Since it gets dark so early, we spent most of our Denver evenings perusing thrift stores, antique malls and bargain stores like TJ Maxx. We were pretty diligent about our retail therapy especially at Found Antique and Artisan Mall in Wheat Ridge.
They have about 65 vendors in 12,000 square feet of small rooms, nooks and crannies. It’s sort of a maze where every turn presents opportunity to find unexpected treasures like these rosettes made from old ties.
They have tons of handmade items and numerous vintage items that I had never seen before. From a mid century era baby monitor called the Baby Sitter to a sixties era Fred Flinstone/ Dino the Dinosaur toy, there are many interesting things to admire. That Flinstones toy is fabulous but comes with a $465 price tag. That was a bit out of my price range but they also have some eighties era Carebears like some I had as a child. Finding them marked vintage was a bit offputting (because I can’t possibly be old enough to call my toys vintage) but they were far more affordable than Fred.
Anyway, it’s a great store in a fantastic space and I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the Denver area. They also have a location in Wisconsin if that’s closer for you. Get the details here!
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One of my favorite antiquing destinations is the Ohio Valley Antique Mall in Fairfield. That’s in the greater Cincinnati area so it’s a bit of a haul over there but always worth the trip because they have so much stuff and typically good prices.
Then there are the suitcases. So many suitcases!
And a fair amount of ingenious upcycling.
Booths like this always make me think there’s a guy out there who got married and whose new wife wouldn’t let him keep his man cave. I mean, it looks like some dude’s rec room just got packed up and moved to a corner booth!
If you’re into Fiesta, there’s a booth packed with new Fiesta items. Honestly, they have so much stuff here that if you can’t find it, you probably don’t need it.
Antique malls tend to offer a variety of goods that aren’t actual antiques. From handmade crafts to vintage toys to books, soaps and a litany of other things, it seems you never know what you’ll find.
It’s hard to even find this sort of thing locally and it would cost significantly more around here.
Literally, friends. You don’t know what you’ll find around the next corner.
I was dying to bring home any number of vintage suitcases but the logistics of air travel with a somewhat fragile old suitcase were too much to deal with. Another time!
