Last year my good friend
Katie Haegele asked me to illustrate the cover of a book she was writing... well here is the finished product! Published by the awesome
Microcosm Publishing in Portland Oregon 'White Elephants' is about yard sales that Katie visited with her Mum and good things they came across, alongside matters of life including the odd bit of romance. Katie and I both share a passion for secondhand treasure, namely the finding of the treasure. In fact I think that's how our friendship began actually.
To celebrate the release of Katie's book (and my first ever book cover illustration) I thought I'd give a copy of White Elephants to one lucky blog follower. All you need to do is tell me about your favourite thrifty find. Where did you find it? What makes it such a special catch? Leave a comment on this post before 9th May and I'll pick a winner at random and send that lucky someone a copy of White Elephants with a few little Memo treats thrown in too.
A little glimpse of the hot pink inside covers that feature my drawings...
And here is a few of my most recent good finds. There is definitely a bit of a cup theme going on!
Go on then, tell me about your favourite thrifty find, you could bag yourself some postal goodies!
Err yes puhlease! My favourite thrifty find (though there are MANY) is one of my most recent ones. About a month or two ago I laid eyes upon a dull grey suitcase which I went to investigate further and then I noticed it had Michael Jackson on the front! And I'm talking glorious MJ from back in the day with a beaming face, (pretty much) natural hair and a great red leather jacket with a plant in the background.
ReplyDeleteIt was in excellent condition and only 1 euro. How could I refuse? Exactly: there's no way I could. And I've had so many people talk to me about it. Great conversation starter too :-)
Digging your recent finds Helen! And the book looks great.
hello, oh boy, I have so many great thrifty finds, my latest favourite was these http://helensarahvaughan.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/shoes.html found them in a charity shop in a small town called Wrexham in North Wales, they were £5 and completely unworn, I think they are beautiful and they go perfectly with all my clothes. My favourite thing about them is that they came from Brazil, so I envisage this scene of them being made on a market stall then bought my someone and take back to England and sadly not worn by the first owner, but now they have a new life with me and are worn every day xxo
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else who's commented so far, I'm finding it hard to pick a favourite. Recently I found a bass recorder, something I've always wanted, though I have yet to find the time to clean it and play it! My mustard typewriter is very lovely and I am always excited to find a 1970s craft book. You can see lots of my charity shop finds here - http://dropstitchblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/charity%20shop%20delights - all 82 posts about them. No wonder it was hard to choose! By the way, do I get extra entries for the fact that 9th May is my birthday? ;)
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, one of my favourite finds has to be a lovely hand embroidered picture of two birds (possibly some kind of finch) on a branch. Its in an oval frame and is embroidered in a wool type thread and was only 75p!
ReplyDeleteI once found a wonderful old navy suitcase thrown out in someone's rubbish which i got for free...don't know if that counts...seeing as it was free.
The book sounds fabulous and your illustrations look superb!
nice one! my fav thrift find ever has to be my dunn & co green tweed suit which i picked up for £2. the jacket fits perfectly but they trews needed sorting. dates back from 70s and hopefully i'll have it for yonks to come
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, how do i chose? I feel like everything in my life is thrifted. My favorite item *this year* is a vintage le creuset saucepan i found in my favorite op-shop. It's brown and enamel. Oh, and i love the tiny lacy pirex dish i found, as well. And the anchor bowl that's perfect for waffles and ....
ReplyDeleteMy favourite thrifted item is actually two items that match, but I found 10 years apart! First I found a pillowcase with a kind of Love is/Big eye couple on it that said Yes. Yes? The couple are looking kind of coy and so I think we can guess what the yes is to.
ReplyDeleteTen or so years later I found a matching No pillowcase, where the girl has a book under her arm and the boy a newspaper and they both look sleepy.
I was delighted to reunite them!
You can see them in this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessaberry/2401615255/
I love Katie's writing, I'm so excited about her book!
Thanks for all your comments, lots of good finds! I asked my other half to pick a number from 1 to 7. He chose 3 so the winner of the copy of White Elephants is Dropstitch Emma. Email on its way to you!
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