THOROUGHLY MODERN VINTAGE

Who's stuck in the 50's?  And I mean in a good way!  With a love of mid-century furniture design, memories from your childhood or the fun of the kitsch finds from that time.  If I've described you, then you'll want to check out Modern Vintage Decor on Gravois in South County (St. Louis, MO).  It is retro-riffic!  They just recently opened.  I shopped there a few weeks ago and went back last week to consign some of our vintage belongings.  I hated to part with them, but we're downsizing and selling the house so we had to say our farewells and hope that they will find a good home that will treasure them as much or more than we did.  So below are some of the finds from my first shopping visit and some of the items I consigned there last week.

I brought home this piece of marked McCoy creamware pottery to add to my collection of over 50 pieces!

Another drop leaf table - you know I LOVE these!  

COOL old projector - what a conversation piece!

NEATO camera!  8mm?

FUN vintage chair!  Can't tell from the photo (its better in person) but it has a metallic thread running through it!

One of our consignments.  We used it as a credenza in our office but could be used as a media center or bar.  Or how about made into a bathroom vanity?

Another piece we consigned.  From Lammert's Furniture Store.  We used it as a dresser but I think it would make a great tv stand/media center.

A blonde wood desk chair we consigned.  Its in great condition, so sturdy and heavy.  And stylin'!

On the left is a blonde wood with black legs file holder/magazine rack.  On the right is a beautiful wood and leather magazine rack.  Both were unusual finds that I haven't seen again anywhere but they're just not needed in the downsizing.  Sad to part with them though.

While some (or all) of these finds may be sold by now (I sure hope some of my items have sold) other new treasures have taken their place.  When I went in to consign this past week she had doubled her inventory since my first shopping visit.  For instance, last week she had gotten in a Heywood Wakefield Dog-bone dining set in wheat with table, 6 chairs and china hutch.

If you're interested in consigning, its very easy.  Take your items in, she'll inventory them and have you sign a contract and you're done.  You get 50% of whatever it sells for and she keeps 50%, a standard consignment agreement.  If you have further questions visit their website at www.modernvintagedecor.com and become a follower on facebook or twitter to be the first to hear about sales and promotions.

PART DEUX

More from my shopping adventures in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago.  The Green Shag Market informed us that there was another shop a block down, around the corner.  So we braved the cold and wind and blew down the street to Quintessential Antique and Furniture Company.  And were we glad we did!

What a wonderful shop.  Truly, the wonders.  So many unusual items, we found a very well curated selection.  

They had the most fantastic selection of corbels that I've ever seen, some beautiful wall hangings from needlework pieces to oil paintings.  Two of my personal favorites that I wish I could have found a home for in my home were a armillary sphere lamp for under $50 ( thought that was an unbelievable price for such a statement piece) and a large wall pocket, for lack of knowing exactly what its original use was.  I wondered if it had at one time been a wall mounted refuse can but in this incarnation I could see it filled with forsythia branches in the spring and red twig dogwood branches and evergreens in the winter, on a porch or entry of a house.

They also had a large selection of beautiful architectual pieces and furniture.  Here's the catch, they are only open the first 7 days of the month from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  That's easy enough to remember, though, 7 days, 7 to 7!  They are located at 5707 Manchester.  Find them on the web at www.antiquesstlouis.com or on facebook search for Quintessential Antique and Furniture Company.  Call them at 314-531-9701.

Next up was the furniture and home decor consignment shop Consign and Design Galleries, located at 10036 Manchester Road (one mile east of Lindbergh Rd.)  They had such an eclectic selection of items from new to vintage to antique.  Fun painted furniture pieces, repurposed items, like a sweet silver tray chalkboard, even jewelry.

Owner Nancy Cullen has done a beautiful job merchandising and organizing the store.  And there is so much to take in.  You really have to look up, down and all around to take it all in.  Why you'll see chairs hanging from the ceiling, just too cute!

With spring coming they had some wonderful wicker pieces to brighten any sunroom or porch and great accessories to go with them!  Find them on facebook and take a look at all the photos of their inventory.  You can check them out on their facebook page Consign And Design Galleries.  They are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and even Sunday (I LOVE stores that are open on Sunday) from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Their phone number is 314-394-2222.

Next up (later this week or next week) I'll give you the 411 on Modern Vintage Decor.  I also visited there on my trip but I'm going back this week to consign some items so I'll fill you in on both sides (buying and selling) of the shop in another post!  In the meantime, get out there and shop!  And tell them you heard about them from Debbie's Bargain Basement!

FREAKIN' (GREAT SHOPPING) FRIDAY

Explore St. Louis!  Resale shops, consignment shops, thrift shops and antique shops . . . My friend Kathy and I did just that on Friday!  Like Dr. Seuss says, "Oh, the places you'll go"!  We found some killer destinations!  Today I'm going to fill you in on our shopping itinerary that day and what I found.  In the near future I'll post photos of the shops and information on each of the ones we visited.


