Good Thrift Hunting

Thank GAWD that whole Christmas shopping nightmare is over! Although I admit to being the inveterate shopper, I do not enjoy being anywhere near a retail establishment during the weeks/days/hours leading up to The Event. However, I’m also the inveterate procrastinator, so I am doomed annually to join the hoi polloi in the seasonal rite of time passage I know as Holiday Hell.

But, once it’s over, watch out baby! No, I’m not one of those insane people that descend upon Macy’s at Oh-Dark-Thirty on December 26 to dig through the detritus of Christmas Past. Au contraire, on the days immediately following the day, I retreat to the sanctuary of my home to let the healing begin. It is not until almost a solid week has passed that I feel it is sufficiently safe to venture out into the post-apocalyptic world that remains once the aforementioned crazed throngs have exhausted themselves in a Christmas Clearance crescendo.

And so, refreshed from a few days of rejuvenating rest and relaxation, the time came to emerge into the daylight (albeit here in the Washington DC area, bone-numbing COLD daylight). I had convinced BFF Chris that we deserved a full day of shopping, Howard-style, which meant an exhaustive – and exhausting -- crawl through my fave local thrift stores! Check out the video of our adventures at Yesterday’s Rose (for “Half-off EVERYTHING Day”!) and Joseph’s Coat (where everything was also half- off!) OMG OMG OMG!

China Syndrome

What’s a furniture addict to do when the all available storage runneth over?  In my case, I redirect my acquisition urges toward items that are considerably easier to warehouse:  tableware, knick-knacks, pictures, and all sorts of tschotskes.   The possibilities are endless in this category of vintage décor!

In my previous post , I let my Dear Readers in on the secret of the glorious thrift store Yesterday’s Rose.  On the Monday following my first visit there, which had resulted in the discovery of several lovely (and bulky) pieces of vintage furniture (now occupying valuable real estate in The Warehouse), I returned to transport the silk-covered Baker loveseat.  As previously mentioned, that day also happened to be “1/2 Off Everything Day”!  What a coincidence!

Considering that the loveseat required almost every square centimeter of space in the Passat’s cargo area, there were limits to what I could acquire on my second visit.  Fortunately, the Rose had a rather extensive offering of dishes and glassware.  Having perused the stacks of breakables the previous Saturday with BFF Diana the Lady D, there were a few items that I was hoping to locate once again among the piles.  However, there was one treasure first and foremost in my mind for this excursion:  a set of eleven china plates by Royal Albert.

Weeks prior to my foray into the treasure-filled cavern that is Yesterday’s Rose, Lady D emailed me to express her glee over finding a beautiful china plate during one of her Rose trips.  She dubbed the item “The Faux Oyster Plate” because its bold yet delicate pattern reminded her of plates designed for such a function.  Although there had been a complete set of twelve of these exquisite dishes, Diana had chosen to purchase only one (convinced that she has an innate propensity to break things, she was fearful of being responsible for a whole dozen of china plates!).  Nonetheless, on her many follow-on trips to the Rose, she faithfully stopped by the case in which they were displayed to ensure no one else had acquired the remaining eleven.

What made these plates especially intriguing was the hint of their history indicated by a handwritten note attached to Lady D’s single dish.  Carefully written in a delicate script on a piece of tape placed on the plate’s surface was the statement, “Debbie, from Cowell & Hubbard…Very Expensive”.  Diana, the consummate Internet researcher, pulled this thread and discovered that Cowell and Hubbard was a jewelry store located in Cleveland, Ohio.  According to The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History ,

Cowell and Hubbard Co . is Cleveland's oldest jewelry store. The firm started in 1861 when Geo. Cowell and his son, Herbert, took control of the silversmith shop of Royal Cowles, which had opened in 1849 under the Weddell House at Superior Ave. and Bank (W. 6th) St. H. Cowell & Co. sold clocks, watches, silverware, lamps, fine jewelry, and notions.

Obviously, the previous owner of these delightful and delicate dishes desired that “Debbie” be fully aware that these plates had an extraordinary pedigree.  (Luckily, “Debbie” apparently couldn’t have cared less, and the Royal Albert plates ended up in a thrift store!)

The Lady D then set out to determine the plates’ vintage.  Sleuthing through the vast information store of the Internet, she came upon the definitive source for all things Royal Albert: www.royalalbertpatterns.com.  Here, she determined that the plates’ backstamp indicated that they were manufactured 1927-1935 (apparently a particularly prolific period for the Royal Albert Company!).

When Diana and I visited Yesterday’s Rose on that fateful Saturday in November, the remaining eleven Royal Albert plates still resided in their place of honor in the glass case near the shop’s entrance.  However, recognizing that a mere two days later the dishes would be included in the “1/2 Off Everything” event, I decided to tempt fate and wait until I returned to transport the Baker loveseat before purchasing them.  (You see, as desirous as I was to possess these fine plates, the fruit would be that much sweeter if I could get them at an even more remarkable low price!  Vintage shopping is multi-faceted endeavor.)

As I approached the Rose on “1/2 Off Monday” to retrieve the loveseat, I was guided tthough the cold rain by my determination to embrace the Royal Albert plates before they were claimed by some other less-deserving shopper.  But, because my trip to the Fairfax shop had been delayed by a long-standing doctor appointment (which I’d been sorely tempted to cancel), would the dishes still be available?  Walking (well, running, really) into the Rose I breathlessly approached the glass case….Yes Yes YES! the plates – ALL ELEVEN OF THEM – were still there!  Oh Fates, blessed Fates!  I immediately engaged the gentleman behind the counter and, after confirming that the dishes were included in the day’s sale event, I proceeded to carefully examine each one for damage.  I was delighted that all were in pristine condition, and instructed the clerk to consider them sold.

