Thrift Share Monday - Little Shop for Japan

French Buttons with a patent date of 1880 on the back.

I went thrifting this weekend but with a very heavy heart. My thoughts kept drifting back to the Earthquake and the devastating Tsunami in Japan. I thought about Cerys's Japanese Teacher and wondered if she was in Japan or in the states. I thought about the gentleman that I recently shipped a mid century modern clock to in Japan. I thought about all the people who've not only lost their homes, their cars and all their belongings but their friends and family. I know with each tragedy that we face in the world we can only do a little to help.

I haven't filled Little Shop with items this week. I'm completely overwhelmed at the moment with barely a moment to take a deep breath. I only have one item for Little Shop which is another set of matryoshka dolls which I know you love.

All sales from Little Shop this week will go directly to helping Japan. You can choose any charity that you wish. I just ask that you send me a copy of your receipt. I'll pay for the shipping of the item. This includes any current inventory in Little Shop. If you are local and have some things to donate to Little Shop please email me.

Russian Matryoshka Dolls (6 nesting dolls) $20 (I'll pay shipping - all proceeds go to a charity of your choice to help Japan) - be the first to comment in this blog post if you are interested.

Keiran and I were set to go to San Jose on Saturday for a rummage sale. We had plans to meet Sunita, another blogger and thrifter. We left the house a little after 6 am and arrived in San Jose at 8 am. Keiran and I loved watching dawn as the sun rise among the coastal hills. We loved seeing the fog nestled in the valleys. We got excited crossing over the bridges as we could see San Francisco in the distance.

When we arrived at the fairgrounds for the 22nd Rummage Sale for the Junior League of San Jose, we found a very long line. With our cart we made our way to the end of the line and enjoyed a breakfast of cold bacon and boiled eggs. Sunita found us soon after and we were able to swap thrifting stories as well as our excitement about the rummage sale. Neither of us had ever been to this sale before.

The hour went by quickly and finally the line moved forward. Keiran and I darted to the book area where I began to shop for books. I found some wonderful inventory and the prices were very affordable.

Small Denby Teapot - Pattern Camelot

After the books we hit the dishes, clothing, toys and electronics. It was pretty hard work with Keiran. He's helpful but in a large crowded area I had to spend a lot of time focusing on him. Next year it would be ideal to have Cerys spend the night with a friend and Dave & Keiran help me at the sale. We still had a lovely time and it was interesting to thrift in a different area.

We decided to drive up the peninsula to head home with our GPS set for an estate sale in Redwood City. I found the El Camino Real and we headed north. We next found an estate sale in Sunnyvale.

I found some old Key Punch Cards for $1. I'm going to use them for selling items at the flea market. Maybe wrap vintage lace around or for buttons that I sell. I don't know how many I have but this stack measured nearly 4 inches tall. It was interesting to attend an estate sale out of the area. This company had hand carts for shoppers and holding boxes under tables in the front room. And they took Visa which I think is very cool.

Two vintage Head Forms for making Hats

After the estate sale we saw a sign that said Vintage Sale. I turned quickly in the direction of the sign and we found ourselves at the Sunnyvale Lace Museum. The woman who talked me into buying them (she offered 2 for 1) said that they needed recovering. I love them as they are though. I was very surprised to see that they sold for a nice price on eBay. One sold for $72. Another French one sold for $145. They probably look odd but there's something about them that I adore.

The Lace Museum was just lovely and was filled with items for sale that were donated by their members. They had bins of lace, napkins, books, needles, toys and buttons. I loved telling the lace members that the children's grandmother was a lace maker in England and they were delighted to hear that Keiran is a lace maker. You could see how much love they had for this incredible art. You can follow them on Facebook here. They also offer lacemaking classes for children. Bobbin Lace is such a fun craft and while it does take patience it's a wonderful art to share with your children.

We moved on and found a garage sale hosted by Whole Foods of all places. Clothes were 4 for $1 and they had new Bamboo flatware sets for $3.

What we loved about the day was the fact that we just stumbled upon the unexpected. Who would have thought that we'd end up at a vintage sale at a Lace Museum and in the parking lot thrifting at Whole Foods?

Little Music Box with a swinging door that opens to reveal this guy. $4 (for Keiran)

Our last estate sale was in Redwood city where we found this music box. We left for home after the sale and arrived home around 12 hours after we left. The car wasn't loaded with inventory but we certainly had found enough to pay for the trip and make a nice profit.

All Sale from Little Shop this week go to helping Japan.

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.

We Thrift  - We Share

Here are some guidelines if you would like to join Thrift Share:

• Your Thrift Share Monday blog post should include your thrifted finds from the weekend.
• Create a blog post with photos of your items.
• Link your Thrift Share Monday post back to Apron Thrift Girl.
• Link to your Thrift Share Monday post on Apron Thrift Girl using inlinkz below.
• If you participate with Thrift Share Monday regularly, please add this button to your side bar so that we can build our Thrift Share Community.

Don't forget to visit Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.

