This week, we bring you a different perspective on vintage — one from a dude! Karl runs the Etsy shop Half Pint Salvage and sells vintage odds and ends plus some amazing upcycled pieces like coat racks and chalkboards. Read on to learn more about the man behind the scenes.

Q: Tell our lovely readers a bit about yourself. Is buying and selling vintage your full-time gig or a hobby? How and when did you get started in this business?

A: I’m a southern boy, by way of Virginia, that transplanted to Seattle back in 2004. I’m 35 years old and haven’t used a razor to consistently shave my face in about 6 years–which means I was rocking this beard before facial hair became the official hipster trademark. Back in 2009, I left a soul-grinding full-time job to pursue self-employment, aka Half Pint Salvage. Currently, it’s my part-time gig. But someday I tell ya, someday!

Q: Do you have any favorite, never-let-you-down, treasure hunting spots? Would you like to share, or are they top-secret?

A: My favorite treasure hunting spot is the local Goodwill. Friday nights are a virtual bonanza–definitely my favorite time to go.

Q: Is there a certain aesthetic you look for when you’re thrifting? How do you decide what to pick up, or just pass on? Do you wait for an item to speak to you?

A: Typically, I start my search in the office supply aisle. Those types of finds are timeless: staplers, metallic filing systems, old papers, scales…you name it, it’s usually there. Sometimes, you can even find items in their original packaging! After I peruse the office aisle, I usually search for items that are small in size or personal in nature. Typically, these pieces tend to sell quicker in my shop.

Q: Be honest, do you keep many of your finds, or is it strictly business? And do you have any personal collections that you have built over time through thrifting?

A: I’d say that I keep about 80% of what I find. And that’s really the main reason why this is still a part-time gig. I simply love being surrounded by vintage finds. It’s just so much cooler than most modern-day home decor. Plus, vintage finds make excellent conversation pieces. I’ve amassed quite the collection of vintage, paper-related items: pastel dot matrix printer paper, 1950′s bridge scoring sheets and 1970′s accounting ledgers to name a few.

Q: Are there any items you’ve regretted selling and wish you would have kept for yourself?

A: I regret selling a 1954, in-box, 3-tiered, chrome, diner-style plate organizer. It had 3 swiveling arms that spun out to hold 3 different sizes of plates. And it even attached to the wall. So amazingly cool! I get sad every time I think about sending that one away.

Q: Pick one and tell us about it: Weirdest, most valuable, or most satisfying find?

A: Recently, an elderly friend of ours gave me her 1970′s Sears Solid-State Personal Record / 8-Track Player — in mint condition. That was by far the coolest vintage item I’ve run across in my entire life, and it was free! Listening to records really gives you an appreciation of how music was intended to sound. Plus, it looks amazing in our living room.

Thanks to Karl for giving us a peek behind the scenes. Come back next week to see who else we’re Addicted To!

Robin Eastwood is a treasure hunter and vintage fanatic. Visit The Fancy Lamb on Etsy to drool over some of her latest finds, and follow Robin on Twitter to hear about her latest thrifting adventures.

We have gorgeous vintage clothing and accessories to lust over this week, my dear friends! Say an advance apology to your checking accounts, and read on to learn about how Desirée, the shop owner behind Prance And Swagger, found herself selling vintage clothing full-time on Etsy.

Q: Tell our lovely readers a bit about yourself. Is buying and selling vintage your full-time gig or a hobby? How and when did you get started in this business?

A: Hello lovely readers!!! My name is Desirée and I am a full time vintage clothing seller. It started as a hobby and a way to supplement my income in my early 20′s. In 2004, when I was 24, I spent a summer working a very demanding, unfulfilling waitressing job in Grand Teton National Park. I was worn out when I came back to Portland. I didn’t want to work for anyone ever again. I started wondering if I could make selling vintage clothing into my full time job….. and I haven’t worked for anyone but myself ever since. I tried so many different avenues for selling vintage clothing in the six years since I made the decision to work for myself…. Etsy has been the best outlet yet.

Q: Do you have any favorite, never-let-you-down, treasure hunting spots? Would you like to share, or are they top-secret?

A: Top secret of course! And I’m sure any vintage clothing seller will tell you the same. It’s a very competitive and secretive business. I’m not really the competitive type, but a girl’s always got to have her secrets!! My not-so-top-secret favorite spots are Value Villages. So much better than Goodwills and still very well priced. They also give you a 20% off coupon when you make a donation.

Q: Is there a certain aesthetic you look for when you’re thrifting? How do you decide what to pick up, or just pass on? Do you wait for an item to speak to you?