After ensuring my treasure was appropriately set aside for me, I proceeded to rummage through the piles of dishes precariously stacked on the open shelves on the shop’s selling floor.  And I was rewarded for my diligence:  added to my Royal Albert purchase were a 1953 calendar and zodiac plate by Homer Laughlin ; a 1950s-vintage plate with a stylized floral pattern in light blue and gold; and a set of three dinner plate with a large Mod daisy design in the center of each.  Each of these finds could serve as stunning wall hangings, especially the daisy plates when presented as a trio.

There was one near-disastrous moment:  having completed my transaction (with the Goth-Girl clerk manning the register), I attempted to place the box full of newfound bounty into the shopping cart for transport to the awaiting Passat.  !  My hand slipped, and the carton slammed into the bottom of the cart.  I was convinced that I had cracked at least a few of the treasured Royal Albert china plates.  However, upon my inspection back home, it was revealed that all items had survived my moment of clutziness.  I had miraculously evaded Lady D’s curse! 

Now, Diana and I are in negotiations regarding how The Eleven are to be divided; she insists that she should hand over her single plate in order to keep the set intact (and to escape their impending doom that being in her possession ensures).  I, however, contend that the vintage wealth should be distributed, and a set of eight would suffice for me.  Indeed, disposition of the dozen is a task best suited for King Soloman.

Fave Source Alert: Yesterday’s Rose

Yet again, BFF Diana struck gold! The Lady D informed me of a most delightful trove for vintage treasures in Fairfax, Virginia: Yesterday’s Rose (doesn’t the name itself conjure lovely images of times gone by?) is a wondrously cavernous thrift shop located in a nondescript strip mall in NoVA. Diana, who has lived in the general vicinity for the better part of 30 years, had often passed by the shop’s location, but had only recently ventured in. And what a fortuitous visit it turned out to be!

A few weeks ago, the Lady D texted me pics of several glorious chairs; upon my immediate and exuberant response, she informed me that they had been discovered at the Rose. Even through the haziness of the low resolution photo, I could tell these were items that warranted closer inspection. However, I was unable to join Diana in a visit to the Rose til last Saturday – which just happened to be “1/2 off Furniture Day”!!!!

We arrived uncharacteristically early (for me, anyway), before the shop opened its doors. As we sat in the Passat (which had been de-cluttered for the occasion, in anticipation of filling it with newfound bounty) reading a décor magazine (naturally!), I happened to glance up and exclaimed to Diana, “Oh my God, people are lining up to get in!”. Hastily we bolted out of the cargo van (um, I mean ‘Passat’) and rushed to beat another wave of approaching vintage décor scavengers.

When the doors opened minutes later, it was as if we were shoppers at a Walmart Midnight Madness sale! Everyone pushed through the double doors, rushing to claim the pieces they’d apparently scoped out the day before. As we fought through the throng, Diana remembered to shout to me the rule of the day: “Tear off the tickets of any piece of furniture you want!”, which allows you to claim the item without having to drag it to the register. Following Diana’s lead, I started snatching tickets with wild abandon – until the suitably gruff elderly man working the floor informed us that we were to tear off only the lower portion of the tag, not the entire tag. Oops. We ended up losing precious moments trying to retrace our steps to reattach tickets. (We felt like such amateurs!)

Although some ground was lost, the Lady D’s early recon had mapped out the last known location of the targeted spoils: an amazing rattan and cane chair of generous proportions; a side table with birds-eye veneered top; and a delightfully comfortable rattan glider chair. Having claimed these items immediately as part of our potential haul, we were free to wander about and pick through the other assorted goods. I was truly fortunate to be standing near a lady when she decided not to purchase a most lovely find, and thus able to claim it as my own: a Baker loveseat with down cushions, covered in a plaid silk. Although the tattered arms indicated the piece had been favored by a feline companion of the previous owner, the rest of the upholstery as well as the overall structure were perfectly intact. MINE!

While the air of Yesterday’s Rose was so infused as to induce multiple bouts of Vintage Vertigo, there was one note of sadness….In a wide-open space between the linens (NOT on sale that day, BTW) and the children’s clothing, sat a faded lady: a Duncan-Phyfe sofa. Tattered and torn, springs exposed, yet majestic and commanding, the spectacular piece was patiently awaiting rescue. As I appropriately fawned over her, I was forced to consider the sheer size of the piece – was there any way in Hades that she would fit into the Passat? Armed with the ever-present tape measure, I proceeded to take detailed measurements from all angles. After several trips to-and-from the Passat, I once again had to acknowledge defeat – the Passat’s cargo space was woefully inadequate. Memories of the French Settee melodrama resurfaced.

After several hours in Yesterday’s Rose (and having claimed several other miscellany), Diana and I proceeded to load a portion of the day’s bounty into the Passat (sadly, sans Duncan-Phyfe). And while I had successfully claimed the lovely Baker loveseat, I was forced to leave it behind til it could be retrieved a few days later (many measurements indicated that this piece could indeed be accommodated by le Passat). However, this slight inconvenience did not cause consternation….After all, the following Monday was the last day of the month, which at Yesterday’s Rose means the entire store is HALF-OFF!!! Stay tuned for details of that excursion!