Treasure Box Wednesday: Portrait of Happy Hunting

The skies may have been black and the winds, they did bluster to the point they broke the door at the North Versailles Goodwill, but the treasure hunting this last Saturday... it was a blast!

I journeyed down Route 30 with my buddy Scoobie and her brother, and as a collective we came away with so many goodies we had to use the back seat to help hold them all. I realize looking at my photos, I didn't even take photos of all my finds. So I will save those for a future Treasure Box.

My favorite finds of the day were two early 1900s portrait vases which drew me in instantly. This one is from Austria...

The rich color and a great price meant I could not leave it there in the cabinet of the Fleatique II in Ligonier, PA. It seems very happy with the other pieces I've accumulated from the same time period.

Then at the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg, I snagged this pink portrait beauty...

This is an American Whiteware piece from the Owen Pottery Company of Minerva, Ohio. It's now sitting happily displayed on top of my china cabinet along with some pastel Hull pieces.

You can see a better closeup of the lady on it here...

At the Fleatique in Ligonier I also got four of these nice blue (they don't look so blue here, but are) carnival glass styled plates...
I imagine they're from the 60s or early 70s, but I usually see carnival dinnerware in marigold or amber instead of blue. So this was a nice change, and the price was right, too.

I got this little aqua sandcastle at a thrift store-- which one, I don't recall anymore as we went so many different places it started to be a blur!
And just because I forgot to include it a week or so ago, I'd picked up this nice tole 1940s-styled waste basket at an antique store in Bellevue, PA. I think I'll use it for my upstairs office.
So that pretty much bins this Treasure Box Wednesday. Hope you're able to turn trash into treasure where ever this week takes you.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Portrait of Happy Hunting

The skies may have been black and the winds, they did bluster to the point they broke the door at the North Versailles Goodwill, but the treasure hunting this last Saturday... it was a blast!

I journeyed down Route 30 with my buddy Scoobie and her brother, and as a collective we came away with so many goodies we had to use the back seat to help hold them all. I realize looking at my photos, I didn't even take photos of all my finds. So I will save those for a future Treasure Box.

My favorite finds of the day were two early 1900s portrait vases which drew me in instantly. This one is from Austria...

The rich color and a great price meant I could not leave it there in the cabinet of the Fleatique II in Ligonier, PA. It seems very happy with the other pieces I've accumulated from the same time period.

Then at the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg, I snagged this pink portrait beauty...

This is an American Whiteware piece from the Owen Pottery Company of Minerva, Ohio. It's now sitting happily displayed on top of my china cabinet along with some pastel Hull pieces.

You can see a better closeup of the lady on it here...

At the Fleatique in Ligonier I also got four of these nice blue (they don't look so blue here, but are) carnival glass styled plates...
I imagine they're from the 60s or early 70s, but I usually see carnival dinnerware in marigold or amber instead of blue. So this was a nice change, and the price was right, too.

I got this little aqua sandcastle at a thrift store-- which one, I don't recall anymore as we went so many different places it started to be a blur!
And just because I forgot to include it a week or so ago, I'd picked up this nice tole 1940s-styled waste basket at an antique store in Bellevue, PA. I think I'll use it for my upstairs office.
So that pretty much bins this Treasure Box Wednesday. Hope you're able to turn trash into treasure where ever this week takes you.

Pretty Maids in a Row: American and Austrian Transferware

Longtime readers of The Thrift Shop Romantic have seen rooms in my small Victorian house evolve, collections amass, and tablescapes and mantles get facelifts. But I don't believe I've ever given any of you a full-fledged peek into the built-in china cabinet in my living room!

It's the place I safely display a lot of my American whiteware pottery from the East Liverpool, Ohio area, as well as its sister transferware pottery from Austria.
Much of the pottery is from the early 1900s, and I've gotten pieces over time at garage sales, flea markets, antique malls and-- yes, absolutely-- even thrift stores!

What I love about it is its rich warm tones, unique, often organic shapes, and the sheer quantity of blossoms.
So much of it coordinates so well with other pieces, making for a case that "more might very well be more"...

I'm always amazed where I find some of these pieces. The central plate, for instance, and rose-hued portrait vase on its left both came from the Salvation Army thrift store!...Now I know they're not everyone's taste. Some might find them gaudy or too ornate for today's streamlined lifestyles. But that's a-okay. It would be really boring if we all liked the same things. And anyway, it may very well be because it's not trendy right now that I was able to get portrait plates like the one on the far left for a single dollar...

