stock up the shop: spring break!

Yippee! Some down time ahead of us this week as the kids and I have a week off for Spring Break. Kicked it off with a quick getaway up to Estes Park for a little creekside cabin/hot tub/Rocky Mountain National park-style relaxation. On the way back from a little snowy hike, we happened to drive by a little thrift shop in town. I dropped off the family at the cabin, and headed back to poke around. I wasn't expecting much in such a tiny touristy town, but I was pleasantly surprised...

Sitting quietly amongst a pile of crap random figurines I spied this little beauty.  A Howard Pierce owl...my gut thought so when I saw the coloring, and turning it over to see the name on the underside confirmed it. Have learned about Howard Pierce via my #thriftbreak friends on twitter and at Etsy, so I was excited to finally find a piece.

A-S Sweden stainless tray. I've been steering clear of the Scandinavian stainless trays as they are sooo common and sell slowly, but something about the style and quality of this one caught my eye.
In the shop soon!

Love this timer so much. It works perfectly, by spinning the entire top. The "white" is actually a bit yellowed, but I think Etsy folks will love the Helvetica!

This is a cute German calendar wall hanging from 1975. Possibly made by Kolf of Austria, but no markings to tell me so. Love the vivid colors and folksy style.

Here are a couple of other highlights of goodies I found over the last couple of weeks:

Pyrex Decanter with Ball Cork

Jackson China restaurant ware platters, shape by Paul McCobb. In the shop soon!

Ultima Thule serving bowl by iittala of Finland

Happy Spring to you all!
~ Jenny

stock up the shop: eek, where does the time go?

Well, I knew it had been a while, but over a month? Geesh. I haven't been out and about as much lately as the "real job" has been extra busy. I did reach a milestone recently with the creekhouse shop; 300 sales! Woot! I feel so lucky to have a hobby I love that earns a bit of extra cash to take us on little getaways now and then.

Here are a few recent goodies I've found:

Morgantown Normandie Smoke Martini Pitcher
I love the shape and color of this pitcher, so I grabbed it without  knowing exactly what it was. My twitter #thriftbreak friends confirmed my thoughts that it was made by Morgantown of PA. We've been known to enjoy a martini now and then, so hubs was kind of wanting to keep it.
We decided that a whole pitcher might get us into some trouble, so list it I did.

Heller 10" Mod Dinner Plates
I have some others of this seemingly popular Heller plastic ware designed by Massimo Vignelli in the 1960s.  It's not selling super well for me, but these plates are in such great condition I decided to list them and see what happens. Here's the link to my other Heller listing: mod heller vignelli plates, mugs, and bowls

Dansk Jens Quistgaard Board
I was so thrilled to find this Dansk by Jens Quistgaard teak board. It is in amazing condition and soooo beautiful with the "staved" style (vertically cut pieces create the lovely visual texture in the center.)
This piece sold in less than 24 hours, and quickly heard from the customer that she adores it. 

Dorothy Thorpe Roly Polies
These also sold right away as they were priced right due to a bit of missing silver on the interior. That is the nice thing about these glasses, the silver is on the inside and the outside so any damage is mostly concealed. We have been loving getting all caught up on past Mad Men episodes, getting ready for the new season starting March 25th.
It really is quite an amazing show!

Mid Century Vase made in Isreal
I don't know much about this vase except that I think it's absolutely beautiful! There are touches of lemon yellow thrown into the earth tone stripes which add a lightness I love. It is marked "Made in Israel" and has the signature "Rachel" on it along with another somewhat mysterious mark. I would be just fine if this beauty didn't sell...it's waiting on my living room credenza and looks mighty lovely right there.

Frankoma Native American Mug
This one isn't listed yet, but I thought I'd throw this into the post. Frankoma is one of those things that could sell, but might not, depending on if there are folks out there looking for specific lines. This one is from 1992 (which actually IS vintage according to Etsy...I must be old.) I see Native American and Aztec motifs being quite popular right now, so I thought I'd try listing it since it seems a bit out of the ordinary.

Trucker Belt Buckle
And finally, how can I not share this? Hubs and I went on a little hot springs getaway to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. The little eclectic mountain towns here in Colorado are really something to experience if you never have. Picture little Victorian towns at 8,000 ft and above sprinkled with gun racks and dreadlocks alike. We spent some time in a pawn shop in one such town, checking out guns, taxidermy, elk hides, you get the picture. Saw this beauty in its original packaging and had to get it. Debating whether or not to put it in the shop...I don't think it really fits in as "stylish vintage for your home." But you gotta know some hipster out there wants this.

