Thursday, October 14, 2010

Find What You Want & Enjoy the Results

Getting Christmas presents used to be a fun event for me when I was in my early 20's. New to gift giving in terms of doing it completely on my own-no running to Mom's gift wrap pile for supplies, I loved it. I would spent tons of time picking the perfect paper, hunting down an impressive looking gift that would make me look good, and wrapped it very carefully.
One of Martha's amazing wrap jobs
That's changed. I've grown up a bit (and, I'm now bumping up against 40). I don't care if Martha Stewart doesn't feature my wrapped present in a photo spread. I have my kids make the paper most of the time. And most importantly, the gift isn't about ME looking good, it's about the receiver just loving it. Which means finding things that are unique. As much as I have enjoyed the malls in the past, I now find they just bore me. Everything is the same, in every city, across the world.

Being that I'm an estate liquidator, you'd think it would have occurred to me a while ago to go vintage. Nope! It didn't cross my mind for years.

Last year, I finally did it. I did almost all my shopping on etsy.com. This year, I believe I'll go completely vintage. Why? Because I can get a totally almost one of a kind gift that just wows my friends and family-the kind that is unique to them. The side benefits are great too: it's better for the environment than having a new item made, and supports small businesses that hold up our economy.

Vintage Long Box by Stanley
I found this for my hubby! He loves beat up old boxes. This one is cool because it's soooo long! I'll rub some beeswax on it and it'll shine up. Much better than hunting for a new box made to look old.

Mid Century Shot Glasses by HausProud
I want these for my friend who's into cocktails. I think these would look great on his shelf. Much better than running to Pottery Barn for a knockoff.

Sterling Silver Mirror & Brush by LadyLemaire
My soon to be 8 year old daughter is very into style all of a sudden. She wants to be pretty. I found this set of antique sterling mirror and brush. How perfect for a little girl and how luxurious!! I don't have to worry about what's in these or where they were made (referring to the latest toy recalls). How refreshing.

Antique Limoges Basket by DolphinLady

I'll be hunting for a while more. It's fairly easy since I'm on etsy selling anyway. I just take little breaks when inspiration strikes. I keep a list of what people are interested in and search to find a related item that's unique. I found this for my Mother in Law-perfect for her china cabinet. She loves Limoges.

I hope this gives you some new ways to think about gift giving. You should enjoy shopping for gifts-it doesn't have to be crowds at the mall, pressure and stress. Look on etsy.com, rubylane.com or tias.com. All have a great variety of vintage goods and nice easy sites to surf. I'll be over on etsy working, so come visit me at Nachokitty!  

6 comments:

  1. Lovely article! We recently gave an antique mantle clock as a wedding present. It's an instant heirloom for the bride and groom, and absolutely a one-of-a-kind gift.

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  2. Here, here! Another plus for buying vintage is knowing that you know the item isn't a product that comes out of a factory manned by little children. (How bizarre when you think that a large part of our Christmas gifts come from sweatshops!) Thanks for the good thoughts.

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  3. I completely agree. Since learning about where things are made and at what cost to the local people, their environment, etc, it makes me feel much better about buying vintage. I don't have to worry about it and am free to enjoy an item on it's merits instead of it's footprint.

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  4. Wonderful Blog,I've been a vintage / antique lover from the time I could walk.I remember an old lovely but worn with one little moth hole in the pocket men's sweater. I bought for my father at a thrift store one year,I was very young and used only my own money.My sister was horrified (she was young also) but my Father "GOT IT" and wore it often,of course he wore it for chores but that sure was fine with me.

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  5. Some of the most thoughtful and appreciated gifts I've ever received have been vintage items. For years, I have shopped for several people on my list (not all appreciate "used" items no matter how gently!) at estate, yard and garage sales. And I do it all year long, setting aside the treasures I've found and then rediscovering them when the holidays arrive!

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  6. Items that withstand the test of time are the best! I've always loved antiques and wish I'd been given more as gifts. I love natural, handmade or homemade. Someone told me they hate antiques, but I figure history repeats itself so even the antique things were once "modern" in their time. It is all a matter of perspective. People that don't "get it" don't usually appreciate some of the other finer things in life like stopping to smell the roses or wishing upon a star....

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