Our Vintage Etsy Shop is Freshly Stocked!

My Mom, Mummu and I have been running our hobby vintage Etsy shop, Minden Shop, for years.  We expanded to selling vintage wares locally, on Instagram and we've even dabbled with eBay.  I really want to get into doing some local antique shows because seeing and touching vintage items in the best way to buy them.  Etsy is a great substitute, though, if you can't find what you want locally.  Running the shop is a lot of fun (and, surprisingly, a lot of hard work!), but it's been really rewarding.  We enjoy connecting with fellow vintage collectors and seeing photos of the goodies we've sold in their new homes always makes us smile!  Plus it's something the three of us do together.



I let the store get pretty empty this spring while we decided what to let go of and sell locally.  We don't want to be those people that hang onto something for years, waiting for the right buyer, so we did some local sales, slashed prices and sold a lot of inventory.  It helps keep things exciting for us!  Recently I photographed some fresh finds and have re-stocked the shop.  I'll be listing more and more, but the nearly 50 items we have now is a pretty good start.

We enjoy running the shop, but we're not sure how much longer we'll keep it open.  We kind of waffle between going all in and adding tons more vintage finds, or switching gears and finally selling the handmade items we intended to?  But then life gets busy and we think, maybe closing up while it's still fun and not stressful is the way to go.  Quit while we're ahead.  We're going to just have fun with it this summer and fall and see where the road takes us!  We'll reevaluate in December and see what the new year has in store for us (pun intended). 

For now, here's a peek at what's new - including some of my favorites.

I love this set of Butterfly gold vintage Pyrex Cinderella mixing bowls (UPDATE: SOLD) but I've seriously downsized my Pyrex collection in the last couple of years.  I had some big sales on Instagram and sold a lot locally.  I'm hoping to find this set a new home!  I also have some fridgies for sale.

When we spotted this pair of Lotte fiberglass and jute lamp shades we were so thrilled.  Once we got them home, we realized they're too small for my yellow Lotte lamps!  Womp, womp, womp.  I know these will make some Lotte lamp collector VERY happy, although I'm so, so nervous about shipping them!

With the living room Besta dismantled, my vintage McCoy pottery collection has been displaced!  The pinks went to my Mom, the creams are currently in the basement, and I'm slowly spreading the turquoise ones around the house.  A few pieces, including these green basket weave planters and also a gorgeous yellow McCoy planter, have found their way into the Etsy shop!  There MIGHT be some really great turquoise ones that find themselves in need of a new home, so favorite the shop to be the first to know.

Do you remember the start of my FAB trays collection?  I loved the history of these kitschy Canadian-made resin trays.  I ended up collecting quite a few, but since moving to the lakehouse I find myself short on space!  Any new trays I find are shop-bound and even the aquas and blues (gasp) are up for grabs...like this one!

We'll be listing some more jewelry, too - including a stunning Baltic amber necklace.  Ack, it's so gorgeous.  But these huge Lapis Lazuli earrings (UPDATE: SOLD) are pretty darn stunning too - look at that gorgeous veining.  Drool.

SO shocked these Caribbean themed high ball glasses have not been scooped up yet (UPDATE: SOLD).  They are one item I could not part with in our big spring purge.  I am seriously in love with them and every day I'm tempted to deactivate the listing.

This aqua vase was made in Canada!  I just love the subtle glaze at the top - it pairs so well with the soft, minty-aqua hue.

We have vintage dollhouse furniture for sale!  I always meant to make a cute vintage dollhouse so I scooped up some pieces from a local antique seller.  But really, the kids will be asking me for help applying to university before I get a dollhouse done.  With so many folks making them these days, I thought I'd release these back into the wild.

I've got a pink bathroom dollhouse set for sale, retro plastic dollhouse arm chairs, plus a brass miniature dollhouse furniture set with a birdcage (UPDATE: SOLD) - complete with mini bird inside.  The last photo of this listing for dollhouse kitchen appliances (UPDATE: SOLD) has a photo with the set in use - too cute!

I lowered the price on this green Red Wing pottery vase (the design is Tropicana Bird of Paradise).  I love this vase so much - the emerald green interior is so clever, because it hides discoloration from flower water.

Somehow we ended up with quite a few petite figurines, but they're all so adorable!  This little goat would look so cool tucked into a larger planter or terrarium for a little quirkiness.

Check out the rest of the shop inventory here, and favorite us on Etsy to get a first look at the new things I'll be listing soon!  If you collect anything or are on the hunt for something special, let me know because I'll be happy to keep my eyes peeled for you - just leave me a note in the comments with your wish list.

