Thrifting 101: 5 tips for thrifting vintage

Hi, I’m Liz. I blog over at The Blue Eyed Owl, about all things vintage, handmade and my life as mom, wife and indie business owner. I work out of my home studio, run an online vintage and handmade shop, and participate in various local shows and markets.

I am also a self proclaimed thrifting expert. Digging through other people's old junk, or as I call it, treasure hunting, is my favorite activity. I hit my local thrifts regularly looking for unique vintage treasures for my shop and home. I'm constantly asked how the heck I find such great stuff. Here are my top 5 tips for thrifting vintage.

1. Go where the old folks are.

Skip that nice clean Goodwill near that new master planned community and head for the retirement homes! It's pretty simple, older people have older things. A lot of them don't understand why us young folks want all their old junk either, so they happily donate to their local thrift thinking it's worthless.

2. Check condition.

This is especially true for vintage clothing. Inspect seams, look for stains, make sure all the parts are there, and test it out. Take this advice with a grain of salt though, sometimes the best pieces are rusty and chippy.

3. Use that smart phone.

Diamond in the rough or just rough? Do some research right there in the store to determine the history of a vintage piece. You can find out when a piece was made and how much it's worth in just a few minutes with good ol' Google.

4. Find that secret spot.

There are a couple of local thrifts that are my secret spots. They are always chock full of vintage so I know there aren't any other vintage hunters that frequent them. When you find these spots visit them often. Enjoy your gold mine before someone else discovers it. I would tell you mine, but then I'd have to kill you ;)

5. Look EVERYWHERE.

When I visit a thrift I search in every section. Sizes are always mixed up, sheets are with the skirts, seasonal items are buried under tools, etc. Some of my greatest finds have been in the wrong place so dig, dig, dig. I once found an antique hat form buried in a pile of baskets...true story!

The Blue Eyed Owl

blog // shop 

to be good natured

Today I want to introduce you to an adorably sweet & talented sponsor of mine Dani.  She has sponsored before and I adore her cute felted items and LOVE her ceramics.  Recently she asked if she could send me a few goodies ---uh of course!  When the package arrived full of amazing goodies, great branding and seriously thoughtful items I was really excited.  When I saw the mini Arthur she made though.. well I kinda sorta died.

Just going off a few photos she had seen from my blog Dani managed to make a little felt version of him!  His spots, his ears and his under-bite were all there!  A perk of this new little Arthur, he won't shed as much (evidence on the floor in the photo below) and probably won't slobber or eat too much either! Today she is hanging out to share a little bit about what she does & answering a couple business questions.  Enjoy!

Hi there!! I'm Dani!  I live in Missouri with my husband, Brandon, (whom I started dating in junior high!), and our two dogs, three cats and two chickens.  My full time job is a zoo educator.  I take animals to schools, daycares and other facilities and teach people about them.  It's a crazy fun job.  When I'm not at the zoo, I'm either working on projects for my shop, Good Natured, or I'm gardening, biking, reading, hiking, sewing or planning a traveling adventure! 

Good Natured started a little over a year ago after I discovered needle felting.  I found a kit on Etsy and fell in love!  I do a lot of other things also, like pottery and ceramic jewelry, so I opened a shop of my own. My husband helps too--he makes pottery and folds all of those tiny origami shapes for jewelry.  For now, my shop is just a part-time venture, but I'd love for it to grow into something bigger! 

I don't have a blog, but I love to sponsor awesome blogs like JustLove.lyThings to get more exposure than what Etsy can provide.  I also use facebook and pinterest to help market my shop.

What do you love about having a handmade business?  I love creating something special.  I love the time and thought that goes into making art with my hands.  And I really love the handmade community--you guys rock!  I can always find support among all of the amazing people in this community.

What are your favorite things to make?  I love making pin cushions like this one  and this one.  I just recently added my Tea Party Pin Cushion collection, which are made vintage teacups, wool and lace!  And it might be obvious that working with animals has inspired a lot of different felt critters in my shop!  These two are my favorites: here and here.  I also get really excited when customers come to me with custom requests.  Currently, I'm working on wool portraits of a girl's grandparents to give to her grandmother for a gift.  So cool!

Do you have any new items or fun business news in the works for this year?  I'm hoping this year to offer even more woolly variety in my shop.  I'd love to offer my wool critters in little sets, with maybe even some scenic wool playmats to go along!  I'd also love to delve into the world of framed wool pictures.  I have so many ideas, I can't wait to make them all happen!

GOOD NATURED BY DANI
use code justlovely to save 15%

shop // facebook // pinterest

love ❤ club is open!

I cannot tell you how anxious, nervous, proud and seriously just over the moon excited I am about this project.  When I dream of something I put my all into it, but let me tell you, that doesn't mean that all of those dreams come true or even work out as planned.  I have nixed plenty of ideas.  This one is different though.

What started as just a seedling of an idea, led to extensive research to determine if this could even be brought to life.  It then moved on to presenting it to you and being shown an incredible and humbling amount of interest.  A little help from friends & my mom bouncing around some ideas, trying to explain what this even is to my husband (I still don't think he understands) and networking with interested vendors.

This leads us to today.  Today LOVE ❤ CLUB™ officially opens.  Each month you will receive a thoughtfully packaged box with a hair accessory, beauty samples, discount cards, extra handmade swag and lots of love.

I need you to know, when I bring it... I bring it hard.  Don't expect anything less then the best I can offer and know that everything I do is out of the appreciation I have for being able to do what I love and having the most amazing supportive customers around.  I can't wait to share this new program with you and I hope you love it with all of your heart. xo


To register please head over to this secure form here & fill out completely (as its your member profile) & if you need to read up on what its all about visit this post.

love ❤ club: details!

*all subscription spots are now full, join our wait list & get an invite in june!*

I want to thank everyone that emailed me inquiring about this new & exciting business adventure I am working on. The interest was overwhelmingly appreciated and I can't wait to get this started.  Registration begins at 8am tomorrow morning (pacific standard time) here on the blog and as its the first month I'm limiting it to 50 participants -first come first serve-.  All others above 50 will be notified that they will be on the waiting list for July.  Below you can find additional details on the packages, if you have any questions or anything just leave a comment or email me shop@justlove.ly ((Thanks again!!))

*if you received an email this week, please note just a couple of changes below*

• Sign up & pay a low monthly fee of $12 (includes shipping for US & Canada)
  -or sign up for multiple months in advance and receive a discount
  3mo $32 // 6mo $60 // 12mo $115
  
  
• Refer your friends and get love points
  10 pts per sign up, for every 50 pts get one month of membership free!
  
  
• Each package is guaranteed to have a JustLovelyThings hair accessory
  plus a beauty product sample & coupon
  
  
• And each month it will have an additional item from one of our friends we work with such as jewelry, cosmetics, candles, paper goods, gift vouchers & so much more!!
  
  
• You can choose between Adult or Child/Baby size for your hair accessories- hey the tiny humans need love too!
  
  
• Plus you can set your preferences for items such as receiving small, large or surprise me accessories!
  
  
• All packages are done up with the most love & cuteness available
  and ship on the 15th of every month straight to your doorstep!
  
  
• You can cancel your monthly subscription at anytime however multiple month packages are only transferable (read the small print tomorrow!)

If you are a vendor and would like more details on how your items can be included in LOVE ❤ CLUB™ packages please email me as spots throughout the year are filling up fast!