Thermos flask from Sally Ann dig

Ever gone back to the thrift shop over a month later and seen the thing you really wish you picked up the first time?

That happened to me yesterday when shopping along St. Clair West on my way to work.

This is a Thermos Bottle Co Ltd made in Toronto Canada (so it's etched on the bottom). It also reads "Thermos Stronglas, registered trademark, Made in Canada."

What a wonderful Canadian-made relic!

It's glass lined and has a hinged top and I just love it.

The thermos technology was created by a Brit but sold to various companies. The Thermos brand has a fascinating history; check it out if you're so inclined.

I think it was $6.99 when I was there the first time, but the price tag had fallen off so the powers that be at the Salvation Army Thrift Store gave it to me for $2.99.

I call that thrifting karma.

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Gold, silver & gold

I'm not a huge fan of brass nor am I a clock collector, but I loved this clock by H. Samuel made in West Germany.

I found it in my local thrift shop for $5.99.

It looks very Old World when positioned in front of some of my old books.










Though I love glittery things, I also like old, worn and tarnished pieces that used to gleam and glisten.

This silver jug has a nicer look when oxidized, I think, than it would all shiny and new looking.

I bought it at the same thrift store in Toronto, Stretch Thrift, for $3.99. I tried to fit a plant into it but it didn't work, so it's just on its own for now.

This silvery vase was $10 at a west end Toronto junk store. Sometimes I put flowers in it but more often than not it sits empty and hangs out with my other gold & silver stuff on my new dining table.

What I'd love to find, for super cheap natch: an old silver trophy, with the handles and everything.

Once I get an idea in my head about something I'd like, it tends to come to me. So I'm just putting the trophy thing out there.

Now, what about that rich & romantic man?

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Auction tonight!

Fellow Torontonians, if you're wondering what that contraption is on the floor under the painting in the pic shown here, and if the bargain hunter is looking for a fun experience, check out Mark Taaffe's new shop in the Junction, World Headquarters (2885 Dundas St. West, 416-333-8078).

Tonight the long-time auctioneer is having his first auction in his new space, starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday June 8.

Bring cash. You're guaranteed to find some really neat stuff.

Check out my recent article below....



Salvaging Good Style

Kelly Gadzala
Town Crier Bloor West

You should know by now my penchant for anything used, worn and slightly junky in the home décor department. The majority of my apartment furniture is a collection of forgotten curbside relics.

The Dundas West strip in the Junction is therefore happy land for me, a place strewn with salvage shops and even a few new furniture stores.

To read more click Here

And I will tell you what that contraption is: it's a manmade bee's nest used to contain wild bees. It even smells of honey inside! Just an example of some of the truly cool stuff you can find at Mark's shop.

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Chair from the trash

Remember my garage sale booty (two posts below and I still have more to show you!)? On my way home that day I found this fab faux bamboo chair in the trash - fully functional!

I believe in trashing Karma: if you want something in home decor, it will eventually come to you in the form of garbage.

It's a big chair, maybe a dining room one, that I would have used at my desk if it weren't so large. For now it's tucked in a cozy corner by my dining room table.




I plopped a cusion on it I found at Value Vilage for $1.99 - it has an old tag on it that says "The General Store on Mount Pleasant Ltd Toronto" - a shop that I can't find a reference to so it must be long gone ....

I bought the coverlet that's on the seat that day too. After the garage sale I strolled around an area in Toronto called The Junction and previewed some of the photography exhibits for the Contact photography show premiering that night.







The Junction is a haven for semi-junky and architectural salvage shops. Mark Taaffe's relatively new store, on Dundas St. West near Keele, houses all kinds of quirky items this deal diva could just eat up.

I walked away with this shawl, something Mark called a great example of Victorian Industrial prowess, if memory serves. He told me it came in a box marked "great-grandmother's shawl" and was apparently bought in a London market in the early 1900s.

I love it, eventhough it's worn and is stitched up in places ... but that adds to the charm for me. It's wool and large enough to function as a table cloth, duvet coverlet or even a wall hanging. Mark let me have it for a song.

