A guest writer from Nostalgic in Maine shares some of the great vintage finds she has made at Goodwill stores in Maine:
Thrifting Adventures: 1960′s Vintage
When it comes to style, interior design and decor in general, I am drawn to the 1960s – often referred to as Mid-century Modern. I love the clean simple lines, earthy colors, and the quality of the products made. This was before the mass-production of everything from China, and if you collect anything from this time period, whether it is furniture, clothes, linen or other artifacts, chances are you are looking at well-made products from Scandinavia, Germany, Japan and the US.
Last weekend I found some fantastic pieces from that era at local thrift stores. I had two free hours and decided to pop in to a couple of Goodwill stores in South Portland. Wow! It seems that I always find the best things when I am not even supposed to be there. My first find was a 1960s Danish teak console that will hold all my LPs and other media items. I have wished for a piece like this for a long time, but they are hard to find, and there are many people looking for them. I was so excited and was prepared for major sticker shock when I approached it; however, it was priced at $24.99! I could hardly believe my luck. It’s also in great condition, only a couple of minor scuffs that will easily buff out. Though it can extend to twice its length, it fits perfectly as is in the nook next to my fireplace – it was obviously meant to be. By the way, similar pieces sell for up hundreds of dollars on the online auction sites. I am one happy girl!
Later on I came across another major find in another Goodwill store – highly collectible Dansk flatware from France – all marked JHQ for designer Jens Quistgaard. The dinner forks, salad forks, spoons and serving pieces were all bundled up with tape among other kitchen gadgets. Furthermore, they must have been around for a while due to the color of the price stickers (Goodwill changes sticker colors every week, and you can usually figure out how long an item has been hanging out based on the color). These have gone unnoticed for over a week, and each ten-piece bundle was only $1.99. That’s a total of less than $10. Now; I am debating whether I should even tell you how much these are worth on the auction market. Ok, you can look for yourself what the very same pieces have sold for online. If you do, you will see that I could resell these and have hundreds of dollars in pocket. However, I am not going to sell it. I have looked for a set like this for a long time, and I finally found it! How can I not love Goodwill?
I decided to include a couple of pictures of other pieces in my home from the same time period. Everything shown here are from thrift stores.
This lamp with teak base and neck is a favorite. The green glaze is amazing and in perfect shape. I paid less than $10 for this and just had to replace the shade.
These wood cats add a bit of vintage whimsy to my window. I found the smaller one about two months after the large one. Can you tell I am a cat person?
This striking vase is another favorite pottery find from a South Portland Goodwill. It’s marked underneath, and I love putting branches in it for early spring buds. $4.99.
Also, the blue vase on top of my new teak console is another find at a Portland Goodwill – I paid less than $10 for it, but later found out it is a Bitossi piece and sells for quite a bit more at auction. No wonder shopping at thrift stores makes me feel like a pirate.
This Scandinavian wall candleholder is always lit when I have parties and is another favorite. It was one of my very first thrifted items and has moved along with me several times.
Finally, these are my daughter’s favorite albums – also from Goodwill in South Portland. In this digital age, I love that my kids will grow up and actually know what a vinyl record looks and sound like. Goodwill is a great place to browse for old records – and they are all between $0.99 and $1.99. Now that is a good price for hours of old-fashioned entertainment!
Do you collect anything from a particular era? What were your best finds?
