Congratulations to commenter #20, Jeannine @ Small and Chic
Jeannine @ Small and Chic Says:
April 5th, 2010 at 4:32 pm e
I think they’d be perfect on my desk. I looove these little guys!
You’re the lucky winner of the ceramic owls. Please use the Contact Teot link at the top and send us your mailing address and Alia from Sweetshorn will get those owls shipped out to you.
Thanks to everyone who commented!
Ione Skye’s home featured in Domino a couple of years ago has always been one of my favorites. So laid back modern and so California.
When I saw this vintage Morrocan rug at Sweetshorn Vintage, the pillows on Skye’s sofa popped in to my head again.
Such a sweet find Alia! This rug screams California bohemian. Buy it here before I do.
Our friend Alia from Sweetshorn Vintage has offered these sweet little ceramic owls to one of our readers. These little guys would be a great accessory in a grown up setting or in a child’s room.
All you have to do is leave a comment and tell us where you might place these little owls in your home. The lucky winner will be announced next Monday.
Additionally, Alia has extended a 20% discount to TEOT readers through Sunday. To receive the discount enter the code TEOT at checkout.
Thanks Alia!
Alia from Sweetshorn Vintage has written this installment of Etsy Seller of the Week.
I have a major design crush on my online friend Helen Dardik. Her bright and colorful works are cheerful without being too cutesy. Her colorful prints are featured in her adorable (not to mention affordable) Etsy shop. Her drool-worthy home tour on Design Sponge revealed a sunny decor I would love to recreate in my home.
I am in love with her design aesthetic and it has me planning my future nursery already! Check out her blog to see her illustrations and pattern design. Her website also features sweet handmade toys that adults and children alike would love.
Fall is less about yard sales and more about estate sale shopping. The advantages are many and I find even if I leave a home empty-handed, I almost always come away with a fresh perspective on interior design. They are like snapshots from another time.
Armed with my bag: small camera, tape measure, notebook with my paint samples/fabric swatches, alcohol-free baby wipes (good for checking if an item can be cleaned or is too gunky to be salvaged).
This is how I approach a sale:
Take a cue from Cher in Clueless and do an entire lap before you commit. My first lap is for scouting out the items that I need for the shop or want for my home and must grab immediately (cathrineholm, white porcelain figurines, etc.).
My second lap is for really digging and making sure that I have checked the top shelf of every closet and looked under every table in every room. Look in the bathrooms too! Sometimes they display additional jewelry or small pieces there. Use your peripheral vision.
On my third time around just do another lap to be sure nothing has been put back, moved or otherwise unseen while Ive been running around all sweaty and nervous trying to score the goods. I recently found this amazing collection of vintage Japanese kokeshi dolls and bought them all for the shop. They are available now and one lucky reader will be chosen on Friday to receive their own little doll.
If you find THE item (my fantasy PUCCI dress Rutthie Sommers wore on the first cover of Domino) remain calm! Although you want to shriek and dive on the object you must remain calm. I have been in situations in which my total spaz-out caused the shop owner to become suspicious and actually tell me the price was mis-marked and try to double it! Yikes!
The way to get the best stuff is by shopping the first day where you get first dibs on full-price items. When it is a larger sale I usually swing by on the last day too to take advantage of deep discounts and make offers on bulk purchases like holiday decor or amazing clothes they really want to get rid of.
I also like to get to know the people in town that hold estate sales. Get added to their mailing list and say hello. It will make a difference when they add up your purchase and they are more likely to take a check for larger items or hold items while you get more cash.
I want to see what this week’s hunting trips bring so I promise to share with you my past and present favorites and hope our readers will do the same. I love junkin’ by proxy.
Happy Tuesday, All and good hunting!
xoxo Alia
Catch Alia’s first How To Thrift Post here.
I go to thrift stores and estate sales every week in search of items both for my home and my Etsy shop. In the years I have spent dragging junk home I have narrowed down the best ways to do it. These are the essential rules for getting the goods.
Be nice.
I say hello when I go in a store, I help when someone is struggling with a heavy object and I try and buy even a little something every time. This will pay off on future visits. Shop owners will often put aside items they know I like or offer me a discount on a larger purchase without my having to ask.
Don’t dress like you have money to burn.
This is pretty obvious: don’t dress like a rich hipster or break out a wad of twenties when you’ve just haggled something down to 7 bucks; it’s insulting to the seller.
Don’t haggle when the price is good.
Some people insist on haggling over every item. If you think a price is fair and you love the item, cough up the cash. Again, you want to build a relationship with the sellers and showing them respect will earn their trust.
If you’re iffy about something grab it.
It doesn’t cost anything to stick it in your cart while you decide. Walking past something you aren’t sure about only to have it snatched up by someone else once you’ve made up your mind will haunt you. Forever.
Bring your own shopping bags.
This makes for much easier toting of stuff while you shop and you won’t be overloaded with yucky plastic bags. at the end of the day.
If you are in Eastern North Carolina and want to know my favorite haunts, I am more than happy to share them. You can see some of the spoils from my jaunts in my Etsy shop - SWEETSHORN VINTAGE and have fun on your next outing!
Sarah and I are both pretty excited to have wrangled Alia Teetshorn from Sweetshorn Vintage. She is now a returning guest author here at The Estate of Things, and will regularly be providing us all with her tidbits of thrifty wisdom.
If you aren’t already familiar with her beautiful ETSY shop, please visit now for a peak. Not only is this woman a wizard when it comes to picking out fantastic thrift store finds, she also impresses the crap out of us with her presentation of products.
Alia will be posting as often as she darn well pleases, and may decide to talk to you about thrifting, renovating her own home, cruising ebay, how to find color inspiration….. she may even drop some knowledge on you about her cat and/or renee zellweger. We told her she could tell you whatever she wants.
So, without further ado - a Warm Welcome to Alia. We are so glad to have her here as a regular part of The Estate of Things!
