The New Sentiment

I have always been in love with anything vintage or antique. I used to pick through my Grandma’s endless personal collection of trinkets and ask her about each item. Sometimes, if I was lucky, she would let me have something if it seemed like I really, really liked it. It’s really a wonder I havn’t become a hoarder…seriously, nobody in my family gets rid of anything unless they are giving it to someone else in my family. It’s like a vicious, endless cycle. Anyways, I have gotten to the point of too much clutter before, and I couldn’t take it so I sold almost EVERYTHING I had and wasn’t using/had no sentimental value. Now I have a very nice, very clean apartment that is delightfully clutter-free (and has remained that way ever since moving in over a year ago).

 Still, it is hard not to want to integrate all the neat things I find while thrifting and exploring various “treasure troves.” I realized that I would feel really good about purchasing these unique, different, pre-loved  items if I could find someone that could really love each item. Eventually, after watching god-knows how many episodes of American Pickers, I just decided to go ahead and open up an Etsy shop. It’s cheap to run as far as fees go, easy to moderate, and fun. Even if I am not successful, it is as much of a hobby as a business venture; almost every hobby costs money, so I am okay with that. In celebration of my new “store” my husband and I decided to take a Saturday adventure to explore a “30-mile long yard sale” which stretched from Samson, AL to DeFuniak Springs, FL. However, because it was Saturday and I am a night owl, I stayed up too late to be the early bird that catches the worm the next morning (surprise, surprise…just as my husband predicted). By the time we got to the first sale, it was 10:30am, and we could tell everything had already been picked through. The next sale, the same, and the next, the same. By noon several of the families were already packing up! So, we ended up staring at a lot of junk, but it was an adventure nonetheless. Plus, on the way we saw two box turtles crossing the road, so we stopped to take a picture. I love how grumpy turtles look, like somehow the whole world is in their way, even though they rarely seem to know where they are going. Little did the turtle know, we were trying to HELP him out of the road. We named him Wescott, he seemed regal. Hopefully Wescott stayed in the grass or went on his merry way, but we will never know! 

My Husband Josh & Wescott the Turtle

 I did find a couple of cool things, although it took some digging, and I didn’t get the best prices. I really think that people are starting to understand that their throw-aways are actually worth something thanks to reality television shows. This is a good and a bad thing…people are less likely to get duped and taken advantage of now, which is great, but they are also more hesitant to let items go that they do not care about in the least. I am really not in the treasure hunting game for the money, the time I spend finding, listing, selling, packaging, and shipping far outweighs the monetary payback. The thing is, I like to find vintage items that I think someone will really love…things that need a new home (just not mine)! What’s important to me is the sentimental value. Like I said, collecting and selling is more of a hobby than a business. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people that make a living off of vintage resale, but I don’t think I want to head in that direction. I don’t even mind taking offers for less. As long as I have enough money to keep going forward with the hobby, I am happy! 

 My favorite find this time was a really beautiful gold locket with an enamel insert. (I am already getting attached to it - eek! I better sell it soon!) It is sososo pretty. I bought it from an old man who said he got it from an estate sale years and years ago. The man said it was pretty old. I just love it. Here is a picture:

I am selling it for $35, but will consider other offers! 

Click here for the shop listing.

Also feel free to click the etsy link on the side banner to see my other items for sale, you might just see something that would go perfectly in your home or collection!