826 Anza St., SF, CA // vintage haul

fabulous finds at this week's estate sale. These, and more at this week's 2nd Tiniest Trunk Show, Thursday, Dec. 15th @ 7:30 @ 4069 24th Street, SF inside of the store Chocolate Covered. Can't wait!

some of the treasures aren't shown because they're already in new homes: my closet, J's collection of vintage accoutrements.

Shown: (1) leather belt with some sort of animal fur decoration and awesome brass findings and buckle, (2) tooled leather belt by Justin, (3) red plastic and gold-tone metal necklace, possibly by Coro but it was previously shortened, (4) gold tone metal reverse-carved and painted super cool horse cufflinks, (5) pink glass rosary

week of December fourth // vintage haul

Community Thrift Store, SF, CA:

(1) round, hand painted (?) tin tray // perfect for displaying tiny jewelry. (unmarked)
(2) rectangular tin tray with fruit decal // perfect for displaying longer jewelry. (unmarked)

Etsy stalker

sometimes I stalk other Etsy sellers because they have awesome things for sale

vintage plastic Christmas tree with original box? yes, please.

check it out:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/85863346/plastic-crystal-pine-christmas-tree-from

treasure-making supplies

vintage containers for holding jewelry making supplies.

Italian scavenger

you can take the scavenger out of the thrift store but if she's honeymooning in Italy she'll find a rickety antique market to scavenge. many of the goodies I found were gifties so they aren't shown here



check out these awesome earrings (they already found a new home):

903 Grant Ave, Chinatown, SF, CA // vintage haul

I love little packages. I also love little packaging. I package most small items I sell on Etsy (shop here) in Lunar New Year red envelopes -- they're small, they're beautifully adorned, and they remind me of San Francisco. I travel across town to Chinatown to purchase red envelopes a few times each year. I always seek out my favorite tiny store specializing in stationary (903 Grant Ave). The store is tiny, and had been run by an older gentleman, and I always felt like I was the first customer of the day. As I approached the tiny store earlier today my eyes fell on a series of perfectly displayed tiny boxes of paper arranged carefully on the entry step. Upon closer inspection the boxes were full of vintage stationary (Gibson, made in USA). Greeting cards galore! I soon had a pile of vintage greeting cards, some in their original boxes, piled up on my lap. As I made my way into the store I was met by a young woman who was as sweet as could be. She assured me that the gentleman has retired and that she is now digging the store out of fifty years of dead stock inventory he had stashed away. I left with way more than I planned on buying but I completely forgot to buy red envelopes.

the haul: these will all end up on Etsy, eventually...
(1) "hello there!" valentine's day cards (Gibson, USA)
(2) birds and bird houses greeting cards in original boxes (Gibson, USA)
(3) die cut valentine's day cards in sheet form (Gibson, USA)
(4) "You are invited" invitations in original box (Gibson, USA)
(5) amazing Chinatown San Francisco emblems (souvenirs from the 1950s)
(6) unused Thanksgiving postcards (Gibson, USA)
(7) unused Christmas postcards (Gibson, USA)
(8) Chinese wedding paper stationary with decorative edging and embossed designs in original box
(9) zero red envelopes

1330 22nd Ave, SF, CA // vintage haul

Yesterday's estate sale (hosted by the Yes Co., here) was full of treasures:

(1) two metal receipt holders // added to my recent collection of receipt holders -- perfect for post office receipts
(2) lidded, engraved candy dish in silver and crystal (L.H. Peters & Co, Hamburg)// this piece needs some investigating -- I can't seem to identify the markings on the bottom or find records of this company
(3) little measuring tape (Darcoid Co. of Calif., Belting - Packing)
(4) painted red glass cutter (Red Devil)
(5) Washington DC souvenir note pad with metal cover
(6) Leather Wells Fargo checkbook holder/wallet
(7) box of vintage hair pins (Victory, Smith & Sons Corporation)
(8) two brass frames with country scenes (made in England)
(9) two hand painted floral designs in yellow frames (Hollywood, CA)
(10) other goodies (not shown)

a word to the wise -- don't rely on the honor system when it comes to estate sales. I left my labeled pile of items unattended (but under supervision) for a mere second and someone swiped a few of the items I was going to purchase. I just ordered a collapsible shopping basket (Reisenthel, check it out) to help avoid this problem in the future

week of October third // vintage haul

multiple urban scavenger trips this week:

