Upscale Thrift Shop

[Vinca]

One of the local charities opened a second "thrift" shop this week. Now I know where the good stuff has been going. They must have been stockpiling it. The goods in the new store are amazing and I broke my self-imposed, never-use-the-credit-card rule because the place was being swarmed and nothing was going to last until I could get cash in hand. I bought 2 huge blue and white, very old, Staffordshire platters with a picture of a shepherd and his flock on both. Unmarked - not even a British registry mark - so probably early 19th century. Paid $200 for both - way over my usual limit - but I had to have them. I also bought a pair of bookends like the ones at the link for $28. My bookend book says they're worth $375, but who knows. Now I'm officially shut off for this week and next except for dump picking!:rofl:

http://antiquebookends.net/index_files/ITM3760.htm

[Paper Roses]

1. The bookends are gorgeous. Good for you.

Just think of all the enjoyment you'll have looking at those. The platters too. They all sound like keepers, at least for a while.

[eleny]

2. I wonder if this kind of thing will catch on and spread around the country

I don't think I'd mind, really. There's always stuff at the thrifts that get marked at low prices for lack of knowledge. It would still be fun to find those.

Your platters sound lovely so I hope you can show us. To me, Staffordshire is synonymous with early American dinner tables. And the bookends are so 20s. You had fun for sure!

[grasswire]

3. there are stores like that here

the better stuff is ferried to the stores that are in the expensive neighborhoods. They even advertise the suburban stores as for "collectors." I'd like to see an author write about the inner workings of those organizations. It's sad that the treasures are skimmed off for the well-to-do to find, when that happens.

Oh, and congratulations! Those bookends are stunning.

[Vinca]

4. In some ways, it takes some of the fun out of shopping at the original

store because you know it's highly unlikely to find anything. As it was, they had a volunteer who was an antique expert who pretty much scooped anything of value before it hit the floor. The pickings were really, really slim. I imagine anything REALLY good is disappeared before it hits the upscale store, too. Maybe I should volunteer.:rofl:

[eleny]

5. My thrift has a good reputation for money going to the cause

That's why I wouldn't mind if they did this. I'd probably still go to the regular stores since I shop for "low-scale" stuff. I like tablecloths, wool sweaters for making felt, craft supplies, amateur paintings and lamps when I can use one.

And yes - you might volunteer. Then you could share even more adventures!

[grasswire]

7. have you ever found any good paint-by-number paintings?

I'd love to stumble across a stash of those.

[eleny]

8. I haven't but I keep looking

I mean that I've never even seen one. Not in any of the thrifts I visit. I guess the pickers get there regularly and snatch the up. Finding a stash would be amazing.

Funny how they became so popular.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. I'm curious.

Are you talking about paint by number kits e.g. unfinished & complete kits or a 'painting' that is already done? My neighbor has two that his mother did. Absolutely ghastly, IMO.

[eleny]

12. Both are popular but people do like the finished ones

The vintage ones are the most popular. They started making them in the early 1950s.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

13. Thank you.

I'll let him know.

:hi:

[grasswire]

14. it has been a collecting craze

here's part of an article from Art Business News in 2001

Consider the recent exhibit at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA), which hosted an exhibit of vintage paint-by-numbers to rave reviews. Or the new, high-profile exhibit currently on view at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, called "Paint by Number: Accounting for Taste in the 1950s." In addition, plans are in the works for an upcoming exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

A Cultural Phenomenon

Paint-by-number, or PBN, was the brainchild of artist/designer Dan Robbins with the support of Max S. Klein, owner of the Palmer Paint Co., in 1951. Although earlier examples of PBN existed during the 1920s, these were marketed to children. Inspired by a story about Leonardo da Vinci assigning numbered portions of paintings to his assistants to complete, Robbins believed such a paint system could appeal to adults. The timing was certainly perfect: Following World War II, Americans experienced an age of prosperity and an abundance of leisure time. Millions moved to the suburbs, and signs of conformity were everywhere--from the mass-produced homes in housing developments to the shiny red Fords parked on the curbs. Why not standardize art as well? The numbered canvases, colour-coded to tiny pots of paint, guaranteed satisfaction.

