Thrifting in Sweden

Today let’s visit a Swedish Thrift Shop together, and take a look at what can be found on the shelves. I find vintage things beautiful, and full of inspiration. Sometimes they’re not that old, but still, they’re here on the shelves waiting for a new home…

So tempting, so very tempting.

When I started this blog I used to do a lot more thrifting, and sharing my second hand “hauls” on the blog. These days I have lost a little bit of my eagerness to “collect”. But this past week my mom and I went to a couple of shops and I happened to have my big girl camera with me. So I thought I’d share a few views from inside a “Swedish Thrift Shop”.

Let’s go!

Inside a Swedish Thrift Shop

I hadn’t been in this one before, and I particularly liked how they had arranged the items on color themed shelves. One with mostly blue glass and porcelain, then a yellow shelf and a red one and so on.

Talk about inspiration! I love that the staff took the time to put things in one color tone on one shelf, it made shopping a little like taking a museum tour.

I almost bought a green pitcher that was so brightly green it drew me towards it like a light house. But I didn’t.

More green shimmer.

If I had a separate room as my office, with a lot more storage than today, I would probably start collecting vintage hole punches in different colors. They’re metallic and heavy and awesome. Usually so sturdy that they still work, and the colors are so very 1970s. Yum.

Next to the Swedish four hole ring binder puncher was a typewriter, also something I could see myself collecting. If I had a mansion or a museum to display them at, of course. I actually bought a vintage typewriter a while back (just the one) but I haven’t even unpacked it to examine it yet. Let me know if you want to see it and I’ll take some time to clean it up and photograph it for you guys.

I liked the typography and rainbow print of this audio tape packaging, good enough to frame:

Salt and pepper shakers, with tassels? LOL.

But of course, most shelves in any thrift shop has a lot of odd plates, glasses and kitchen utensils. Most of it is not very fun to look at, but still we browse through it for finds.

Although there is something special about coffee cups, don’t you think? I adore some of the forms and colors, the shiny lacquer, the petite painted flowers, the saucers, the big tea cups, the smaller coffee cups, and just imagining another kind of world where these were in use a lot more…

And anything polka dotted is great in my book.

Not very vintage, but already left for a new owner to find them, these Brats-girls looked rather abandoned and sad under the makeup and smug faces.

I’m not a fan of Brats dolls, but I’ve been obsessing over dolls lately. A lot. I think I am ready to dive into becoming a doll collector soon. I have had a life-long-love of softies, cute toys and dolls, but so far I have stayed away from becoming a collector. But I feel like I no longer care to keep up the appearance of not caring for toys. Obviously I do, and I need to embrace it, right? I want more dolls in my life!

In this thrift shop they also had some recycled projects for sale, like this cool pillow made from a cross-stitch wall-hanging:

I also spotted this tiny calendar on a shelf of nick-nacks, and now I can’t believe I left it there. It’s soo cute and tiny, and the cover is brown leather.

I feel like I found some inspiration here, both when it comes to thrifting for fun, and to really look at beautiful things and simply enjoy them again. Plus I was out with my mom, and that felt great to get to hang with her for a while. We also had coffee and sandwiches together, as in fika. Looking at old things, even when not hunting for anything special, is fun.

Here are some of my previous finds.

Do you enjoy thrifting, or do you avoid it? What would you have bought from these Swedish Thrift Shop photos?