I’ve grown to be pretty mechanical in my buying and selling of vintage merchandise; I’ll make a swift walk in, assess the situation, narrow in on what catches my eye, acquire it, get the pictures completed, list it, and stockpile it in the many places around the apartment or in storage.
Also thanks to this blog and the painful art of listing, my knack for some creative writing is slowly returning. Listing on Etsy has become a cinch, and lately I’ll have an entire post in my head as early as walking up to check the price tag on something. This whole process just happened this past Saturday at a church flea market in Lyons when I spotted this 1950’s-60’s typewriter.
“Mid-Century typewriter- excellent condition. Only $5, would be an easy flip.”
Then I saw the “Made in Bulgaria”, which gave me all I needed for my ridiculous one-liners that have been accompanying my Etsy listings. “1950’s Bulgaria. Commies. The perfect typewriter to hole up in your attic and write some subversive literature- Yeah that’ll work. Easy $40 or more”
Then at home while taking measurements, weight, and checking for any flaws worth mentioning I came across this sheet of paper located in the convenient paper slot inside the typewriter case . (ink is faint, click to super size!)
Then this.
“Oh man Laura Neumann you communist SOB.”
Then. Vintage Euphoria.
Occasionally an item itself will floor you, but often it’s the weird things; the receipts, to do lists, the notes to themselves or their children. While you would never purchase these little things themselves, when found become far more valuable than the purchase or even the resale value of the item. The things they would never want anyone, especially the FBI, to see.
This is why I go through other peoples crap on my free time. Priceless.
Now is the time for for all good men to come to the aid of their party.
Now is the time for for all good men to come to the aid of their party.
Now is the time for for all good men to come to the aid of their party.
UPDATE!!!: Well it turns out the phrase above was a popular typing phrase alongside “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”. It originated in 1867 in some podunk town in Wisconsin. Still interesting...and...Laura Neumann is still a communist SOB.
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting, Rants, Uncategorized, Vintage Finds, etsy store finds, you need one.
Tags: 1950s, 1960s, Bulgaria, Chicago, communism, eastern europe, etsy, flea markets, home decor, McCarthyism, midcentury, retro typewriter, Soviet Union, sweet vintage goods, vintage typewriter
By Morgan
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March 7, 2010 at 8:46 am
I love old technology. Old clocks, old watches, anything old and technological, I love. I'm fascinated by old typewriters. They often have an amazing design aesthetic to them, and more often than not, when kept up with, can still work after many many decades. Can you even imagine the computer that you're using now will work in 50 years? Yeah right. They don't make 'em like they used to.
I took this bad boy into my 8th grade classroom, and the students literally freaked out. "I've seen these in the movies!". They couldn't stop typing on it.
I bought it at an estate sale two weeks ago. Its in absolutely immaculate condition. According to the instruction manual that came with it, it was made in 1953. It still types like a champ, and the ribbon has quite a bit of ink on it.
In the meantime, Morgan picked up this awesome Royal typewriter at an undesclosed and secret (I'll get that secret!) thrift store.
His is a Royal KMM Full Size Model, and was made between 1938-1948. His works great as well. Again, they don't make 'em like they used to.
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting.
By Jayson
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November 4, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I should have hated this estate sale. There are three things that basically annoy me about estate sales. First, when they're overpriced. If I wanted to shop at an antique mall, I would go to an antique mall. Second, I can't stand it when estate sales have a bunch of hipsters there. Not that there's anything wrong with hipsters. Hipsters are great. It just means that all the good stuff is going to be gone by the time you get there. Third, when the person running the estate sale uses the house as their own personal showroom. This is the most annoying thing you'll see at estate sales. If you see display cases, you know that's what's going on. Again, if I wanted to go to your shop, I would go to your shop. I want to buy old junk from someone's house. It kinda comes across as devious to me, actually.
This sale had all three, of course. And yet, I can't help but sorta kind liking this particular sale. You see, I found a set of vintage lockers there. For super cheap. Sarah and I have been looking at lockers on craigslist for probably a month or so. We need somewhere to store all of our winter coats. Lockers on craigslist can be quite expensive. These puppies cost us $35. I held onto the kids while Sarah ran upstairs and paid for them. Right in front of her was hipster girl asking about them. "I want them but I don't have a way to get them home!" Oh man, hipster girl, you mean they won't fit into the basket on your single speed bicycle? Ha ha! Your trendy earth saving ways are my gain!
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting, Vintage Finds, you need one.
By Jayson
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October 25, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Function does not have to be a slave to form. But form in our case, is super important. We have three very busy and often messy children. So almost all of our design choices have “kid proof” in mind. We own a home in Oak Park on the measly salary of one teacher and a part time babysitting super mom, so cheap and affordable are important for us as well. We shop craigslist because it allows us to be thrifty as well as satisfy our style needs. Because of these monetary restrictions, craigslist is our Room and Board.
