Junk Bonanza is a local vintage/antique/re-purpose fair here in Minnesota. My mom heard about it three years ago and this is our third time going (you can read about my experience last year here). This year we went on thursday, the first day of the event, since we both happened to have that day off. Even though I don't always buy something at the Bonanza it's always fun to go, you never know what you might find. It's also fun to see stuff that is harder to find in thrift stores and/or gone quickly at estate sales. So, I'm always excited when september rolls around and Junk Bonanza is close. But I have to admit the allure is waning a bit for me, there just seems to be more re-purposing than vintage junk. Since i'm looking for more vintage/antique it can be a bit dissapointing. We only ended up going home with a few things, which i'll feature in another post, but failed to find anything amazing. Nonetheless I did take some pictures of some of the cool wares available for sale.
Owl lamp.
This lamp looks a lot like my table and makes me wonder if someone took a
lamp and made it into a table. Either way this lamp is pretty cool
A cool way to re-purpose an old globe.
mid century green lamp
I'm always on the lookout for cool mid-century lamps at vintage strores/fairs. I found some cool ones at Junk Bonanza but none that were soo cool I had to take them home
This hair dryer chair turned lamp was really cool and a great idea for what to do with those cool old beauty salon chairs/ hair dryers.
This was an old mailbox. It was sold but would be a really cool statement piece in someones home. There seemed to be a lot more industrial pieces this year.
Chalkware figurines a plenty. My mom ended up buying those two turquoise cats.
This rope love seat was pretty cool though I can't imagine it being comfortable. I mean it must be itchy.
More industrial stuff on display at the bonanza.
Cool stump coffee table.
These lamps made out of photo/ slideshow film were pretty cool
This is probably the coolest way to display a camera collection ever! This makes me want to collect old cameras just so I can display them the same way.
Cool vintage Halloween display, a cool mid-century lamp and an interesting re-purposed cigar box lamp.
Bracelets made out of old appliance tags.
This Pink cart you can kind of see above was and old manicurist table from the 50's. It had it's own lamp, was a really cute pink color. and was probably the coolest thing I saw at the bonanza. I'm a little sad I didn't get it.
Cool mid-century black cats.
This sunburst clock was really cool but at $50.00 I just couldn't take the plunge.
Cool old vampire doll and stuffed ... animal (I have no idea what animal that is).
This tulip chair was really cool and I'm kind of dying to have a tulip table and chairs set but it was pricey so I left it.
This booth had a lot of cool mid- century stuff but It was all pretty expensive.
How cute is this pink record player?!?!?!!!!! I wanted it but it was $150.00 or so and I just couldn't. One day I will find a cool old record player at at thrift store, ONE DAY!!!
They were selling these rakes as wine glass holders, which is cool but I mean it can't be that hard to make. Get rake, take off stick, hang on wall, display wine glasses, BAM.
Anyway it was cool to see all the different items for sale at Junk Bonanza but I'm not sure if I'll make it next year or not. I may need to look for a fair that's more vintage/antique heavy and less re-purposed.
I have a weird fascination with Tennessee, I'd never been until we went on this trip, but it just seems like a cool place to visit. Someday I'll visit more of it go back to Memphis, Nashville, go to their big flea market and maybe even bonaroo (not all at once though). Anyway once I checked out where Springfield was and that it was relatively (but not really) close to Memphis I immediately wanted to add it to the itinerary. The number one reason I wanted to go to Memphis was, of course, to see Graceland! I love vintage kitsch and Graceland is like the holy grail of vintage kitsch. It's a time capsule house of Elvis. And oh boy did Graceland deliver! Oh my god I would go back again, it was soo cool!!!! so worth the long drive. I highly recommend it if you're in Memphis. The house isn't very big compared to today's McMansions but it was in Elvis' time. It was also named Graceland before Elvis ever lived there, he bought it from a doctor who named it after his wife. Anyway there is SOOO much to see at Graceland so I'm going to break it up into a few posts. So here are the pictures of the main house.