Our Sleep Easy

Embarrassingly, Hubby and I didn't immediately move into the lakehouse after our grueling move.  We unloaded the stuff (with help, thankfully), returned the U-Haul truck, and then bee-lined it to my parents' place, where we camped out for a bit.  Their home has the lure of clean towels, hot dinners, and fast internet.  Moving really took the wind out of our sails and trivial things like getting groceries (and turning them into meals!) seemed like Herculean tasks.  We drove to the lakehouse everyday though, and steadily got it to a more livable order.  We were totally busted by Hubby's family, who came over (with dinner) for a tour.  They immediately spotted our mattress propped up against the walls, barricaded by boxes.  They need to come by again.  Look: a bed with sheets and everything (I even found the bedskirt, but not the iron to smooth out those wrinkles). 

 
The headboard and side tables my Grandpa welded weathered the move!  The paint is a bit scuffed so come spring time a new paint job is imminent.  Should I keep it matte black?  Try glossy white?  A bright colour?

We hung the vintage Hungarian posters across from the bed, and I think they are perfect for the bedroom.  Magically, the minty chair and table pair well with the posters.  I'm so happy that, so far, I've been able to rearrange pieces from the townhouse with relative ease.  

The dresser is a stand-in, borrowed from my Mom.  We didn't have a dresser in the townhouse, so I naively thought everything would fit in our closet (what is it with me?).  When we downsized from three bedrooms to two, our closet contents were smushed together.  I still have surplus clothes, so I'm itching for more storage.  They are so pricey, but I'd love these two Room and Board dressers. 

Even though I've squashed the bed as far as it will fit on the wall opposite the closet - and I've even turned the nightstands sideways to take up less room - I'm dubious about my prospects of having enough room for bi-fold closet doors to open, which I should have explained when I chatted about the closet earlier this week.  I'll take some measurements and start shopping options.  I appreciate everyone's suggestions!   



High on the bedroom to-do list: refresh the headboard and tables, buy (make?) closet doors, sew curtains, get my hands on better storage, accessorize, add more colour, and maybe try something nutty.  I've been slowly building my collection of Fab trays, picking them up for $1-3 a piece.  I think the collection (grown much larger) would look fun in the same room as the fashion-focused posters because the trays are little time capsules of 1960s and 1970s fabrics.  I am putting my little red armoire into storage, so I think the blank wall behind the door might be a fun place to hang them - floor to ceiling, salon style.

Still lots to do, but for now we can get a good night's sleep in our own home!  As a reminder, after painting the walls, doors, ceilings, and trim white, removing the window coverings, replacing the boob light (not pictured), and filling the room with our art and furniture, we've turned the room from this . . .





into this . . .

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Treasure Hunting Report: A FAB New Collection

My newest (still modest) collection happened accidentally.  See this tray?

It's a FAB Originals tray.   FAB trays were manufactured in the 1970s using "carefully chosen decorator's fabric" (so says the label), sealed in a clear polyester composition. 

The surfaces are mark proof, stain and alcohol resistant - durable, but not unbreakable.  Best of all, they were handcrafted in Barrie, Ontario by Hardy - Glenwood Products, with very little mechanization in the production.  I have read that they were produced in the 1960s but other sources say 1970s.  This quite detailed history of the company indicates 1970s.  Apparently they stopped production during the oil crisis in the mid 1970s because the resin became too expensive to produce.  With bold, retro fabrics trapped under a clear surface, they seem like little time capsules to me. 



I found the one above on a dusty shelf at a thrift shop, during my recent visit to my hometown.  Some of the FAB trays are a touch . . . tacky, but I thought this one was quite pretty and on-trend.  I photographed it, researched it, but dawdled when it came to listing it in the shop.  Then I saw these photos of a FAB collection on SF Girl By Bay:

I started to have that creepy, antsy "I want it, I want it" feeling.  The next day, I found this at a Value Village in town, and I may or may not have dove for it:

I was so giddy to find a second FAB tray and was officially, embarrassingly, overcome with greed.  With a Gollum face, I scooped the first tray from the etsy pile (which actually meant asking Mom to send it from Thunder Bay).  They are officially mine and I want more.  Although there are some designs I might pass on, I think this will make for a cheery collection!

Etsy

Etsy

Etsy

Source

Caren, the gal behind the ambitious collection above, says that at the height of production, Canadians were churning out 1000 of these per day, for domestic sale and export to the US.  Here's hoping that means I can grow my collection easily (and inexpensively!).  I'm still so surprised that the colours and patterns of my two trays grabbed me because, to be honest, they don't really jive with the townhouse, but there's just something inexplicable about them that makes makes me smile a goofy grin when I see them.  What is it??  In any case, I think the retro fabrics will look perfect with my 1960s fashion posters from Hungary.  It's fun to throw a little something unexpected into the mix sometimes.

Is there anything that you collect or love that just completely surprises you?

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