A: I want to maintain a certain level of quality in my shop that my customers can rely on. There’s a ton of vintage out there, but only a small percentage of it is well made and lovingly, thoughtfully designed. That small percentage is what I want. I’ll generally pass on anything that seems cheap or just plain ordinary. I don’t want to fill my shop with things that anyone can go into a thrift store any day of the week and find for their selves. That is my job. That is why people come to my store. I spend a huge amount of my life in thrift stores sifting through all the garbage to find those rare, extraordinary pieces so that they don’t have to!

Q: Be honest, do you keep many of your finds, or is it strictly business? And do you have any personal collections that you have built over time through thrifting?

A: I really don’t keep much of what I find. I used to, but at some point my closet and house reached maximum overload. Now I only keep things that are really nice quality, perfect condition, and fit me perfectly. As far as collections go, I definitely have a huge collection of records and shoes!

Q: Are there any items you’ve regretted selling and wish you would have kept for yourself?

A: Oh, SO many. A lot from when I was younger and had much less money. I’d sell really amazing stuff just to make rent. And the real crime is that Etsy wasn’t around back then, so I was selling to vintage resale stores who gave me very little money for some of the most valuable stuff I had…… and because I was young, dumb, and broke, I had to accept it! One sweet story I have is from when I was 22…. I was really REALLY into the early Who albums at the time and I found a really amazing Who concert shirt with this incredible graphic on the front of it of the 4 boys all asleep under a Union Jack flag. Again, because I was broke, I sold it for rent money because I knew it was pretty valuable. I regretted it (and regretted it, and regretted it) so bad. I wouldn’t shut up about it. On my birthday I opened up a present from my best friend… it was the shirt! She had gone back to the store and bought it for me. So sweet. I never wear it anymore, but I will keep that one forever.

Q: Pick one and tell us about it: Weirdest, most valuable, or most satisfying find?

A: I once turned a $1 pair of vintage 1942 Levis into $1,200! That was years ago… I wish that would happen again! One really amazing find was a pair of Peter Max tennis shoes from the early 60′s. I had no idea Peter Max had been commissioned to design shoes back then. They were really incredible, just totally covered in Peter Max’s signature psychedelic paintings.

Thanks, Desirée! I think we’re all going to be dreaming about turning $1 into $1,200 now! Stop by Prance and Swagger to check out some of Desirée’s latest finds.

Robin Eastwood is a treasure hunter and vintage fanatic. Visit The Fancy Lamb on Etsy to drool over some of her latest finds, and follow Robin on Twitter to hear about her latest thrifting adventures.

Today, the Addicted To series bring us to bellalulu, an incredible shop on Etsy that is about to celebrate their two-year Etsy-versary. This shop has an amazing mix of hard and soft: industrial decor and porcelain dolls; rustic metal signs and feminine accessories. Quite different, but when paired up, they go together oh-so-well.

Q: Tell our lovely readers a bit about yourself. Is buying and selling vintage your full-time gig or a hobby? How and when did you get started in this business?

A: I started going to our local Flea Market as a little girl with my mom. It wasn’t always my favorite thing to do, but obviously it grew on me. I have a degree in Interior Design, and worked at design and architecture firms before having kids. Finding vintage treasures for people to decorate their homes with is just about the right fit for me now. I guess I would call this a part time thing for me. I stay at home with our two little girls, and that is my first job. I love that I can do most of the work, other than the actual hunting, from home.

Q: Do you have any favorite, never-let-you-down, treasure hunting spots? Would you like to share, or are they top-secret?

A: My local flea market has always been the very best place for treasure hunting.  I do love a good estate sale, but you never know what you are going to get with those. Yesterday, I stood in line outside in 20 degree weather with about 10 other crazy people just to be one of the first into an estate sale.  I may have ended up with purple toes, but it was worth it to get first dibs! :)  There are also a few antique shops that I visit pretty regularly.

Q: Is there a certain aesthetic you look for when you’re thrifting? How do you decide what to pick up, or just pass on? Do you wait for an item to speak to you?

A: I do kind of wait for an item to speak to me.  I think one of my favorite things about the business is that when you walk into a sale, you never know what you will find.  I love old signs, dolls, cabinets.  Other than that, it’s just whatever I know will be perfect for my Etsy customers!

Q: Be honest, do you keep many of your finds, or is it strictly business? And do you have any personal collections that you have built over time through thrifting?

A: I do end up keeping some of my finds.  Sometimes I go as far as taking pictures for Etsy before I fall in love with something enough to keep.  Of course there are a couple of things that I have used in my house for a while, and then decide to sell.  That’s another great thing about this business: as things get older, they only get better!

