28 hours in Jasper, Indiana

It is 11:30 on Tuesday morning when anti-freeze sprays across the front of our Toyota truck while driving down I-64 in southern Indiana. My husband begins a tirade of choice words as he hits the hazards and pulls over and off of the next exit ramp. Staring at the Ferdinand/Jasper sign, we gather our thoughts and call for a tow. Too far away from our homeland of Illinois and 7 hours from our home in NC, we are taken to the local Toyota dealership in hopes that maybe it was just a hose that blew. After the initial diagnosis of a cracked radiator (exhale), we are told it would take a day to get one in, we begin to make plans to spend the night. Luckily, the dealership gave us a loaner van. We move the dogs, the baby, and some choice luggage and begin to make our way around town. Jasper,Indiana is a deeply German Catholic community boasting a low unemployment rate and a Top 10 Small Towns in America Award. It is time to make a margarita out of our bowl of lemons. We decide to go on the thrift store hunt----a common fallback strategy that seems to cut our stress levels immensely in times of near crisis. Three thrift stores serve the Jasper, Indiana community. The Salvation Army was our first stop. JACKPOT! I love these small town thrifts that seem to be virtually unpicked. Thirty minutes uncovers tons of finds--.30 here, .50 there, $1.99 for a University of Indiana t-shirt(Go Hoosiers!), you could not beat it. With a large box of goodies tucked away in the mini-van, we decide to call it a day (it is nearing 4pm by now and it has been a LONG day) and go check in at the local Days Inn. On our way there, we pass a St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Store---megastore--similar to the one in downtown St.Louis. I had to catch my breath and asked my husband pull over to check the hours. 12-5 Tues-Saturday. They had a free bin out front ( this made my wheels turn)-- I knew this was a thrifters paradise inside those doors. We promised to return at noon Wednesday. The parking lot was packed this late in the afternoon, which affirmed my intuition. We settled into the Days Inn for a storm filled night in Jasper, featuring dinner at the local German restaurant, Schnitzelbank, as well as some local microbrew tastings. My husband enjoyed the Wurst Platter, which featured a bratwurst,bockwrust, and knackwurst(he wanted me to write this). I had the Gruner Spinat casserole, potato pancakes, and the spatzle. We felt the German blood run deep through our veins with this meal.
We checked out the Goodwill on Wednesday morning and it was nothing to write about, surprisingly. At 11:45 we passed the St. Vincent De Paul store and noticed that there was already a long line waiting to get in. This blew my mind, I thought, is everything in there free? what is going on? is it half price Wednesday? I could not wrap my brain around the idea that folks would line up to get into a thrift store that was open 5 days a week. Searching my memory, I could not pull out another example of this behavior--maybe a handful of folks lined up, but not a dozen or two-sheesh! A few minutes after noon, we got into the "Lord's Store"--reference picture. We were elbow to elbow with folks and then a huge load of Amish women showed up and the place was packed. At first, I thought those women were nuns dressed in semi-traditional habits until I saw the children dressed like that as well. Trying to navigate the aisles with a cart was virtually impossible and impassable. I was getting frustrated. It was hard to pick and sort and move through piles of stuff with all of those people in there. Luckily, after you got through the first aisle or two, the crowd started to thin out. I found an entire aisle of used mason jars--- we must have been in the canning capital of southern Indiana. The households section was full of mismatched plates:) The clothes were very functional and practical without a lot of form or flair--who needs form and flair? Think of Garrison Keilor's description of the good Lutherans in Lake Wobegon, I think that same could be said of the good Catholics in Jasper,IN. We did find a pack of swimmers diapers for $1, a set of Hoosier glasses, a ton of mismatched vintage plates, an innertube swimsuit for the baby Hank, and a bunch of stuffed animals for a project at work all for a grand total of $9.98. Wow! As I stood in the checkout lane, staring at the picture of the thorned crown head of Jesus and his mother Virgin Mary, I was filled with a tinge of homesickness for my midwest roots. You don't find places like this in the South, I thought silently to myself. Let's get real, you don't find homegrown Catholics in the South--they are all transplants. The cashier told us to "have a safe trip home and take care", in an odd,midwestern, with hints of German, accent that had been crafted over generations. This was not your typical town and we were blessed to have broken down there. Thanks for the great adventure Jasper, IN--I would give you two thumbs up on the thrift store scale.
Happy Hunting folks!

2011 Yard Sale Calendar

With the new addition of Baby Hank to our family, I have had to become much more organized than usual. This is actually a good thing and for those of you who know me, you are all shaking your heads “yes” with large smiles on your faces. Needless to say, this has led me to create a yard sale calendar for the Summer of 2011 season. I have researched as many dates as possible and have placed educated guesses on other dates according to last year’s sales date. I hope that my hard work pays off for you and that you take this info and transfer it to your own personal calendars so that you can plan accordingly. If you know of any local, regional, or national sales that I have missed and would like to add, please let me know.


