Four Flops and a Masterpiece

I'm absolutely enamored with thrift shopping! I buy almost all of my clothing and housewares secondhand. While doing so, I've developed an admiration of the quirky things one often finds in a thrift store. Back when I was on Facebook, I even joined a group about it.

The group is called "Weird and Wonderful Secondhand Finds that Need to be Shared" and features only the most unique finds. I enjoyed every post from the group in my feed, and it's one of the few things I miss about the site. This made me realize, we can have that here!

I made the Secondhand Finds community today with some inspiration from the mentioned group, but decided to be much less restrictive. I wanted a place where we could celebrate the fun of secondhand shopping in general, highlighting the finds that brought us joy.

Today, I'm sharing four weird finds, and one treasure.


Just soak it in... whatever it is. I see electricity meters or perhaps small boat motors. How about you, can you identify what this canvas features with any sort of certainty?

Where do you hang something like this? What was its life like before it ended up in this Savers? Regardless, it sure wasn't coming home with me. With a brutally overconfident price tag of $6.99, I don't think it's going home with anyone else either.

Savers is a nice thrift store for finding toys and cheap books, so I was shopping there for Christmas presents. However, many of the household items you can find there are priced much steeper than other stores. It's not my fave by far.




Anomaly Number Two



Have you ever found yourself at a party drinking out of a disposable plastic cup and thought, "Shucks, this design is so lovely that there ought to be a reuseable version of it!"?

If so, boy do I have the set of your dreams here! I wish I had known that I would end up sharing these here, because I'd have taken much better photos of the whole situation on this shelf.

There were four of each item. These lovely stemmed solo cups you see here, as well as four without stems behind the bowls. To the side are martini glasses that you can sort of see, and also plates to complete the whole shebang. Fascinating.




Number Three, it's Gonna be a Nope from Me!



I laughed uncontrollably when I found this. It was quite awhile ago, but I believe it was in a Goodwill store. I remember that it was stamped from a company on the back.

It had to be a joke item, right? Like when people take the time to embroider an obscene word on a piece of cloth, surrounded by flowers and the like? I can't imagine this got through any sort of production process where it was meant to be serious without someone speaking up.

Who knows, but I had to snap a pic so I could laugh when I inevitably found the photo again. That was today, when I hunted through my phone for secondhand photos. I had actually totally forgotten about it! I now regret not buying it for someone as a gag gift.




Strange Find Four



I think Frida Kahlo is as intriguing and important in art history as the next person... This feels like way too much though, right?

I remember that it was very obviously hand sown, and that there had been some time taken into the addition of the beads by appearance. What inspired someone to create a wall tapestry in honor of Frida Kahlo? Did anyone ever find joy in it, and bring it home to affix it to their wall?

Some objects like this seem to have such a deeply personal meaning below the surface. Pondering their origins and stories is one of my favorite aspects of thrift shopping!




Aaaaaaaand.... My Treasure!

I've hidden this one because it is artwork that features the naked torso of a woman. Although I find nothing lewd about this photography, and in fact think it is even hard to spot that it isn't a landscape at a glance, I didn't want to upset anyone.

Hidden Image

 

Something made me take a second look at this framed photograph, and I'm so glad I did! This find did come home with me, and currently hangs in my living room. I've never had anyone comment on it. From a distance, it totally looks just like sand dunes.


What I find so wonderful about this piece, is that there is no photoshop used to create the bikers. The artist exclusively uses figurines, always placed on a nude model. The series, captured by artist Allan Teger, is called Bodyscapes.


Some of the others on that site would be too racy for me decor wise, but I think this one is perfectly tasteful. It is by far my favorite piece of art in my home, making me smile with its carefree energy.






Well, I hope you've enjoyed checking out some of my finds with me! Do you like shopping at thrift stores, estate sales, consignment shops, or other secondhand spaces? It would be wonderful to see you in the Secondhand Finds Community!



All photos are my own, taken with my cellphone camera.