Thrifty Flair: Looking for inspiration at the thrift store
November 3, 2011
Jennifer O’Connor
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
In her book, C - - - : A Declaration of Independence, Inga Muscio describes going to the library, wandering the aisles, picking a random book off the shelf and spending some time reading it. It’s a good way to break out of your usual routine, learn about other ways of thinking and explore a subject that you’d most likely avoid (which is how Muscio, a profuse animal lover, developed an interest in taxidermy).
I’m in a bit of a rut right now. Most of my things have been boxed up, my house is a mess, and I really want to get into my new space before I take on any new, labour-intensive projects. Honestly, it’s a struggle coming up with projects that fulfill my need for thrifty flair.
So, I decided to follow Muscio’s advice, in a way, and head to my nearest thrift store with no shopping list, no time limit and no set course (actually, I deliberately avoided heading straight for the shoe racks).
While wandering, I caught part of an in-store auction — someone got two fur coats for $40 — found five copies of The Bridges of Madison County, and discovered that Christmas shopping is already underway (at least a tiny plastic tree was available). Getting lost at the thrift store led me to discover a few simple items for my home and get some new decorating ideas.
The first thing I picked up was a small, etched, flute-like glass. Judging my the number available, I guess that a couple got yet another set as a wedding or housewarming gift and chose to ditch these ones. I like placing things out of context, so I’m going to use this glass to store my small paintbrushes. It’s perfect.
Also, if you’re the person who donated the off-white dinner plates by Royal Knight with a gold leaf design, please let me know if you donated the matching salad plates. I didn’t see any, but I’ll keep an eye out because I’d like to have a couple for my mismatched collection. A couple more dinner plates will do for now.
The last thing I found was an old wood frame that’s painted black. I don’t care for the image of a cottage and garden behind the glass, but I’m inadvertently building a collection of different sizes of this style of frame.
I also got some ideas for craft projects. I’m planning to make a pair of bookends with assemblage materials. Some sewing table drawers will be the basis of this design, and as I sorted through clothes looking for something vintage, I decided that some old buttons would be used in place of knobs (real ones would have a screw that extends into the box and ruin the look of the project). I didn’t find any button this time.
While flipping through the racks, I did find a camisole made out of a cheap pinky-beige fabric. This colour in silk, linen or some other natural fabric would be perfect for fashioning tie-backs for my bedroom curtains.
In the picture frame department, I saw a wide, plain, smooth wood frame that would be perfect for a decoupage project if I could think of who I’d give it to and what kind of design this person would like.
All told, my spree was relatively inexpensive. The glass was $3, the plates were $2.50 each and the frame was $4, so a five and a ten took care of everything.
And got me off this style plateau.
You can contact Jennifer O’Connor at thriftyflair@gmail.com or follow her on Facebook.