A Trip Home - Antiquing in Ohio

This past weekend one of my closest friends from college got married. I drove home a day early to make sure I made it to the wedding on time (getting up at 4am on Saturday didn't seem all the fun) and then had some time to kill with another former college roommate before the wedding. We decided to visit the little shops in the main strip of Bellville, Ohio and see what we could find.

Our first stop was Rainbow Antiques. This place is much larger than it looks outside and there was a lot to look at, including an entire room of LPs and records! I found a Fenton slipper I didn't have, but it was chipped (which ended up being the theme of the weekend...) I also found another Westmoreland Fairy Lamp. I saw the first one at one of the Illinois consignment shops (The Lighthouse) and thought it was really cool. I think if I decide to expand my collection this will be next on the list. No purchases were made however...

Next we drove a big circle around the town trying to find this Prairie Peddler place, which we never did find. So if anyone know where this store actually is I'd love to know!

Finally we followed a winding road to almost directly behind where we started to go to Pumpkin Hollow. This place was really cute, it had a little cafe, ice cream stand and then the antiques. I found two more slippers that I didn't have, both chipped!! I was so bummed. There is one thing I regret not purchasing while we were there, which was this old nail care kit - it was reasonably priced and really neat, I just wasn't sure what I'd do with it...

On Sunday I had some time to kill before I needed to meet up with my mom, stepdad and brother for lunch and so I stopped at the Heart of Ohio Antiques Center on 70. I haven't been here before and I think I could spend days here! This place has over 850 stalls. I made it through one of three wings in an hour and I was hoofing it, I really wish I had more time here. I found a few sets of the West Virginia glassware I collect, but I already had two of them and the third wasn't in the best condition, even though it would have been a neat addition. No purchases sadly, but I want to go back again!

Finally on the way back to St. Louis I stopped in Centerville, Indiana at Webb's Antiques. I forgot I'd been here once before, but they always have a good collection of Fenton slippers. I ended up purchasing two boots and two slippers and I also found another West Virginia pitcher set to add to my collection!

This Weekend's Thrift Experience

Well this is probably going to be the first blog with no photos...

I happened to be in the Lindbergh area this weekend and I was really looking for some gear to wear to the Pirate Festival, my friends were going with peasant tops and long skirts with scarves tied around the waist and, of course, I wanted to fit in.

I ended up at the Goodwill almost across from Ronnie's theater on Lindbergh. They had a great selection of jeans. I know one of the other ladies in the Thrifty Loo group likes to look for jeans to deconstruct and the selection here was good, but other than that I wasn't too impressed. I'm curious to know if anyone else has ever purchased used electronics from Goodwill and what the results were. I've been looking for a food processor that is at least a quart capacity and I found a few at Goodwill, but I'm nervous to buy them and have them either not work or work poorly.

I didn't end up finding anything here, but I was looking for something pretty specific.

After the Goodwill I headed to Lemay Ferry Road and went south and found Family Thrift Center at 2500 Lemay Ferry. They had a great selection of clothing, all color coordinated by length of shirt sleeves . They have a horrible changing room, very dirty and sketchy, but I think if you were looking for a good clothing thrift, this place has a lot and much of the things they had still had tags. No peasant shirt/skirt were found though and I left empty-handed.

So after the depressing shopping adventure I had I headed home and came across a new vintage shop that had opened within the past two months near my house - called Cool Stuff Really Cheap. It's similar in style to TFA and the Cherry Bomb, but the prices are a bit more reasonable. Less clothing here and a lot more furniture/bigger items. I found a silver chain necklace that had a single pink block of what I think is lucite with a carving in it and a really cute little makeup bag with a Victorian lady and a small child playing dress up on it that I'm giving as birthday/wedding gifts to my friend Sarah this weekend. Hopefully she'll love them as much as I did! They wrapped them for me, which is why I don't have photos, but believe me, they were cute!

My Fenton Collection

So I finally cataloged all my Fenton slippers and put them in my Iphone, which has been one of the most handy applications for my phone! I'm able to put notes in the phone and keep a running list of my collections and purchases, which helps me as I find new shops, I'll post about my system at another time, but it's been very efficient.

So I have currently the following:

11 Hobnail Cat Head Slippers
11 Boots
2 Small Slippers (don't know what they call this style yet)
3 Elf Slippers
8 Swirl Pattern Cat Head Slippers
11 Daisy and Button Cat Head Slippers
13 Rose Pattern Slippers

For a total of 59 Fenton shoes.

I was joking the other day about this, but it is kinda true, my family collects these slippers, so it's amusing that we collect a nice line of glass, but we collect the cheapest item amongst this line. Oh well, I love them still!

Meet Up Experience Two - Morganford

Well I'm a bit bummed, I planned a Meet Up at TFA (The Future Antiques) on Morganford and had around 8 people originally going, we were to hit up TFA, the Vintage Haberdashery and then head to the Tin Can for cheap eats and drinks. As the morning approached all of my "yes" responses with the exception of one changed to no and all of my "maybes" but one also backed out. So I went anyways, hoping that the one remaining "yes" and "maybe" would show, to no avail. I went ahead and visited both shops anyways since I'd made the trip and it was at least worth my time!

