blog #390 >>The Antique Show at Expo

Alright, so The Antique and Collectibles Show at the Expo Center was kinda a bust. I mean I did see some really swell stuff, and it was fun looking around, but everything was WAY over priced. Don't those vendors shop around before pricing their stuff? And since I mainly shop at junk stores and second hand stores, their prices seemed even more preposterous. I think you could buy most anything I saw there for half the price at any of the local antique malls in either Sellwood, Troutdale or almost any vintage store you find. In fact it seemed like it was mostly the local vendors there who had the best deals.

I remember I saw this one booth that had all vintage sewing supplies. She had yards and yards of vintage fabrics and boxes of vintage buttons, and patterns and yes, even trimmings. I'm such a sucker for the trimmings. So I start to look at her prices and about collapsed! $10 for a vintage pattern, $3 a trimming, and $1-$3 PER button! I didn't even have the courage to dig through the fabrics. I realize that some of you may be reading this thinking, "Theresa, those prices are totally fine, that's how much you'd pay for some of those things new!" All I can say to that is, that may be how much YOU might pay for those things, but I'm no spendthrift! I value what little money I have, and I really look for the best deal possible. I never even pay full price for a spool of thread at Jo-Anns! That's why I cut coupons and shop at "The Bins." I NEVER spend more than $5 a pattern, and at $5 it had better be a pretty great pattern, that is (or looks) like new and still has the instructions and is the right size. For patterns of the quality she was selling, I expect them to be a dollar. Like these fabulous patterns I found at the booth across the aisle. They're adorable, they're the right size, they still have the instructions, and they were only a $1! (I also saw someone selling patterns for 50¢ in the next building but they were all 70's and 80's.)



Well, I realize I'm perhaps overstating the "they were over priced" bit. They were really overpriced, but there were some good deals in there too, if you really wanted to dig. It's just that they were few and far between, and you'd have to really know what something is worth to find it. But in the end I suppose the real worth of antiques is how much some one is willing to pay for them. If you really love something, than I suppose however much you pay for it, is now what it's worth to you.

So instead of heading out to The Antiques and Collectibles Show at the Expo, I would suggest saving your $7 admission and $7 parking and sparing your poor feet the blisters of walking through miles of overpriced booths, and instead head to one of these local sellers:

Mike's in Estacada
(My favorite second hand store, just don't touch his signs!)
Read more here.

"The Bin's" a.k.a. The Goodwill Outlet
(This is a shopping experience only for those who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.)
Read more here and here and here.

The Troutdale Antique Mall
(Voted best antique mall in Portland, I think it's 3 years in a row, but it might be only 2. Anyhow, visit them, see how great they really are, and make it 3!)

The Monticello Antique Marketplace
(This is the shabby-sheek antique mall, and I normally either don't find anything there, or I find LOTS of great stuff.)
See the bedroom set I found there here.

Stars Antique Mall in Sellwood
(I don't make it out this way very often, which is surprising since it's about 15 minutes from where I live. But I always see some cool stuff there when I do go.)

Deco to Disco on Hawthorne
(I drive by this place everyday on my way to work and just oooh, and ahh, and everything in the windows. Also Sputnik Housewares is located inside and she always has some really neat things.)


And obviously, I couldn't get out of there empty handed.
I did end up buying these two amazing vintage dresses.

This one was $10 at one of the booths that had a little vintage clothing. I does have some rust on the inside from a wire hanger, but I think I can replace that panel since it's just the lining. Plus it fits perfectly and still had the original tag on it.

This vintage suit was a bit more spendy, but at $30 it was still the cheapest 40's suit I've ever seen, plus it was in my size... well, it is slightly too big, but I can easily take in the skirt a little. And I LOVED the bow.

Also, Lulu's Vintage was there, a very nice seller I met and you should check out her site here.

Alright, that's all for now.
Cheers!
T

(One more thing... HOLD ONTO YOUR BAGS TIGHT! My mom bought a little girl napkin holder, and in passing the bags around it got dropped and smashed into confetti before she ever even made it home. We felt terrible! Fortunately, however we had seen another one, an exact replica of the one she bought, in one of the other booths. It stuck out in our minds because the other one we saw as $14 and we paid $6 for ours. Well, it took me a good long time to find that same booth again, but I managed it, and we replaced it for her. She was a very cute little napkin holder after all. But we learned a very valuable lesson... HOLD ONTO YOUR BAGS TIGHT! Especially if they contain anything fragile.)