OK folks, that was a long one. Hopefully it makes up for my slackage. Happy Spring...it's coming, I can feel it!
~ Jenny

stock up the shop: the blues

No, I don't have the blues, but I found lots of blues this week...and browns. Glad I went out early in the week because that allowed me to just stay put and do some listing instead of heading out in the twenty, yes twenty, inches of snow we got over the course of Friday, Friday night, and Saturday. The moisture was much needed around here, and of course the skiers, sledders, and snow-cave-builders are quite thrilled. I actually quite enjoy driving around in the snow, but today I was happy to stay put.

Found these pretty pottery candle holders made by Brayton Pottery of Laguna Beach, California.  Didn't know anything about them until I did research at home. The company existed from 1927 - 1968, producing mostly glossy figurines, some for Walt Disney. Later in the 50s and 60s, they made some more modern home decor items using this "wood tone" finish. Nothing super valuable or astonishing, but an interesting tidbit of history - and actually a couple of really pretty pieces!   

These turquoise blue and gold spatter High Ball or Iced Tea glasses are from Federal's Prestige line. Made popular by Eva Zeisel's contributions to the line, the heavy knob at the base is an indicator of these pieces.
As for the spattering, not sure why, ,when or how that happened, but they're interesting for sure!

This is a really lovely puzzle of Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs as painted by artist Marilyn Marshall. In excellent condition with 500 pieces...made the whole family work on it for two days and we got it all together with ...499 pieces! Can you believe it?? It's soooo pretty, I just can't bring myself to list it with one tiny piece missing. What would you do? 

So, I won't list a damaged puzzle, but I did list this beautiful blue
Michael Lax for Copco Denmark spouted sauce pan.
Despite some significant chips around the edges, I just had to pick it up because I adore this blue color. Hopefully someone out there will appreciate picking it up for a great price - it's still very usable!

Just a simple set of teak salad servers...lovely and unmarked.

Is this inappropriate? Found one of Taylor & Ng's Animates mugs with some
let's say, frolicking, bunnies.
I think these are hilarious. Hubs realllllly wants to shock his workmates with it, I'd like to sell it. 

Kinda country, kinda mod... In awesome condition and excellent quality, I just had to grab these pretty farm scene canisters. Made by Anchor Hocking and "signed" Nina 1982.

Superbowl? Anyone care? I don't, now that the Packers are out, but I'm going to use it as an excuse to sit and drink beer at home on a Sunday afternoon...wait, I do that every weekend... Well, enjoy the rest of the weekend, football lovers and haters alike.

~ Jenny

stock up the shop: just a coupla things

Ran around for a bit this weekend and found just a few things. Left several places empty handed, which is disappointing and satisfying at the same time. I've been on a listing frenzy lately, and now actually feel "caught up." So, now it feels good to be able to take my time, be selective, enjoy the process, and take time to learn as much as possible.

OK, on to the finds:

Yes, I already have some similar, Yugoslavian, versions of these in the shop.
After hemming and hawing, I finally decided to grab these  because of their matte undersides... I thought
perhaps Krenit by Herbert Krenchel of Denmark. No real proof that they are unfortunately,
but they're so nice and have great style. Listed here.

This Kolf of Austria fabric has such a cute folksy design to it. I recently sold some Kolf linens, I think they are so fun although I don't know anything about the company. This is a nice large piece, in crispy clean, never-been-washed condition. Vintage fabrics are still so intriguing to me. I have ridiculous amounts of fabric, waiting to be used.
One of these days I'll do a sewing post! This will be listed as soon as I get it measured.

Sometimes I just can't resist the Japanese stoneware. There's a lot of it out there, that's for sure.
Something about these fluttering butterflies caught my eye.

Finally, this is a rare Corning Ware 10" skillet. It coordinates with the classic Cornflower Blue pattern, but it is that beautiful solid blue with a white interior, and nice black and stainless handle. I've only been able to find one listed on Ebay, and nowhere else. I'd like to list it in the shop, but hubs think he might like to cook eggs in it. We'll see.

Have a great week y'all!
~ Jenny

stock up the shop: fantastic plastic

I told myself to take a break from shopping until I list the items listed that are sitting on my "to list" shelf. But, hubs twisted my arm and sent me on my way this morning... Mind you, this gives him an excuse to plop in front of the TV watching Euro soccer highlights while the kids play. And now as I research, photograph, and list...he's enjoying his Liverpool match. It's all very symbiotic around here. We are very lucky to have super self-entertaining children! (Cheers to Montessori.) Don't worry, we do engage with them from time to time.

