I have really slowed down my vintage buying in recent years. Actually, I’ve been trying to buy fewer things overall.
I’m in the process of an epic de-cluttering here in the lakehouse, but I will always love beautiful things. I love finding the perfect piece for my home, or helping someone else find the perfect piece for their home. Sharing vintage finds with people through my Etsy shop has been such an interesting way to connect with people. Happy customers have written to me and explained why they bought a certain item, and so often it’s because something reminded them of a loved one or cherished memory. I’ve sold Pyrex bowls to complete sets handed down by a grandmother, replaced a family heirloom that was broken, and helped complete collections started by loved ones. Many times I’ve sent a purchase directly to someone’s friend or family member as a gift – I’ve even wrapped gifts and written accompanying cards with the touching words relayed by the sender.
Even though right now I’m struggling to find that balance between the stuff I love and too much stuff, I will always relate to how things can connect us to people and memories – and make us smile!
After a loooooong hiatus, my Etsy shop is open once again and I’m so excited for the stories I’ll hear this time around.
The shops is smaller than usual, but I’ll be adding many more listings in the coming weeks. There are some major changes to the shop: I’m no longer running the shop with my Mom and Mummu. I decided to go it alone because it was just way too complicated to figure out who I owed what to, and it was difficult for them to help me with photographing, listing, packaging, and mailing items because I live so far away. We might join forces again in the future, but for now the Etsy shop is all mine. Another update: I accept many more forms of payment now – pretty much anything, in addition to PayPal, which used to be the only method of payment I accepted.
I have only just started listing items, so be sure to follow the shop for updates. I’ll be trying to list 5-10 new pieces a week. I’ll be sharing sneak peeks occasionally here, but mostly on Instagram (I love Instagram Stories for that).
As always, there’s never any pressure to buy anything and I’ll keep the shop updates to a minimum, but if something does catch your eye, remember that readers always get 15% off – just use the coupon code “DANSLELAKEHOUSE2018“.
Some of the items in today’s Treasure Hunting Report were purchased for the shop, but I did nab a few things for me! If you follow me on Instagram, you already saw this mid-century modern lamp update: I finally found the perfect Lotte fiberglass shade for my yellow Lotte lamp! When I purchased the lamp, it didn’t have a shade so I added a simple white drum shade.
When my Mom and I traded the two blue Lotte lamps in my living room for my three yellow ones, Mom didn’t love my shade selection and ended up packing the yellow lamp away. Determined to help her love it, I found the exact shade we needed on Kijiji – but in Waterloo, ON! Luckily my sweet Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to drive an hour to pick up the shade and then mail it to us.
The lamp is now reunited with its proper shade and looks amazing.
I also found a vintage Melitta coffee pot for myself! (Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz invented the coffee filter in 1908). I had always loved my Mom’s vintage Melitta porcelain pour-over coffee brewer because the coffee pot has a clever slit in the spout which prevents dripping. I even spent $60 on Amazon buying a new version (of course it’s a lot less expensive now, harumph), only to discover it no longer had that unique spout design! So imagine my glee when I found this beauty for $2 at the Sally Ann. I have never, in all of my thrifting, come across one and this is in mint condition. I’ve been stockpiling the cones for years in case mine breaks, so I have a spare for this coffee pot. I hate when my hoarding is rewarded.
I also scooped up a turquoise Fiesta tray – I think it goes under the cream and sugar? I had been on the hunt for a turquoise plate to photograph food and treats for the blog and this will be perfect.
It’s also my one and only piece of Fiestaware.
For the shop, I found the prettiest Melitta cream and sugar set, made in Germany, with a stunning indigo blue design, plus a Rosti Denmark kitchen utensil set in cheery yellow – these melamine utensils are no longer made in Denmark so this was a rare find, especially because they appear unused.
Just a few cute finds last week, but I have been secretly stockpiling shop goodies so this is just a taste. You can see the rest of my current listings by clicking here, but stay tuned for more! I’ll be listing a lot more vintage finds, including some pieces from my own collections…
Here’s that coupon code again, just in case: DANSLELAKEHOUSE2018.
Oooh! You have very good luck treasure hunting! I'm pretty sure your Fiesta piece is called a celery tray. The creamer and sugar plates have an indent in the tray between the "pots" to hold them in place better – I have an old cobalt celery tray that I keep my earrings in on my dresser and a new white Fiesta creamer/sugar combo – with the indents.
Yay! Thanks for identifying that Fiesta piece! I’ve never collected it so it’s a whole new world for me. I’m actually glad it’s not a part of something, but a stand alone piece! Now I don’t have to look for its friends, lol. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with me 🙂
Oh, that's funny. When I saw the Fiesta piece I immediately thought corn dish. It looks like an ear of corn will fit there nicely.
Now I can't un-see that! Yes – this would be so perfect for corn on the cob.
I'm laughing at your comment that you are trying to not buy as much but then you bought this and this and this…. sounds like me.
See, that’s the beauty of an Etsy shop: those purchases don’t count, lol. I already sold the cream and sugar haha. Such a struggle because I love pretty things but I have had to slow my roll.