placed below the fold-out desktop probably belongs instead above the desktop in one of the open shelves. But, as I said, the runners for the drawer are awol. 

Still, not too much damage for something that's been around since the 1950s, I don't think. Check out the stinkin' great minimalist handles.

Also, look at the beautiful veneer here. (And I promise that it's richer in person.) 

This piece has altered the room, for sure: it now sits where an old warped, crowded bookshelf (one made by the hubby years ago) used to sit. I am pleased, indeed.

Now on to some other finds, some of which are for me to keep for my very own self and some of which I've listed in my Etsy shop.

I have several tumblers in this pattern, tumblers that belonged to my Florida Mamaw. However, I've never taken the time to research them online. And until recently, I only knew that they were made by Libbey and that they can break into several pieces if used to get ice from the automatic ice dispenser on the freezer door. (Yep. They can break, if you try that.) 

Over the years, I've found that the pattern itself is pretty common in thrift stores, though often dishwasher damaged. But I had no idea the glasses also came with handy-dandy gold handles. Who knew?

But here they are. And I've now done some research and discovered that the pattern is called Prado and that these particular glasses were advertised as Casual Cups, although Libbey also suggested using them as punch cups. Okay, then.

This fun confetti ashtray was made by Dale Chemical Co. (yep, Dale Chemical), according to the info stamped on the back. Fun!

I love this Mother Mary planter. Isn't it beautiful-cool, as well as kitschy-cool, at the same time? I love the colors, the soft 1950s blue against the shiny gold. I love that it's functional. And I love that it's the Blessed Mother.

It's obligatory Pyrex find time. I picked up these two casseroles in the Verde pattern for my mom because the price was so good. The bottom dish has a lid, by the way.

And I found this one frosted cocktail glass (I believe from the 1950s?) all by its lonesome at the SA on the crazy day. The signature on the art/cartoon is W. Steig—that is, The New Yorker cartoonist William Steig. (I believe he's also the one who created Shrek!, on which the movie was based.) I don't really find his cartoons LOL-funny, but his stuff seems to be sought after. We'll see how this glass does on Etsy.

This is just a goofy plastic (or melmac?) bowl I found and duly bought. 

But, hey, the bottom is stamped "Japan," and it's a super-tacky and bright yellow, like the color my colorblind Florida Mamaw once painted the stucco on her South Florida home. (This is no lie, and I'm not exaggerating.). How could I resist?

I bought these Tupperware containers (perfect for herbs and such) for me, because I actually do preserve herbs at the end of the summer. And I like Tupperware.

The clear Pyrex fridgie is for Mama.

And last, I found this pair of the coolest bar glasses at my favorite GW. They are unmarked, so I know nothing about their history. But they're a vintage-1960s avocado green; the bottoms are super-heavy; and they were priced at 56 cents each. I love them.

By the way, this photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when I made Mint Juleps for the hubby and me, in anticipation of yesterday's Kentucky Derby. (We're both originally from Kentucky, you see.) Fret not, though—yesterday's drinks were mixed and served in authentic pewter julep cups. We know what we're doing around here.

That's all for now. 

And thanks to Sir-Thrift-a-Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin, and a living space for the opportunity to link up.

thrift store spoils, ch. 15: Dansk, polyester, and Pyrex

About a week before Christmas, I saw an oval tray by Dansk at one of my regular stops. It was in rough shape, but I knew that it only needed some replenishing oil. It was marked five bucks, though (more than I wanted to pay), and it looked like it had originally come with a couple of serving bowls of some sort, which were missing. Three more times before Christmas (yep, I stop in too often), I picked the thing up again, pondering it, but all three times I left it there.

Then over Christmas and while visiting my parents in North Carolina, I had thrifter's remorse (sound familiar?).


So the morning after driving home, I was back in the store. I beelined for the shelf where I'd last seen it, and (Yay!) there it was. When I brought the poor thing home, it looked like this:

But I got after it with my handy-dandy IKEA replenishing product, and looky here:

Pretty nice, huh? I figure I have enough thrift store bowls sitting around (or stored, Lord knows) to take the place of whatever serving bowls originally sat on both ends. Loving my first Dansk tray!
 
Back to North Carolina—in an Asheville GW, I found a groovy-but-nasty enamel cast iron skillet with a teak handle, made by Copco. There were a couple of places where some of the enamel had chipped off, but the thing was orange, so I was compelled to buy it. At home, I applied lots of BKF and more of the IKEA replenishing stuff. Check it out. 

It makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich, by the way.

Also in North Carolina, I found these cute juice glasses.

They're by Arcoroc (France), and they're sweet. I do think it's weird that they're decorated with onions and mushrooms, though. (Can you juice a mushroom?)

And I found this tablecloth (handmade) for a steal. Mama thinks the fabric was originally used by Henredon Furniture on one of their pieces. Henredon used to build furniture in Mitchell County, North Carolina, until they had to close up shop there about 10 years ago. You still see their high-quality fabric and ornate and gargantuan pieces here and there in the area, though, because they used to have a great, largely unadvertised outlet store on the premises. I still have fabric around my house, bought back in the day. 

Anyhow, the tablecloth was orange, so I scooped it up.

Speaking of fabric, I bought this several weeks ago. It's blue; it's houndstoothy; and it's vintage polyester. Simply beautiful. (Can't you imagine sewing the best woman's pantsuit ever out of this?) My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I will make throw pillow covers for our bedroom with this fine vintage fabric.

Back home, I bought these bread and butter plates in sage. They're Harkerware by Russel Wright, like the charcoal ones I found a couple of weeks ago. They're already listed in my Etsy shop.

I also picked up this perfect Pyrex Butterprint 503 fridgie. Always love that torquoise!