This row of pretty plates at the back were also thrift store finds...
They didn't come with the teacups up front-- those were birthday presents from one of my friends-- but my, how they match!

Anyway, that closes the door on this little peek into the cabinet....
I hope you all have a bright and colorful week ahead of you.

Pretty Maids in a Row: American and Austrian Transferware

Longtime readers of The Thrift Shop Romantic have seen rooms in my small Victorian house evolve, collections amass, and tablescapes and mantles get facelifts. But I don't believe I've ever given any of you a full-fledged peek into the built-in china cabinet in my living room!

It's the place I safely display a lot of my American whiteware pottery from the East Liverpool, Ohio area, as well as its sister transferware pottery from Austria.
Much of the pottery is from the early 1900s, and I've gotten pieces over time at garage sales, flea markets, antique malls and-- yes, absolutely-- even thrift stores!

What I love about it is its rich warm tones, unique, often organic shapes, and the sheer quantity of blossoms.
So much of it coordinates so well with other pieces, making for a case that "more might very well be more"...

I'm always amazed where I find some of these pieces. The central plate, for instance, and rose-hued portrait vase on its left both came from the Salvation Army thrift store!...Now I know they're not everyone's taste. Some might find them gaudy or too ornate for today's streamlined lifestyles. But that's a-okay. It would be really boring if we all liked the same things. And anyway, it may very well be because it's not trendy right now that I was able to get portrait plates like the one on the far left for a single dollar...

This row of pretty plates at the back were also thrift store finds...
They didn't come with the teacups up front-- those were birthday presents from one of my friends-- but my, how they match!

Anyway, that closes the door on this little peek into the cabinet....
I hope you all have a bright and colorful week ahead of you.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Art Nouveau Niceties

It's been a good long time since I had such luck on my thrifty adventuring. Some of it has been because of me; I just don't need a lot of stuff, so the things I come across need to really catch the eye and be for a great price.

Such was this weekend, though, as my friend Scoobie and I antiqued our way through Eastern Ohio. We hit the Fiesta Outlet in Newell, Ohio and learned that the Saturday flea market we'd stumbled upon once before, in the parking lot in front of the Homer Laughlin outlet is actually a weekly endeavor running through September.

Scoobie got a nice elaborate corner shelf for two or three bucks. I didn't find anything, but loved the hunt.

Then we crossed the river to East Liverpool, Ohio, and hit Pottery City, a multi-floor treasure hunting mecca. There I got... well... pottery. In the form of this Victorian vase turned into a lamp...
It's transformation seemed to have been long ago, given the lamp part has pull-chain capabilities and has fittings that have seen some age. I had been giving this lamp the eye for many months now-- possibly more. But this week the lamp was down to $30 with 10% off...

I couldn't resist.

I also picked up two bisque spill vases, similar to the one that was my Grandmother's which had initially sparked my interest in this style of bisque piece...
This one here isn't marked, but stylistically, seems to be made by the same folks who did my Grandmother's vase.
It's got a real art nouveau feel.

A couple of decorative books called to me along the way. Bright, vivid chromolithograph illustrations line the pages of this "Boys King Arthur" and this "Joan of Arc"...
And last, a side trip to Columbiana, Ohio turned up this turn-of-the-1900s Warwick pottery vase. It has some cracks, but it's still as beautiful as ever. And you will never believe the price...
Okay, it's a little blurry. But I think you can still make it out.
Yup, $3.00.

But hey, that's the beauty of treasure hunting. You never know what's out there until you begin the search.

Have a great week, folks!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Art Nouveau Niceties

It's been a good long time since I had such luck on my thrifty adventuring. Some of it has been because of me; I just don't need a lot of stuff, so the things I come across need to really catch the eye and be for a great price.

Such was this weekend, though, as my friend Scoobie and I antiqued our way through Eastern Ohio. We hit the Fiesta Outlet in Newell, Ohio and learned that the Saturday flea market we'd stumbled upon once before, in the parking lot in front of the Homer Laughlin outlet is actually a weekly endeavor running through September.

Scoobie got a nice elaborate corner shelf for two or three bucks. I didn't find anything, but loved the hunt.

Then we crossed the river to East Liverpool, Ohio, and hit Pottery City, a multi-floor treasure hunting mecca. There I got... well... pottery. In the form of this Victorian vase turned into a lamp...
It's transformation seemed to have been long ago, given the lamp part has pull-chain capabilities and has fittings that have seen some age. I had been giving this lamp the eye for many months now-- possibly more. But this week the lamp was down to $30 with 10% off...

