Barcelona Chair

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to make several trips back to one of my favorite vintage stores, the Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor, MI. Low and behold, one of these had just arrived in the store...

The Barcelona chair was originally designed by architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and Lily Reich for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. It was put into production by Knoll as a piece of furniture in the 1930s through the 1950s; and has now become a piece that is an icon of mid century modern design. I was pleasantly surprised to find this one at the Treasure Mart; appearing to be an original, and looking a tad beat up in terms of the leather on its lower cushion. If I could've purchased it for my Etsy store, I would've done it in a second as it was very reasonably priced at $525 and these chairs can easily sell for up to $1200.  Alas, I couldn't have gotten it to Oregon, and my brothers did not feel like taking on the task of shipping it from Chicago, so I had to leave it there. It was heartbreaking!

New to the Shop - Antique Mason Jar

I found this gorgeous very old Mason jar at the Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor. There is just something about these old jars that makes me happy. Add some peach roses and you have one of my favorite color combinations...

Drift Creek Falls - Oregon Coast

Time to share with y'all about what I did over my Christmas break. I did some more vintage shopping, of course, but I'll get to that in a later post. This previous weekend, I was visited by my best friend (another Katie whom I've known since diapers) and her husband. When looking for things to do, I mentioned that there was a hike not far from my house in Lincoln City, Oregon that has always been on my "Oregon Bucket List" (i.e. things to do before I leave Oregon). Drift Creek Falls is a beautiful, family-friendly hike down to a suspension bridge overlooking a lovely waterfall. The only irritating part about this excursion was the 12 mile drive to the trailhead from Highway 101 up a narrow twisting logging road. Other than that, it was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day...see for yourself.

 Moss covered trees on the Drift Creek Falls Trail.

 Drift Creek Falls as seen from the suspension bridge over the falls.

Walking across the suspension bridge. Beware that this bridge is not for the faint of heart when it comes to heights...it wobbles!

Modern Desk with a Vintage Touch

One of my very first posts on this blog was about a lovely Asian fretwork desk topper that I found while treasure hunting in Traverse City, Michigan at Wilson Antiques. Thanks to the good folks at UPS, I finally managed to get it home to Oregon and voila!...

I had already upgraded my desk this year, with a new one from Macy's. I then had a custom glass top put on it (a necessity when you have little pets with big claws at home). When I saw the fretwork piece in Traverse City, I wasn't sure whether I was going to keep it or sell it; and if I kept it, where I would put it. Alas, this was the first place I put it and I am pretty damn pleased with it. What do you think?

BTW...in case you are curious. the lamp was also a splurge from a great store called Rejuventation. If you've never heard of it, I'd encourage you to check it out!

Flea Market Travels- Ann Arbor

As I've mentioned before, I proudly "hail" from a little midwestern college town called Ann Arbor. One of the things I loved most about living in a college town? Life was never boring. There is always some event going one; whether it be a sporting event, concert, museum exhibition, etc... associated with the University. Furthermore the diversity of faculty and students at the University make this a wonderful place to pursue one of my favorite hobbies...treasure hunting at vintage stores:)

This last visit to Ann Arbor, the good folks at Google helped me discover a place that is literally just steps away from where I attended high school in Ann Arbor, a place that I never knew about...but will now always consider a Mecca when it comes to treasure hunting. Tucked away in the posh Kerrytown section of Ann Arbor (in the shadow of the famous Zingerman's deli) is an unassuming store called the Treasure Mart. To think of all the time I spent trying to get boys to notice me in high school, when I could've been searching this three story slice of awesomeness for great vintage...my heart breaks a little bit :/.

Alas, it has been discovered by yours truly. Better late than never; and given the amount of people there on a random Monday afternoon after Thanksgiving, most of Ann Arbor has been picking this place for years. No worries, there is plenty to pick from; like these two matching Chinese prunus blossom vases that I found (and left there). My haul from this store on this day included a cathrineholm lotus teapot, a retro mod plastic desk organizer, and 2 vintage blue apothecary bottles. Once again, I was limited by this unfortunate case of pnuemonia and did not want to over-tax myself in terms of carrying things back to Oregon. Fortunately, I head back to Ann Arbor in a couple of weeks for Christmas, when I'll be rested and ready to reap the treasures at the Treasure Mart!

Flea Market Travels- Chicago/Evanston

Last week for Thanksgiving, I ended up in Evanston, IL (just north of Chicago) eating turkey with my parents, my brothers, and their friends. One of the things I love about Chicago is that this city has just as rich of a history (if not more so) than any other city in the country. Hence, I was more than a little excited to check out some flea markets and antique stores in the area.

I had identified a couple of stores before I even set foot in Chicago that I wanted to take a look at, the top of my list being the Broadway Antique Market in the northern neighborhood of Edgewater. This store was indeed impressive in terms of the quantity and quality of its selection. Indeed, if you are looking for some awesome midcentury modern pieces to furnish your home, start on the second floor of this store. However, if you are like me; an etsy seller looking for cool items at good prices to put in your store, beware as BAM a little pricey. Nonetheless, it was worth it just to see the items that they had, displayed in a nearly museum-like fashion.

A cool vintage suitcase on display at Broadway Antique Market in Chicago

 Not to be discouraged, I ended up finding a much more affordable little gem in my brother's neighborhood of Evanston on Howard Street. Lost Eras is primarily a costume and theater prop store; but don't let that fool you. This family-owned store is packed to the gills with all kinds bits of Chicago history that they are willing to sell at very reasonable prices. The store itself is dominated by old built-in cabinets that they have rescued from Chicago pharmacies. Perhaps fortunately, I was battling a case of pneumonia while I was there, otherwise I would've tried to take the whole store home with me...including this beautiful greek key mirror that I had my eye on...

In retrospect, I should've strapped it on and added the mirror to my list of conquests. However, I did manage to find a couple of smaller objects that were much easier to get home. Including this green depression glass art deco perfume bottle and Fire King glass flour canister.

I will definitely be visiting Lost Eras whenever I visit my brothers in the future!

Snow Day

I'm sure many of you are waking up to familiar scenes covered with snow this time of year. However, for those of us on the Oregon Coast; snow storms are a pretty rare event (thankfully). Nonetheless, it did snow last night...just in time for me to decorate my Christmas tree :)