More on Junction shops soon.

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Magic Carpet

Ahem, notice anything different?

I'm groovin' on my HUGE wool reversible area rug I bought on Roncesvalles Ave. today for ... FIVE BUCKS!

This is a grunge queen moment to be savoured.

I bought it at the Eldorado Second Hand Store at 482 Roncesvalles Ave. in Toronto's west end, where you can buy stuff by the pound and for 1 or 2 bucks each - would have been way more if the owner was selling it by the pound but thankfully she wasn't.



I dig that it matches some of my other decorative elements - and it's perfectly fab for the Gemini in me as it's the same pattern and colour except in reverse on the other side! That means two carpets in one!

But the living room look isn't perfect - too much orange and green. Think a good 'ole grunge queen makeover could be in order. This rug will just pop with my deep indigo blue pieces ....

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Thrift Shopping Faves, West Toronto

I've been promising to share some of my thrift shopping faves for a while now and will make an effort to post thrift shop reviews once weekly.

As I've said in a previous post, integrating thrift shopping into your daily life is a good strategy is it helps you keep on top of constantly rotating stock in the thrift stores AND has the added bonus of honing your thrift shopping eye!

I have a fave suite of shops I try my best to check out regularly on my way home from work, all on Bloor St. West in Toronto in between the Dufferin and Landsdowne subway stations.

FLORAL MAXI DRESS FOR $7.50 AT 69 VINTAGE BY-THE-POUND

Needless to say, the Salvation Army Thrift Store (1219 Bloor St. West, 416 533-9553 www.tstores.ca) is a regular stop and a hidden gem in Toronto - pretty much anything you see on this website that's tagged Salvation Army is from this location. Dresses for $3.99, rings for the same price, capris for $5.99 and tees for a few bucks - you can find it all here. There's a housewares and furniture section as well, and some electronics and more valued items under glass (though I only look at the jewellery under glass). For some reason there's hardly been any jewellery of late but I always keep my eyes peeled. The goods at this location aren't as junky as other locations.

BLACK COTTON 'MARILYN MONROE' DRESS DESIGNED IN FRANCE, $3.99 AT SALVATION ARMY (worn with 99 cent thrift store belt by Simon Chang and chunky gold choker for $1.99 found at same Sally Ann).

MADE IN ENGLAND BY PERSAUD OF LONDON RETRO PURSE, AROUND $10 AT 69 VINTAGE-BY-THE-POUND

I try to do my best to regularly visit 69 Vintage by-the-Pound across the street, though it closes at 6 p.m. and I'm often still at work (1234 Bloor St. West, 416-516-1234 69vintage.com and 69vintage.blogspot.com ). This is the sister store of 69 Vintage on Queen St. West place and it sells its (mostly ladieswear) castoffs by the pound, mainly 1960s-80s polyester ensembles more suitable for hip 20-somethings than 'lil 'ole 30-something me. Still I've found a few great purses, and this fab polyester maxi dress with collar ruffle for $7.50 that fits me like a glove and garners compliments wherever I go. Shoes, boots and jewellery have set prices instead of by the pound. If you're a DIYer you'll love this place, and if you want to become one the shop has recently started sewing classes.

Further west on Bloor St. there's Vintage Depot (1271 Bloor. St. West), sister store to the Kensington Ave. shop that's chock-a-bloc full of men's and ladies' fashions and accessories. Everything here is sorted by type and there appears to be some new stuff like shoes and hats. I don't go here as often but the deal breakers on a quick glance appear to be the sweaters (current and fab fluffy 1980s ones), leather jackets and (seasonal) fur coats. I picked up a classic retro mink coat here for under $60, part of its 30 percent off fur sale in February.

Further west still there's a humungous Value Village (1319 Bloor St. West, (416) 539-0585

MOOD RING BRACELET, $5.99 AT VALUE VILLAGE

www.valuevillage.com I haven't fully infiltrated, it's so big. More to come on this, but I did fine a wholly original mood ring bracelet there for $5.99 (a bit over-priced, I thought, but it was different enough to warrant paying more).

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