Last weekend there were no estate sales that caught my eye (they were mainly '80s or contemporary) so instead I went with my friend Albert to two flea markets Sunday morning, the Rosemont Flea Market and the Randolph Street Market.We got to Rosemont even earlier than we did last time, we were already scoping out the rows of tables at 6:30 in the morning. Even though it's late August, it felt more like the middle of autumn, I kept shivering in my thin cardigan and 1950s dress. Maybe the chilly weather was one factor in why half the dealers weren't even set up by the time we got there-- it was rather frustrating as it was hard to know whether I should wait for one person to set up their wares or to take a chance and go on and see what other people had.
Of course I ran into at least half a dozen owners of area antique stores shopping at the market; lately I've become disenchanted with antique stores/malls as I've realized I shop at the same places they do! For some reason I always imagined they had some 'secret sources' I didn't know about, but no they go to the same estate sales and flea markets that I do. Bit of a letdown to tell the truth.
My story of woe involves these local antique store owners. After shopping for about an hour I came across a booth where the owner was still setting up, I ended up buying a few of the items he was still in the middle of unwrapping. After I had purchased a set of glasses and a dog-shaped letter holder I noticed that about a dozen people had gathered around the man's booth and had started diving into the boxes, rifling through glassware, ephemera and kitchenware. It quickly escalated from polite browsing to pushing, grabbing and all out pillaging.
The reason behind this insanity? The antique store owners were hunting down merchandise for their shops and decided they were above propriety. I understand the competitive nature of thrifting, especially if you depend on it for your livelihood, but this was out of control. The worst happened when someone started taking stuff out of my ALREADY PAID FOR pile of items that were supposed to be in the 'safe zone' of the man's van. I reluctantly agreed to stow my items in the van while waiting to get change. What a mistake. Fortunately the only thing that seems to have been grabbed was an old leather autograph book, guess no one wanted my jewelry boxes or stuffed animals. I left the booth feeling angry & disgusted but kept shopping nonetheless.
Photo taken by Albert at the much more civilized but expensive Randolph Street Market. I'm proudly posing with my newly bought vintage aqua school chair. I'd been searching for an old school chair for AGES (even contemplating pilfering one from my old high school, hehe) so I was super jazzed to find this at the market for only $20. It's going to replace my wobbly Target desk chair, yay.
Two stuffed doggies on my school chair. I think the little white one is supposed to be a Scottie dog? I like that the big one has pink ears and tail. They're probably from the '30s or '40s.
This trip had a bit of an animal theme, along with the plush dogs above I found this little pink dog that was meant for autographs (used for a graduation or birthday). The little Christmas deer still have their original tags, they're Enesco and made in Japan. I'm not sure what the cardboard kitty is supposed to be for, the man selling them also had other animals (dog, sheep, horse) and they can 'stand' independently via two cardboard pieces. Maybe a store display?
This little plush bear was from the same crazy booth as the dogs, the chain/leash seems to suggest that he would be a circus or zoo animal. It's hard to tell if his snout is rubber or some kind of hard leather. He's stuffed with wood shavings.
I'd been seeing little ceramic daschund letter holders like this but they were always super overpriced. Thus I was excited to see this little Cocker Spaniel (?) holder though it does seem to be missing a part (there's a hole in the head and tail). Any ideas as to what would go in these places?
Just what I need... more clocks! I don't even use a real alarm clock anymore, for the past four years I've relied on my cell phone alarm. The dealer who sold me the yellow kitchen clock proclaimed it to be Art Deco, it's actually from the 1950s (and is even stamped with a 1950s date on the back, heh). I have grand plans to hang one of my kitchen walls with the vintage clocks I've accumulated. They won't be plugged in as the ticking would get to be overpowering.
Three glasses and a juice jug in a pattern that I term 'nuclear winter' as the snowflakes are super stylized. I picked them up because of the pink!
A set of two meatloaf/bread pans that have sparkly patterned interiors and an aqua-handled flour sifter.
A promotional recipe pamphlet/booklet for my collection and two fun cookie cutters in the shape of a horse and a lion, they remind me of animal crackers.
