Geez louise, is Thursday finally here?
I’ve been counting down to today, because after work, the set-up for Mighty Swell begins! It’s so fun to see a space go from being empty and bare to a full-on shop, brimming with pretty stuff. Anyway, today on the blog, my stylish pal Katie shows off some of her favorite vintage and thrifted finds that deck out her downtown loft. I love how she and her hubs incorporate thrifted items in a stylish, fun way that’s uniquely theirs. Enjoy!
xo,
Meghan
Vintage Here, Vintage There: Around the Loft with Katie Dohman
Hi there! I am so excited to be here on High Plains Thrifter talking about two of my favorite subjects—vintage and thrifting! It’s my job to shop for a living at Minnesota Monthly and my Scout blog, where I am the style editor, but many times I’m focusing on the newest and latest for my readers. That certainly has its merits, but nothing makes my heart race like vintage and thrift shopping.
My husband and I started vintage shopping together when we bought our loft in downtown St. Paul five years ago. And William and I are always looking for great props for photography for his shops, Oh Dier and on Etsy. I absolutely love the thrill of the hunt. I might set out with something in mind, but more often than not, I’m just excited to see what I might uncover.
Our vintage journey began with a few pieces. One of them was my grandma’s dresser. She had impeccable mid-century taste, and when William saw this stored in my parents’ house, he flipped. We had to have it. Thankfully, my mom relinquished it without too much protest.
Not long after we bought our place, we hit up the St. Paul Retro Loop, looking for furniture to go with our Room & Board Outlet couch and chair Lo and behold, we found this beauty.
This is our real find—the one we still get excited talking about years later. You vintage lovers out there know what I’m talking about: The thing that was too good to be true, so you snapped it up before the shop owner knew what they were doing? We found this vintage, custom-made Lightolier sputnik in the basement of Swank. William and I completely freaked, and the owner at the time sold it to us for what she bought it for, since it needed rehabbing. We took it to Moen Lighting in Uptown to make sure the wiring was safe, and they told us they think it might have been made for a hotel. It’s missing a couple glass domes, so we’re always on the lookout for replacements, but we got it for a song and it makes our house absolutely sing when it’s on.
Two weekends ago, William and I hit the jackpot for Etsy props. We were visiting his grandparents in South Dakota and stopped in thrift shops in Watertown, plus in Hutchinson on our way back. Come to think of it, we’ve done a LOT of vintage shopping lately. I could talk about all my vintage pieces–clothing, furniture, housewares—forever (maybe Meghan will invite us back), so I’ll close things out with a few of our favorite recent finds:
I got these three milk glass vases for 39 cents each in Watertown. You can’t even get a candy bar for less than 50 cents these days! Proceeds (small as they are), went to benefit the Humane Society, one of my favorite places to donate money.
I snagged a whole box full of vintage brass frames. William and I are completely out of wall space, but I know these will make a great collage of photos somewhere, sometime. Plus I got the whole huge box, maybe 20-something frames, for like $15. I’m planning on keeping the models in that front frame. Too good.
Love this emergency light.
We love maps and globes, the older the better. Snapped this one up in Hutchinson for $14.
These colored wooden bowling pins are all over Etsy these days. Love ’em, and paid far less for them in Hutchinson than we would have online.
I I keep my jewelry in this vintage glass goblet-like thing (it looks like collectible Blenko, but I don’t think it is). William keeps his manly accessories in a small Norwegian Emalox bowl (we have several of these in different colors and sizes).
I hope you’ve enjoyed these little peeks into our space!
Best wishes,
Katie
♥ Two vintage loaf pans (50 cents a piece), a souvenir tile for a most beloved state (25 cents), an optimistic mug (25 cents) I’m saving to give as a gift and the sweet crate that holds it all ($3), are all from One More Time.
♥ I have a soft spot for stationery sets of all kinds, invitations included, so picking up these sets for 50 cents a pop seemed like a great idea…until I got home and realized I could pretty much have a party a week now ’til forver and STILL have snail-mail invites left. #oops The bridal-party top hat ($1) was intended for Meggie’s bridal dinner, but of course, when her party rolled around, I completely forgot to bring it. #oopsagain Last but not least, how about this cut-crystal cake plate and matching dome ($2.50)? I cannot wait to break it out this winter! (All of these goodies came from Good Works Thrift Store.)
Have you hit the thrifts this recently? Tell me I’m not the only one who makes an #oops purchase every now and again!
high plains thrifter 