Vintage Funky Junque Chronicles Pick O' the Summer:The Baby Kitties

Welcome to the Funky Junque Chronicles, Special Summer Edition. For those of you who follow this series, you know I travel near and far looking for the best vintage goodies at cheap and affordable prices. Buying vintage is certainly a good way to keep unwanted junque out of landfills, and more often than not, comes with a cool story. Not to mention vintage is made a heck of a lot better than "new" imports. Go green with some cool vintage for summer.

This pick o' the months of June and July, is a wonderful Etsy shop out of Saint Paul, Minnesota called The Baby Kitties. Erica Limberg, is a single mom whose energy and love for all things vintage will amaze you. Erica works full time and takes care of her adorable son Ben, in addition keeps her Etsy store chock full of affordable goodies with new items added all the time. This young entrepreneur is very professional and polite to deal with, and her customers quickly love her, often returning for repeat business. Erica's store ranges from vintage housewares, décor, old ads, vintage clothing, and a few "pay it forward items" in addition to new items being added daily. Erica's store is a trade friendly shop, which means other Etsians love to swap items with THE BABY KITTIES. She has had over 790 sales since THE BABY KITTIES opened in December 2007, which is practically one to two sales per day since she's been open! Needless to say, all of her feedback is positive!

Affordable Vintage Ads

At any given time, Erica will have somewhere in the ballpark of 200 or more vintage full size ads for sale. These ads range from 40's glam, beauty, fashion models, or Jantzen swimsuits usually priced at only $4. You may find ads from the 20's to the 50's with stock always changing. These would look great framed in your house, and serve as great original home décor. Let's not forget the movie ads, in their own section you'll sell stars like Rita Hayworth, Burt Lancaster, Gregory Peck or Audrey Hepburn , which too are great home décor and with an average price of $4-$5 are a real steal! Currently for sale which I love is "Desert Fury" from 1947 featuring Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Scott. I love the look of the old ads, they are so romantic! These also highly appeal to crafters who use these images in mixed media, scrap booking, and decoupage projects. If you want to try something different, buy a few and start a project, giving a one of kind vintage cards or gift tags. At these prices, it's no wonder she sells so many.

Vintage Home Decor, Knick Knacks, and Something for Everyone!

Funky planters, old metal license plates, ceramic knick knacks, a chalk ware hedgehog, salt and pepper shakers, glassware, bar ware, old trinkets, novelty items, a sardine can, and beauty jars are just a few cool goodies you may find. Currently for sale is a "Fawn and Doe" full color printed hankie featuring cute deer for a real steal at $5. I'm in love with the "New York City heart shaped ashtray" for $6, and the 1970 Russ Wallace Berry statue for $4. With prices like these, it's no wonder customers love this store. Pick up a cool vintage item for someone's birthday, graduation, or next holiday at these cool prices.

Retro Clothing!

Vintage clothing is also an item you'll find here. From a cool sequined vest to way cool retro aprons, the prices will surprise you!

Erica says...

Erica says, "I love vintage. My vintage obsessions constantly change. Right now its embroidered stuff such as baby bibs and blankets. I love linens. I love to buy stuff in bulk lots and sort through it. I also love vintage planters.......and some recently acquired melmac dishes. I guess my taste is REALLY random. I find new things to start collections of all the time. I love to trade and try to offer some PIF items. (Pay it forward.) It's my way of giving back and I hope others will too." (Erica shares a photo with me of her shelves lined with cool ceramic planters and knick knacks.) She says, " I'm sure when I die my estate sale is going to be amazing....."

Don't worry Erica, you are young and spunky, and have a long, long way to go. Here's to you Erica for doing your part to keep it green, keep it real, and funkify the houses of lots of happy customers with cool vintage finds from The Baby Kitties.

Please visit THE BABY KITTIES on Etsy!

Ira Mency, reporting in, from Saint Paul, Minnesota.