Being good at thrifting is the combination of:
1. doing your research
2. knowing your city and not being scared to go into every neighborhood.
3. having a good eye, obviously
and
4. being totally obsessed and determined every day of your life
OH, and
5. LUCK.
Because a few days ago i was cruising by a thrift store that normally has very, very, very bad stuff and i saw these outside:
Uh huh. I practically caused a car accident trying to park. I walked up to them (heart racing, hoping he wasn’t about to put a sold sign on them) and saw that indeed they were in almost perfect condition – completely preserved from the 60’s, except missing the buttons on 3 of the tufts (easily replaceable). The linen is perfect. The color is AMAZING….the most perfect kelly green.
I went inside, pretending to shop, wandering through the 80’s knotty pine dresser row, then casually asked the owner how much they were. I tried desperately not to look too excited. The price? Both for $120. I wish i could say they were $15, but $60 each for these bad boys was a very exciting price. They were probably cheaper earlier that day but a dealer came in and was coming back for them so he probably jacked up the price. You snooze, you lose, dealer.
But that’s not all.
Next to them, just a few feet away were these:
I’m totally serious. They are so effing amazing (its extremely hard to use the clean version of that word in this case – these chairs deserve a R rated word they are so good).
4 of them. Navy velvet – but with some sort of poly in it or there is no way they would be this preserverd. They are actually the same fabric as my sofa that i bought vintage with the original upholstery on it from the 60’s. Whatever this fabric is, i want to upholster everything in it because this stuff is indestructable.
Back to the chairs:
Normally i’m not a chrome person. If these were brass, dear god i probably would have made some sort of inappropriate sound. But i can handle the chrome, for sure in exchange for 4 extremely comfortable, totally unique, chairs in my favorite color. Man, if there were only 2 more…….
Oh and they were all four for $200, but since i bought all six chairs he knocked $25 off for me, without me asking, which i thought was fair.
Oh and here’s my theory on bartering: if its a fair price i never barter. I want people to make money. That sounded so self righteous, but i see people at the flea markets trying to get something for nothing and it makes me feel so bad for the vendors and ashamed for the people. Everybody has to make a living and if its a fair price that i can afford then thats it. If they want to lower it based on an expression on my face, then great.
If its too much then i’ll simply state what i think is fair for it….but bartering for the sake of bartering isn’t interesting to me…..and makes me feel bad. That being said, if they underprice something….girlfriends not going to argue.
And lastly:
This bad brass and lucite boy i got at a vintage store for $70, which wasn’t a steal, but totally worth it to me. It’s in great condition and is going to look dope in my guest room.
In case you need one more look:
The shape isn’t unique. But the fact that i don’t have to upholster and refinish it just saved me $400. They are just crazy good chairs for $60.
Bragging officially over.