We started the morning off at Green Goose Resale and Consignment.  The shop is located at 5611 Hampton Avenue.  They can be reached at 314-352-5000 or by emailing them at Robin@GreenGooseResale.com.  You'll also find them at www.GreenGooseResale.com and on Facebook.  They had a great selection of items from smalls to furniture.  We fell in love with the vintage menus they had from a variety of restaurants throughout the United States.

We rifled through them, hoping to find one from a place we had visited.  I got lucky, and found one from Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood near Portland, Oregon.  It's from 1965, back when you could get filet mignon for $5!

We've visited there and ate lunch so I grabbed that one.  They were each $5, which I thought was a great price for a piece that I'm going to turn into artwork for a wall at our cabin.  It fits right in with my rustic cabin theme.  Its amazing how something so small and inexpensive can make my day, I knew we were off to a GREAT start!


Next up was The Green Shag Market, Reclaim and Exchange.  I love this concept.  Its an antique mall but they are putting an emphasis on repurposing, reusing and reclaiming antique and vintage items.  They are located at 5733 Manchester Avenue (between Macklind and Hampton).  They can be reached at 314-646-8687 (I hope I've got that right, the writing is kind of tiny for these old eyes).  Their website is www.TheGreenShagMarket.com and they're also on Facebook.  I had to show a great amount of restraint here.  So many things calling my name - but I picked one item that was a great buy and something I actually needed:  A vintage silverware set for 8, silverplated, a sweet pattern by Wm. Rogers/International Silver.  And just $30 for the entire set.  Really, you can't pick up a "cheap" silverware set at any "MART" for that, can you?

As I was checking out we were told there was another shop just down the block, Quintessential Antique and Furniture Company.  We visited that wonderful shop, plus the beautiful boutique The White Rabbit and Consign and Design Galleries (both on Manchester), a shop just busting at the seams with fabulous finds!  But, I'll write more about them in upcoming blog posts, I don't want to be too long winded here.  After those three amazing shops, we found two more, on Gravois near Sappington.  At Modern Vintage Decor I found a piece of creamware McCoy pottery.  I collect creamware and while I really didn't NEED another piece (I have over 50 pieces), I WANTED this piece.  My collection includes both marked and unmarked pieces but I really like McCoy pottery and it is usually more expensive, but this one was just $12.99, so that was in my budget.

There was lots of eye candy here, a really cool old projector, lots of vintage cameras, fun furniture and more.  The shop is located at 11433 Gravois Road.  They can be reached at 314-842-5555 or email modernvintagedecor@gmail.com.  You'll find them on the web at www.modernvintagedecor.com and on facebook.


Next door to Modern Vintage is the Exchange, a consignment resale furniture store that carries a great selection of jewelry too.  They can be reached at 314-842-7300 or email theexchange.shop@yahoo.com.  Their website is http://theexchangestl.com/ and you'll also find them on facebook.


I hope I've got you drooling, now go explore St. Louis resale yourself!

SALE INTO SPRING

Spring is on the way!  And sales are abundant.  Here's some sales I've gotten wind of!

The Exchange, a home decor consignment shop at South County is holding a Presidents Day Event through Monday, February 20th.  Pick a sucker and receive savings of 10 to 30% off your entire purchase.  Regularly priced merchandise, not to be combined with other offers.  The store is located at 11437 Gravois Road and they can be reached at 314-842-7300.

A new store is opening next door to The Exchange in two weeks.  Modern Vintage Decor is now accepting vintage furniture and home accessories on consignment.  You can contact then at 314-842-5555 or modernvintagedecor@gmail.com for more information.  You can also check out their website at www.modernvintagedecor.com or follow them on facebook.

The Lagoona Magoo Toys at St. Louis Mills is going out of business the end of February.  They hope to reopen at a new location in the future and their two Illinois locations will continue to operate.  They don't want to pack everything up and move it so they are holding a clearance sale and will also be selling some of their fixtures.  Starting with the Presidents' Day Sale (Feb. 17th through 20th) at the St. Louis Mills, Lagoona Magoo will be sporting some hefty discounts.  The sale pricing is good only at the Mills location and all sales are final.  Once an item is gone, its gone.  As soon as they have news of where and when their new Missouri store will open they will post it on their facebook page, blab about it on their blog and tweet it from the rooftops!

I was in JC Penneys, or should I say JCP, yesterday and checked out their new format.  Its very clean and organized looking.  Prices are everyday discounted and then clearanced out.  They had some $5 racks in petites and misses that had some nice items on them, some winter and even some spring/summer items.  You just might find a real bargain.

Macy's had some clearance racks with a mix of items and of course their coupons to add to the discount.  I ran out of shopping time though and didn't buy anything.  Kohl's also is having a big sale this weekend.  I got my husband some unmentionables (alright I'll mention them, briefs, not boxers, he'll be none to happy with me if he reads this, but then, he rarely does read this) and me some Zumba clothes.  They were 40 to 50% off and then I had received a 30% coupon through the mail that I used so I feel I got a great deal on them.  John's unders were on clearance for 65% off and then I got the extra 30% off so they were like free (not really but very good buy).

So between end of winter and Presidents Day, there are great sales out there everywhere, so get out there and SHOP!!!  Let me know if you've heard of any great sales or have found any great buys!