This week’s treasures are all about the 1950s and vintage kitty cats. Here we have the Holt Howard ‘Cozy Kittens’ salt and pepper shakers and the ashtray that actually stills ‘meows’. The blue cats are just neat and really retro along with the Siamese kitty cat shakers. I love the Lefton ‘Miss Priss’ divided dish and milk pitcher. Lots of goodies for the kitty cat lover!!
You can find all these items and more:
The truth is, I can’t stay away from antique malls, flea markets, or estate sales and feel a real ‘need’ to visit these places at least a couple times a month. The weather here in Northern California’s wine country has been pretty rainy but today was dry and sunny and after we ran our errands we headed to the quaint town of Healdsburg to Mill Street Antiques. There were lots of shoppers and the booths didn’t really have great sales. Also, looked like several booths were on the way out/closing down and that might mean new dealers taking occupancy soon (another reason to visit after the New Year to see what the new booths have). My husband found several cool vintage cameras and books and I found these adorable Lefton Ballerina wall plaques, vintage 1950s poodles, vintage linens with embroidered Scottie dogs and horses, vintage hankies and a vintage Napco Christmas spaghetti poodle dog figurine and I was really happy!!
As 2012 quickly comes to an end, I am thinking about 2013 and my dream job – my dream job would be to travel around the country to antique malls, flea markets, estate sales, and private residences touring the locations, meeting the collectors, vendors and dealers, talking about the goodies/treasures in each of the locations, how and what started people building collections and film it all….putting together a sort of ‘day trip’ guide or ‘best of’ show on what each town has to offer. Hmmmm, I recall a very wise woman once saying “find what it is you love to do and turn it into a job”. Wishing you all a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2013!!
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Sometimes you find the best things when you are able to ‘sneak away’ for a bit. Here are a couple of the sweetest vintage Poodle dog figurines I came across and the big one is one poodle I have never seen before as it has red rhinestone eyes, a rhinestone collar and fur on ears and paws, and all ceramic! The beautiful vintage black Lefton Poodle has an amazing little face in person and the cute vintage white spaghetti poodle with a khaki green color on its spaghetti is one I haven’t seen before either. Also, I couldn’t resist these anthropomorphic veggie and fruit head cuties!! A Vintage PY Strawberry planter and a vinage ESD Turnip or is it an Apple planter, these two make me smile. Hope you are all finding goodies this weekend!!
Visited a couple antique shops and thrift stores this past weekend down in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square area it was the “same old same old” stuff I saw when I first moved down here almost six months ago. Kinda disapointing as this is exactly the time of year that I am out searching for vintage 1940s-1960s Chirstmas items like tablecloths, Napco and Lefton Christmas figurines and mercury glass ornaments and found nothing. Ok, in all honesty I did see a 1950s old Christmas tree stand (pictured). I still had a really good time as the day was gorgeous (I am starting to understand why people love California) and my husband was so sweet and came with me and in one shop the booth owner really took a liking to him and wouldn’t let him leave as he had so much to “talk” about regarding old post cards. Hope you all had a fun weekend and found some great stuff!! Click on the pics to enlarge.
Happy New Year!! With the start of the New Year, its time to start thinking about what to collect or what are the hot 2011 collectibles. Here you will read our top ten 2011 collectible picks.
Coins: the older the coin is, the more valuable it is because more minerals were used to make old coins.
Stamps: Very popular amongst collectors. Accessible and fairly easy to come by. Internet makes communicating with collectors easy and searching for rare stamps easier.
Coca Cola: Tins, Signs, Trays, Memorabilia….most all Coke items are collectible but do research to be aware of what the mass-produced items are.
Cookie Jars: Pottery cookie jars, Character cookie jars, Movie Memorabilia cookie jars, pretty much this genre is far reaching and there are so many online resources for research and collector’s clubs so starting with cookie jars or adding to a collection is pretty easy.
Salt and Pepper Shakers: Another area that has so many themes and genres from kitchen Anthropomorphic fruits and veggies, to animals and people from vintage to Made in Japan, Norcrest, Lefton, Napco and PY etc.. S&Ps are also still one of the most affordable collectibles too.
Aprons and Kitchen Linens: Tea towels, Tablecloths, Napkins Hand towels etc…
Books and Comic Books: These can really be worth big $$$ if you know what to look for!! Again, the Internet today makes collecting and researching so much easier and contacting other collectors is at your fingertips.
Action Figures: From Star Wars, G.I. Joe, X-Men, Transformers etc.. Conventions held yearly and lots of clubs to join make collecting action figures hot!!
Maps and Post Cards: Map collecting has always been popular but it is really gaining a surge now. Everything from World maps to country maps to maps of Disneyland and Cape Cod and Nantucket are collectible now.
Wine: Filling your wine cellar with rare and old bottles has always been sought after and collecting wines from all over the world as well as their labels and unique bottle shapes has a lot of appeal for collectors.
Do you collect Lefton Miss Priss pieces? Did you know that Lefton’s Miss Priss was made in Japan from the 1950s-1973 and include various pieces in the product pattern. The Miss Priss product line that I have seen features a cookie jar, double tidbit tray, sugar and creamer, teapot, wall pocket, salt and pepper shakers, jam jar, tea bag holder, children’s bowl, covered butter dish, spoon rest with shaker, head vases and there are probably more.
Lefton Miss Priss is not just for the cat collector as she is a lovely kitty cat crafted by the Lefton artisans of yesteryear to showcase her expressive face and animated features. Miss Priss is exquisitely detailed in colors of pinks and blues and usually has a bow either tied on her collar or neck. Miss Priss is sure to brighten any home and kitchen with her sweet charm! Why by new when vintage and retro collectibles from the 1950s – 1970s are so colorful, durable, and have charm and history!