Stack of magazines from a 1960s publication called "Institutions: The Magazine of Mass Feeding and Mass Housing." Mmm, mass feeding, sounds yummy! It appears to be a trade publication geared toward cafeterias/restaurants/corporate offices. There's actually some tasty recipes in there but they're all meant for 48 servings or more. These are yet another candidate for scanning, there's some neat articles and ads in them.
The items above and below were bought from a slightly spaced out yet friendly beach bum/hippy type, he would have been right at home in Venice Beach, California. The wooden box is meant to be nailed to the wall and has little drawers for all your sewing supplies/notions. It will be a birthday present for my mom. I've always thought lady head vases were a tad creepy but couldn't resist this all-aqua one. The metal owls are kitchen trivets, I bought a lone one at an estate sale last year, now it will have friends.
Two lovely segmented owl necklaces, I know they're rather passe but I can't help but like them (my favorite Sunday School teacher's signature piece of jewelry was a large segmented owl necklace with large orange jewel eyes. I always remember staring at it when I got bored!).
A little ceramic wedding cake topper, they make a sweet pair but it's a little odd that both of them have their eyes closed. They also have a kewpie doll look to them which makes me wonder how old they are (the vendor said '50s but I think they're older).
So I found barely any jewelry this time around! It's funny because I bought exclusively jewelry the last time I went to Rosemont. No, the vintage jewelry supply in Chicago hasn't dried up but the owner of my (formerly) favorite antique jewelry store was at the market and probably scooped up most of jewels. Boo. I did find this one locket on the left, it's actually Victorian with glass inserts (rather than plastic) and a rather creepy photo of an older woman inside. On the right is a little puffy heart from the 1940s that's possibly sterling silver.
Uh oh, more Japanese lacquer jewelry boxes. I'm not going to tell you how many I have now... hehe. Well I collect vintage jewelry so it makes sense I would also have vintage jewelry boxes to house the collection right? The box on the left was a $1 at a Northside garage sale I went to on Friday. The one on the right is also a musicbox. Both of them have their original keys.
One of my vintage 'quests' for the past two years has been 1950s lamps... they've pretty much eluded me as they're always sold by the time I get to an estate sale and I never see old ones at thrift stores. In the past month, however, I've found four 1950s lamps! One at the auction in Arkansas, one at a garage sale in Rogers Park (still haven't posted that one) and two at Rosemont. I couldn't believe how cheap the pair of these 1950s lamps were, the lady only wanted $6 each but then Albert haggled her down to $10 for the pair. :) The shades are in great shape, unfortunately the lamp on the right is missing a piece that attaches the base to the shade. I'm hoping it will be pretty easy to replace.
More buttons! While I enjoy finding buttons on their original cards I like it even more when I find someone's old tin/jar/margarine container of buttons. It seems to have more of a story and personality that way. It makes me imagine the owner and what kind of clothing the buttons once adorned. The tin is an old Planters Peanuts can, apparently the top made a 'handy coaster' when you were done eating your nuts.
"Finest Quality" and "SO GOOD"!
After living in Chicago for two years I've realized that the last weekend of August is when EVERYONE in the city moves. It's also the weekend before the first week of school for most colleges so a lot of students are moving out of their summer housing. This means garage sales and tons of them. Of course the weather was spotty so I almost didn't venture out Friday morning to the two vintage-centric sales on the Northside I found on Craig's list.
This little naughty hula girl made out of Lava was found at a garage sale run by a father and daughter who usually sell at the Rosemont Flea Market. They had an entire jewelry section in the basement but I didn't find too much.
Originally I thought this little souvenir box was meant for pills or candy but upon opening discovered it was a portable ashtray. Mackinac Island/bridge is located in Northern Michigan, I went there over a decade ago during a Midwest roadtrip with my uncle's family. While touristy, it's a lot of fun for history buffs, there are no cars allowed on the island (bikes and horses only) and it retains all its original Victorian architecture.
A very modern rhinestone pin... is it a sea anemone? A starburst? Not sure but it should look fab on my winter coats!