Dig This Treasure!

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that Beanie Babies are essentially a worthless investment.  At their height, you could DEFINITELY make some bucks on them.  Nowadays, not so much.  There are just too many in existence (like at this sale) and rarity is one of the cornerstones of collecting.  If everyone has it, it ain’t worth nothin’.  

And before I go on, let me remind you, that I am the Beanie Baby master.  (P.S. Why this photo of me hasn’t gone to the front page of Reddit yet is a failure of all you readers and a huge disappointment in my life.)

Last night, Zach stumbled upon this great short documentary called “Bankrupt by Beanies.”  It is made by a student at The University of Arizona and is super compelling.  This family spent $100,000 on Beanie Babies, and did so in the hopes that the investment would pay for 5 children’s college educations.  The results are as you can expect.

So check it out.  It is short, and worth the watch for sure.

-Erin

Last week we gave you a little tasty taste of our trip to Charlevoix, MI.  When we left off, I was dead of heat stroke while Sarah and her family were perusing an antique shop in Petoskey.  At some point though, I drank a slushie from an ice cream hut and then came fully back to life.  Just in time to meet this dude:

We hit a few antique shops in Pellston, MI.  They were all pretty neat and the prices seemed fair.  

I’ll let Sarah share with you her finds, which I think included a really amazing Vernor’s cooler.  I didn’t buy anything.  This cooler could have come in handy the next day when we went back to Petoskey.  We bought some beer to bring home for our husbands but then realized that it would have to sit in a hot car for hours while we shopped around.  Sarah had already unloaded the cooler into the house, so we drove instead to a Walmart and bought one.  Anyway, the beer was from Beards Brewery, which has a really nice logo, and these cool hats:

Also in Petosky, I bought a Zuni fetish.  I’ve wanted one of these for a long time, and was happy to have this rabbit now in my possession.

Sarah found a fetish too, but it was this onion ring in the shape of a dinosaur:

The last day there, we went to Traverse City. While we were there, we hit up that huge antique mall from last year’s trip.  This is where I found some of Zach’s lead soldiers I wrote about recently.  This place is the best.  Some of the prices are high, but it varies booth by booth.  

I wanted this paper mache Easter rabbit, but Sarah vetoed it.  I usually try to ignore her, but I texted Zach a photo and he was also disapproving. 

I think they thought it was “scary.”

This Skookum doll was THE BEST.  But he was $195.  Whomp whomp.

$195 was out of my price range, but $40 sure wasn’t for this gnome head.  And yet, I still didn’t buy it!  I’m kicking myself for this.  It would be great for Halloween.

Again, Sarah will fill you in on all her treasures.  Until next time, Northern Michigan!

-Erin

Update from Sarah: I need some Crest White Strips.

While Erin was recovering from heat stroke, I was looking at this huge hand-painted Joan Walsh Anglund Christmas scene. Of course it was too giant to buy, but pretty cool anyway! 

At this store, I bought a small crib quilt for a chair at home. I spent too much on it but that’s ok–it’s very nice and in excellent shape. And I love this color of yellow. 

There were lots of cool things to look at at the bigger antique shop in Pellston. One of the first things I went through was this huge group of old portraits. I was of course looking for dead people but would have been cool with anything interesting. I came up empty handed. 

I did find this funny picture of a baby, though. 

There were also lots of books in the basement of this place.

I got excited, but they turned out to be pretty bad. 

In the end, I only ended up with an ornament and a very cool Vernors cooler. As I’ve mentioned, I love Vernors. 

It’s in excellent shape and was only $49, which I feel is very reasonable. I am not quite sure what I’m going to do with it, but I’ll figure it out one day (no eye rolls, Adam.) 

The next day in Traverse City, I saw a lot of cool things, but didn’t buy much. Here are some of the funnier things I saw. 

These little buddies love frenching. 

Ok this isn’t funny–it’s cool. I absolutely loved this clock, but it was $75. So awesome, though. 

In the end, most of the stuff was out of my price range, or something I felt I could find online for a bit cheaper. I just bought a small cast iron bear and two photographs. Still, lots of fun things to see! I would go back in a heartbeat. 

A few weeks ago, I saw a listing for a sale in Ann Arbor that started on a Saturday. Adam and I hit it up BEFORE breakfast, which is pretty unheard of, but I needed to get there early. It looked like it was a retired professor’s home, and there were TONS of books. As mentioned in the past, I love me a sale with a lot of books. (Remember that store in Montague?!) I’ve also been known to make a killing on books that people don’t realize are valuable. 

We arrived and man, were there books. 