Sure enough, PBNs caught on. With an average price of $2.50 a kit, popularity was so high that by 1954, 12 million kits by Craft Master, Masterpiece and other labels had been sold. Critics complained that more PBN paintings hung in Americans' homes than original works of art. Even Pop Artist Andy Warhol got in on the fun. During the early '60s, he created a series called "Do It Yourself" which were recreations of a paint-by-number style.

The craze peaked from 1953 to '55, but like all fads it began to fade by 1957 due to overexposure, according to Robbins, who is the author of Whatever Happened to Paint-by-Numbers?. Finished paintings soon ended up in basements, attics, trash cans and thrift stores, where they sold for as little as a nickel.

The New Appeal of Paint-by-Numbers

A yearning for the past plays a big part in today's craze for vintage PBN paintings. "The appeal is primarily nostalgic ... There's something uniquely post-war 1950s American that was typified by this stay-within-the-lines approach to art," said collector Larry Rubin of Miami, Fla. "I was attracted to them because they reminded me of the Venus Paradise pencil-by-number kits I did as a kid."

Rubin began collecting vintage PBN paintings about five years ago and has since amassed a collection of more than 300. He also publishes a national quarterly newsletter called "By the Numbers."

"Americana has been in for quite a while, and this is iconic ... You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't have some connection to the medium," he added.

Trey Speegle, the creative director of YM magazine in New York, has a collection of about 500 PBN paintings which he hangs according to theme in his 19th-century home. He caught the collecting bug after inheriting a collection of 250 from his friend, "Saturday Night Live" writer Michael O' Donoghue, who died in 1994.

"As a graphic artist, the graphic qualities of paint-by-number paintings really appeal to me. Some of them are quite intricate ... I like seeing them grouped together; then you see the diversity of the imagery and how beautifully they were designed," said Speegle, adding, "The designers who created PBN's were fine artists. Someone else would break down the colors."

Robbins feels part of the trend is due to the fascination of retro art by today's 20- and 30-somethings. "I think the renewed interest in PBNs has come a lot from a younger generation who has decided that paint-by-numbers are suddenly kitschy, a piece of Americana," he said.

Big Collections, Increasing Prices

"I've heard a statistic that there are more than 500 collectors of paint-by-numbers, and when I say collectors, I mean people who own more than 30," commented Robbins. Sure enough, every collector interviewed for this article owns a collection numbering over 100--most own an impressive 300 to 400 paintings, while Jamie Owen of Toronto owns a staggering 2,000 paintings. One explanation is that for years, PBN paintings were so undervalued that they cost the same as a piece of bubble gum.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HMU/is_7_28/ai_76549937/

[Vinca]

9. I think there is a paint by number painting at the original store.

Are there any subjects, in particular, that sell? I've never really looked for them. I think the one that's been sitting there is a seascape.

[eleny]

10. Tropical ones seem to be popular

Palm trees by a beach are popular since the tiki craze hit. But it's hard to pin down what people will buy by the bids. I peeked at completed auctions and found a nude one that sold for $38. But the rest are an assortment of scenes. anything exotic appears to be popular.

I suppose the vintage funky is in the eye of the beholder. So I did some more searching and found a blurb about the history and how the ones where the numbers are showing a little from under the paint are sought after. So if one was for sale that fact ought to be in the description.

[grasswire]

6. yeah they are probably selling the very best items on ebay..

...or to a dealer.

The Goodwill stores have that auction on the internet now, for example. When I look at it I see things listed by my local Goodwill that I would have been THRILLED to find at the local stores. So I don't go to the local stores because why bother. So they lose impulse sales of other things I might have picked up. I'm not sure it's the best business model for them. :shrug: