Coffee and Antiques – A new hobby (and obsession)

Ok, so it started as a side hustle, but now I’m thinking that this might be a new hobby in the making. I had no idea how obsessed I’d become. I feel like this is fulfilling all my secret agent sleuthing Sherlock fantasies and potentially making me a side buck. Time will tell…. 

I’m sure I’m not the only person on this planet that finds that the times that we are living in are unaffordable. Especially for those of us who never got a chance to get a degree or pursue higher education for whatever reason. ANYway, life seems to have gotten crazy expensive. So expensive that taking my kids to Disneyland seems to be a pipe dream and Starbucks every weekend…. GAH, gonna have to win the lottery to resume my past Starbucks habit. A habit that my kids have seemingly inherited from me. ANYanyWAY, I have been open to and in search of other ways to make an income, in addition to my regular 40/week job. Last summer I managed to have three jobs, but they were only temporary jobs and ended. Trying to find something that works around my full time job and my busy mom-life schedule, I thought I’d try my hand at reselling items I find at second hand stores on EBAY. Why not take advantage of the castoff riches that abound in this area that I currently reside in. I jumped into this idea by searching for clothing. The major problem with that idea is the fact that I’m no fashion diva… the only name brands I know are the name brands that my youngest daughter’s name dropped. I’m not saying that I’m not going to dip my feet into that reselling pool, because I’ve already jumped into the shallow water. I’m treading water, I’m dealing with it, I’m learning. It was during one of my very new “let me visit a secondhand store” excursion that I sorta got frustrated with the clothing area and ventured out into the other areas that existed in the store. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was even looking for, but ended up coming up with a plan-o-action: find things that I like or find items interesting enough that I would like them, even if it never sold. Suddenly, I was having fun. And, little did I know, that’s when the fun was only beginning! 

It started with a tiki mug. I mean, what’s not to love about a tiki mug?! If nobody liked it, I could make it into a vase. It went into my basket. The second store I visited, I had the same intentions, only looking at things that I found interesting. That store ended up with a bigger haul. Once I got home and started really researching what the items were…. OMG….. I got hooked. I have several items that have a history and a story. They have a past life and much like myself, age appropriate wear and tear that only adds to their charm. Ok, fine, that’s what I tell myself about my laugh lines and age appropriate wrinkles and chips and dings, and random age related things.

Another aspect of this new venture is that I’ve been getting to take photos of the items. I’ve even been setting up a little photo staging area in my living room.

So yeah…. Been loving a whole lot about all of this. Will it make me the cha-ching I so much need….. Don’t know. But I’m sure gonna have a fun time while finding out! And, if nobody buys a damn thing…. Well, I’m kinda in love with all of them… Umm… except for one. I got it before I made my second rule: Don’t purchase anything you wouldn’t want to reside in my home indefinitely.

And now, of course, I’m going to share some of the fun items I’ve found and love!! 

May I introduce to you this wonderful and fabulous, Trader Vic Tiki Mug!

Trader Vic’s was one of the original tiki bar pioneers (1930s onward). Their restaurants served drinks in custom ceramic mugs, like this one which was made in Japan. From the markings it has stamped on the bottom of the mug, it is likely that this one is from the 60’s-70’s. Sorta like, me, who was born in 1970.

Next, please meet these wonderful and vintage 1970s Japan mushroom stacking coffee mugs.

I happened to find FOUR matching mugs at a Goodwill. They’re in really amazing condition. I was kinda geeking out over them in the aisle and a lady next to me said, “Oh good! Someone found them! I almost took them, but looks like you love them!” And yes, I do. They’re so amazing and fun. I do love them so much. And when I found out they were produced in the 1970’s and that those which have the “Japan” stamped on the bottom are older and more of the original stock, I was thrilled. I have to admit, I was tempted to keep them, but to be honest, I tend to use coffee cups that are three times their size. No offence to their delicate petite nature, but I like my mugs to be huge. 

And the final item I’m going to share is this amazing find….. A Minton Antique bowl with a lid.

This one is still a bit of a mystery. I’ve only found three of them, one called it a potpourri bowl, another called it a fruit bowl strainer, and another called it a watercress strainer. Here’s what my sleuthing did find out, it was made in 1877 and is definitely from Minton. The stamps on the bottom are what solidify these findings.  See how it says “ Minton’s BB” on the bottom. This impressed stamp was only used between 1870-1890. When I visited the Minton’s Archive online, I was able to confirm this by looking up the marking that indicates the year it was produced. Unfortunately, I was obsessively asking questions from the site and suddenly I got banned. It thought I was a bot, or something nefarious. Nope, just an ADHD lady with a new hyper-focus obsession. Nothing nefarious at all.

ANYway, I would like to think of it as a fruit bowl. It just seems too big to be a potpourri bowl. Also, the way the lid is painted on both the top and the bottom, makes me feel like it was so that it was pretty when it was straining. Unfortunately, I don’t have a time machine and I’ve been banned from the Mintons website…. So, gonna have to just be thrilled that I have this item from 1877 sitting in my 2026 living room.