I bought my first vintage quilt in a small, dark and damp antique store in Reno Nevada. Predominantly red, it had a patchwork of patriotic blue and white stars and stripes. Slightly shabby and frayed, it was thick and cozy for the cold nights of Nevada. That quilt was the beginning of my quest for anything shabby, old, cracked, faded, rusty and forlorn!

A few years later, I moved to California and settled into a home in the Central Valley. I was delighted to find out that the Central Valley; with its rich orchards was not only home to the best strawberries, peaches, Bing cherries and grapes but also to big old barns and Victorian homes converted into antique stores. It was a largely rural area where you could still find yard sales on the side on the road. I also often visited the Salvation Army and Goodwill (thrifting, as it is called today) to find that rusty enamel bucket or cracked and stained Ironstone pitcher.

When I was 9 months pregnant with my older son, I was driving around town and spotted a "barn sale" sign. Like a typical yard sale, there were items all over the yard but there was a rickety old barn beside the main house. The floors on the barn were uneven and it was very dark inside. I spent nearly 3 hours sifting through tattered books, beautiful old plates; yellow ware bowls, vintage quilts and fabric. I augmented my collection significantly that day. Nine months pregnant, due any day, in the hot September sun, I loaded up my small car to its capacity. Many of the items you see in my shop came from a dusty old barn in California!

One of my best finds is an old sturdy wooden trunk painted robin's egg blue milk paint. My kids used to sing and dance on top of that trunk when they were very young. I still have it today, my poor husband having to rent and drive the biggest U-Haul truck available to fit most of my stuff when we moved from California to Florida.

I love vintage and I live vintage! Fire King bowls, Homer Laughlin plates, handmade quilts, old books and maps, vintage lamps, stools with peeling paint are used daily in our home. What I love the most about vintage is the feel of history and nostalgia. To me vintage items, owned and cherished by someone else, hold an everlasting appeal and charm from decades past.

I hope to share my love of vintage with you.
To enter my shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mysunshinevintage