#Week #Thrifting #Mystery #Vase #WorthPoint
Every so often, a trip to the thrift store turns into a serious love story. When something special catches your eye (and if it has an equally seductive price sticker), it’s easy to feel like you simply must have it. That’s the way I felt when I stumbled across this colorful vase. Maybe it’s because it was standing in front of a few rows of relatively plain glassware utterly devoid of color, or perhaps it was the stunning size of this design. Either way, I knew I hadn’t seen anything like this before at any thrift store, and it was tough to ignore this incredible find. Even though I left to visit other stores, this gorgeous piece stayed on my mind, and I eventually had no choice but to swing back and make my purchase.
But a great love story can quickly turn into a great mystery when you can’t figure out your new favorite thrifted piece. When I turned over this vase, I was initially thrilled to see a mark—and then utterly crushed to discover that it was too fuzzy for me to read. A product of China? Perhaps even Macau? I can only speculate about the inscrutable markings stamped on the bottom of this delightful find.
At the very least, I was able to get some research going with the WorthPoint app on my phone. After searching for other similar tobacco leaf vases, I found a handful that had similar colors and botanical designs. The good news? My fifteen-inch vase is bigger than most of the comparable items that I found in the Price Guide, which makes me feel hopeful about this beauty’s value prospects.
But there’s still so much I don’t know about this stunning thrift store vase, so I’m asking you, dear readers, to help! Check out the full episode of This Week in Thrifting to see more of this piece and hear what I’ve learned so far. If you’ve got insights on this find, we’d love to hear about it in the video comments. We can’t wait to hear what you know!
In addition to her role as HIP’s curator of photography, Allison Radomski is a writer and filmmaker. She spends her days hunting for analog cameras, scoring her own movies in her laundry closet, and building her collections of Polaroids and handkerchiefs. She has degrees in cinema & media studies and religious studies from the University of Chicago.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