I have a thing for vintage iced tea glasses. Libbey made the turquoise polka-dot one, Anchor Hocking made the black and red carriage one, and I have no idea who made the green and white early-American one. (But I do already have several others in that set, God help me.)

I bought more coffee mugs. (Duh.) The New York mug is a Jay Joshua design (not so old), and the beetle mug is by Tyrrell Katz (vintage, like, 2013?). You can't see it clearly in this photo, by the way, but John Lennon is included as a "beetle."

And that Wife/Hug mug, made in Japan, is kitschy-cute, indeed. I've already listed it on Etsy.

I haven't eaten meat in years, and I rarely serve it. But I had to have these utensils. They look like the ones Alice would have placed on the table for that blended Brady family.

And last, here are some goofy odds and ends. More Tupperware. Yay! And I'm always up for fun and inexpensive planters. Come this spring, all three of these will be filled with sweet, tiny Hens and Chicks.

Oops. I almost forgot an update: I wrote about some overpriced mugs/cups that I've seen for two years now at my favorite thrift store in Mama's town. Well, they were still there this Christmas. Proof.

Sending much appreciation out to Sir-Thrift-a-Lot and a living space for the opportunity to link up!

That is all for now. Happy, happy thrifting, y'all.

serendipity (and Taylorstone Cathay)

An introduction from me, as well as justifications for this blog, will follow in later posts.

For now, I’ll just jump right in and launch this thing with a tale of my latest thrift store shopping trip—a serendipitous one. 

And here’s how it went:

Whenever I visit my parents in the mountains of North Carolina, I try to peruse the several thrift stores and resale shops in Spruce Pine. And there are, indeed, quite a few there for a town that’s so small.

The first place we visited (and always my fave ) was Shops of SafePlace, a store whose sales benefit domestic violence victims.  The front section of the shop is mainly clothes and books. But in the back, an enterprising thrifter can find a nice collection of vintage dishes, kitschy knickknacks, a few pieces of so-so furniture, and some fun polyester vintage clothing. Some of it is priced at resale, some at thrift.

That day, I found two Taylorstone Cathay bread & butter plates for my modest—but treasured—Cathay collection. I love, love, love this pattern. And I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on it—at a thrift store in Mobile, Alabama, almost 10 years ago. At that time, when my knowledge of mid-century design was more limited than it is now, I liked the pattern because it reminded me of Epcot. (For real.)

At SafePlace, I also grabbed a single bread & butter plate marked Fortune on the bottom. It was obviously mid-century; I liked the pattern; and it was priced at only 89 cents. How could I just leave it there by itself? After checking online later, I learned that it was a Homer Laughlin design. Cool.

My mom—who doesn’t normally thrift store shop—picked up six simple, delicate, white Syralite bowls from Syracuse. I wish she'd taken photos of them. She says she’ll use them for ice cream.

After that, and while heading toward a local antique store, we stumbled upon a place out on Highway 226 that used to be a gem mining tourist trap, but that now gives the appearance that business is slow. There was, though, a handwritten yard sale sign (complete with an arrow pointing toward a seemingly empty building) out front. We stopped.

Turns out, there was a little gem store in the back, where we asked about the yard sale.  The nice lady there told a teenager in the room to open it for us. The teenager left for a minute, she returned with keys and a money box, and she escorted Mama and me to the next building—the empty looking one. (For a thrift store junkie, it was like getting a private shopping appointment at a high-dollar boutique after hours.) 

Inside were only a few shelves and several tables, but they were loaded with dusty, dingy, dirty stuff. Right off, I spied some super-cool, tall drinking glasses—five of them—decorated with black and gold locomotives and priced at a buck apiece. They were in great condition, gold lips and all. Score. Now, I'm sure that this pattern—from Libbey, by the way—is familiar to lots of folks, but this was the first time I had ever, ever seen it. 

I also found a single Bicentennial glass—part of a set I’m collecting for I don't know what. I was a kid in 1976, and I remember the patriotic hoopla. That might be why I have a problem passing up anything Bicentennialesque.

There was a stack of wall hangings containing two flowers and lots of butterflies—all either Burwood or Homco. They sat on a table marked "everything $1." Score again. Mama took them all. (And she took the photos below for me!)

She already owns a couple of Burwood butterflies, by the way, which she recently painted a creamy white and hung on her back porch. They belonged to her mother.

And we found a brass bamboo serving cart (dusty, like everything else) hiding under some other items. It still had its undefiled, oval, glass shelves; it was clearly mid-century; and it was priced at five bucks. Mama got it, although at this time she's not sure where in the world she'll put it.

After a half-hour or so of private shopping (during which the teenager took a short smoking break outside, God bless her), the total bill for Mama and me together amounted to right around $25. And the sweet teenager took a check! Holy moly. Remind me to stop at ill-designated and hopeless looking yard sales in the future.

After that, we visited the other five or six places open in town, but I bought nothing. (Mama did buy two more butterflies, though. I think she's planning on sharing with my sister.) The next day, my family and I drove home to Northern Virginia. And the day after that, I instinctively took off for my favorite Goodwill store a couple of miles away. (And this is where the serendipity comes in.)

There in the housewares section, on a middle shelf, sat eight mint condition (I swear, they’re mint condition) Libbey locomotive glasses—just like the ones I'd just bought. They were priced higher than those at the Spruce Pine yard sale, but no biggie.

So in a three-day period, I happened upon these 13 glasses, which I had never seen before, in two separate states. Thrift store serendipity.

I also bought at GW a Kleenex dispenser by Vendome. It has holes in the back, presumably for hanging. (Handy-dandy!) I don't really know anything about it yet, but it was so plastic and orange that, of course, I had to have it.