New house

I moved again.  This time to a nicer house in a not-so-nicer neighborhood.  I hadn’t been thrifting in awhile and a friend of mine was having a yard sale the other weekend.  I used the opportunity to get out of the city and get some junk.  Boy did it pay off…

$1 at yard sale in Springfield, PA

$3.50 @ Impact Thrift

$3.99 @ Impact Thrift (will be used as a gift)

$1.50 @ Impact Thrift (I really needed a new wallet)

$0.50 @ thrift store in Springfield (i forget what it was called)

and the winner is…

Frye boots for $20 @ a yard sale in Springfield

this is from awhile ago…

Sewing box $15, talked down from $18 from a flea market in new hope

I also got an old school metal ice cube tray that is currently in the freezer and can’t be photographed. I feel like this has wet my pallet for more thrifting. I’m going to be in a wedding in September and need to fine silver shoes. I’m convinced I can find some second hand somewhere. So here goes….

Threads 4 Thought

I was in Austin about a month ago shopping for food at Whole Foods when I came across the most comfortable colorful plain t-shirts.  I look at the price tag and behold: $10 a piece!  I tried one on and it fit so well and felt so comfortable that I bought two.  And a month later, I just ordered 3 more online.  They seriously are amazing.  I thought to myself, “these are better than American Apparel, and a fraction of the price!”

But what makes it even better is that they are an amazing company!  Taken from the website:

At Threads for Thought we use sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton and polyester recycled from plastic water bottles to create clothing that is comfortable, beautiful, and socially conscious; then we donate a portion of our proceeds to charity.  What we wear is as important as what our clothes are made of, and where and how they are put together.

Eric Fleet and Leigh Ivan founded Threads for Thought in 2006 while they were still in college.  Our foundation is their belief that we should be responsible world citizens and positive contributors to a sustainable future.  We create clothing from sustainable materials, build factories that respect their employees, sell clothing that is affordable, and pursue quality above all else.

Huzzah!

The Items that I Carry

stay simple

A blog about a blog

So we’re finally finishing up setting up our blog for our studio’s website:  http://thephotostudiophilly.com/blog/

Please check it out!  My sister helped design the layout (thanks Audrey!).

Store Hours

On the agenda for tomorrow…

Impact thrift:

Mon. thru Fri. 10AM to 8PM
Saturday 10AM to 6PM

New Life Thrift:

Mon-Fri   9-6
Saturday 9-5

Making old things New

I bought two of these chairs at $5 a piece at Beehive Thrift in Northeast Philly.  They had some markings on them, names written most likely by the children who owned them.  I love wooden chairs, and I love wooden folding chairs even more.. so these were a steal.  I was going to sand them down and re-finish them with a nice wood stain… but instead I decided to go bold and paint them neon green, inspired by Lois’ freshly painted outdoor table and chairs.

I went to home depot and selected my color of choice.  I was instructed to get “paint and primer in one” exterior paint, because that would cover the best, and also hold up the best for people to sit on.  Normally paint is made for walls mainly, not for objects to sit on, so I was alittle worried that it would not hold very well.  Floor paint would be the best, but they only come in gallon sizes and I only needed alittle bucket.

I had to put on about 3 coats and then touch up different areas.  I admit, it’s not the best paint job, but I only had one sized brush and tried my best.

Then I decided to garnish them up a bit by adding cushions.  I bought these “denim” (not really denim, they just look denim) cushions from ikea for $5.99/piece.  I’m unsure if I’m going to keep them as they are, or cover them with a different fabric.  I had high hopes to cover them with neat vintage floral patterns, but I have yet to get my hands on any.

DIY: Micro Studio

There are plenty of sites showing you how to build a “micro studio” out of white foam core. I, however, wanted to mount a white seamless in my micro studio.

My friend Stephen helped me build the frame out of a single piece of 2×4 wood. We cut the wood into 3 even pieces, about 32 inches a piece. Then fitted them together and drilled screws to hold them in place.

For some extra support, he cut these triangular pieces and nailed them to the back of the frame, and added “feet” to the bottom of the frame.

I took 3 pieces of foam core and made a box to fit inside of the frame. I purchased a 24inch white seamless from Calumet and got a shower tension rod from home depot to hold it up. I left the top open so that I can drop a soft box on top. I haven’t tested it yet, but I’m sure it will work out great. More pictures to come when I actually photograph something in here.

Beehive Thrift

Last week I had a doctors apt in the northeast, and had about an hour to kill after having lunch with my mother. I decided to check out a thrift store I’d not been to yet. I had my doubts; being in the heart of northeast philadelphia, in not a great section of town = I really didn’t think they would have any sort of selection. I was surprised when I found baskets full of vintage kitchenware for really cheap prices! There were a lot more that I wanted to get (and might go back for) but didn’t see the logic in buying a bunch of outdated kitchen utensils. The things I did pick up, however, are very useful and will be added assets to our humble apartment. The small butter knives, I’ll admit, were not needed, and purely bought out of sheer want of the objects at hand. I think when it comes time for me to have a set of utensils of my own, I’d prefer them to be of this sort, not necessarily matching by any means, but of the like. why? because I want to.

.25 cents each

.25 cents

.75 cents

.50 cents

$1 each

I did rummage through the clothes for a minute, but the store was very small, and there was not much of anything really. A few things I picked up I thought were overpriced, but mostly I felt that most everything was very modestly priced. They have another store across the street with only furniture. I did not have the time to browse over there, but I will return to look I’m sure.

Circle Thirft, Super Thrift, Spring cleaning and decorating

artwork: $1.99, super thrift

shoes: $3, circle thrift

shoes: $3.99, super thrift

dragonfly metal hooks: $2/each, circle thrift, glass carafe: $1, super thrift

milk glass bowl: $1, circle thrift

Today I went to a couple thrift stores with Lois, and made off with some awesome shoes! New shoes are so unbelievably expensive, so I was pretty psyched when I found these two pairs. Everything else I got was decorative, which I normally don’t go for, but had a feeling of “springtime” in me; the kind of feeling that makes you want to start projects and make your house all nice.

So there you have it. I rearranged a corner of my very small room so that I have better access to the sewing machine and fabrics. I also made a bag of stuff to donate next time I go to the thrift store. Next I need to go through all the crap in the basement and figure out what I want to hold on to and what I want to get rid of. After that I have some bike projects, and I’m looking forward to a possible internship this summer. This year is looking good.

Working on it.

Maintaining a healthy body and exercise, along with eating well, goes hand in hand with maintaining a healthy earth (what I usually blog about when I’m talking about recycling, thrifting, etc). I own a car now, but I much prefer to bike places.

Along with being a great mode of transportation, I found that I don’t ever get to go on leisure rides. I usually ride to the bank, the lab, the store, appointments, other places i need to get to, usually dodging traffic and rushing to get somewhere. I forget sometimes how nice it is to just ride as an exercise, as pleasure, for fun. Lois [link] and I have been going on bi-weekly rides. I am aware of how “bi-weekly” means both “every two weeks” and “twice a week.” I’m using it now in the “twice a week” sense of the word. I look forward to this ride every day that I’m not actually doing it. We usually do some combination of the loop (MLK drive-Kelly drive), as well as bike up to the art museum to start (about a 2 mile ride from our houses). All in all, we’re doing a minimum of 12 miles total, and takes alittle over an hour. It’s awesome. And to show how awesome it is, here are some pictures of us being awesome on our awesome bike ride.