Nearly every single room I entered looked like this one. It was so overwhelming and so awesome. The non-awesome thing was the pricing on these books. I was pretty disappointed by this because we have been to other sales run by this company, and their pricing was really reasonable. At this sale, hardcovers were $4 each, no matter what. Softcovers were $3. Oversized books were $6. Little paperbacks were $2. I’m sorry but if you have THAT MANY books in a house, you’re gonna want to make those prices a little lower. I grabbed a bunch of books but put a lot of them back once I saw the pricing list and the quantity throughout the rest of the house. 

Adam quickly moved through the house and I could tell he wanted to cry because he knew it would be a long visit. It was also hot as hell in the house because there was no AC and it was during a heat wave. 

There were a lot of vintage Heritage Press copies of classics, which can sell for a decent amount of money on eBay, especially if you get them for cheap (meaning, not $4 each). I ended up with just two–a copy of Pride and Prejudice, and a copy of The Moon and Sixpence. 

The Austen book sold right away–for $28. Woo! The Maugham didn’t sell, and I’m sort of surprised because it’s got some beautiful illustrations. Oh well. 

Even the basement was filled with books on every available surface.

The other cool thing that I saw in the main room (first picture) were these old wood carvings/molds that were hung on the wall. There were a few very large ones and then a bunch of small ones. The small ones were all marked $20 a piece, which seemed reasonable. I was interested because I know that primitive butter molds can be very valuable. If you ever seen something like this, and it’s cheap, BUY IT.

These things can sell for A LOT of money. 

I asked the people running the sale what they knew about the carvings. The company is a couple and their daughter who is a little younger than me, and the daughter immediately said, “I think they’re printing press blocks.” Adam and I just looked at each other because they clearly were not blocks used to print a design onto a flat surface–the pattern was cut into the wood–not sticking out from the wood. I tried explaining this to Erin in the car the other day and she lost her mind. YES, in both cases the design is carved INTO the wood. But the actual design of a stamp/press block sticks OUT from the rest of the wood, and in a mold, the design goes down INTO the wood. In other words, you put a stamp ON something to see the design, and with a mold, you put things INTO it, in order to get the design. This is simple to me, but Erin’s brain did not get it for about 20 minutes. 

Anyway, the dad interrupted and said, “No, I think they’re just decorative carvings from somewhere in Europe. I know they bought the whole lot at auction at Schmidt’s.” This made me more intrigued, because Schmidt’s is a fairly high-end auction house down the street from me. I ended up taking a risk and bought two of the molds, so we’ll see if they’re worth anything. 

The first says “PIG” in chalk on the back, and the second says “CHICKENS.” You have to use your imagination to see either of these animals in the wood. They’re up on eBay now, so we’ll see what happens! 

-Sarah 

While I’m incapacitated, there’s a whole lot of stuff I want to catch up on writing about. The first is something I discovered yesterday! At that folk art sale, I had purchased a big slide case filled with old stereo slides from the 1950s. It was marked $65 but that awesome lady sold it to me for $20. 

I started sorting through the slides yesterday afternoon, since it’s easy to do that while you’re laying on a couch. Most of the slides were family pictures of holidays and vacations, but toward the end of my sorting, I found this box: 

Unlike Erin (thanks to Timmy), I know nothing about sports or the Detroit Tigers, but thought this sounded promising. After a little digging, I discovered that Denny McLain was a pitcher for the Tigers in the 1960s, and is famous for winning 30 games in a season. Now he’s famous for a scandal involving gambling and broken toes. Oh the irony. I guess Denny and I have more in common than I thought.

Anyway, the slides in that Kodak box are of that winning/record setting game in 1968, and the pictures were taken very close to the field. 

Pretty stinkin’ cool! Anyway, if you’re a fan of the Tigers, they’re up on eBay right now! 

-Sarah

If someone would have told me a couple years ago that my biggest collecting obsession would be high-end porcelain, I never would have believed them.  That said, Herend isn’t your great-grandma’s porcelain.  Ok ok, technically, it is (they’ve been around since 1826).  Still, there is something about Herend pieces–particularly their “fishnet” painted figurines–that transcends across generations.  On the one hand, Herend is classic, high-brow artistry, and at the same time, feels young and fun.  

And remember when we interviewed Marsha Bemko, executive producer of Antiques Roadshow?  She told us that the most coveted collectibles are those that were always finely made and were passed down through families because of their extraordinary quality.  Well, that’s Herend.

So if you’re like me, you’ve started asking for Herend pieces at Christmas, birthdays, and baby showers (hint, hint, they’ve got a whole baby line).  Or if you’re like me a year ago, you are simply perusing eBay listings and drooling over the fantasy of just owning one Herend piece.  Well, worry no more.  Whether you’re an established collector or just starting out, Dig This Treasure and Herend USA has got you covered.  We are giving away SEVEN Herend figurines, each from this month’s new releases.

