Bitossi Vase & Rooster
Summer is going by so quickly.
Almost too quickly.
I have still so much to do. My goal for the summer is to clear out the house and garage. Luckily this weekend we had a garage sale which brought us in a nice chunk of money and gave us space to sort, organize and purge.
And luckily while my lovely husband and daughter worked the sale, Keiran and I were out thrifting. In the last month Keiran's thrift intuition and skills have improved ten fold. Twice now I've handled something and put it down only to find him picking it up and pointing out the important facts of "14k" or "sterling."
Sunday morning I couldn't decide whether to head to the flea market or go to an estate sale. He gave me the sage advice to head to the estate sale since the prices will be better and not sold by dealers. I felt like I was having a discussion with a 20 year old and not a 9 year old. We headed to the estate sale where I found four of these chairs waiting for me.
Turquoise Fiberglass Chairs made by Krueger (a direct competitor to the Eames designed chair) $2 for all four! (picture was taken right we we arrived home - so they have yet to be cleaned)
They have some rust on the frames but overall the fiberglass is in pretty good condition and the coloring is superb. They will be perfect around our patio table. Keiran and I are going to start working on them. Do any of you have experience with removing surface rust?
Saturday morning we went to an estate sale where I was delighted to find these:
Nearly a year ago I had found a few pieces of this Lyon Cortez at our local thrift store. Ten months since my desire to own this set I was able to win two relatively inexpensive auctions on eBay as well as my find two days ago. My set is practically complete now. The best thing about collecting this flatware is that it is very desirable which means that if I ever need money, I can turn it around and sell it. I'm hoping that I won't ever have to but it's nice to have a little savings account in my silverware drawer.
It was a perfect Retro weekend.
Did you go thrifting this weekend?
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Don't forget to visit Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.
For the surface rust, I just use a sandpaper block, sandpaper wrapped around a sponge. I sand until I see fresh clean metal then either spray paint or just spray a clear coat on it to stop new rust. I have also used Naval Jelly to remove rust on hard to sand metal objects. Good luck.
Posted by: Shanna | July 11, 2011 at 06:34 AM
I've used coke and aluminum foil for the surface rust on my daughters bike. Crumple up a small piece of the foil. Dip it in dome coke and scrub the rust. We sealed it with a clear coat. Good luck :)
Posted by: Morgen | July 11, 2011 at 06:42 AM
Hey Selena! I agree, summer is flying by too fast. We have long summers where we live, but I want to squeeze in more beach trips and adventures before summer leaves!
You've created a little reselling/vintage expert in Keiran! You must be proud. Your posts about thrifing with him remind me to drag my nieces and nephews out with me, they would -love- thrifting...because they love anything their eccentric aunt does ;)
And of course, perfect finds as always. Jealous of your Lyon Cortez set, it's beautiful.
Posted by: Van | July 11, 2011 at 06:49 AM
So glad to see you back here :-) Looking forward to having a 9-going-on-20 conversation with my son too. He is pretty patient coming along with me to the various thrift stores, but mostly because he knows he will get a toy or trinket out of it too.
Love your flatware, and I feel a bit similar with the Jens Quistgaard flatware I stumbled upon a couple of months ago at Goodwill (http://nostalgicinmaine.blogspot.com/2011/03/back-to-60s-via-goodwill.html). It is quite resellable too, but I love it, so I keep my investment in my flatware drawer too :-)
Looking forward to reading more of your Monday posts - missed you!
Posted by: Nostalgic in Maine | July 11, 2011 at 07:28 AM
Beautiful finds all around! It's fun to hear of your little apprentice, he has a great teacher. As for the rust(if chrome lies beneath it), I've used white vinegar and crumpled aluminum foil and it works pretty well. I've read that oxalic acid works but I haven't tried it myself. I've used Barkeeper's friend (which contains oxalic acid) on brass and it works wonders.
Good Luck!
Posted by: Vintage Scapes | July 11, 2011 at 07:32 AM
Wait! Okay. Have my coffee. Mr. Golightly and I are stripping, sanding and staining four gorgeous circa, 1920's casement windows in our bedroom before we paint - over 10.5 feet of windows. I usually do what Shana does but saw a product during of my many trips to le hardware store that is in a spray and strips off rust. Have no idea of how it works but made a mental note.
The generations before us in our home were prolific, crappy painters. They painted over everything including door/window hinges. We've a huge fireplace that had painted over tiles. I stripped those tiles to find gorgeous Van Briggle tiles!
Despite all the home projects, I managed to get to the thrift and add more items for my daughters back to school trunk show.