I've mentioned this before in my posts, but I think it's funny how many of my treasure hunting runs end up with things that kind of "go" together. So, here are some of today's plasticky pick ups:

Soehnle of Switzerland scale.
Can take up to 11 pounds (5 kg) and does it with style.  Have to  do a bit of research to
determine age. If its 20+ years old, it'll go in the shop. If not, it'll stay right here with me!

I feel like I remember my Twitter friends a while back chatting about Ingrid plastics, but can't remember the specifics.  Definitely in the style of the popular plastic Heller pieces, but based in Chicago. This is a "picnic ball." A large set of 6 cups, 6 dinner plates, 6 medium plates/shallow bowls, 6 small bowls/plates, 6 tumblers, a serving platter, and two serving bowls. Put it all together in just the right way, and you have THIS:

Kind of brilliant, huh?
My 7 year old thinks this is just about the coolest thing he's ever seen and
would like it to come along with us on our summer camping trips... We'll see.

And speaking of Ingrid, at a completely different shop I found this little snack set of four plates and four short cups in its original mesh packaging.  The plates have little indentations for the cups to sit in. The plastic Heller pieces I have in the shop haven't been selling, but I thought I'd grab this and give it a try since the packaging is pretty eye catching!

Cute little pink paper sorter.
Not much to say about it except that I just had to pick it up because it was made by
"Rogers" (my dad's name) in Madison,WI ( my hometown, where my parents still live.)
So retro, huh?!

Interdesigns swivel storage/sorter.
I was happy to see this since I recently listed one that sold in just a few days.
The last one was white, but I'm loving this blue.

And last, but not least, yet another Kokeshi. I'm crazy!
This one is a bit older, in the "traditional" style. You can see my others in the background...
Suddenly I'm a collector. I just can't part with them! I have much to learn, and there's lots of information out there. Maybe a future blog post. For now, it's a magical little "rush" when I see one calmly standing there
waiting for me on a crowded shelf. See, I'm crazy.

Now on to the task of listing, listing, listing...have lots of other cute stuff (not all plastic) to get in the shop before the work week starts again. Enjoy!

~ Jenny

stock up the shop: beginning to feel a lot like a vintage holiday party

Lots of retro holiday goodness this week! It really gets me in the mood to decorate for our Christmas...or maybe next week. ;)

Instead of the group shot, I'm trying out the individual shots of some of my favorite finds:

Inland Glass Snowflake Casserole with Lid and Warming Stand.
I was so happy to find this complete set. It's super adorable and I can just picture it
filled with some warm unhealthy dip of some sort at holiday party.

Pyrex "Mod Kitchen" Decorator Casserole
I haven't been buying much Pyrex lately, but this one is soooo cool!

1983 Alan Wood for Houze Christmas Mugs
Set of 3

Waechtersbach style Glasses
Coordinate with the popular West German Waechtersbach pottery pieces.

West German Glass Angel Candle Holders
I love these...so thick and sturdy and pretty. Like blocks of ice. 

All of these items, and more, are listed or will soon be listed in the creekhouse shop. Having fun listing lots of new things and gearing up for holiday cheer.
Life gets pretty serious, with busy-ness, worries and serious stuff popping up here and there, so I'm grateful for the holidays approaching to keep us focused on family, friends, and the good things in life!
~ Jenny

stock up the shop: holiday lovliness

Went to five different spots yesterday and walked out of several empty-handed. Determined to stock up  as much as possible before "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" and all of that jazz... So grateful for a week off of school to do this before the relatives come!

Speaking of which, here I am exposing the elementary teacher side of myself...this is a hilarious children's book that is a good gift for young and old: The Relatives Came, by Cynthia Rylant. If any of you have family get-togethers where people end up sleeping all over the house, listening to each other snoring and such, and enjoying the crowded-ness of such gatherings, you might get a chuckle from this book. Makes me laugh every time and I enjoy reading it around the holidays.

On to the haul:

- Waeschtersbach Mugs (Four of them, great condition...gifting for Xmas, and crossing fingers that she doesn't read my blog...)
- Crazy Cool Smoky Glasses (see photo below)
- Milk Glass Bowl (Looking for help with this one, have a look below)
- Swedish Santa
- Wilton First Birthday Cake Topper (Actually still in original package, carefully un-did for photo. That is one cute 1-year old.)
- Vintage Marshall Field's Advent Calendar (My favorite find of the day...mostly because I still weep for Marshall Field's...see more ranting below...but also because it's West German, still in original unopened package, and so very pretty.)
- Hazel Atlas Wheat Sheaf Cups
- Eva Zeisel "Prestige" Glasses (Keeping! Closer look below.)
- Two Vintage Camera Straps
- Kolf Austria Table Linens

How fun are these? Six of them in excellent condition. Don't know the maker of these.

