4 Nelson pedestal tables
I got 3 Nelson pedestal coffee tables and 1 pedestal side table for $12 total at a county surplus auction. These had the polished aluminum bases and 28.5" white laminate tops. Only a few minor chips to the side of the tops, which you don't see unless you look for them. The laminate tops were in great shape on 3 of them. The 4th had a few light marks from someone one scratching the word NO on it.
About a year ago, I got a Florence Knoll 80" T-angle walnut bench for $40 at the university surplus store. It had some gouges in the top from a microwave that someone indiscriminately shoved around on it. I refinished the tops and it looks great.
fm
Couldn't do it
I think I reached my rock bottom low last Saturday. I went to an auction of an elementary school that was closing. The few pictures that the auctioneers posted online showed about 5 rooms crammed full of institutional type chairs and desks which could have been something or nothing, I couldn't tell. So I drove an hour out into the countryside and the only thing that was worth bidding on was this couch and I got really excited. But then I flipped it over, (believe me, the farmers and countryfolk at this auction were all staring at me turning all of the furniture upside down--I'm sure I will be the talk of the local diner for days to come), and on the bottom was a sticker that said "Property of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. It came out of a prison. And I just got weirded out and I put it down and left. Like, everyone who ever sat on that couch was sad, you know? I couldn't even picture putting it in the back of my truck, let alone my house.
That's the first time I ever got juju vibes off of a piece of furniture and I still can't stop thinking about it, two days later.
I hope the picture comes out and all of you tell me that it was nothing anyway and not to lose any sleep over it.
Best Finds...
My best finds seem to come in Ohio... people here now don't appreciate Mid-Century Mod ~ a shame really, cause there is plenty of it popping-up.
1) Got lucky today! At a thrift store I spotted a Herman Miller Eames Fiberglass Shell Chair. Having been on the look-out for these for years, I was ready for the usual disappointment ~ you know, convinced myself it was a cheap copy. I think I was numb, lol ~ first I noted the heavy fiberglass pattern, then the quality swivel base. Still, I must be wrong, no? I nearly passed out when I turned it over and saw the mounts and the Herman Miller paper label. After researching it this eve, it's worth even more than I thought because it's an early Zenith. Whew-hew! I paid $5 for it and couldn't get it out of that place quickly enough...
2) Heywood Wakefield Sculptura Nightstand with X-base (could sell it tomorrow on eBay for $500.) Got it at a Pop-up Flea Market in a field. I pulled my car off the road and ran to it! I sat on it till the owner had time to get to me. It was $10, but I talked the owner down to $7. Probably won't ever part with it. It's solid northern yellow birch ~ a dense wood and it is quite heavy! Beautiful, beautiful piece!!!
3) Heywood Wakefield Sculptura Twin Beds (2). Found at same field flea market listed above. Went back for them ~ paid $10 for them and sold them a month later for $200. Worth much more, but it's hard to value out of twin beds.
4) Creative Playthings Rocking Beauty Hobby Horse (it's an icon ~ look it up!) by Gloria Caranica 1950s/1960s. Found in another Ohio thrift store for $15. I kept it for nearly a year, then sold on eBay last month for $300 ~ bargain basement price as it's value is between $900 ~ $2200. I need a new car...
5) Majestic Z Lamp found in Ohio Antique store for $50. Sold it on eBay for over $300.
6) The item that started my Mid Century obsession long ago ~ a beautiful Thonet Bent Plywood Chair. Bought in a Pittsburgh, Pa Antique store in the mid-90s for $45. I thought that was a lot of money at the time, but the chair is beautiful and worth a lot more. I still have it today.
7) Two different original 1972 Kenner Blythe Dolls. First one was part of a $12 doll lot bought on eBay in 2001 for $12. That doll took a lot of work to bring back, but I sold it later for $2000. Another Blythe had bad photos on eBay, but I could see it was primo. I got it for $400 and sold it a year later for $2000. Sometimes you just need rent money.
A lot of the time, I don't know what these pieces are, I just know I like them. It's a learn-as-you-go process, lol. I consider it an honor and kind of a duty to rescue Mod pieces! I clean them up, repair them if needed and love them! Even if I don't keep the pieces, it's great to pass them along to people who appreciate them and who will honor and remember the people who designed & built them and the people who loved them in the 50s and 60s!
~~Therese
Value/Cachet or Attractiveness?
I love this thread but it also has a dubious undercurrent: many of the posts detail how someone saw something at a cheap price, didn't necessarily like it very much, but had the inkling that it was designed by so-and-so. Either after buying the piece for a steal and discovering it was indeed by so-and-so, or after checking first then buying it, they now own the piece and are very pleased.
What I found dubious is the way these things suddenly became attractive to their buyers. Of course if they are to be sold and can find other buyers, liking them for the way they look is secondary. And sometimes designers push aesthetics in a direction, and if you admire that designer you are willing to give them the chance to overwhelm your doubt - especially if something isn't expensive!
But if neither is the case, and the things only become attractive because of their previously undiscovered pedigree, the whole exercise veers towards a materialistic self-delusion -- that because something is valuable it is therefore beautiful.
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