Category: Why We Sell

By Posted on Posted in For Sale, Why We Sell

I don’t like to throw anything out, if I can help it. I suppose that’s true of most lovers of vintage items and antiques… Many of these “old used things” can go on to live another life — if you can only see what they can be!

Sometimes, however, no matter how inspired I am, I just don’t have the time to make the things I see in my mind’s eye; those things we put up for sale. Like these antique wooden organ pieces. Wouldn’t they make great birdhouses? These are available at Exit 55 Antiques (Fergus Falls, MN).

antique wooden pieces from an organ

(More photos of these on our Facebook page.)

And these old spigots and turn-handles make lovely sculptural flowers — that last long after Summer has come & gone. These can be found in our space at Antiques On Broadway (Fargo, ND). (Another photo of these is also on our Facebook page.)

vintage outdoor faucet handles

If you have the inclination to get crafty and repurpose these beauties, contact the stores — or us, and we can get them to you!

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By Posted on Posted in Why We Sell

Since we collect records ourselves, we buy lots of records. But when you buy large lots of records at auctions and sales, you often end up with vintage records which are so scratched or damaged that they are unplayable. We don’t like to throw anything out. (Who wants to add to landfills?!) So we often try to recycle or upcycle old things to give them new life. We’ve made plenty of bowls and organizers from vintage “ruined” vinly LPs, but we’ve long wanted to make use of the smaller 45 RPM records. Since the annual Fargo Street Fair starts tomorrow, we thought now was the time to get our butts in gear and turn “thinking about it” into “doing it”. So we got out the scroll saw and made some coasters!

coasters made from recyled vintage vinyl records

Today, I just brought stacks of these coasters (and other items made from vinyl records) into Antiques On Broadway. As we make more, we’ll likely bring some to our other locations as well.

Along with the cool graphics and personal nostalgia tied with music, there are some song titles which seem especially well-suited to their new lives as drink coasters — such as Ed Ames’ My Cup Runneth Over. My personal favorites are the ones with marks from the original owners — like this one marked “I love Paul”. Of course, finding some stacks of wax by The Coasters that are too damaged to play would be the ultimate records to turn into beverage coasters! But still, there’s something for everyone, really, with these charming yet practical recycled vinyl pieces.

cup runneth over coaster I love paul vintage 45 rpm

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By Posted on Posted in Why We Sell

An imperfect vintage circus-themed nursery wall decoration, a Dolly Toy Co. nursery Pin-Up, recently sold in our Etsy shop — and the buyer was cool enough to send us a photo of how it was put to use for her daughter’s birthday party!

happy birthday circus elephant

(We aren’t certain who touched-up the elephant’s foot, but the fancy lettering was done by Lindsay Letters.)

We are very proud to have been a small (but fabulous!) part of this little girl’s birthday celebration!

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By Posted on Posted in Why We Sell

One of the things we like best about selling vintage items is finding the right homes for the gems we find. We consider ourselves more like adoption assistants for objects than dealers just trying to make a living, and as such we often find ourselves smiling when we don’t make a sale but make connections with people over objects. A recent example of this occurred at Facebook.

One of the owners of Exit 55 Antique’s page posted a photo of a rather large vintage sewing sampler we have for sale in our booth there, and a gentlemen named Dick Linhart left the following comment:

Since my Bride is a whiz with threads, yarns, and needles of all shapes and sizes, we have a great many of her creations personalizing our Cottage. It was that early ’70s era when stamped cross-stitch kits, patterns for knit & crochet wearables, and quilts started the revival of handiwork which exploded in 1976–the 200th anniversary of our nation’s independence. Apparently, Sharon or her family do not appreciate her handiwork; I hope you find loving home for this charming creation.

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