But before we tell you how to win, here’s some insider info on (and my review of) all the pieces:

Herend already has several swan designs in their collection, but wanted a less stylized depiction of the bird.  The new figurine presents the swan in “all its grace and glory.”  I say “hooray” because this bird looks incredible.  A perfect gift for a wedding anniversary or Valentine’s day.  Or for the classiest of ladies (and gents of course!)

Two members of the Herend USA product team visited the Maison et Objet show (France’s largest design expo) in 2012, and voila, inspiration struck.  While the Eiffel Tower figurine is perfect for any Francophile, I’m pretty biased towards Herend’s typical animal designs.  Still, an interesting concept I’m sure many will love.

Yes, now we’re talking.  A hot air ballon riding bunny?  Perfection.  (Perhaps the Eiffel Tower design should have an added animal friend too.)  A Herend team member visited Arizona and saw some hot air balloons.  The idea for a figurine was refined by the product development team, who added one of Herend’s signature bunnies.  Love this.

This snowman evokes my inner Rachel Zoe, and makes me say things like, “This is BEYOND.”  Seriously, this snowman has got to be my most favorite Herend design of all time.  I know, I know…it’s not an animal, but it is SO cute and SO perfectly detailed.  It is also a genius design by Herend because all of us collectors will want this little guy for Christmas.  What’s shocking is that Herend almost didn’t release this design!  It went through TWO whole summers of waiting before being approved for release.  Please Herend, make an accompanying Santa Claus and Rudolph.  

This baby elephant might make you do a double take.  He was part of the Herend 2012 Kingdom Classic collection, where he appeared with his mom.  Here he is, now “weaned.”  Herend has a mighty assortment of elephant figurines, so I assume lots of people collect and love them.  I’d rather see some more exotic animal designs, like Herend’s kiwi bird or koalas.  However, this is coming from the person who has five pieces of Herend, THREE of which are bunnies.

This fox design has a great, folk art kind of look.  Very whimsical, but still traditionally Herend.  The guilded paws are adorable of course.  And while he looks simple, this fox was quite a challenge for the Herend factory.  The placement of the legs made them unstable during firing, and some retooling was needed before the final version was perfected.

And of course, the corgi!  I actually won this piece during Herend’s “Name the Introduction” contest.  It was probably the best day of my life.  Herend’s British distributor requested this design, as any fan of British royalty knows this dog breed is a favorite of Queen Elizabeth.  I love this design because it’s cute, first off.  And because no matter where you are from, you probably have at least a little British mania.  (Gotta love that Kate Middleton!)  Herend nailed it on this one.

So there you have it!  All 7 designs.  So how can you win one?  It’s pretty simple:

1. Visit HerendUSA.com and at the bottom of the page, click Contact.  

2. In the email form, tell Herend what your favorite design is (new or old).  

3. Include your name, address, and email.  That way, if you win, Herend can reach you.

And that’s it!  Herend will randomly select 7 prize winners from all of the entries.  We will announce the winners here in TWO WEEKS on August 5th.  (Herend will also email all winners.)

What are you waiting for?  Go enter!  And be sure to tell your mom, husband, friends, hair dresser, and anyone else who loves Herend!  Good luck!

-Erin 

This is a big ol’ teaser to let you know that our biggest giveaway yet is happening on Monday!  DTT is teaming up with a huge brand to bring you SEVEN (yes, seven!) prizes.  I don’t want to give too much away, but trust me, you’ll want to be HERE before all of the fun ENDS.

See you Monday!

-Erin

So you’ve all heard now that Sarah is out of commission for awhile because she broke her toe.  I’m going to add some entries, and when she isn’t doped up, Sarah will write all about her finds too.  Before that though, here is a card I made her:

Just kidding.  I found that on the internet.  Also, let me point out, that this is the SECOND TIME Sarah has injured her toe while doing things treasure hunting-related.

Ok, so last Friday, we ventured out to a sale that looked BALLER.  It was in Oak Park and was jam packed full of folk art.  We knew that the sale would probably be pricey, but we stopped by anyway.  In particular, I saw a rug in the sale listing that looked amazing.  I speculated that it would be $500, and Sarah guessed over $1,000.  

When we got to the sale, the rug was way bigger than I thought it would be.  I wanted it for our nursery, but it measured over 9’ x 12’.  I was still in love though.  It was priced $495 (more on this later).

The house was gorgeous and literally everything in it was interesting and collectible.

The most common items in the house were wood carvings and other wooden folk art pieces.  The smallest items were all $15-$25 each, and larger carvings between $40 and $100.  The largest sculptural pieces were a few hundred dollars each.

