Thrift Finds: Plant Stands, Piggy Banks, and Mid Century Modern

In my last blog post, I shared a settee/bench we found at an auction a few weeks back. We picked up a few other auction, garage sale, and flea market finds as well!

Tobacco baskets are pretty hot in blog-land and being in NC (old tobacco country) they turn up now and then. I love the graphic look on our mantle. They aren’t cheap because they are getting harder to find but I think I got a good deal. I bought two and already sold the second one.

Another NC related find was this folk art piggy bank jug by the late BB Craig of Catawba county. Jeff picked this up. To study up, I borrowed a book from the library about Catawba county potters from the late 19th and early 20th century. Burlon Craig is attributed as being the last link to the potters who supplied these NC hills with functional jugs, crocks, and jars for milk and food storage (before refrigeration). Oh and for moonshine of course. His face jugs and banks are quite sought after though they are not what he mainly created. The majority of BB Craig’s work was purely functional. Reading about Catawba County pottery was fascinating!

Another rare find was this Victorian pedestal table. We know next-to-nothing about antiques so it is always fun to figure out what something is. This tall table is a Renaissance Revival plant stand and features an ebonized finish with hand-painted gilding. I’m typically not a fan of the overly ornate look of the Victorian era but I find this stand to be very unique. I like the edgy dark look of it.

Last one for today. A little newer piece that suits my normal aesthetic. I picked up this mid century spider leg coffee table base a couple weeks ago. I gave it a really light sanding and a new coat of teak oil. It originally would have had a metal tray top but a piece of glass is all it needs to really show off those legs! The neat feature about this table is that it folds flat due to hinges hidden in the center. Very nicely designed.