May 7, 2011 Damascus City Wide Yard Sale confirmed
Damascus, VA
This is the beginning of the Trail Days Celebration!
http://www.traildays.us

May 20-21, 2011 Boone United Methodist Spring Fling Sale confirmed
Don’t confuse this with the Fall Bazaar. This one is in the gymnasium only.
Boone, NC

June 4, 2011 The Dawn Fund Garage Sale confirmed rain date June 11
New in name to the local community. Held annually in the parking lot next to the Super 8 on 105—benefits children with disabilities in the community.
Boone,NC

June 11, 2011 Marine Corps Garage Sale
National Guard Armory
Boone,NC

June 17-18 Watauga Humane Society Garage Sale confirmed
Held at the National Guard Armory
Boone, NC

August 4-7 Route 127 Sale confirmed
The longest yard sale in the country. Route 127 crosses the I-40 outside of Knoxville, TN. Check out the website for more details.
http://www.127sale.com/


August 17th National Thriftshop Day confirmed
(the Rosies will be celebrating this the week before due a wedding in the family ---look forward to hearing more about the planned party for our local thrift store employees)


Aug 20, 2011 St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Sale educated guess
They usually have theirs the week before students move back in.
Boone,NC



August 27, 2011 ASU “Big Sale” educated guess
Held at Legends on the ASU campus. The only “run and get it” sale in town—for those that are there when it opens.
Boone,NC


September 2-5 Hillsville Flea Market confirmed
Hillsville,VA
Follow the link for more information. This is Labor Day weekend.
http://www.hillsville.com/fmarket.htm

September 16-17 Boone United Methodist Fall Bazaar confirmed
This is the big Kahuna folks!
Boone,NC


We are hoping that Mountain Alliance will join the ranks this year for hosting a large sale. We know that they postponed last year’s sale and hope that they can become part of the calendar for next season. We would also like to acknowledge the Mountain City Humane Society sale in November, but have no dates on that.

Let’s get ready folks! Find your small bills, your shoulder bags, and your pull along carts, garage sale season is right around the corner. As always Happy Hunting Everyone! We will see you out there.

Rosie P.

Label Whores II

“I was meant to be rich”, my chic and bored daughter mumbles as I drag her to yet another thrift shop in a seedy strip mall in Florida. This one a true bust with rack upon rack of faded chinos, beaded cocktail dresses with huge shoulder pads, and a hefty selection of cheap romance novels. It was run by Hospice, and evidently the place one donates grandma’s worn out apparel after she passes. We leave with nothing but my promise that we WILL go shopping on the drive home so she can find a special outfit for an upcoming wedding.

Fast forward two days and I find myself in the hushed and rarefied air of Saks Fifth Avenue. Yikes! Fish out of water I am, looking at the price tags and feeling woozy.

This is when I decide to update our “Label Whores” blog with some fresh suggestions for those who love to thrift for real treasures, and what a delight it will be to discover any of these labels on a “stuff a bag” table at one of the big sales:

DKNY
Elie Tahari
Michael Kors
VINCE
Lavia
Free People
Adrienne Vittandi
Ellen Tracy
Threads

Our list is ever changing, and we invite you to share additional high end labels to this collection. By the way, I spotted a Michael Kors little black dress, size 6 at the Boone Goodwill this week, $5. Shout out to my “little” friends!
We are “Label Whores”. When “thrifting”, we dive to grab clothing made by our favorite companies.


Our top picks are FLAX, April Cornell, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia, Kavu, Royal Robbins, Gramicci, J. Jill, Cut Loose, Russ Berens, Nomadic Traders, Aly Wear, Ex Officio, Chicos, and Banana Republic. We will be posting “Dozen Roses” moments when we find these.


We won’t pass up a good J. Crew, Polo, Saks, Bloomingdales, Liz, Lands End, or Talbots. The aforementioned don’t reflect our more bohemian tastes, but these finds can be passed on to friends and family (great gifts). We WILL buy Gap, especially the children’s line, although quality and concern about the company’s labor practices are reason for pause.


Madison Studio, Sag Harbor, and Rafella are Belk brands. Usually made in China, and “okay” if unique or in top shape. Dress Barn, Alolfo, White Stag, Bill Blass, The Limited, Old Navy, Worthington, and Cato are in this category as well. We will rarely post about finding any of these brands.


Faded Glory, George, and Jaclyn Smith are Big Box brands. We don’t consider these to be “finds”. So “caution” to those having a sale and expecting big returns on these brands. Let ‘em go cheap!


It’s a sure bet that we will grab any Hannah Andersen or Boden children’s clothing.


