April 29, 2011

Fill in The Blank Friday




1. My favorite daily responsibility is taking a shower.

2. My least favorite daily responsibility is washing dishes. So that's why I don't do them daily.

3. My favorite cuisine to eat when going out is CHIPOTLE!! Addicted to that deliciousness!

4. My favorite cuisine to prepare at home is anything easy and takes 30 minutes or less to prepare.

5. Andy Warhol said that everyone is famous for 15 minutes. My claim to fame is when my parents took the training wheels off my bike for the first time I was riding around in the yard and crashed into the birdbath, knocked it over and flipped my bike. My parents love telling that story to all of my friends over and over.

6. If I could have 1 wish I would wish for complete health for all my family members and myself.

April 26, 2011

Blog Interview with Sugar Cube Vintage

Hi Everyone I met this awesome girl on Etsy, her name is Bec, she is located in Portland and she runs a vintage shop called SugarCube Vintage. I met her by displaying the awesome flower frogs she has for sale, when I wrote about the history of flower frogs. This was my first attempt at doing a vintage interview and she was a great sport, so without further ado here is Bec of SugarCube Vintage:





How did you get interested in vintage?
When I was little, my grandparents lived in the Midwest and used to take me to auctions
every weekend, early training in finding a bargain. We’ d pile into the wood panel station
wagon, drive through the countryside, sit for hours on high rise bleachers in dusty
overcrowded auction houses, usually bid on some boxes of fabric for my grandmother
who was a quilter, or some carpentry tools for grandpa, then stop for ice cream on the
way home – sometimes I even got to hold the bidding paddle! I loved every second of
those days!

In your shop's profile it says that you lived in Toyko for awhile, did people there go
thrifting also? Are they interested in vintage as well?

Vintage clothing is huge in Tokyo and there are hundreds of shops, but the prices are
high as most items come from Europe or the US. A vintage shop owner in Portland once
told me that the Japan buyers and stores keep them in business.
One of my favorite sights in Tokyo was Japanese hipsters wearing vintage Future
Farmers of America jackets with names like Bob stitched on the front.
Thrifting as we know it doesn’ t really exist in Japan, but they do have amazing flea
markets – the best ones are at the shrines in and around Kyoto. I did stumble across some
great recycle and junk type shops in Tokyo, but it takes some serious searching to find
shops that actually sell Japanese items and not overseas vintage at large markups.

When you are out picking what sort of things do you gravitate towards?
I buy things I would like in my own home. Unfortunately that often
means it’ s hard to part with things. My husband is convinced we’ re going
to end up on an episode of ‘ Hoarders’ .

Are there vintage things that you personally collect?
Globes, cameras, cigar boxes, metal tins, kitschy animal pictures, children’ s books,
wooden kashigata (Japanese sweets molds), and anything with a deer on it….




Where do you find your treasures?
Estate sales primarily, but I never pass up a garage sale, flea market or thrift store.
I love the thrill of the hunt.

Is your etsy shop your full time job?
I was trained and worked as a designer but somehow I always managed to make vintage
part of the job. I worked as a graphic designer and photo stylist for different ad agencies,
and an illustrator/animator for a media company. While in Tokyo I worked as a trend
researcher for a New York company. I started Sugar Cube Vintage on my return to the
US but still take on freelance projects doing prop and photo styling in Tokyo and here in
Portland. I always love it when other stylists and producers from big retailers (sorry, my
lips are sealed…) use my products for their shoots.

What is one memorable treasure hunting story you have?
The lines opening day for estate sales in Portland are long, standing in the rain
waiting for your number to be called you quickly make new friends. In one such line I
met the best friends of the woman whose estate was being sold. They told me that she
was a school librarian who traveled the world when she retired. Each of her friends had
come to the sale to pick out something to remember her by. It tops my list of estate sales,
you could tell she was an amazing woman by what was in her home. I found so many
treasures that day, the book “ The Very Hungry Caterpillar” in German, a wood block
Danish elephant puzzle…the list goes on and I couldn’ t bear to part with the majority of
finds. I did sell the librarian bell I found which I regret to this day.

Any advice for vintage sellers on etsy?
Yes: three things:
1: Always be on the hunt. I’m out buying almost every day, even if I’ m on vacation.
Whether you’ re in Amsterdam, Palm Springs, or back in your hometown for your high
school reunion, make time for some shopping and keep your eyes peeled….
2: Get organized early: find a system for shelving, cataloguing and record keeping.
Chances are you’ re going to get bigger than you originally thought, and having a
workable system up front will make your life easier when you start getting lots of
inventory.
3: Establish your brand. Maybe not right away, but over time you should start to focus
in on a specific genre, era or type/style of item. Eventually you’ ll start to find your
audience (or they’ ll start to find you).

Bec is also gracious enough to offer the Trunk readers 15% off in her shop with the Coupon Code 15SUGARCUBE go visit her and say Hello:)

SHOP       TWITTER




Over-N-Out

April 22, 2011

Fill in the Blank Friday




1. Something that makes me a great friend is, I am empathetic and if anyone ever needed anything I'd be there in a heart beat. 


