Just 30 more to 365 ...

I love wandering through thrift shops and second hand stores. Not because I like antiques, I don't. BUT I do like the stories or potential histories that different objects seem to impart that cause me to stop and linger.

I was reading an interview of a contemporary young artisan who makes handsome leather and fabric handbags and shoulder bags out of discarded yardage she gleans from thrift shops. She said unknown people had a specific purpose for buying that piece of fabric. So, when she finds and uses the yardage, she feels like she's giving it a second chance to become something finished, functional and beautiful. I really liked that thought process. That idea of a baton being passed, or creativity realized or manifested.

Oops! Got off on a tangent! But that, too, is another reason I wander thrift shops ... it makes me question things about myself, about others, about our connections.

I came across a couple of objects that "spoke" to me:



This bust was in a glass case, so I photographed
it through the glass. I was taken with
the exotic woman, the abacus, the brass bells.
Was there an actual woman who posed
for the carving? Did someone actually count
on the abacus? How were the brass bells used?




The French white wrought iron grate; did it adorn a home?
How old was it? Older than me?




This is a detail of a massive cut crystal chandelier.
What is its provenance?