Last weekend I went to a 'flea market' in the Lakeview neighborhood... it was more of a glorified garage sale but with multiple vendors. I manged to find a few vintage items there amongst the VHS tapes and baby toys,including the above set of Kokeshi dolls. I have a few kokeshi dolls that I've bought over the years but this is the first that are a nesting set. They appear to be handpainted and they were made in Japan, most likely in the '40s. The heads also move, like a bobble head doll, including the tiniest one!
This lacquer Japanese jewelry box is form the 1940s and closely resembles one I inherited from my grandmother. I found this one at an estate sale two weeks ago complete with its original key. It's also a music box and it still works.
There were quite a few bits & bobs still in the jewelry box when I bought it-- including these tiny sterling silver religious (Catholic) medals. The tiny cross is actually 10K gold as is the chain, I think it might be a child's cross (possibly from First Communion?) as it's so small. The original key to the music box is attached to that whimsical keychain, it's a tiny bottle encrusted with rhinestones (not quite sure what you would put in that bottle!)
I've pretty much resisted the Tiki trend but every once in a while I'll pick up some Tikiware if it's cheap. These two are toothpick holders, I found them at a Savers thrift store on my 4th of July trip to Madison, Wisconsin. I picked up the Hawa'ii book at an estate sale, I grew up in Maui, Hawa'ii so have a soft spot for any vintage Hawa'ii-related items.
My change purse/clutch purse collection is getting a bit out of control but they're hard to pass up when they're under a dollar! The patent leather bag came from The Ark thrift store in Roscoe Village, the black purse with flowers from the Salvation Army, the matching set of colourful purses from the Madison Savers and the floral checkbook cover is probably from the 1950s and was found at an estate sale in Edgebrook last weekend.
This is the interior of the patent leather purse... it's quite unusual, I theorize that someone replaced the lining in the 1960s or 70s judging by the fabric. I love the tiny little bows!
A never-used vintage Valentine and a wonderful 1920s portrait, I'm still wondering if this is a 'normal' person or if the woman is an actress or model. She seems too beautiful and polished for it to be a regular snapshot but there's no signature/stamp to indicate otherwise. These were both found on a trip with my friend Albert to Penn Dutchman Antiques in Lincoln Square. That store is rather amazing but it's super hot in the summer and requires quite a bit of digging to find a treasure.
A little white deer Occupied Japan planter found at the Edgebrook estate sale, the Mikasa knockoff (sadly) tea pot and sugar jar found at the Madison Savers. I think the sugar jar is from the '70s... I love kitchen items that are self-identifying, not quite sure why but it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.
Not quite sure what to do with these bow ties and HUGE velvet hairbows. The hairbows are still in their original packaging. Would anyone fancy a trade for these? Many vintage fashion bloggers like Rhiannon at Liebemarlene can pull off larger bows but I would sadly look kind of ridiculous if I tried out this trend.
Ah yes, my downslide into collecting items from the 1960s/70s... not sure how these two decades grew on me but now I can't get enough of the loud colours and flower power patterns. The McCoy happy face mug is from the 1960s; I bought one just like it when I was 12 at an antique store in Branson (I also have a matching cookie jar); this one was much cheaper at only 25 cents from the The Ark thrift store. The photo album was originally sold at Woolworths in the '70s (I got it at the Salvation Army) and the little jewelry chest is made of cardboard and was found at The Ark (also for 25 cents).
While I'm really paranoid about vintage wiring (could start fires), I loved these plastic kitchen clocks and plan to just hang them on the wall as decoration rather than using them. Their condition is rather rough but they should clean up nicely. Both found at the Edgebrook estate sale... the seller said he had an aqua one too (!!!) but they couldn't find it before I left. :(
Fun set of 1970s recipe cards, the cards fold out so the chicken's head is on the top.
Definitely my favorite find of the past month-- a 1970s clock radio! I found it in a basement at an estate sale, it was covered in dust and no one had taken notice of it. I plugged it in to see if it worked and the radio started playing a Michael Jackson song so I knew it was a sign! Once I clean it up it will be living on my nightstand.
1970s kitchen goodies, the oven mitts have never been used-- their labels are from Ralphs grocery store in LA, where I used to shop. :) The dish towels kind of border on ugly (whoa mushrooms) so I'm not sure if I'm keeping these or not-- perhaps another swap item?
Ah yes, yet another mini collection of mine, floral 'weekend at grandma's' petite suitcases. This is the cheapest one I've found so far (they've become quite popular with hipsters so prices have gone up); it was stuck in the back of a closet at an estate sale. I found the Jackie Kennedy magazine at the same sale. I photographed a few of the spreads, sadly most of the magazine was in black and white.
Tiny photo buttons found at Penn Dutchman, the one on the left is set into a tin frame and the one on the right is similar to a campaign button. I've been picking up photo buttons like these lately along with compact mirrors with photo backs that were popular in the 1920s and 30s.
I haven't been finding as much jewelry lately, these are the only pieces I've picked up in the last month. The heart necklace is tiny (probably for a little girl) and is made of 10K gold and was found at an estate sale, the hummingbird pin is probably from the 1950s and was found at the Salvation Army and the ring was bought at the Lakeview flea market. Originally I thought the ring was a costume piece, the older woman I bought it from said she had gotten it 40 years ago and that it was 'old' then. She also said it was made out of brass which I doubted as jewelry is not often made out of brass. When I got home I looked at the hallmark on the ring '333' and it's actually 8K gold, the mark is an old European hallmark so it's likely it was made in the 1940s or earlier. I'm pretty sure the center stone is just light blue glass (it seems too big to be a topaz) but I love it anyways. I've been wearing it on my pinky finger as it's so small, I usually don't wear pinky rings so it makes me feel rather Bohemian.
Usually I gloss over sewing notions as sales but the packaging of this blue fabric caught my eye, I like how it claims to be a "new miracle." The butterfly necklace is marked Trifari and has tiger eye stones as its wings.
This rad 1950s vinyl hatbox was found at that Lakeview flea market for $5. I've seen quite a few hatboxes at estate sales but always passed over them as they were rather plain. This is by far the most colourful one I've found and the sturdiest. I got quite a few odd looks on the subway/bus taking this home-- people aren't used to seeing hatboxes anymore!