Back before we got married, Josh and I lived in Dogtown, a prominent Irish neighborhood in St. Louis, Missoui. Every once in a blue moon, we'd meander over to a couple of antique shops off McCausland and Manchester (well, technically Bruno and McCausland). Neither of us knew a thing about antiques; we just knew when we saw something cool.
I'd say that's where the thrill of the hunt began.
 |
| Josh standing in front of our old flat on Tamm Avenue. |
Five and a half months after we got married, lightning struck our house while we were at a Tiger Army show. Long story short, we had to rebuild and replace everything! And that was when we were introduced to auctions.
One of my coworkers at PGAV Destinations turned us on to a modernism auction that took place twice a year in Clayton. I won't mention the name of the company because there's been a lot of drama with those guys and...well, it's just not important. The important thing is, it must be said, AUCTIONS ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!
If you've never been, do yourself a favor and find a reputable auction house and go to an auction. It was intimidating at first, but we learned the ropes quickly and are total pros now. Ha!
When we lived in Atlanta, we found a pretty decent auctioneer right up the street from us in Alpharetta called Four Seasons Auction Gallery. We hit up a couple of auctions there, but one in particular was so cool, they were auctioning a large collection of rare sci-fi, horror and movie memorabilia. I actually blogged about it on my Design Idiom blog if you're interested: "He Experimented in Horror!")
 |
| One of the many amazing horror movie posters from the auction. |
Since being in South Florida, we've been to a couple of auctions put on by J. Sugarman Auction Corp. Most of their auctions are liquidations. We've bought a sink and faucet as well as a large three-tiered fountain. But! The best auction we've ever attended was when they sold an entire warehouse of furniture, paintings, knick-knacks and all kinds of other ridiculously cool things...cars, poolside furniture, clothing, everything really, from the set of Magic City (a Starz original series). I wish like heck we had started our business back then!
The show was set in 1960's Miami beach. I mean, you can imagine what they were auctioning. If you haven't seen the show, think Mad Men. Who hasn't seen that?!
While we did buy a lot of vintage pieces, I wish we would have bought so much more...
However! We did manage to make a pretty heft profit off one of the pieces before we even left the parking lot. We had won (they say "won" as if you're the lucky winner of a gift) an really unique Mid Century Modern coffee table produced by A.H. Stock that had a bar hidden inside. But I guess we really did "win" because some unlucky chump wasn't in the room while they were auctioning that lot number and missed his opportunity to bid. And his wife was pissed! So, we flipped that baby for a song! And, we didn't even have to touch it.
 |
| Via: midcenturymodernfreak.tumblr |
So, other than antique malls, thrift stores and auctions, we do a lot of estate sales. I know there are a couple websites that "advertise" sales, but we generally just use EstateSales.NET.
It's super user friendly and has become our weekend planning guide. We have gotten to know a lot of the estate sale company owners, so one of the things I do after I look at the pictures for the sales, is look to see who's hosting the sale.
If you go enough, you'll start to have your favorites. One of our preferred company's is Estate Sales of South Florida. The owner, Brigitte, is a doll and a pleasure to do deals with.
So that's it! And Craigslist, but that's always a crap-shoot. Ha!
Always and Forever,
Just kidding...
Best,
Angela
If you go enough, you'll start to have your favorites. One of our preferred company's is Estate Sales of South Florida. The owner, Brigitte, is a doll and a pleasure to do deals with.
So that's it! And Craigslist, but that's always a crap-shoot. Ha!
Always and Forever,
Just kidding...
Best,
Angela