This horse was from the turn of the century and priced $395.  I was obsessed.  More on him later…

There were also some general antique items (non-folky) in the house.  

I wanted to buy this Detroit Zoo sign for my sister because she is the penguin keeper there.  I sent my dad a photo to see if he wanted to go in on it with me as a Christmas gift.  Then I realized that the entire right side was rotted away and disintegrating.  It was also over 9 feet long, so it was a bit presumptuous to assume my sister could even have a place for it. 

I found this weird thing below and was obsessed with it.  It was marked as Native American, but my guess was that it was actually Victorian.  It seemed like an embroidery project/decoration type thing from that era.  

It was marked $250, which seemed insane to me, but I was also judging this thing without really knowing what it was.  When I got home later that night, I found out that it is in fact Native American, most likely Iroquois.  And guess what, it’s a pin cushion!  You can read all about these pin cushions here.  Amazing huh?

I couldn’t afford a $250 pin cushion, but I could afford this great wooden apple box.  It has a crack, but I’ll just turn that side towards the wall.  At $5, this was a steal.

This apple was actually the only thing I bought at the sale…well, on that first visit anyway.  Sarah, Adam, Zach, and I all returned to this sale on its last day, Sunday.  Everything was 50% off, so we were hoping to score some deals!

And boy did we ever!  You might have noticed that over that past couple months, I’ve barely been buying anything at sales.  It’s really been a bad streak for me.  So on this day, I was ready to drop some bones.

The rug was still there on Sunday.  On Friday, I had actually talked to the woman running the sale about the rug.  I offered her $150 if no one bought it by the last day.  I was super honest with her and told her I didn’t mean to lowball, but it was just what I could feel comfortable paying.  She was SO NICE and actually remembered me when I came back on Sunday.  She said that there was one bid higher than me, and so I flat out asked what it would take for me to be able to buy the rug.  She said $205.  

It’s a deal!  $205 was a great price on this rug and it was now ours!  Here it is in our living room:

The rug is a “dhurrie” rug, but I am not sure how old.  Rug people!  Help me out if you have any hunches on this!

So after buying the rug, Zach and I found a couple more cool items to buy:

Mexican folk art of David in the lions’ den.  This is a larger piece, even though you can’t tell in the photo. $30.

This wooden crest to hang somewhere outside.  $10.

And this Stag tobacco metal sheet, which I am guessing was used for stamping out the tobacco tins.  I got this to resell.  It cost $10.

So before we are about to leave, the woman running the sale stops me and says, “Make me some offers on other things.  Come on, I won’t be offended.”  I was apprehensive because, while I really loved a lot of things left in the house, I really did NOT want to lowball her.  I told her that and she said, “No, come on.  Lowball me!”  Seriously, SO NICE.  I wanted to hug her.

I immediately went to the giant carved horse I saw on Friday.  It was originally $395.  I offered her $80, and she accepted!  I was so thrilled.  Here it is again, in our house:

We are going to put this in the baby nursery once it’s ready.  My dad suggested putting rockers on the horse but I’m going to keep it as a decorative piece.  Maybe when Antiques Roadshow comes back, I’ll bring it there.

The Iroquois pin cushion was gone, so I couldn’t make an offer on that.  It will have to be a new “holy grail” item.    

Sarah bought a lot at this sale too and got some great deals, so hurry up and email her some get well cards so she can blog all about what she found!

-Erin

Here are some more things we recently found “hard to resist.”  Most of these items are from Taylor Town Trade Center, which you might remember for its cage fighting and Coco Joy massages.

First up is this elegant lady:

Doesn’t that look like the kind of thing you’d buy in elementary school at Santa’s Secret Workshop?  Remember that?  Once a year, your parents would give you like $20 and you’d buy everyone you know Christmas gifts at Santa’s Secret Workshop.  Then you’d come home with garbage like this for your mom and she’d pretend to love it, but inside she is thinking, “No one loves me.”

Here is what you should have bought your cool ass mom.  A Michael Jordan Space Jam doll:

[Editor’s Note: At first I typed “Will Smith Space Jam doll” and had to erase it.  Was Will Smith in Space Jam? I feel like he was.]

This fancy bedazzled skull is $41.99 (necklace is an extra $14.99) and if you look close, you’ll see that that price is FIRM.  No lowball offers here folks. 

This is a totally not racist horse statue:

Seriously though, someone please stop appropriating important cultural symbols onto plastic items made in China.  Like, please.  Really stop.  Go make this instead:

Or this:

Or even this:

OK, or even these bustier purses: 

Very fancy!

-Erin