Community Thrift Store, SF, CA:

(1) funky, partially rusted tin souvenir cup displaying images of Yosemite National Park. (made in China) // already put this tin cup to use holding jewelry making supplies

Thrift Town, SF, CA:

(2) five mismatch wooden hangers // five of my favorite coats have just been upgraded to these fabulous hangers

733 31st Ave, San Francisco, CA:

(3)very cool [broken] compass (made in France) // its next life will be that of a tacky, retro, broken compass paperweight

houseplants are lovely

this is lovely, too: Moon Valley Plant

949 Hampshire Street, SF, CA // vintage haul

went to an estate sale today and bought:


(1) San Francisco image accordion postcard from the 1950's (E. F. Clements, Mike Roberts Color Production)
(2) two plastic jiggle ball games (you know--the kind where you shake the tiny balls into their respective holes) also from the 1950's with awesome graphics (round made in Hong Cong, rectangle made by Comon Tatar)
(3) mini-fan in box with cool graphics (John)
(4) three rosebud matchboxes // these will stay in my home
(5) image book of New York City with awesome graphics and maps (Manhattan Post Card Pub Co.)
(6) fabulous metal waste pale with stripes, cherries, and cherry blossoms // this will stay in my home
(7) hopefully fully functioning plastic clock from the 1950's (Westclox)// sitting on my shelf at this moment -- I've got my eye on its time keeping abilities
(8) the coolest umbrella I've ever seen complete with retro green plastic handle connecting into wooden handle // definitely can't part with this yet
(9) spun brass filigree necklace with matching earrings.

the estate sale was super packed: tons of stuff, tons of people, lots of smells. perfection! thank you Yes Co. estate sales!

perpetual bag / donations

There are almost always two bags sitting beside our refrigerator:

1. recycling
2. donations and other items that should leave our home

to make our tiny space work we try to enforce a 1-for-1 exchange rate so that for every treasure that comes into our home, something less treasured should leave. We often carry our bags of discarded treasures to Goodwill on Mission St between 18th st and 19th st but we regularly plop the bag on San Carlos St behind our house -- it's our offering to the Mission District Gods.

Yes, I know, the 1-for-1 rule is blown out of the water when I bring home goodies that I plan to sell in my Etsy shop (cshadwick.etsy.com) but I'm personally committed to only selling tiny items that are easy to store, easy to ship, and easily treasured.

happy shoes / sad shoes

How many pairs of shoes had I discarded because they were tattered and worn? It took living with someone who appreciates the art of stretching the lifespan of every item before I figured out how my shoes can grow old with me. Leather boots dry and lacking luster? condition them! left boot: newly conditioned/shined. right boot: thirsty!



looking for some lovely boots for Fall? check out Etsy's huge selection of vintage boots from shops all over the world. you'll save money, you'll save resources from going into newly manufactured boots, and you'll have a fashion statement many others won't.
check out the selection:
vintage boots for style, eco friendly, and fun

recession-proof: living small

Forget your grandmother's post-depression hoarding tendencies -- this recession is about living smaller, departing from the idea that more/bigger is better. What if everything in your home had a place? What if all of your possessions were carefully chosen treasures rather than impulse buys?

comings and goings

I am:

-collector of treasures
-purger of excess
-lover of tiny square photos


treasures cycle through our tiny studio apartment on an almost one-for-one exchange rate. except, of course for the treasures I can't pass up but can't justify keeping -- those treasures find a home with friends, family, and strangers via my itsy Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/thetreasurecycle)



For curiosity's sake I though it would be a fun experiment to document the treasures we bring into our home and the treasures we send back into the treasurecycle...