July 02, 2017

Vintage Shopping in Tulsa: Estate Sales

July 02, 2017/ Retro Den Vintage Home Store and Design

I feel so much passion streaming through my fingertips right now as I start this ode to estate sales. I've been attending these with my mom since I can remember.

Estate sales are when a home is opened up to the public and all (or most) of the items inside are for sale. Typically a professional runs the show because of their skill at appraising and also the emotional energy it takes for a person to value and part with the items in their home or the home of a loved one. People often have these sales when a family member has moved into assisted living, a major life event has happened like a divorce or a long-distance move, or when someone has passed away. That said, it's appropriate to have a certain reverence when attending a sale. This is someone's collected life.

June 18, 2017

Vintage Shopping in Tulsa: Curated Vintage

June 18, 2017/ Retro Den Vintage Home Store and Design

Ahh y'all, this is a fine category. It's the one Retro Den fits into. While the Tulsa Flea Market and antique malls have a huge variety of stuff (which is one of their great appeals), curated vintage is super fine-tuned to create a collection of items that meet the owner's qualifications (Mid-Century Modern, Bohemian Modern, Traditional Antiques, Modern Eclectic, etc.). Customers can come to expect a very specific variety of items from these shops.

May 14, 2017

Vintage Shopping in Tulsa: Tulsa Consignment Shops

May 14, 2017/ Ashley Daly

What is a consignment shop, you ask? Consignment shops take items on consignment (hence the name) which means the store doesn't out-right own its merchandise; they instead take a cut of the profit once something sells. The percentage the shop takes ranges from shop to shop–typically we see anywhere from 50% to 20%. Many genres of these shops exist–clothing, jewelry, kid's stuff, furniture. We only have eyes for furniture and home-related consignment shops, obviously. Some of these shops pack in the furniture while others more thoughtfully arrange the pieces. As such, your experience can vary widely while shopping vintage in consignment stores.

April 02, 2017

Vintage Shopping in Tulsa: The Tulsa Flea Market and First Street Flea

April 02, 2017/ Ashley Daly

Hands down, my favorite way to shop vintage is flea markets. There is something extra fresh and exciting about them. Vendors set up booths in a large facility or outdoor space and fill their spots with vintage treasures. Rows and rows of tiny shops to peruse! It's like an antique mall, but these booths are set up and torn down within a matter of days or even hours, so everything feels new and urgent. You cannot come back another day hoping that gold polkadot pyrex bowl will still be there. YOU HAVE TO GET IT NOW. Or you may live your lives apart forever. Cue the heartbreaking music and imagery of you stirring up chicken salad in a plain, non-polkadot bowl.

March 12, 2017

Vintage Shopping in Tulsa: Tulsa Thrift Stores

March 12, 2017/ Ashley Daly

Thrift stores are wonderful places to shop because, besides being cheap, most of them benefit charitable institutions. For instance, here in the Tulsa area, the HOW Foundation thrift store benefits those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, and the Animal Aid thrift store works to help abused and injured animals. So you are actually doing a good thing when you spend at these shops!