I confess to having 8 quilts, 10 hostess aprons, 9 saltcellars and 2 chandeliers from antique and thrift stores. I simply love to stop into antique malls in small towns and to slip into thrift stores in big cities. I still miss the huge thrift store in the Mission district of San Francisco. I don’t know of anywhere else that has fun and funky clothes sold by the pound.
My latest finds are 2 cut crystal coasters that were made to hold drinking glasses on a table. I realized when I picked them up that old coasters are the perfect size to hold pillar candles. My dining room table now has two beautiful and elegant candle holders that were just 2 dollars apiece. My guess is that so few people use the crystal or silver coasters anymore that there isn’t much of a market for them… but as candle holders, they are perfect.
I always keep my eye out for old silver plate flatware. I have a collection of mismatched forks, knives and spoons that I use for backyard parties. This is a fun and inexpensive item to buy at flea markets. Since I haven’t tried to match patterns and simple buy a fork or knife here or there, I have quite a collection now.
Shopping must be in the air, because the thrift shops and antique stores are calling my name. I guess it’s time to hunt for more crystal coasters.
