Frugal Friday: Addison Studio Sale!

Oh how I love Addison Endpapers! Never heard of it? You may have even walked past it before and not known it. They're located on Telegraph just off of Alcatraz. Upon closer inspection of their adorable shop you will notice the vintage wall paper on the walls and the stylish font on their sign, not to mention all of their treasures inside. I don't think I or A have ever left the shop without at least one bag full of goodies!

They scout locally as well as in France and have SO much to choose from! Tomorrow and Sunday they're having a sale and will be featuring:

"Everything from vintage art materials to antiques. Stacks of paper ephemera, theatrical catalogs, movie and theatre photos, etc.. all c.1920's to 50's, early European engravings, victorian photos and albums, antique children's books,1940's travel maps, crumbly cigar boxes filled with miscellany, vintage dolls andd toys, old games and novelties, antique Christmas ornaments & garland, collection of German papier-mache turkeys, 3 old German storefronts, boxes of old lace and linens, victorian beaded appliques, metallic trims an ribbons, old flags, victorian household misc., neat old pencils and antique office supplies, victorian to 1930's men's and women's clothing, old picnic baskets, vintage mannequin, old military, French-Canadian sailor hats, boyscout hats, victorian to 1930's shoes, old millinery flowers etc.., pair matching victorian cake stands, fine & costume jewelry, tons of antique buttons of all kinds, large collection of very old beads and stones used for the theatre, fantastic theatrical costumes, antique jewelry findings, victorian buckles, old sewing, victorian fluting machine, many vintage silver charms, large glass dome, pair antique "Dakota" candy jars, c.1900 folk-art drying rack, blue & white folk-art shelf, coin silver spoons, green + white shopkeepers twine, and much, much more."

As you can see you will have your pick of all things amazing at their sale. The sale runs from 10-4 on Saturday and Sunday and their address is 6397 Telegraph Ave. Get there early because people line up and Enjoy!

Keith Johnson, may I please have your life??

Kieth Johnson is the buyer for all of the Anthropologie (swoon!) stores. He has the luxury of traveling the world looking for art, antiques, textiles and architectural pieces to inspire and enrich the shopping experience at Anthro. I actually got to have a little taste of this lifestyle when I was in France, but Keith Johnson gets paid to do it ALL THE TIME!

He, and a few other lucky buyers, do nothing but travel the planet looking for unique treasures. Johnson says that the trick is being able to

tell the real antiques and hand-crafted gems from the mountains of souvenier junk. I would happily agree to try! Can you imagine having the whole world as your flea market? Yes, please!

You can watch Johnson as he scouts the world on his show Man Shops Globe on the Sundance channel.

Frugal Friday: Oregon Edition!

Thrift stores, Goodwill's and Salvage, oh my! Sorry we missed last week's Frugal Friday, but our Oregon trip was all consuming! We shopped, we swam, camped in a yurt, saw friends and family, crafted and hauled back a bunch of stuff!

One of the many great things about traveling to Oregon, other than the beautiful scenery and friendly people, are the deals you can find all over. Antiques, plates, glassware, and other vintage items can generally be found at better prices than in more urban areas.

Goodwill's are one of the best, and easiest to find, stores. But for real finds, you have to get a off the beaten path. Almost every little town in Oregon has at least one antique shop or thrift store. Some of them are filled with hideous old drapes and deer heads, but some have tons of cool old stuff. We got two amazing office chairs that actually came from my old middle school that got torn down over ten years ago! We also got three really cool mid-century barstools that we plan on updating for our new place!

So if you are ever heading through the beaver state and have some time to spare, troll the main street of anytown, OR and see what treasures await.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part of all -- no sales tax!

A & B Do Oregon!

A & I are heading to Oregon for family time, camping and, oh yes, LOTS of thrift store shopping! There are so many things in California that are great deals because of the resources, abundance of people and things. BUT, in Oregon there is still no sales tax, the knowledge of little gems because we grew up there and the joy of thrifting with loved ones. We're working on projects all the time and it's great to be able to build up our supplies even more so that we don't have to do the scouting all the time, however that is one of my favorite parts! Family, friends and Goodwill...here we come!!

Frugal Friday!

What's that you say? A center where you can buy random items in bulk and more crafting supplies than you have inspiration for? Sounds good to B! I cannot sing the praises of The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, or Center for Creative Reuse if you will, enough! I can, and we have, spent HOURS (and it's not a huge building!) perusing their treasures! I went this morning and they had tons of great light-colored burlap and hundreds of small glass bottles with cork tops in addition to their already amazing selection of magazines, fabric, cards, paint, you name it!