Sunday, September 4, 2011

$10 Antiquing

Living in an older home has given me an appreciation of older things. I've always loved objects more when they have a history and I love shopping, so antiquing was a natural fit for me. Encouraged by the hand-painted signs in town directing people towards a flea market gathering of vendors selling their good and wears I happened upon quite a few finds for $10.00 or less.

My first stop brought me to the booths, local vendors renting out space with pop up tents lining what normally serves as a parking lot. I have always had a fascination with lights and lamps so when this blue glass number caught my eye I had to see the price. With a $10 price tag and my previous knowledge of lamp wiring kits it had to be mine. Especially since the cric (the toothed metal sprocket that adjusts the height of the wick) was in good shape and was adjusted with considerable ease.

What a Bright Addition!


At the next booth I spied these coffee and tea jars and they were a steal at $5 for both.

A little clear nail polish to fix a small crack, two large rubber washers and these jadeite babies are ready to go!


Next I hit the mother-lode. To think of all the wasted days I have driven by and never stopped at the Descanso Mercantile before! The shop is tucked next to the more famous local eatery, the Descanso Junction. The mercantile is a very cute very small yellow building that looks like a mash-up of everything country from the front gate and entry to the "themed" rooms where you can browse merchandise that all has a common feel. Looking for cabin accents? There's a room for that. Vintage cookware? Country Garden? You better believe it! There were so many items crammed together onto the shelves, onto the floor, hanging from the ceiling that even the smallest person in the place would feel like a bull in a china shop. But that just means there is so much good stuff to browse.
Here is a story and video that CBS San Diego ran on the shop almost a year ago.

My budget didn't allow for big purchases but what I got using their summer discount was this incredible copper teapot with a wooden handle from Portugal for $10.44. The perfect touch we will need on our new wood burning stove (check posts in the coming months for an update on that).

I can't wait to make hot chocolate with you on a snowy winter day!

Thus concludes my vintage binge for the time being, if you want to check out the Mercantile for their goods and ever-changing assortment of interesting things, you might just run into me ogling the vintage cookware! The address: 8306 California 79, Descanso, CA 91916-9640

Happy Shopping!

2 comments:

  1. The lamp looks even better then it did at the market. I think it is a toss up between the lamp and the tea pot.

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  2. I think the lamp wins right now, I gave it a little shine once I got it back to the house, but once I shine up the teapot with a little copper cleaner it will be the perfect compliment to our wood burning stove!!

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