old kitchen things.

i have noticed that lately i have been buying a lot of old things for the kitchen. not only do they have more personality than new kitchen things, but i think they work a lot better too. i know a lot of the new things i have bought ended up being junk after a year or so. it says a lot that items from 40+ years are still in good condition, and still do what they were made to do. sometimes i don't have a use for the items, or they are missing a piece & don't work, but i can almost always find a new use for them. i also think they look great sitting out on display. 

from sam's camp.

i've been buying old glassware for the last few years, but never really noticed old utensils and kitchen tools. about a year ago, sam brought me these old kitchen tools from his camp. i love the painted wooden handles & unique colors. they are so different from the boring metal spoons you see today. this small collection has made me notice kitchen gadgets more, and now i find myself keeping an eye open for anything that stands out. 

this weekend i went home to go to the hannastown flea market with my parents. it takes place the first sunday of every month during the summer. it's a really good one, and we usually all leave with a few treasures. it's located in a really old settlement, and the log frame around the town is still there, as well as an old log tavern. it's the perfect old-timey place for antiques to be sold.


i got a number of little things, but this pastry blender is the only one that fits the kitchen theme of this post (i'm sure my other finds will make an appearance later). there was a pretty small crowd of sellers this week due to the rainy looking skies, so we had time to check out some nearby antique stores in ligoneer. i found this old wooden spoon at one. i also got a really nice old book on mushrooms, which i gave to sam. it has really nice full color illustrations, which i'd like to make copies of & frame in groups. that particular store is a little expensive though, and no one else found anything. so we headed to the next store on the same road that has really good prices & lots of sellers. one thing i have noticed is that antique stores that have multiple sellers seem to have lots of sales during the summer time. i think it's because summer is the best time for flea markets, so the sellers are trying to make room for their new merchandise. most of the sellers in this store had at least 30% off their booths. 

an original handywhip.

i found this really nice jadeite jar for 50% off. i am always drawn to jadeite pieces, then quickly turned off by the high price. it's really rare to find anything jadeite for under $20.00, which is a lot to spend for cheap old me, especially on something i don't "need." so, this jar was a really good deal. after looking at it for a while, we realized it seemed to be missing some sort of top piece or lid. so my dad & i did some research to figure out what it's purpose was. it turns out it is the base from an old mixer called a "handywhip" which was made by chicago electric company. these sell for $75.00+ when still together, and the jar's alone seem to sell for $30-$40, so i got a great deal at $8.00. i will probably use it to store wooden spoons & other utensils in. i just love the color. 


my mom knew i had my eye on jadeite pieces for a while. one i always wanted was an old sunkist juicer. it was a really popular juicer during the 30's, and i see them all the time at antique stores & flea markets. they come in white, light yellow, and jade. the cheapest i've seen one was around $24, and it was the white one (boring). the colored ones usually sell for at least $36. i have been holding out, hoping to find a jade one at goodwill for 99 cents. last weekend, my parents went to a large antique store in punxsutawney. my mom found my juicer there for $15.00! i am really excited to have it, and i can't wait to make some fresh orange juice with it.




 

this morning i stopped at a thrift store i used to visit way too often by my old apartment in the north hills. this store, like most thrift stores, has different color tickets on their items. each day they have 50% off 2 colors, and 25% off a third. i can almost always manage to find something good, and today i found 2 little things for the kitchen: a pie plate with a recipe for strawberry pie on it, and a tiny little cleaver! the cleaver is only about 6" long. i also got 2 little picture frames and the total was $6.00. another great week of junk : ).