I couldn't resist.

I also picked up two bisque spill vases, similar to the one that was my Grandmother's which had initially sparked my interest in this style of bisque piece...
This one here isn't marked, but stylistically, seems to be made by the same folks who did my Grandmother's vase.
It's got a real art nouveau feel.

A couple of decorative books called to me along the way. Bright, vivid chromolithograph illustrations line the pages of this "Boys King Arthur" and this "Joan of Arc"...
And last, a side trip to Columbiana, Ohio turned up this turn-of-the-1900s Warwick pottery vase. It has some cracks, but it's still as beautiful as ever. And you will never believe the price...
Okay, it's a little blurry. But I think you can still make it out.
Yup, $3.00.

But hey, that's the beauty of treasure hunting. You never know what's out there until you begin the search.

Have a great week, folks!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Picture (Window) Perfect

The Treasure Box for this week echoes a bit. Though, admittedly, the things in it were both oddly thrifty and items I'm delighted to have uncovered.

One was this lovely little stained glass window panel I found at-- of all places-- TJ Maxx...
I'd been thinking someday I'd find an antique window at Construction Junction architectural salvage, or a flea market, to sit in the large picture window in my dining room. But my brain apparently had a really specific color palette in mind.

When I saw this one hanging on the wall of TJ Maxx, well, it was one of those instant, "Yes, that's the one-- mine, please," moments. And I had it in my hand and then at the cash register, breaking some land-speed records.

I'm really pleased with how it coordinates with all the Westmoreland county glass pieces I already had there.

The other item was one I forgot to show you all the other week, after my trip to Ohio. At just $5.50 for a plate from 1910, it was a steal. It's a fairly collectible Knowles, Taylor Knowles plate, and I liked the early 1800s style image...
It's called The Broken Jug, and the symbol, really, is a bit sad. I believe it's meant to suggest she lost a baby. Just look at how her hands are positioned. Even the gargoyle behind her seems to express pity.

But I thought the piece was lovely, if wistful. And I just need to find the right place for it.

On a happier note, and so you all don't feel you came all the way over here today for nothing, the reason I wasn't doing much thrifting this week was because I was off at Mel Brooks' play, "Young Frankenstein." (Which was hysterical-- excellent show!) And I have a rather funny experience to share with you related to that, if you have a moment and don't mind clicking over to my humor blog, Of Cabbages and Kings.

If any of you have ever parked in an unfamiliar city parking garage, I think you will be able to identify with my tale. You can check that out by clicking here.

Sunday, I hope to bring you along with me (in spirit) to the Annual Regent Square Neighborhood Yard Sale-- weather (and imagination) willing.

Take care!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Picture (Window) Perfect

The Treasure Box for this week echoes a bit. Though, admittedly, the things in it were both oddly thrifty and items I'm delighted to have uncovered.

One was this lovely little stained glass window panel I found at-- of all places-- TJ Maxx...
I'd been thinking someday I'd find an antique window at Construction Junction architectural salvage, or a flea market, to sit in the large picture window in my dining room. But my brain apparently had a really specific color palette in mind.

When I saw this one hanging on the wall of TJ Maxx, well, it was one of those instant, "Yes, that's the one-- mine, please," moments. And I had it in my hand and then at the cash register, breaking some land-speed records.

I'm really pleased with how it coordinates with all the Westmoreland county glass pieces I already had there.

The other item was one I forgot to show you all the other week, after my trip to Ohio. At just $5.50 for a plate from 1910, it was a steal. It's a fairly collectible Knowles, Taylor Knowles plate, and I liked the early 1800s style image...
It's called The Broken Jug, and the symbol, really, is a bit sad. I believe it's meant to suggest she lost a baby. Just look at how her hands are positioned. Even the gargoyle behind her seems to express pity.

But I thought the piece was lovely, if wistful. And I just need to find the right place for it.

On a happier note, and so you all don't feel you came all the way over here today for nothing, the reason I wasn't doing much thrifting this week was because I was off at Mel Brooks' play, "Young Frankenstein." (Which was hysterical-- excellent show!) And I have a rather funny experience to share with you related to that, if you have a moment and don't mind clicking over to my humor blog, Of Cabbages and Kings.

If any of you have ever parked in an unfamiliar city parking garage, I think you will be able to identify with my tale. You can check that out by clicking here.

Sunday, I hope to bring you along with me (in spirit) to the Annual Regent Square Neighborhood Yard Sale-- weather (and imagination) willing.

Take care!