I saw this amazing episode of the Antonio Treatment on HGTV a million years ago (or at least before it was cancelled, was it cancelled?). Anyway it was this cool family that lived in a 50's house and the wife was obsessed with all things 50's. She had some of the coolest collections ever, one of which was of head vases and they were soo cool. Video for proof:
I knew after the episode that I wanted to collect them, but haven't really pulled the trigger on any until now. This one was $30, which isn't too bad, so I figured i'd get it. I found it at the cottage house, a local vintage occasional sale place. I like the cottage house but a lot of the people that sell there tend to like the shabby chic look. So i'll find a piece of furniture I like but it'll be shittly painted green and distressed, which really isn't my style. I like wood, I wish people would just leave wood alone.
3. Made in Japan red lotus dish
I first saw these bowls on A living spaceand thought they looked really cool. I've found a lot of remakes of them that are a lot bigger and generally white or black, which are cool but not the vintage ones I was looking for. Then I found a mint one at Value Village and recently this red. I just think they're cute. 4. Mid century buffet/credenza
After helping my friend run some errands and visiting one Savers with her I decided after dropping her off to go to Bloomington and check out that savers as they were having their pre-fourth of July sale for Savers club card members. I figured if I went Sunday I could focus on going to other Savers I don't frequent as often on Monday when it was 50% off for everyone. So while browsing the furniture, I have a set route I take at thrift stores that some day I'll write about, I came across this cool mid-century buffet. A lady was looking at it when I first spotted it and I immediately hoped she was just checking it out. Thankfully she was. I looked at it, took a picture of it, then went and looked at dresses and shoes to mull it over. Soon I came back and one of the employees came up and started talking to me. After a little bit I thought it was worth the $25.00 price tag and I'd probably regret it if I didn't get it. I mean look at those sexy legs! I think the guy kinda liked me because he gave me half off the thing even though I'm pretty sure furniture was excluded from the sale, but I'm not one to fuck up a discount. I was worried it wouldn't fit in my tiny little car but luckily it kinda sorta did. I did though have to drive home with my back door ajar and tied to my car with an Ethernet cord, kinda sketch but it worked out. I've been looking for a similar mid-century piece to use as storage for awhile so it was one of those come to Jesus moments when you find something you've been wanting for a long time. I have these two plastic organizers full of papers in my room that I've been dying to get rid of, so I plan to purge some of the paper and put the rest in the new buffet. The buffet isn't in mint condition, it has a chip on one of the sliding doors and one of it's corners but for $16.00 bucks you really can't complain too much.
5. Metal Crate
I've always liked the look of milk crates, maybe it's my love of dairy or maybe just that cool industrial look. When I saw this one at the thrift store it I knew I had to get it. It reminded me of a similar one I pinned ever so long ago from Urban Outfitters (for 40 bucks). Luckily this one is a real milk crate and was a cool 2 dollars. I'd call that a bargain. I'm gonna use it for cool industrial looking storage, maybe for books maybe not, we'll see. 6. Tiki Mugs GALORE!
I picked up all of these at a local Savers on their 4th of July Sale day. Since I already went to my usual Savers for the Savers club pre-sale the day before I was free to go to two of my favorite thrifts that I don't visit as often because they're not as convenient. Anyway I always search the housewares section during sale days, especially at Savers stores since their discount generally only applies to clothes, shoes, and accessories. So while everyone is looking through the stuff that's on sale you can scoop up some really cool things, that are still pretty cheap, in the section that isn't on sale. I found these beauts while checking the section for a second time. I think only one of the cups is actually vintage but I love a tiki mug and don't really care if it's vintage or not. One is actually from a local tiki restaurant, Psycho Suzi's that makes you put down a deposit if you order a drink with a fancy mug and if you decided to keep it $5 is added to your bill, if not they don't charge you. I guess people were walking away with the mugs, but can you blame them? Anyway I was glad I got to grow my tiki collection, it's really shaping up nicely. 7. Fiestaware Yellow Pitcher
This is really for my mom. I love fiestaware but she's invested in a whole dinner set of fiesta and is always on the lookout for more. So whenever I see fiestaware on a thrift excursion I usually pick it up for her. We already have a similar pitcher in red but I love the pitchers and I think the fun of Fiestaware is the ability to mix and match, so the more options, the more colors the better. The pitcher was a little pricey for a thrift store at $25.00 but It's fiestaware and pretty much everyone knows it's collectable so they price it accordingly. Plus I looked online and it was still cheaper than the similar pitchers I found (even the ones on sale), plus it's for my mom.
