Sunday, June 24, 2012

Thrift Finds June: Mom's menagerie

Hello dear thrift lovers, I am in my hometown of Popayán, Colombia visiting my mom. Her health is not good and she is in the hospital right now. I am glad I am here, as I am an only child. It is not easy to live so far from those you love.

I have been browsing my mom's shelves, and I want to share some things that I like. A short post as I don't have much time. Pardon my images, a phone camera doesn't work as well as my proper camera.


This is a small and heavy brass elephant. the brass work has that Austrian brass look, but the design recalls that of Luigi Colani's bank for Dresdner. A cute one, don't you think?


An etruscan horse sculpture that mom purchased as a souvenir in the town of Volterra, Italy. These are beautiful sculptures based on old etruscan designs made today for the tourist market. I have seen similar sculptures attributed to Frederick Weinberg, or listed as "in the style of Weinberg" on Etsy and Ebay. To tell you the truth I believe that Weinberg was inspired by the Etruscans and not the other way around. More on the artist and the Etruscan horse attribution on Mid-Centuria's blog.


Cast glass hedgehog family. These are signed but I have not been able to read the signature. Great looking mama with her babies. 

These are not going to go back home with me, they will stay at Mom's. I just wanted to share with you and Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Thrift Finds June: The last ones for a while

Dear friends,

I am going to keep this short and sweet, as I am in Colombia visiting family and my internet access is limited (by choice rather than by quality). I love being back home and I am looking forward to my time with my mom.

Now to the finds:


A large and beautiful enamel plate by Annemarie Davidson. When it rains it pours! I had never found anything by her and now this is my third find in a month! It is in great shape and it is large. It will be up in the store soon.



A signed artist plate by Haviland Limoges of France. It is impossible to read the artist's signature, but there is no mistaking a great design. LOVE this owl, it almost looks like an etching. I will do some more research on it before I list it. As usual, if you have any information I will be happy to have your imput.


My first Blenko water bottle or carafe, a beautiful teal one. Love this shape.


What do you know? A small Arabia ramekin (?) found at the thrift store. I searched high and low for others like it, but this one was the only one.


Not one, nor two, but five Tor Viking Figgjo mugs. I like them so much, I might keep a couple.


Last find of the week is a Dansk candle holder. So shinny and beautiful. An sculpture on its own right.

I might have found something for my own collection at my sister in law's house! We are talking about it. If I convince her to sell these to me, I will sure post about it. Just to give you an idea, the three items are related to three recent finds of mine.

Well, that is all for now. I am sharing my finds with Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Meet the Thrifter: Jordan and Maureen Gruener

Hello friends and welcome back to Meet the Thrifter. Today we are meeting with Jordan and Maureen Gruener. The couple lives in Broomfield, CO, with their two boys and dog, Shadow.


Wood sculpture by Edwin and Mary Scheier from the early 1970s and Disneyland scissor-cut portraits of our children.

 How did you become a “thrifter”? How long have you been doing this? 

We’ve been thrifting since college when we used to buy and wear a lot of vintage clothing. It was also a cheap way to furnish our first apartment. As we learned more, we started collecting certain pieces and selling others. Luckily, we both love mid-century design!

I (Jordan) try to hit a thrift store every day of the week. I have a certain, efficient route that helps me get through stores quickly, so I can get on to the next one. With all the reality shows focusing on buying and selling antiques, thrifting has become even more competitive than it’s been in the past. In addition, thrifts are becoming less “thrifty” all the time. Nevertheless, there are still good deals and treasures to be found.

How did you learn of ThriftBreak?

It’s been a while, but I must have been doing a Twitter search for #midcentury and came across the #ThriftBreak hashtag. From then on it’s been great. There are many mid-century experts on thriftbreak who are always willing to share information. I’ve been buying and selling on the web since 1998 and have read many books, but I’m always learning something new since participating in thriftbreak. Follow Jordan @SwingModern.

 What is the emphasis of your store?

Our Etsy shop SwingModern focuses on mid-century smalls. I select items that I’d enjoy having in my own home and hope others will think the same. 

I’m also a collector of vintage BMX bikes, so I buy and sell those via Craigslist.

Are you a collector? What do you collect? How do you display your collections?

Yes! Like most everyone else who participates in Thriftbreak, we are huge collectors. We focus on mid-century design.

Maureen's collections of vintage plastic and metal purses.

Paul McCobb Planner Group table with Ben Seibel bookends and vintage airplane telephone flanked by a Heywood-Wakefield side chair and Pottery Barn lounge chair. More of my Maureen's vintage purse collection in the background.


Our entire house is outfitted in mid-century design. While we have few new pieces, most of collection is of the period. Everything from our daily dishes (Franciscan Starburst) to our office desk (Heywood-Wakefield) and everything in between is vintage. I really embarrassed my then-girlfriend, now wife, when I announced at a dinner party that “Everything you’re eating off of is used!” Now, our families have come to expect that, plus everything they’re sitting on.

Danish Modern bar cart by Dyrlund with a Nissen cutting board with pieces by Russel Wright, Krenit and Thermos.

As for displaying our collections, we have most out where we can appreciate them every day. I’ve found quite a bit of very good art on thriftbreaks, as well as inheriting paintings and ceramics by my grandmother Rose Migdal, so we hang these pieces throughout our house.

Eames Aluminum Group lounge chair, Bauhaus-style couch, 1951 Eames CTM, Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller three-tier side table. On the wall is a Howard Berke abstract oil and a Danish Modern hanging magazine rack.

 Bent plywood chair for the Troy Sunshade company, a Heywood-Wakefield bookcase topped with our wedding photo, a Edwin and Mary Scheier vase and a porceilain Nambe vase by Fred Bould. The art deco oil of a closet is by Jordan's grandmother Rose Migdal.

Lately, I’ve started collecting vintage stereo gear from thrift stores. I’ve found many late 1970s and early 1980s receivers, turntables, speakers and few cassette decks; I blog about all these vintage stereo gear here. Some of these finds I keep and most I flip to fund other projects. This gives me the opportunity to break out my collection of LPs from the 1980s.  Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with attaching eight speakers to your receiver if it can handle it! Visit Rhetoric Farm our 1980s ‘zine that covered the music scene in Tucson, AZ

What will you consider is your best find or finds?

Our best finds would have to be in the furniture area: Russel Wright outdoor chairs, Richard Schultz outdoor tables, an entire Salterini outdoor set, our TH Robsjohn-Gibbings dining table and six chairs, multiple Cherner chairs, our 1951 Eames CTM. Really, too many things to list!

The front porch with Salterini outdoor furniture and two Arabia planters.

TH Robsjohn-Gibbings X-base dining table and six chairs topped with one of the boy's latest Lego creation. In the background is a Heywood-Wakefield display cabinet.

Four Norman Cherner side chairs in the entry hall along with a Vornado fan. Above them a small part of our ceramics collection, including those by the children and Jordan's grandmother Rose Migdal.

Another view of the living room lit by a Lightolier lamp just above a Danish Modern bar cart, home to Russel Wright and Krenit designs. In the background are three Homage to a Square lithographs from the early 1960s by Josef Albers.

Do you have a thrift find wish list?

I’d love to find an Eames ESU and laminated wood screen. A Half Nelson lamp would be terrific. Anything by Jean Prouve.

What will you consider is the best thing about thrifting.

The hunt and expectation. I love the idea of never knowing what I’ll find and emerging from the store with a treasure! To me, that’s the most exciting part about thrifting: open the store door and having this treasure trove right in front of me!