This milk glass bowl is so beautiful with its bluish tinge and swirls. Anyone have an ID for this?

Couldn't pass this guy up and can't decide if I should keep or sell.

Sniff, sniff. Anyone else miss Marshall Field's? I'm originally from Madison, Wisconsin
and any time I go home my mom and I still talk about it.
We also miss Dayton's...lived in Minneapolis for 10 years for college and beyond.
Damn you Macy's!!

Eva Zeisel "Prestige" line for Federal Glass, 1954. Keeping these to start my own collection,
but you can start your own here at Steve's great Etsy Shop.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm thankful for all of you who stop by now and then, and thankful for all the help I've gotten from online friends!
~ Jenny

Linking up with Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl

stock up the shop: I made a new friend

Took a week off as the rest of my life took over for a bit. It was actually nice to have a break, and made getting back to it all the sweeter. Not a huge haul this week, but some fun stuff nonetheless...some of which will stay right here with me.

 I love the warm feel of these items. And here they are: 
- Landert Fondue Pot (From Switzerland, meant to go from oven to table. Just love those swirls.)
- Modern Wooden Bird Bowl (It's a shallow bowl with a really cool, mod shape. Already listed if you want to check it out.)
- Hyalyn Pink Rectangular Console Dish (Beautiful condition, buttery glaze...kind of hiding in the back there.)
- Pottery Craft Vase (The other Pottery Craft I have is not selling super well, but this was kind of different from some I've found and in such good condition, I grabbed it.)
- Two Brass/Copper Angel Candle Holders (Made in Hong Kong, they're a common item, but I really think they're pretty so I'll add them to my own Christmas decorations.)
- Two Arabia Kosmos Bread and Butter Plates (Hiding under those angels.)
- Coral Glossy El Patio by Franciscan/Gladding Mc Bean Gravy Boat (El Patio was the first dinnerware produced by California based Gladding McBean and the very first line to carry the Franciscan name.)
- And finally, I'd like to introduce you to... Well, I don't know who he is, but something about him made me pay too much to bring him home. The more I look at him, the more I love him and I sure do want to know where he is going, what he is  carrying, why he's not wearing any shoes, and what he so unhappy about. He's looking at me right now while I'm typing this. Check him out:

I haven't found anything out about him, so if any of you have any insights, I'd sure love to hear them. Chances are, he's just another 1970s wood carving, but there's something about him that really caught my eye. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Oh, and I'm finally on Twitter: @thecreekhouse if you want to say hello.

~ Jenny

(Linking up with Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl.)

stock up the shop: worth a second trip

Got up early and headed out on my own only to find a few not-so-great things. Then, mustered up some energy and my 6 year old boy to head out later and managed to find:

- Oil and Vinegar Cruets by Wheaton Glass (Fused together, funny that.)

- Couroc Tray (Honoring the First Presbyterian Church in Monterey, CA 1883 - 1983. Almost left it, then changed my mind.)
- Dorothy Thorpe Silver and Glass Tray (Pretty awesome I think with original stickers and label still on the bottom.)
- Heller Cups and Bowls
- Two Panels of 1960s Marimekko (Yes!)
- Mexican Sterling Silver Utensils Set (My "Should I, Shouldn't I" item for this week. Box has a distinctive mark: "Plata Moderna Mexico 925 Sterling." Love the style and can't wait to see what they look like all shined up.)
- Paden City Teapot (I believe it's from the Greenbriar/Greenbrier line from the 1950s.)
- And lastly, a Figgjo lid. Yep, a lid. What was I thinking?

All but the cruets were found past noon. Goes to show the early birds don't get ALL the worms.

Of course the boy was the best partner ever, always is. He was duly rewarded with a toy helicopter and a recorder, and was even so considerate to pick out a flashlight and yet another recorder for his little sister. A 3 year old and a 6 year old marching around the house all afternoon with recorders they don't really know how to play. Again, what was I thinking? Did someone say wine?

~ Jenny
PS: Hey, if you have a second, check out my last post and put your two cents in about my mysterious ladybug. Looking for some insights on this one!