2. I am a small town girl at heart and will always be.

3. I am not  good at Math.

4. If I had to describe myself in 3 words, they would be dorky, creative, and quasi-antisocial

5. Something I'm really cheap about is my clothes, if they are not on sale, I won't buy them until they are, because seriously in 2 weeks they will be.


6. Something I'm willing to splurge on is a quality hair cut and dye job. Seriously I don't think twice about that what is my problem...


7. I would trade  hidden gluten hangovers and migraines  for my left arm somedays.

Hope everyone has a great Easter and that the Bunny is Good to you :)

Over-N-Out

April 20, 2011

Giveaway Time!







This past Sunday I got my 30th sale, and that sale went all the way to Australia!! Whoot Whoot thanks PurpleFrog03, in your package is a special offer as a thank you.  This may sound dumb, but I’m proud of myself for reaching 30 sales. I know that may seem so minuscule to those of you that have had 100’s or 1,000’s of sales, but when I opened Junk in Da Trunk I honestly didn’t know what to expect.  I didn’t expect to become so passionate about it, didn’t expect to think all the time what can I do to improve the shop and market it better and didn’t expect to develop the strong urge to attempt to turn it into a full-time gig someday, and I definitely didn’t expect to get 30 sales and have over 70 people heart my shop. I started the shop as a means for my Mom and I to down size our treasures, while we are still doing that, I have also found so many other things that I enjoy looking for now from this wonderful online community.  It feels so good, and for the first time I feel like I sort of know what I’m doing, yes it’s taken me a few months to get to 30 sales but I am learning what works for me and what does not and that feels good.  So my new goal is 50 sales by July 25 our shops birthday, and also to get this International shipping thing down, so I can offer it instead of asking for a convo to be sent, because I think that may discourage people.  Along with that I have a goal of updating weekly instead of only once a month, so I gotta get this thing going here. 

To show my appreciation to each and everyone that has helped me achieve this goal, I’m going to hold my first giveaway.  Up for grabs are two mini  Pyrex fridgies with lids.  This pair shows their age a bit but would still be perfect on a shelf with your collection. One is bright red and the other is a redish orange color, not sure what set they belong too. They are also AH-mazing for storing and warming up single size left over portions. They simply have some color fading everything else is practically perfect, no chips or cracks in the fridgie or the top. To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is become a follower of this blog and leave a comment, with your email address so I have a way of contacting the winner.  A winner will be drawn and announced on Tuesday, May 3.  Good Luck and thank you again, spread the word to help us get to 50 sales by July!

Over-N-Out

April 15, 2011



1. My most prized possession is my camera, seriously it captures the moments I want to remember forever, and even the ones that will someday hurt to look back at.

2. If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be 25. It's not too young, not too old and at an age without any legal restrictions.

3. The best way to spend a weekend is going some place new and exploring and having adventures.


4. My outlook on life is we only get one shot, so fit in whatever you can because you're never guaranteed tomorrow, and to live with no regrets.


5. If you want to annoy me just start whining about stuff you can't change or whine about things that only you can change. Example, gas prices, how you're behind on your work. 

6. I am completely defenseless when it comes to  puppies, Pyrex and fountain coke

7. When dressing for the day one should dress opposite of their mood. If you are tired and crabby then you should get fancy, I bet you $5 your mood will change:)

Hope you all have a great weekend, not sure what mine holds as everyday is a surprise:)

Over-N-Out

April 14, 2011

Hello Everyone just wanted to interrupt your Thursday to let you know we've been slashing some prices and adding things to the Sale section of the shop:)  Lots of spring cleaning happening in our Trunk.  Oh and we are only 3 sales away from 30!!! On the 30th sale we'll announce a giveaway!!! Yay, help us get there before the end of the month.

April 13, 2011

Flower Frogs

For some reason I have started collecting these little suckers.  (I blame my mom for this as well as for my many other vintage collections.) My mom has a HUGE antique urn full of these little gems, she prefers the glass ones to the metal but any that she finds, anywhere, she seems to adopt. She especially likes the metal caged frogs, but those are hard to find. I would like one for my collection and always hunt for one.


I have found that I prefer the colored glass dome shaped ones to clear glass and flat and the metal ones that still have their color and are rectangular to the copper and metal round frogs.  A little tip; the rectangular frogs holds photos so nicely and are a great alternative to a picture frame. Especially if you have any antique family photos that were printed on cardboard they look very cool sitting in a frog on a bookshelf, just saying.



These caged frogs from Sugarcube Vintage are what I search for and are also showing how awesome they are to display antique photos. Check out their shop, its full of other goodies:)



As I was taking pictures for the upcoming shop update, I have a set of two frogs to list.  The larger was stamped on the bottom “ Beagle Manufacturing Company Pasadena California No. 6”, I was intrigued,  so I took to Google to see what I could find out.  

