Collectibles – Dayna J Collins

Poor Little Discarded Orphans

In my last post, New Studio? Almost . . . ., I wrote about revamping my studio and the need to clear out a long shelf of my creepy, vintage, broken, disheveled dolls (and doll heads). I wasn’t ready to get rid of them, but it didn’t make sense to put them in bins and store them in the shed. The dolls are my thing, not Howard’s, so I decided to live with them a while longer and the best place to do that was in my office. I began the arduous task of going through all of the dolls that I had removed from the shelves (okay, maybe I played with them for a little bit).

I found some low profile shelves and ordered two sets. Howard got them installed pretty quickly, and I began deciding which dolls would make the cut. My favorite dolls are the ones with movable eyes and little teeth, and I had collected plenty of those over the years.

If you are creeped out by cracked, crazy-eyed, and overly loved dolls, you might not want to continue, but if you are intrigued by such a motley cast of characters, here are some of my favorites.

If anyone had ever told me I would get to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market . . . .

. . . . I would not have believed them. But it happened last Sunday.

We were on vacation in Los Angles last week to see an uncle, visit museums, art galleries, and just do some general tromping about. The sites we wanted to visit were divided by neighborhoods to minimize the time spent in the car. On a whim, right before we left for the airport, I googled “flea markets.” The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market, of course, popped up. It is held one Sunday of the month. Guess which Sunday it was being held? (Insert gasping and hyperventilating.)

We arrived early (they have different entrance times and prices, we were there by 8:00 am), got our bearings, and set off for the Orange Area: Antiques and Collectibles. This was important because there are 2,500 booths, so we needed to narrow our focus.

My focus for the market was black and white photos, paper debris, and any sort of ephemera; I rounded up a smattering of everything.But the mother lode was a scrapbook I saw, walked away, then had to go back and purchase.

The scrapbook belonged to Virginia Anita Bugg, and chronicled her early 1930s high school experience on through getting engaged and married. The scrapbook was crammed and crumbly, so when I got home I carefully deconstructed each page into categories: letters, photos, gum wrappers, menus, ticket stubs, dance cards . . . . I even discovered a smashed celluloid doll toward the back. Take a look:

The deconstruction:

I’ve already integrated the pieces into my studio and I’m looking forward to creating new lives with the remnants of Virginia’s life.

Back to the Flea Market, some photos of roaming about.

And the rest of my bounty:

Janet’s Old Cedar Chest

I walked right by the old chest dozens of times over the years. Most likely it had things stacked on top of it and I never realized what was holding up all the stacks of magazines and old boxes. About a year ago, my father-in-law had a stroke and while he was recuperating in a rehab facility, Howard and I went to the basement of Howard’s childhood home in NE Portland. We’d been downstairs many times over the past forty years, but usually just to drop some stuff off for storage. This time, the chest caught my eye, probably because there was nothing stacked on top of it. I lifted the lid and my breath caught; it was filled with things Howard’s mom had saved. Janet passed away 13 years ago, but even all the years she was alive, we never realized she had saved her treasures in this old trunk. I didn’t pull much out, other than a few things on the top, but quickly realized this was an excavation to be savored.

Several months ago when our adult kids were home, we visited Grandpa Tom. I pulled Howard aside and said, “I’d sure like to get that old chest loaded into the car while we have healthy backs to help carry it up the stairs.” Howard told his dad we were taking the chest and lickety split it was in the car. We got it home and put it in the garage. For some reason I didn’t immediately tear into it. I wanted to wait for the right time, when I could enjoy the process of peeling back the layers.

That day happened a couple months ago when my friend Tory had dropped me off after one of our outings. She knew I had the chest, she wasn’t in a hurry, and it felt like the right time. We slowly began to remove the pieces that were important to Janet. A wedding dress that belonged to Janet’s mother, bundles of letters, an old shower curtain(!), baby outfits, photographs, newspaper clippings . . . . the detritus of a life well-lived.

As we neared the bottom of the chest, I spied a pair of eyes peeking out of loosely bound tissue paper. Could it be? Janet’s childhood doll? I could barely contain myself. I was so excited, I just climbed right into the chest and unwrapped the doll. She was stuffed with straw and had no hair and marked the perfect ending to a chest full of clues of how Janet lived and loved.

Later, after leisurely going through the stacks of ephemera, Howard pulled out what he wanted to keep and I took what was left to my art studio at Mission Mill to use in my mixed media project, What’s Your Story: Real or Imagined.

Junkin’ and Jivin’

I haven’t posted about a junking expedition in a long time and since I discovered three wonderful vintage shops and I’m feeling generous, I’m going to share these little gems, all located east of Portland.

The Wade Creek House

This is actually a compound of buildings featuring antiques, collectibles, and vintage treasures. It is located at 664 NW Wade Street in Estacada. The owner, Dyan, knows my good friend Bobbie! Small world. Dyan just opened her store in June, so it is brand new and filled to the brim with good things.

Foxtrot Vintage

This is another relatively new shop and is located in downtown Gresham. Cute street, cute shop. The proprietor is Todd, who went to the same grade school as Howard (Harvey Scott, in case you are curious).

Vintage Station

Our final discovery was also in Gresham. This shop is run by Sonja, who used to be a vendor at Stars and currently has a booth at Monticello, two of my favorite antique malls in Portland.

Final Thoughts

It is definitely worth a drive east out of Portland. Beautiful scenery, nice shops. And yes, I did make a few purchases (including the pink chair in the first photo).