Dealing with an obsession

I have a particular fondness for buying stuff in thrift stores. The charm of a previously used object is sometimes just too much for me. There are so many unique things in the world. There is definitely a practical side to my obsession: stuff at thrift stores is often cheaper and in just as good condition as new items. Just two or three dollars can get you awesome mugs, bowls or anything. I think having a wide variety of stuff can be interesting and is a good way to show off your personality. I'm mostly interested in dishes from the 60's onward as I like the design and the bright colors.



I got that yellow bowl at the DI. I had intended to try to sell it, but I like it too much to part with it. The white container is great to store salt in, and that blue bowl is always a crowd pleaser.



These mugs are amazing! I got them at the DI too. Joey and I both have our favorites (mine is the fake Mastercard mug). The coffee just seems to taste better in them.



These containers are a find of Joey's, and I'm a little jealous of them. They are so vibrant!

I really like the idea of someone coming into my apartment and seeing some of these things because you probably couldn't find them in other apartments. I always have a story to tell about how I found them. The idea that all of my dishes would be the same is scary. Where's the uniqueness? I would prefer to be eccentric than uniform.

I think I've gotten a little too interested in finding things though. I have too many bowls to be used and too many casserole dishes. If you've read one of my previous posts you'll see that I attempted to sell some stuff on eBay a while ago. It was a bust. I have made it a goal to sell all of my excess items though and I intend to do it! I've told myself that I won't buy anything new to sell until I get rid of my current items.


These are the mugs I'm going to sell. I particularly like the red one. Two of them are Fire King and the other two are some glassbake stuff. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they sell because I need to prove to myself that I can actually sell stuff. I've learned from my previous attempt and so I'm going to do better this time.

I'm a Dealer

The auction for the first three items I've sold on Ebay will be over soon. So far, nobody has bid. But maybe some buyers have been waiting in the wings. Let me check.

Nope. 

There is less than two minutes, someone bid already! It could be that what I'm selling isn't that interesting. I have three Fire King baking dishes that are white with blue flowers on them. Doesn't that sound iresistable? Why can't I spell irresistable? What's wrong? 

Argh, I don't think anyone will buy the pieces. I don't know why I'm so surprised; most Fire King pieces aren't worth a whole lot. Jadeite and really old pieces are the best sellers, as are mugs with random companies' logos printed on the side. Still, I did hope to get a buyer to pay more than I bought the stuff for. I guess it's not the day for that. 

Antiques are interesting things. I used to think that something made the antique inherently special, like it was touched by aliens or something. Most antiques are valuable simply because people want them. If one day everyone decided that furniture more than 100 years old wasn't worth buying, the price of so many beds and chairs would fall to nothing. 

Or, maybe it wouldn't. I think I'm making this sound too simple. I think that good craftsmanship, age, scarcity and history all combine to make something an expensive antique or not. Although I could buy a mid 60's typewriter for about twenty dollars at the DI, I would have to pay much, much more for the one owned by Lee Harvey Oswald. The difference is that while there were thousands of typewriters made during that time, only one was owned by him. By the way, I didn't see how much that one ended up going for. 

I guess all I can do is try to list the stuff again, or sell it somewhere else. I certainly don't need it cluttering my kitchen. The whole reason I wanted to sell this stuff is to get a feel for how it's all done, and I think I need to work on how I list my things. And maybe I need to sell stuff that would go for more money. I need a warehouse. 

With any luck I will be putting my garden in order tonight. The sunflowers have gotten so tall that they block the sun and water from other plants. It's a day of reckoning for them. 

Number Five is Still Alive

And so am I. I was hoping I could easily set up my network today, but I can't seem to figure out how. I'm stealing this signal from someone else. I feel kind of bad about that, so I will try to get the network set up somehow.

I have made the decision to start selling Fire King stuff on Ebay. This seems only natural because I love Fire King and I can't possibly keep all of the things I have been getting lately. I have gone several times to the DI (a thrift store in Utah owned by the Mormons, if you didn't know) and I've found some good things. I haven't ever sold anything online, so it will be a good first experience I think. I'll let you know how things work out.

I'm going to Portland tomorrow, and I am quite excited. This should be fun not only because I'll be doing fun things, but also because I'll be discovering new places and seeing new things. It's a temporary shift for my normal life. I will definitely take some pictures and talk about my trip later.

I have been wanting to play with new media for some time, but I haven't yet decided what I should experiment with. I really like the idea of creating an audio record of some of the things I do and I would like to shoot some footage of activities I do while in the moment. Anyone have any suggestions? I would have to buy equipment either way.

As soon as I get my network set up I will write more meaningful posts. I also hope to start up the soda reviews again.