Oh! At the ARC on South Broadway in Denver there are five wooden folding chairs with a needle point tapestry that are ANCIENT! Really, really ancient. There awaiting purchase for $100 a chair. Too rich for my blood, but I know the are worth so much more.
Will send photos of our project once finished.
Posted by: Shopping Golightly | July 11, 2011 at 07:52 AM
Is it possible that rooster came in a red and orange version? I may still have one packed away somewhere.
I know I had those chairs in my first apartment. They were from a friend's father's waiting room.
Sounds as if you have good advice on the rust. You may be able to soften it up a bit first with some CLR, follwed by a coke and foil scrub.
When all else fails, hit it with WD40 - nothing that can not handle. (Maybe with a duck tape chaser?)
Sound as if you are having a full but fun summer. We are having heat or torrential rains, not much inbetween.
Posted by: DogsMom | July 11, 2011 at 08:12 AM
Hey Selena, great to see you back this week. I'm with the others on the rust removal. I've just used some very fine grit sandpaper on some smaller spots on the metal legs of a sturdy chair...but the aluminum foil sounds a little safer for not scratching. Thats great that you can host a yard sale & go thrift at the same time. My honey would never go for that one...LOL.
Love the finds this week. The Bitossi pieces are fantastic & your lucky to have found so much of your silverware!
Cheers ~ Lara
Posted by: NowSoLA Vintage | July 11, 2011 at 08:20 AM
whoa-that flatware is awesome!
Posted by: the cape on the corner | July 11, 2011 at 08:59 AM
Ever since you posted about the Lyon Cortez flatware months ago, it's been on that (long!) mental list I have of things to look for on the behalf of others while out thrifting. You must have been thrilled to find more of it --I haven't come across any yet.
And I sure wish I had someone like Keiran shopping with me - his help must be priceless! :-)
Posted by: Into Vintage | July 11, 2011 at 09:05 AM
Great retro finds...love those turquoise chairs! Thanks for the party!!!
Posted by: Sherry@Back2Vintage | July 11, 2011 at 09:46 AM
I am so in love with your blog and this link up! It is great to see what everyone finds. I will admit I keep coming back again and again to see the latest postings. Thanks for lettimg me linkup!
Posted by: Deana Wood | July 11, 2011 at 11:22 AM
welcome back Selena, i've missed you! great post - so cool that Kieran is truly developing an eye for thrift and reselling. inspiring! i spent the weekend celebrating my son's 19th birthday at a music festival in vancouver. did a teeny bit of thrifting but not alot. love the chairs - will be interested to hear what you did to deal with the rust; you've got some interesting suggestions here!
Posted by: angelika | July 11, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Those chairs are bee-you-tee-ful! It's good to see you back!- Although I've laid pretty low myself this summer so I'm glad to see I haven't missed much!
Posted by: Angela | July 11, 2011 at 12:11 PM
that vase and rooster are great! congrats on the finds.
i don't know much about rust, but my mr. clean magic eraser has been great for cleaning up all sorts of thrifted objects, like the blue seats on the chairs you just bought.
Posted by: D R E W | July 11, 2011 at 12:25 PM
Hi Love your blog but I can not see where your button is to add to my sidebar. Am I missing something? thanks
Posted by: Becky Pries | July 11, 2011 at 07:46 PM
You're back! I'm soooooooo glad I missed you.
Linda
in New Zealand
Posted by: RazzleDazzleQuilter | July 11, 2011 at 11:28 PM
I love the color on those chairs, love love love it! And an unbelievable price too!
I hope you're having a nice summer, but I will admit I miss your blogposts very much. You're my only thrifting friend apart from DH!
Christine
Posted by: Christine | July 12, 2011 at 05:57 AM
Those chairs are fantastic!
Posted by: Amy | July 12, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Wow! Its a great idea here.... Really very interesting found.... I enjoyed this post blog post... Your really having a great collection of pictures. Thanks and keep posting....
Posted by: Mark Lee | July 12, 2011 at 07:56 PM
I like it
Posted by: Wholesale Purses | July 13, 2011 at 07:46 PM
beautiful
Posted by: Burberry Scarf | July 13, 2011 at 07:50 PM
very good
Posted by: Chanel Handbag | July 13, 2011 at 07:59 PM
Great find on the chairs - what a steal! I've been out of town for a week so no thrifting for me. Can't wait to get back on the hunt!
Posted by: Nikki | July 14, 2011 at 09:26 AM
Your article is very good fit to be read because it adds new value to me
Posted by: Andy | July 15, 2011 at 03:49 AM