Shoes have to be in excellent condition. If we ever find Earth, Dansko, Birkenstock or Keens in good condition it’s a “dozen roses moment”.


We post this with the intent that “Rosebuds” will add their favorite brands to the list. We would love to learn about special boutique brands from our followers. You ask, we find!

The Curb Alert

Scanning through our local craigslist under the free/barter sections, I came across a listing for a "Curb Alert". Of course, I could not resist. I clicked on it to find a list of items that had been placed on the curb for the taking. Someone was moving out and had run out of time/energy/ resources, but not creativity. They had sense enough to post their unwanted belongings on craigslist and invited folks to grab them up before the trash man got them the following day. I loved it! High stakes, quick thinking, action needed, out for trash, nothing to lose, just pull up to the curb and look through the pile and take what you want. Oh what fun! Over the years, I have grabbed many "curbside call" items--ranging from piles of clothes, to discarded furniture, to cardstands to children's toys. My poor husband knows what it means when I say "pull over" with my head turned eyeing a pile of junk that has been placed out for trash. In college one of my friends had pulled a 2 foot high marble angel statue out of the trash in the alley in downtown Chicago--that was probably the best find I had ever seen. Topping all of my finds --hands down. Last week, I got a phone call from a girlfriend who had spied what should have been a "curb alert" and she had stopped to look. She wanted to know if I would be interested in looking through a box of vintage plates. I said "sure" and she grabbed them--assuring her partner that they were for me and not something she planned to keep. She brought them into the office and what a treasure trove! Almost a dozen vintage melmac plates, half a dozen Mikasa coffee cups, 10 pea green melmac tea cups, and a few jelly jars---all sitting in a box on the side of the road waiting to be taken to the dump. ( Nothing that a little bleach can't make shiny and new) Did you know that Melmac was developed in the 1940's and common in almost every household from the 1950's-1970's. It is extremely durable and was very affordable. Wow! What a score that was........ I have no doubt that many of you reading this have stopped the car while you are turtlenecking to see if the pile is worth getting out and sorting through. Personally, I just enjoy that this experience has become legitimized enough to have its own name "curb alert"--GENIUS! I would have to rate this somewhere between a "dumpster dive" and a "junk swap" at the dump...... definitely hits the spot as the winter thaws and garage sale season draws even more near. We embrace this scavenger hunt as a thrilling piece of the modern day hunter gatherer experience. As always, I would love to hear your experiences with the "curb alert"-- what have you pulled off the side of the road? Have you ever written and ad for this or followed an ad you found? Just another way to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Happy Hunting Folks!

High Tea Rag Shakin' Clothing Swap

One year and 280 Facebook Friends later, The Secondhand Rosies celebrated in style at the first annual “High Tea/Rag Shakin’ Clothing Swap” on a day full of spring magic and sunshine.

First to arrive was “Rosebud” Pamela draped in fur and eager to use her artistic talents to arrange the retro tea cups provided by Miss Match Rentals. Chai tea simmered on the stove, and soon the room was abuzz with ladies arriving with baskets, buckets, carts, and armloads of clothing to sort for the swap.

Yes, next time we will have music as a backdrop to the sorting process.

Rosie W., wearing a “Queen Mother” hat that obscured her vision, jumped on a table top close to 3pm to get the crowd ready for the rag shakin’ countdown. Armed with a large, retro metal platter with “Kaffee Klatch” imprints, and a heavy soup ladle, Rosie W. opened the swap to the sounds of platter beating, and the cry “Let the rag shakin’ begin!”

Arms and elbows askew, the crowd dove into the clothing piles with gusto, only coming up for air after the first five minutes of serious “shakin”, and soon our guests had each squirreled away a personal stash of goodies that promised to be replenished several more times over the course of the day.
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Beautiful silver haired “Rosebuds”, and college girls with shaved heads and piercings, our event showcased diversity and artistic flair with every guest who arrived. Geographic diversity too, as new connections were made between ladies from Ashe, Watauga, AND Avery County. Damsels of thrifting and style they are!

The energy in the room was amazing. A FREE event that so many women enjoyed. In these times of a tight economic reality, this hit the spot. The price was right and the clothes were quality. Digging, sorting, grabbing, the smell of chai tea wafting through the air, the texture of the boiled wool jacket, the real leather purse, the corduroy blazer, and vintage polyester dress, our long buried senses emerged under the weight of the heavy winter. We were all so engaged and thrilled to have this taste of the hunt at our hands. Like crocuses that bloom in the snow, the "rosebud community" showed its deep desire to survive the doldrums of our mountain winter and embrace the coming of spring and the yard sale season.

Happy Hunting and thanks for coming--we will be hosting our next swap in late fall. Hope to see you there!

