During quarantine, I figured there would be many people cleaning out spaces and posting items for sale. A few weeks ago I searched, “Vintage Easel” with no local hits. Typical. That’s usually how my search starts. I rarely find what I’m looking for the first time, but once I’ve searched something then similar items will show up in “Today’s Picks” when I check Marketplace in the future. Well... over the weekend guess what my top pick was?!
My husband was kind enough to drive to the next town over and pick it up for me. It was even larger and more amazing than shown in the photo above. We learned that the easel belonged to a local art instructor and it originally came from an art school in New York. It is made of solid wood by Anco Bilt complete with iron casters. After researching, we believe it is from the 1950's. Values online range from $1,600 - $2,000. What a gem!
I'm not sure why this piece speaks to me, but if you are a vintage collector, I'm sure you understand. Looking back, I haven't actually "painted" in years. Walls, yes. Furniture, yes. But not true art. When I was younger I always imagined having a sunny room to paint in. I went to college for accounting and made a career of it, but I've always had a creative side (thus, the blog). Interestingly enough, in high school I even received the senior art award. I don't recall painting but a handful of times since...which is about to change :)
The vintage easel found a landing spot in our breezeway; which has a lot of natural light with all the windows. The girls and I have been doing "school" out there and I'm hoping to have a family paint-sesh soon :) My husband works in finance, but is extraordinarily creative as well. I know this will be a piece our entire family will enjoy for years to come.
For now, I put one of my favorite pictures from Provence on the easel. I'm working on gathering supplies and hope to test it out soon. I am planning to use the vintage metal shop cabinet to hold my supplies.
A few of the other vintage finds featured are from The Cotton Shed. The metal cabinet (above) and canisters (below) are both from their shop if you are looking for unique and curated vintage pieces for your home. I've known them for a few years now and they have such a great small business and are some of the nicest people you will ever meet! You can shop online with them or if you are local - they are actually nearby in Evansville, Indiana.
I hope this gives you a few ideas to search for vintage items! Nearly everyone has Facebook and it is a quick way to look for something before you purchase new.
As always, thanks for following along!
Bonne chance!
-Amy