Comments

[Cheryl Comfort]

I picked up one of those hat forms last summer for $5. I love it :-)The buttons you scored are fabulous.

I am wanting to open an etsy store. Have you ever blogged about how you figure out what to charge for shipping a package on you blog? If so, I'd like to read it lol
~Cheryl

[Nicole Poole]

It's difficult to get inspired about little pretty finds in the face of such devastation, and I really appreciate your keeping it in the forefront. You teach me a lot about heart, dearheart. I'm all over the dolls. Please let me know how to purchase them, if they're still available. Thanks again.

[Van]

I wish I was local so I could donate tons of items to your Little Shop. I've been thinking of Japan all weekend too, and have been cooking up fundraiser ideas.

I love the teapot and the little jail music box you found! Good luck keeping up with everything amid your daily chaos! (And then some!)

[monogirl]

Those forms look exactly like the well loved ones I have at work! We use them for styling wigs. I like the older ones, it's easier to put pins into them when the sawdust has broken down. You can buy new ones for about $40, but I can see why the vintage ones go for more on eBay.

[Angela]

Have you seen the video of the tsunami AS it was happening? It's heartbreaking.

It does sound like you had my ideal thrifting weekend! I like the easy-going stumbling pace much better than the mad frantic pace. :)

[Dee]

Are the dolls for sale? I will take them!!!

[woolf]

such a wonderful, unexpected day's outing you've had! those really are the best.
yes, the heads are amazing, a tad eerie too...
how thoughtful of you to donate. it's all we can do, but it does mean a lot.
n♥

[rae]

i want those dolls! ;)

[Renee]

I'm insanely jealous of those head forms although I would call them wig heads because that's what I've used them for before in the costume shop. Whatever you call them I would totally snap one up if I ever found one *sigh*

I've been thinking about donations and such as well this week and trying not to let the horrible events in Japan effect my whole mood especially in regards to my family. Every donation helps even if it feels like only a little bit.

[Apryl]

beautiful buttons. I hope you keep them and make something special with them. I would. I did gather a few bits from the charity shops this week. I will blog about them in a little while. I also listed a little matroyska fabric doll in my etsy shop to sell for the Red Cross Earthquake and Tsunami Fund. I don't know if she will sell but she has been added to a few treasuries so maybe someone will buy her so a bit of money can help those in need.

[Shara]

Sounds like you had a fun weekend. Some of my best sales in California were in Palo Alto & Redwood City. I would have gone more often, but had a hard time with the drive. I love everything you found!

[dogsmom]

Still no sales to speak of locally for me. 2 thrift shops did have clothing clearances though. For $3 we could fill a small plastic grocery bag. While many people were trying to stuff in sweaters and jackets, I picked up several new with tags infants outfits. Hopefully I can sell each for a few dollars, a bargain to someone else, and use the funds to shop again.

[megan]

I loved reading about your thrifting adventures down in my area, but I am wondering where you get all your rummage and estate sale notices. Craigslist has not been coming through for me with that information lately, even if I search for estate or rummage in the south bay. Should I be looking at newspapers too? Glad you enjoyed your traveling thrift adventure. And the lace museum! Isn't that place so unexpected and cool?

[Selena Cate]

Well it was sort of funny how I came to learn about the Rummage Sale. I was in a thrift store of all places in Sonoma when I heard on the radio about the largest garage sale on earth rummage sale. I heard that San Jose was mentioned so I did a quick search on my phone and found the dates and info. I usually look at the newspaper, notice boards and craigslist to find sales. This one though was purely by chance.
xoxo
Selena

[sraikh]

hey
I think I have stuff I can offer to you for selling in the store.

Let's see
An old thermos?
Some lace and sewing notions
Oh fabric?

Also I really want to talk to you about selling at the antique/flea market(I sound so stalkerish don't I)
EMAIL ME ...:)

[Linda@Coastal Charm]

I'm watching the news about Japan right now and my heart is breaking for all of them. Thanks for hosting:)

Blessings,
Linda

[In the Hammock Blog]

You're doing a really great thing for Japan this week.

[Claire]

What gorgeous buttons. And the milliner's stands are divine.

Japan - it's just too much.

[manateestoybox]

That music box is pretty awesome. Does it play a western tune? Anyway - I'm a new reader, and a new blogger. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in my first thrift share Monday! You've also inspired me to open an etsy store - I've already had a couple of sales and am very excited about it. Thanks!

[Barbara]

The buttons are gorgeous Selena, I can just imagine them adorning some lovely old costume.
Just listening to the radio 4 news about the discovery of communities that have been completely laid to waste in Japan. The news about the power plant is terrible. They may be a rich country but without a doubt they still need financial support from the rest of the world. Well done for doing something.

[Music Boxes]

That music box was a real find for that price!!

[Apron]

Hi, I have just visited your site and the info you have covered has been of great interest to me.

[Web Design]

These kind of courses are very important to the society that we live in if these kind of courses were start before the situation was much batter