I happened to find two glass and pitcher sets that actually had the logo sticker still on them! Finally I know who makes the sets I collect - West Virginia Glass Company. I'm excited to do some research and learn a bit more about the new collection I'm starting!

Midwest Antiques - Palmyra, MO

If you're looking for vintage furniture - this is the place to go! I've never seen as great of a selection of furniture in really great condition. There were some bed frames that were so gorgeous it made me wish I had a giant house to put them in...

They also had a lot of Fenton in one booth - so if you're a big collector of Fenton glass you'll love this place.

It's a bit of a hidden gem just off 61 North, but definitely worth a stop.

I found a uniquely colored Fenton slipper to add to my collection and was quite pleased!

Conquering the Pink Elephant!

Ok, so this may be an odd "phobia," but I really don't like pink elephants, it's all something that started when I was a kid and I watched Dumbo and I started having reoccurring nightmares about being trampled by Pink Elephants on parade... So imagine my shock/amusement when this week while I was traveling up 55 N to Springfield, IL and I found the Pink Elephant - antique store! So I just had to go back today and have a look. I mean who could pass up a store with a giant elephant, giant man and a ice cream cone shaped building?



However, I wasn't able to find much that I really liked at this store. Everything was crammed in so tightly that I was afraid I'd break something. Someone else wasn't as fortunate and did - quite a mess! I did purchase one shoe, non-Fenton, but it matches a few others my grandpa gave me.

I remembered that there was another shop further up the road, but I didn't happen to find the one I was looking for. However, I did stumble upon two other consignment shops at exit 60 on 55 N. One was called the Lighthouse and the other Lisa's Antiques. I of course stopped at both. I found one Fenton hobnail slipper at the Lighthouse, but struck gold at Lisa's when I found a Fenton boot and a slipper, along with another pitcher and glass set!

The first meeting of Thrifty Loo Meet Up

I joined a Meetup group focusing on thrift store shopping and antiquing. I helped to provide ideas for the first meetup, sadly it was on a very busy weekend here in St. Louis, so we only got three takers, but I hope I showed them a good time in one of my favorite areas of the city - the Cherokee Antique District.

I guided folks down the Cherokee strip - stopping at Ruth's and the Cherry Bomb, two of my favorites! We also stopped in at China Finders and several other shops along the strip. Finishing things off with authentic Mexican food at the little taco stand in the little Mexico portion of the street.

I only made one purchase - but I think it was a well done buy! I happen to love the purses at Cherry Bomb and I found this awesome wooden and woven handbag that I used that very night when I went out for my birthday!

Can't wait until the next outing!

Trip from St. Louis to Columbia

I've been driving 70 W to and from Columbia for work recently and I keep seeing two antique shops that I've been dying to hit, but I never seem to have the time... until the last week in August when I made the stop at Artichoke Annie's and Applewagon!

Both shops have a lot to look at. AA (Artichoke Annie's) is bigger and organized a bit better. I'd say they have around 200 individual stalls here. It's a beautiful shop, most of the stalls are well-tended and you'll find a lot to look at. My visit was quite successful! I managed to find four sets of the pitchers and glasses I collect, one I already had, one was in bad shape, but the other two were just awesome! I purchased a round orange pitcher with six matching orange glasses and a little yellow juice pitcher with four tiny yellow cups. I've posted photos of the store front and my finds!

Applewagon has two sides, one that's home decor and all new items and then the consignment shop side. I was a bit disappointed until I found a beautiful collection of depression glass. The gentleman who rents these stalls has the most detailed and best collection of depression glass I've ever seen. Everything is labeled with the manufacturer, design and time frame in which they were developed. If I had a real dining room I'd purchase an antique hutch and fill it with either pink or blue depression glass! I didn't find anything for myself at this one, but it's a good place to search through.

Thrifting and antiquing away the day

Growing up I loved going to yard sales, but I didn't love getting up at 7am on a Saturday to do it. Now that I've moved to St. Louis I've found that I can yard sale all the time - only I don't have to look in a paper to find addresses for sales, I just have to visit one of the many boutiques and consignment shops in and around St. Louis to find great things!

This blog will cover my finds, adventures and let downs in the world of thrifting and antiquing!

To start off a little about what I personally collect - Fenton glass slippers and frosted glass pitcher and cup sets. I've just shy of 60 different slippers, most of which came from my Grandpa Hoover's collection and my Grandma Heth's collection. Since they both gifted me with these I've been adding to my collection for the past six years. I find looking for these extremely fun, because they aren't large and you'll find them in some of the most unique places in consignment shops.

As for the pitcher and glass sets, they're a recent addiction. I found my first set at TFA - The Future Antiques and loved them and since then I've been purchasing different sets, including what I've since figured out is rare, a punch bowl, salt and pepper shaker set and an oil and vinegar cruet.

I'll post some photos just to give you an idea!