It's All in the Family: Sheer Trash Roadshow February 25 Edition

It's been a quiet day after a packed-full weekend. My daughter flew in for a quick visit between business trips, and we hit a lot of thrift shops. 

Madeline grew up antiquing and junking and she is no slouch when it comes to finding great bargains. She even taught me a new trick for hunting down great vintage clothes--I'll share it with you in just a future post.

First, though, let me show you two of the stellar finds she scooped up while she was here.

Those of you who follow this blog already know that my daughter has a massive vintage Barbie collection. There are few things she likes better than finding an old Barbie and restoring it, so she was very happy to discover this classic 1960s ponytail Barbie for $1.99 in the overflowing bin of naked fashion dolls heaped, grotesque and higgledy-piggledy, at a local Goodwill store. The doll even has her original fingernail paint. 

This was delightful, but to top that, she found...

 ...this miniature bear. Now, I had glanced at the same bear, but--fool that I am!--assumed it was just another of those cute but ubiquitous little mass-produced bears one finds at craft stores. Madeline recognized it as--dare I breathe it?--a vintage miniature Steiff bear from the 1950s, minus his ear tag. She paid 75 cents for this highly collectible little treasure that is easily worth $25-$45 or more.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAyNFg3MTk=/z/chAAAOxyf~hRy3ZJ/$T2eC16N,!yEE9s5jE,jcBRy3ZI0Hfg~~60_35.JPG

 

 

 

 

My husband also enjoys finding a good vintage bargain. Normally he collects electronics stuff--old ham and transistor radios, mainly. 

But he also keeps an eye out for vintage animal figurines he thinks I might want for Peppy's shop. This weekend, while Madeline and I were out running around, he happened upon an estate sale and picked up these two. He paid 50 cents apiece:

They'll do very nicely in the shop, I should think.

At the same estate sale, he was pleased to find this vintage crystal radio set in the original box. The seller wanted $5, but my husband got it for $2.50. He's a hardcore bargainer, unlike myself!

 

I just did some quick checking and found an old eBay listing with this kit, and that seller assigned it a 1954 manufacture date. 

Here's one that is available now on eBay; it's in terrific condition. Since I doubt my husband will choose to part with his any time soon, you'd better check this one out if you're in the market for a crystal radio set.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-K-B-Aurora-Crystal-Radio-Kit-in-Box-complete-/171251294399