As much as I love the hunt of all things old and unique I started to wonder really how long I have been at it for, and I actually surprised my self!
Being brought up in a single parent home for most of my life money was never plentiful, but my amazing mother always managed to look beautiful, dressed us cute as buttons and made our home a palace with her great taste and hawk eye for a great find! (Photos are of my parents home during the 1980's, so glad we did not own a pastel swirl couch, haha!) So literally I have been a thrift store junkie since I could walk! She would send me on a search and I'd get lost in those musty smelling stores all day, once bored of hunting, my brother, sister and I would chase each other weaving in and out of the fur coat racks, or search coat pockets for goodies, I have found hundreds of dollars over the years!
As I grew older and entered high school I longed for anything polyester, fuzzy, tie-died and distressed, so once again the thrift stores called my name. It wasn't long before I was a high school grad with dreams of moving to the big city of Windsor, On (from our small country town) and working at the holy grail of thrift stores~ Value Village, or for my American friends~ Savers. I worked there for several years, as a sales associate, sorter and pricer. I loved opening a fresh box of goodies; board games from the 50's, antique jewelry, mint condition antique Barbies~ to die for :) depression glass, milk glass, jade lite, I would run to my supervisor with a huge grin full of anticipation excited to find out what the treasure I found was worth. Even though I rarely got to keep my treasures it gave me so much pleasure to know these items would be purchased by a customer who would treat it like a trophy of their own and it would go on seeing the light of day for yet another generation.
To this day as I look around nearly everything we poses have come from a thrift store, yard sale, flea market, or consignment boutiques. I believe in quantity and quality and that in life it IS possible to have both and not break your bank! Also shopping at my little shop~ White Willow Cottage Shop offers you both too :)
White Willow Cottage Shop
71 Murray Street
Amherstburg, On
All pictures belong to White Willow Cottage Shop, and do not permit other usage.
