CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO

If time could stretch itself to an extra 10 hours a day, if sleep was optional, I would write an entirely different blog about my love of the used, the old and the ancient. As it stands, I am lucky if I complete one or two rounds of my East Bench "junk store" route a week. When good pickings usually went undocumented, they now appear on instagram @photomatoux under #thrifthaul but these last ten days have been a little too good not to share.

The small washboard and Reed and Barton sugar and cream came out of Savers on 33rd. I am especially pleased with the silverplated as it is EPNS which I collect exclusively unless the provenance is French then it's usually all good. EPNS almost always polishes back to its former glory and you can usually tell on the spot if the back mess is going to shine ever again. If it's ruined you will usually see pitting and corrosion. EPNS pieces are heavier, have nicer curves and generally feel "a cut above" in your hands.

The Kraft box found at The Assistance League will make a perfect mobile calligraphy and stamp carving tray.

My other find, the large mirror above (with glass removed for now) was always going to be a sacré boulot or too much work. But it paid off I think. I lamely lost the before pictures of the original state (you can see a few on instagram) but let's just say that many adornments were pried-off and that Finn learned the word hideous. The piece is solid wood which was painted in Valspar paint+primer super flat Seine. Is Seine code word for Paris Grey? After distressing with nail and hammer, three coats of paint, a careful job with liming wax and a final clear wax polish, I can say voila! It looks almost like a Zinc mirror from Restoration Hardware but for 20 times less. Not bad for the hideous old guy.