Q: Are there any items you’ve regretted selling and wish you would have kept for yourself?

A: I’m sure there are some things.  Usually, though, it’s something I sold a long time ago.  I do love the thrill of the sale, and that my customer appreciates something just as much as I do.

Q: Pick one and tell us about it: Weirdest, most valuable, or most satisfying find?

A: My mom helps me find things quite a bit, and I think she wins the award for the weirdest find lately.  She found an old, orange metal box that said “TORTURE BOX” on it.  I couldn’t find any evidence of any other boxes like that ever existing, so I had no idea what it’s purpose ever was.  It was, however, perfect for the Halloween season in which I listed.  One of my favorite customers grabbed it right away!

I’m sure all our readers will be addicted to bellalulu now too! Stop by the shop on Etsy, and head on over to the bellaluluBLOG to read about a recent find that was just PERFECT, and to learn even more about bellalulu.

Robin Eastwood is a treasure hunter and vintage fanatic. Visit The Fancy Lamb on Etsy to drool over some of her latest finds, and follow Robin on Twitter to hear about her latest thrifting adventures.

I first stumbled upon the shop of today’s interview subject in a post right here on My Vintage Addiction, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Sarah’s shop on Etsy is charmingly quirky and colorful, and just my style. It’s no wonder Sweet Love Vintage has made several appearances in our daily finds. Read on to find out more about what makes her a vintage addict.

Q: Tell our lovely readers a bit about yourself. Is buying and selling vintage your full-time gig or a hobby? How and when did you get started in this business?

A: My name is Sarah. I am a mom to two busy, beautiful boys. The super spouse and darling dog are also boys. I live in a sea of testosterone, wrapped up in a green two story house. I am a friendly, slightly neurotic, silly, eclectic, creative girl with too many passions and never enough time. I have always been a junk-seeker, treasure-finder, what-can-i-make-with-this-stuff-buyer, dumpster diver, free-box checker, garage sale queen. Currently this is a part-time job/hobby, but perhaps it will evolve into a full-time career next year when both my boys are in school. I’m also tinkering with the idea of opening a separate etsy shop to sell my art. I dabble in jewelry making, metalsmithing, painting, collage, drawing and random crafting/repurposing. I’m interested in learning all art forms. Except glass blowing. I sweat enough with my workouts.

Q: Do you have any favorite, never-let-you-down, treasure hunting spots? Would you like to share, or are they top-secret?

A: My main sources are garage and estate sales, but I’m from the midwest where junk season is only 6 months so the rest of the year I go to my local thrift shops. I live near many small towns where several people live in houses Carol Brady would be proud of, so vintage is never too far away. My favorite stops are the dirty, cluttered, gotta-dig-through-gallons-of-debris spots. Places where the average Joe would be grossed out. I like having the ability to see things in different ways than Joe.

Q: Is there a certain aesthetic you look for when you’re thrifting? How do you decide what to pick up, or just pass on? Do you wait for an item to speak to you?

A: I gravitate towards color, humor and originality. I basically buy what I think is unique and envision it in the right setting. In a dirty store, a pair of wood horse head bookends next to a rack of used tighty-whities and a tacky fake floral arrangement doesn’t look so appealing. But sandwich some colorful books between those horse heads on a clean white bookshelf — sha-bam! — instant fabulousness. If it makes me smile or giggle, it’s sold. I will also buy great pieces that are not necessarily my style.

A lot of the time, I look at an object and think about how it will look in a photo. I love the creative aspect of staging and taking photos. However, photo editing and shipping are so time consuming and harder to enjoy. Sometimes my house looks like UPS had a major binge on cardboard boxes and then threw up all over my house. What can brown do for you? Make you frustrated. I will pass on an item if I think I can’t find a box to ship it.

Occasionally, the very odd and ugly will speak to me. I will impulsively buy that horrid item just to blog about it. I also think it would be fun to have a store that only sells ugly vintage. Someone out there must be looking for that special ugly thing.

Q: Be honest, do you keep many of your finds, or is it strictly business? And do you have any personal collections that you have built over time through thrifting?

A: I tend to collect old board games and pieces for their colors and graphics. I can rarely pass up vintage boots, books, original art, old signs, or a colorful, old metal box and I would love to collect old albums if I had a record player and a place to display them. I sell almost everything I find, and I decorate my house with a lot of my inventory until it sells. My decor and clutter is ever changing. Kind of the best of both worlds!

Q: Are there any items you’ve regretted selling and wish you would have kept for yourself?

A: Not recently, but when I was a teenager, I thrifted a pair of 1970′s Schlitz beer shorts that had this obnoxious pattern of the beer logo all over them and I wore them all the time. I wish I still had those. They were mad cool.