8. Green Haeger Gondola Planter
I try not to buy a ton of planters, unless they're really cool, as I don't have much of a green thumb and nothing really ever gets planted in them. But this little gondola guy was just too cool to pass up.
Top: ASOS Skirt:Ebay (American Apparel) Sandals: DV by Dolce VitaBracelet: Nasty Gal
I wore this outfit to the opening of my best friends first solo art show. If you're in the twin cities you can check out the show until August 7th at the Uptown Smitten Kitten. If you want to check out her art but don't live in Minnesota you can go to her blog (just an FYI some of her art is NSFW) and/or check out her facebook page.
I've been wanting to try crop tops recently. I'm not gonna lie I was a little afraid of them at first, flashbacks to middle school and the strong body image issues I had back then when crop tops/ tube tops grazed the midriffs of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera ran rampant in my mind. But after seeing so many bloggers of all sizes rocking them I decided to give them a try, and I have to say I kinda like them. I got this one and a matching white one from ASOS for pretty cheap to wear with high waisted bottoms etc. Turns out they were just what I needed to re-invigorate my maxi skirts.
Top: H&MSkirt & Necklace :ASOSShoes:Target Bracelet: Nasty Gal
I wore this last month to go to a club for my friend's birthday. Looking back I should have injected more color into the outfit as it was Gay Pride weekend here in Minneapolis and we were at a Gay bar, but I've really been into black lately. I also should have worn a short sleeved shirt, It was kinda cold outside so I made a last minute long sleeve shirt decision that I immediately regretted when I went to the second floor of the club and it was sweltering. Your live and you learn I guess. Anyway I wore those heels all night, which is kind of an accomplishment as I'm not much of a heel girl. Those booties have a very thick heel and are kind of like wearing a wedge so they're pretty comfortable, my feet did start to hurt towards the end of the night but not too badly. Anyway I'm gonna try and wear more heels, I have a really cute pair I want to wear I just have to figure out where. Anyway the club was packed and we definitely had some interesting run ins. I didn't dance as much as I wanted to but I did have a really good time.
When my mom and I visited Taliesin last year the tour guide recommended we visit the Dana-Thompson house in Springfield, Illinois. That apparently planted a seed in my mom's head and this year for her birthday she wanted to go on a road-trip to see the house. We ended up also going to Memphis (my idea) and St. Louis (as it's only an hour away from Springfield). Springfield, honestly, isn't the most exciting place to visit but it does have a lot of historical things to see. Aside for the Dana-Thomas house it is also the capital of Illinois and the place Abraham Lincoln called home for most of his adult life, before he became President. Here's a little taste of Springfield (photo HEAVY post) :
The Dana-Thomas House.
Like most Frank Lloyd Wright houses I wasn't able to take pictures inside the house, but you can just tell from the outside how spectacular it is. Ms. Dana was a Springfield socialite who inherited a ton of money from her dad and built a house to entertain in on the lot of her dad's former home. Frank Lloyd Wright was notorious for going over budget so the Dana-Thomas house is a marvel to see because he was pretty much given carte blanche, which means it's a must-see for Frank Lloyd Wright fans.
