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Buying thrift shops, flea markets and property gross sales will be overwhelming. With the sheer quantity of stuff, how have you learnt the place to begin? How do you notice gems amid all of the … effectively, junk?
As an expert reseller who has been combing by thrift shops for the higher a part of 30 years, I can assist. If you happen to’re prepared to chop your procuring time in half, rating greater bargains or stroll away with brag-worthy finds you may flip for money, learn on.
From hard-to-find home goods to resale money-makers, every part featured in my “Thrift Shop Like a Pro” sequence qualifies as a BOLO (Be On the Look-Out for) merchandise. Once you discover it, purchase it!
Featured discover: Martz lamps
A lamp is a lamp, proper? Not at all times. Some lamps are particular. For the previous 20 years, Martz desk lamps have been on my bucket listing of “dream finds.”
Lately, my hunt got here to a contented — no, ecstatic — conclusion when I discovered an unlabeled Martz lamp within the wild for $20.
In 1949, Jane Marshall met Gordon Martz on the New York State Faculty of Ceramics at Alfred College in Alfred, New York. Each have been college students on the school, and each had a eager sense of design and inventive exploration.
In 1950, the 2 married and determined to mix their artistic abilities by becoming a member of Jane’s household enterprise in Veedersburg, Indiana. Her grandmother, Jessie Talbott Marshall, had based Marshall Studios in 1922.
When Jane and Gordon got here on board, the corporate was producing hand-turned wood lamp bases and painted by hand lampshades. The younger couple expanded the product line to incorporate stoneware lamp bases, dinnerware, sculptures, and small tables topped with inlaid tile.
In 1953, a Martz lamp was a part of the Good Design exhibition at New York Metropolis’s Museum of Trendy Artwork.
Jane and Gordon bought their curiosity in Marshall Studios in 1989 and retired. The corporate was bought by Genesis Wooden and Stoneware, and its belongings have been liquidated within the mid-Nineties.
Why purchase it?
Lots of the up to date lamp designs we see at this time are based mostly on the Martz aesthetic. The pair made modernism accessible to the plenty and promoted a simplicity of type that turned on a regular basis objects into artistic endeavors.
If you happen to’re fortunate sufficient to discover a Martz lamp, stay with it for some time. It might launch a wholesome obsession to search out your subsequent Martz masterpiece (and the subsequent … and the subsequent).
In case you are curious about reselling Martz lamps for revenue however are unfamiliar with Marshall Studios or Martz, brush up and money in. This pair of Martz lamps lately bought for $2,145 on eBay, and this monumental table lamp is listed for $3,500 on Etsy.
To high it off (pun supposed), even unique Martz lamp finials get collectors excited. (Finials are the often-ignored threaded items that safe the lampshade to the lamp harp.) Lately, this teak finial bought for $41 on eBay.
What to search for
Lamps have been normally hand-signed “Martz” close to {the electrical} twine opening on the lamp base. The Marks Undertaking — a beautiful useful resource for ceramic collectors and resellers — showcases a number of variations of the incised signature.
However just like the one I discovered, not each Martz lamp was signed. (That will make life too simple, proper?) It took a stable hunch and brushing by previous online product catalogs to verify my buy was genuine.
Listed here are a number of different options that may assist you decide in case your discover is the actual deal:
- Finial: Although historic details about Martz finials is restricted, we do know that many lamps have been topped with stable walnut, oak or teak.
- Glaze colour: Aside from vibrant blues, most Martz lamps have been glazed in earth tones. The usual colour vary included chocolate brown, pale gold, cream, mossy inexperienced and black.
- Shade: Although unique lampshades are sometimes changed, an aged, pure fiber shade is one other clue that may assist affirm an genuine Martz piece. And in case you discover an orphaned shade, purchase it. Severe collectors can pay high greenback to match their Martz lamps with Martz shades.
- Underwriters label: Martz lamps have been examined and accepted by Underwriters Laboratories. Many lamps nonetheless retain the paper Underwriters label co-branded with “Marshall Studios Inc., Veedersburg, Indiana.” Search for the UL label on the underside of the lamp or close to the incised signature.
Professional tip: Seventy years later, midcentury Martz lamps are nonetheless extra prevalent within the Midwestern U.S. If you happen to stay in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa or Illinois, you’ve a greater likelihood of discovering one regionally.
Disclosure: The data you learn right here is at all times goal. Nonetheless, we generally obtain compensation whenever you click on hyperlinks inside our tales.
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