Q: Pick one and tell us about it: Weirdest, most valuable, or most satisfying find?

A: The hardest question! I wish I had a great story about something I bought for a dollar and was worth thousands, but that hasn’t happened.

Yet…

In addition to great vintage items and stellar photography, Sarah from Sweet Love Vintage has quite the knack for storytelling. I highly recommend you check out the story of how Sweet Love Vintage was born on her profile, and hop on over to her blog for more good belly laughs.

See you next week!

Robin Eastwood is a treasure hunter and vintage fanatic. Visit The Fancy Lamb on Etsy to drool over some of her latest finds, and follow Robin on Twitter to hear about her latest thrifting adventures.

Well, hello there everyone! I am so excited to be joining Courtney here at My Vintage Addiction, and I thank you all immensely for visiting us in this little corner of the vintage world. And I couldn’t have asked for a better assignment – my new weekly column will be bringing you features and interviews with some of the most amazing vintage sellers on Etsy.

First up, 26 Olive Street, the dynamic duo of Alex and Staci. Read on to learn more about them and their amazing shop.

Q: Tell our lovely readers a bit about yourself. Is buying and selling vintage your full-time gig or a hobby? How and when did you get started in this business?

A: 26 Olive Street is a fabulously matched team effort for starters. Alex is a faculty librarian at a local state university and a freelance web designer/developer. Thanks to his know-how we have our lovely website as well as one lean mean package packer. Staci has a photography background from her days in NYC where she still handles some remote projects as well as whips up all the product shots, listings, blogs, and general correspondence etc. etc.

Q: Do you have any favorite, never-let-you-down, treasure hunting spots? Would you like to share, or are they top-secret?

A: To be perfectly honest, the entire Midwest is a treasure trove! We just relocated to the CA Bay Area from a stint in the Northeast and boy-oh-boy, if we miss anything, it’s the vintage! Map out a route to hit all the small random towns, works like a charm!

Q: Is there a certain aesthetic you look for when you’re thrifting? How do you decide what to pick up, or just pass on? Do you wait for an item to speak to you?

A: We love mid-century, bright colors, office/school house inspired pieces, and items that can be repurposed into décor. Scoping out the goods together keeps us (and the budget) in line. We pick out things that we think have good character and composition and then decide whether it’s something others would love as well. Two sets of eyes are better than one!

Q: Are there any items you’ve regretted selling and wish you would have kept for yourself?

A: Oh goodness, there have been some real beauties but no regrets! We’re in this business because we enjoy it. Matching up great items with great people is part of the pleasure. Plus, parting with things promotes acquiring more! ;)

Q: Pick one and tell us about it: weirdest, most valuable, or most satisfying find?

A: Our gigantic light-up metal arrow sign (it works!) has been by far our favorite loot!

Thanks, Staci and Alex for giving us a view into your fabulous vintage world. Readers, be sure to stop by 26 Olive Street to see more goodies and show this shop some love!

Robin Eastwood is a treasure hunter and vintage fanatic. Visit The Fancy Lamb on Etsy to drool over some of her latest finds, and follow Robin on Twitter to hear about her latest thrifting adventures.

Chair Found by :: gorgeoux

I see dining room chairs everywhere when I’m on the hunt. I’m currently collecting a mishmash of chairs for my own table. I plan on painting them each a different color of the rainbow and reupholstering the seats with a simple black and white patterned fabric. It’s a simple project, and you can find a how-to right here.

I love what gorgeoux did with her find (pictured above). A fresh paint job and a new seat gave her a brand new chair!

Courtney Chesley believes the thrill of the hunt is almost as fun as the find. read her mind over at CourtneyChesley.com or follow what spews out of it while under the influence of high doses of caffeine and re-runs of This Old House on Twitter.

How sweet are these coffee cups? I love that old school shade of pink.

Found by :: SkinnyandBernie

Great set of vintage pink melmac coffee cups. This set consists of 6 pink melmac coffee or tea cups in a great mid century modern design. They are marked “Boontonware 1206-8 U.S.A.”.

Courtney Chesley believes the thrill of the hunt is almost as fun as the find. read her mind over at CourtneyChesley.com or follow what spews out of it while under the influence of high doses of caffeine and re-runs of This Old House on Twitter.

I found this hand tooled leather bag in a giant pile of luggage at a nearby Goodwill. Conveniently located less than five minutes from my office, I stroll over there at least twice a week after the end of my workday. The bag is in near perfect condition, and the perfect size to tote my camera and notebook around while hunting for new finds.