The Secondhand Rosies

Rosie W, Rosie P. & baby Hank

A tale of two Rosies

Meeting Rosie P.

For about a year I heard “tales” about a new Social Worker who had moved to Boone, and how I just HAD to meet her.
“She keeps our office entertained with the gifts she finds us at sales”. “She arrives at the office every week with something new for someone, and she even found our very classy staff physician something!” “She has an eye for clothing.”
So, for that first year I’d often be met by eye rolling from other Social Workers who exclaimed, “I can’t BELIEVE you haven’t met her!”
Without doubt, during that first year we must have bumped butts several times in thrift stores and yard sales while seriously stalking the racks, and the suspense continued about just WHO this “ya gotta meet” person was.
My memory of our first meeting is not as clear as Rosie P’s , but I DO remember a younger version of me, all curls and spunk, color and original style. It was an instant friendship, and once we met it seemed as though we were always meeting up in thrift stores; funny, “cosmic” encounters complete with eye rolling, belly laughs, and mutual admiration for how “sick” our little hobby was. At times we joked about starting a treatment program for “thrifters” (12 steps to second hand bliss???). Seriously, we are Social Workers, right!
It’s been a wild and wonderful ride, and a treasured friendship with someone who appreciates finding her bliss in Goodwill; a good for the soul friendship full of laughter, creativity, and endless possibility. As we enter year two of this zany project we will just cast our fate to the universe and see where it leads.

Meeting Rosie W.
Shortly after landing in North Carolina, the girls at work told me about this other social worker who I reminded them of. She had gone to school in Illinois, too and had a funky and eclectic style, much like my own. She loved to thrift and garage sale--this was a well known fact. She worked in Ashe County and one Thursday afternoon, she happened to wonder into our office. Rosie W. was friends with my co-worker, Teressa. Rosie’s curly hair swept back to reveal her large asymmetrical earrings, wrists full of jangle bracelets, wearing flowing layers of black with a pair of expensive clogs to complete the outfit. This little lady had some flair, a contagious laugh, and a sparkle in her big blue eyes. She was a whirlwind of energy, enthusiasm, and fun! I knew we would be quick friends. T. introduced us and from that day on, Rosie W. and I ran into each other all over the secondhand scene in Boone. We would greet each other in the aisles of various thrift stores with "We are crazy" " Thrifting is an illness" "Let's create a support group" etc........ always laughing afterwards and showing each other our latest finds. We also started to see each other in more professional venues, at trainings, staffings, and so on--always sitting next to each other and talking about upcoming community sales. It was in the fall of 2009, that we began to discuss the idea of the Secondhand Rosies. We set out to write over the winter months--those long, mountain, winter months----and published the first blog in March of 2010. We have been writing, shopping, laughing, planning, and creating since then. This March will mark our first anniversary. We will commemorate it with our fist annual High Tea and Rag Shakin' Clothing Swap on March 12 at the Watauga County Library. It has been a wonderful ride with the spirited and energetic woman, Rosie W.. As my grandma would say " We were cut from the same cloth". Amen to that!

Cheers and Happy hunting Folks—now you all know our story!

People-Watching Mecca

The song “Heat Wave” was playing in the background, as I stood wondering if he was one of the ASU football players. That’s how big he was, this young man in whose shadow I stood at the Boone Goodwill checkout counter, thus my surprise when he asked the clerk, “Do you still have that three foot plastic crayon that was here last week?”

And so it goes, “thrifting” in the High Country, Winter 2011.

Would it be fair to say that Goodwill, Boone, is the Mecca for local people watching? Diamonds and pearls, butt cracks and babies, cleavage and curls, big hair, no hair, fancy and frumpy they all converge here.

What about the older couple spotted carrying out an inflated oversized replica of a Budweiser bottle? Huh? Wouldn’t you love to know their story. Yes, one person’s trash IS another’s treasure, and in the world of “flippers” (those who resell at flea markets) it is likely that Budweiser treasures DO have value.

In house wares I recently enjoyed conversation with a charming twelve year old boy about the Magic 8 Ball on the shelf. It was broken. But we didn’t give up until each of us tried about 10 shakes. You never know what friendships may be forged at Goodwill!

All the while there was a young man strolling up and down the aisles, not looking like the shopper type, and wearing an old Army jacket that was adorned with a button that read, “Vote for Pedro”. Am I missing something here?

Some shop Goodwill strictly for the clothing, while others head straight for house wares. One sweet local lady can always be found checking out the jewelry counter first. And it is either the furniture section or book section that seems to provide comfort and consolation to reluctant spouses who’d rather be someplace else.

Like the castoffs from Gilligan’s Island, I look forward to seeing the “regulars” when visiting Goodwill. Pamela, Dawn, Anna, Jeff, Louis, Wendy, Karen….and the list goes on…