I found that the Beagle Manufacturing Company produced frogs from the 1920’s through the 1950’s.  They started making the sharp spike holders in the 1930’s when flower delivery started to become big.  The florist’s needed something that would hold their arrangements super tight and secure as the arrangements made their way to their recipient.  It’s fun sometimes to imagine what sort of arrangements these gems held, did they hold “Congratulations on your new baby flowers”, “ Just because I love you” flowers, “ Happy Anniversary” flowers or “simply to make a table look pretty for a dinner party” flowers.  Either way these frogs are a part of our American History, and were in attendance at an important moment in a person’s life.  What sort of history would you start with these two frogs?

April 8, 2011


Hello Everyone! Happy Friday!  It's that time again, o and I made a graphic, what'd you think?  Not sure if I'm 100% happy with it but it works for now until I tap into my inner graphic artist hidden inside someplace.

1. If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab My Laptop, My purse and my external hard-drive.


2. A smell I really like is the smell right before and right after it rains. Also clean smell of dryer sheets and warm laundry.

3. Something you might not know about me is that I can not tie a balloon or blow one up. Seriously, I have issues. I physically can not do either. I've tried about a million and one times. 


4. Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are  bloglovin, etsy, and Anthro

5. This weekend I will be I can't tell it's a surprise :) 

6. Nothing makes me happier than having a day off to do whatever the heck I want!


7. A bad habit I have is  Spreading myself too thin sometimes, but I always figure out how to get things done.  

Hope you all have a great weekend! Over-N-Out

April 7, 2011

Treasury Thursday

So this past week we were lucky enough to be included in 5 treasuries!!! Wow thanks for the Lovin' fellow Vestie Members!!

First up is Sarah from Keeky27 with her Sweet Tea and Lemonade Treasury that showcased our Vintage Daisy Pitcher among many other beautiful treasures :)


Sarah I am seriously holding back from buying these!  Check out her shop she has super fun treasures!


Suzie from SimplySuzie2 also featured our Daisy Pitcher in her Farmers Daughter Treasury



Love how she did a play on words from the Song The Farmers Daughter.  Suzie's shop if full of beautiful and affordable jewelry go and check her out!


Martha from Open Door Studio featured our Barn Pulley in her Country Comforts Treasury.



Lovin' all the fun pieces  in her treasury especially the super cute photo of the lamb! But Martha's shop is AH-MAZING also she finds quite the mix of treasures. There are so many that I heart that this post would be so long.

Laurie from ThreeOldKeys  featured  our Strawberry Shortcake canister in her Can't Wait for Local Strawberries Treasury.



Tell you what Laurie we can't wait for local strawberries either, because those are my fav fruit!
Check out her Shop HERE and her Blog HERE


51vc featured our Wicker Picnic basket  in her Tiki Spring Fashion treasury.



This treasury seriously makes me want to go to Hawaii ASAP!  Stop in and check out 51VC's fabulous shop HERE


Thank you to all of the lovely shops that featured us in their beautiful and well thought out treasuries we can not express how grateful we are for this awesome community we belong to!
Over-N-Out

April 5, 2011


This print from Ashleyg is speaking to me!  Too bad I'm on a no spending til the end of April spree :) But you should pick one up it can be found HERE and the rest of her shop is pretty amazing also!

Over-N-Out

April 4, 2011

Weekend Recap



Over the weekend I ventured to the homeland and got some new inventory for the shop. Update coming at you soon...like maybe this weekend, like this Sunday:) Watch for it:) 

Anywho the highlight of Saturdays picking day was an estate sale my dear ol'd dad found on Craigs List, so we show up there and are greeted to a group of men carrying a bed frame that are ready to put this and more of a vintage bedroom set in our truck, and I kept saying "No we're not the bedroom set people."  It was then that I realized that they were bombed. We walked into the house and the whole family was sitting around the kitchen table with a cooler full of Bud Lite between them.  They were having a great time selling their parents things, I guess whatever makes it easier but that was the first time I've been to an estate sale that the family is bombed:)  How about you any crazy estate sale stories?

Over-N-Out

April 1, 2011

Fill in the Blank Friday

Happy Friday Everyone!! I'm thinking I may need to come up with a cute graphic for this weekly feature or something:)  I'll work on it. 


1. The best deal I’ve ever gotten is I'm sure I've gotten better but sweet Jesus the sweater I got last weekend from Antro is my most recent one I mean $198 to $19.98 Hello Sweetness!!


2. If I were hosting a dinner party and could invite people from my fantasy guest list it would include
 Kelly Coutrone, Khole Kardashian, Lauren Conrad and the American Picker guys haha what a combo!

3. Some things that inspire me are sunny days, Anthro catalogs, my friends, the Internet,  people watching  childhood memories.

4. If I could only choose to eat one flavor of food for the rest of eternity (sweet, salty, spicy, bitter….) I would have to go with salty and spicy .

5. I dream about seriously weird stuff. But the more weird thing is that some of the dreams I have actually happen later down the road and I get deja vu weird right???  It's like my subconscious is preparing me in advance or something.  


6. My weekend will be spent   hanging with family and picking for the shop.


7. If I could only watch one movie or TV show for the rest of my life, it would be  Sex and the City 


Hope you all have a great weekend!
Over-N-Out