Our couch was a sweet recent find. While not vintage, it is definately modern. For $50 dollars we got a used but in great condition Jasper couch from Room and Board. It was hard parting with our billowing brown leather couch that previously sat in its home, but our tastes have evolved, and its Pottery Barn feel didn’t quite fit the rest of the room. We decided that we couldn’t part with it, and it will find a new home in our basement.
Our TV stand is an IKEA standard; the industrial and bright red metal cabinet. I like that it LOCKS and I can keep the kids out of the television equipment. To the right of it is a vintage valet we snagged off of craigslist for 25 dollars. To me, a well designed valet is the epitome of manly vintageness. It was designed for working men. I can’t think of anything more iconic than a man preparing his suite the night before, and the valet has room for all of its parts. I love that piece!
The coffee table was a hundred dollar craigslist find. It was bought from a woman who lost her job and supplements her husband’s salary by scouring estate sales for mid-century pieces. The kids have literally taken bites out of a few of its parts, but it is wood, and can be refinished if necessary. We were looking for a coffee table for MONTHS before we decided on this piece. The rug underneath it is the ultimate kid friendly rug. Carpet squares by Flor are insanely easy to clean. I’ve already thrown a few in the washer when the kids have spilled milk or other crap on them. $120 for 18 20? by 20? tiles.
The drapes were made by my wife from IKEA fabric. At first we thought they were garish and balloon like, but they’ve grown on us, especially after we purchased four Eames knock offs from Wisconsin. They match perfectly, and are in great shape. There’s nothing you can’t clean off of those fiberglass bad boys.
Flanking the fake Eames shell chair are two brown and chrome office chairs from the seventies. We purchased them from the Salvation Army for twenty dollars each. They smell a little bit like cat, but we’re hoping they’ll air out one day!
The IKEA lamp at the end of the couch will eventually make way for something better. Hopefully a nice end table and a nicer ceramic lamp when we find one that fits our fancy.
Overall, I love what we’ve done to the room. Its fun working together as a team and arguing over lamp shades. Its good for your marriage, you know.
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting, Howto, Moment of Manly Zen, Style is not Emasculating, The Vintage Family Man, Vintage Finds, you need one.
By Jayson
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October 19, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Two make a collection, right?
It was in ridiculous shape when I bought it from the estate sale. I put a good hour into washing, cleaning, and adjusting it. I used some steel wool to clean about 30 years of rust off of the blade, cage, and base. That was the long and tedious part. I opened up the insides, cleaned out the guts with some compressed air, and wiped the entire thing down with a magic eraser.
The thing runs like a champ with minimum rattle. I love it.
The best part about old vintage fans is how STRONG the flow of air is. No modern table fan can beat the power of this thing. THey don't make 'em like they used to, eh?
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting, Vintage Finds.
By Jayson
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October 8, 2009 at 8:34 am
Pretty sweet haul and a lot more mantage then of late. Paid a little more than I would of liked, but a couple items should be a quick sale, which will make me happy. If you fancy being apart of this "quick sale" I speak of check here soon!
I haven't sold a single one yet, but I cannot resist getting more Chicago steins AND paying too much for them. rats!.....maybe they will be a hit at the Vintage Bazaar. Maybe.
Chicago did NOT get the Olympics. Oh well. Good thing I didn't purchase all those empty lots in Englewood, woulda been swell. Word around the water cooler is that Obama didn't know when to shut his mouth.
Oh and crime fighter win. enjoy!
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting.
By Morgan
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October 2, 2009 at 11:54 am
Morgan and I went out today bright and early and hit a super sweet estate sale. I spent 23 dollars, and got quite the loot. The best part about the entire trip: I walked out of the estate sale without paying. We drove for about 20 minutes, went to two other sales before I realized that I didn't pay. When we drove back to the original sale, the lady hadn't even realized that I didn't pay.
We took our two three year olds and they were marvelously well behaved. I love being able to placate a child with a 50 cent toy.
We got some great "crap". The house was packed to the brim (always a good sign of an awesome estate sale) and run by two sisters who had decided to run the estate sale on their own. Their mother had passed and they decided to run the entire sale on their own after the previous company that they were working with had botched everything up.
I found this great popcorn bowl set from the seventies. One large popcorn bowl with four smaller bowls on the inside. If we can't sell this on etsy, Sarah wants to keep it for the house.
I liked this vintage set of two decks of cards and the plastic thingy that helps you remember who delt the cards last. It moves back and forth like one of those weeble wobble people.
One of the coolest things I've ever seen at an estate sale: A big bowl of vintage matches. Morgan and I spotted it at the same time so we're gonna split them.
And finally, here's a shot of all my finds put together.
(The fan in the background is a previous estate sale purchase)
Categories: Estate Sale Hunting.
By Jayson
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September 26, 2009 at 4:02 pm
