Hi! Newbie in VA here...

[instamatic804]

I'm so happy to find this website and forum!  I've been wondering for a while now if something like this existed, and here it is! 

I started thrifting at the age of 12 and it's still one of my favorite things to do.  I collect records, glassware of all kinds, ashtrays, old electronics, cameras, and 8-track tapes, but I'll buy just about anything that catches my eye, especially if the price is right.

This seems like a great forum, and I look forward to communicating with other thrift store devotees!

  JD

[Good Buddy]

Welcome!
Do you also collect Instamatic cameras perhaps?

I collect records, glassware of all kinds, ashtrays, old electronics, cameras, and 8-track tapes, but I'll buy just about anything that catches my eye, especially if the price is right.

I to collect certain things but buy whatever strikes my fancy..
What kind of ashtrays to you collect?

GB

[Jay2TheRescue]

Welcome...  What part of VA are you in?  I'm in Loudoun county about 5 miles from Dulles airport.

-Jay

[hollidais]

Welcome!  This is a great site and I love it.

I have a son in law who collects ashtrays from the 50's and 60'S.  They are so interesting and some are really beautiful.

hollidais

[Silversuess]

Well hey!! Im also from VA, the Fairfax County area.

And I love cameras too, esp. Polaroids. I hear the Polaroid company is going to stop making their film, which I find quite sad.




Sigh.....i should've been born in the 70's. Or maybe my age now in the 70's.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Well hey!! Im also from VA, the Fairfax County area.

And I love cameras too, esp. Polaroids. I hear the Polaroid company is going to stop making their film, which I find quite sad.




Sigh.....i should've been born in the 70's. Or maybe my age now in the 70's.

maybe we should organize a Northern Virginia Thriftshopper.com shopping trip.  I had a great time thrifting with everyone who showed up for the shopping trip in Florida last year.

-Jay

[instamatic804]

Thanks for all the responses! 

Ashtrays?  Goodness, I like 'em all.  I find myself attracted to any ashtray in avocado green (my favorite color), especially Fostoria's Coin Glass and Anchor Hocking's Soreno.  I also love those huge ceramic ashtrays from the 50s and 60s.  You know, the ones that are so large you can flick your cig from across the room and still hit the ashtray.

Yes, I do have a special fondness for Instamatics.  My favorite is the Instamatic 804(hence the screen name), a behemoth which weighs as much as a brick but takes beautiful photos.  I'm also quite fond of Brownies and Kodak movie cameras. 

I live in Bristol, VA, where the thrift stores are not what they used to be.  I'm especially unhappy with the Goodwill stores around here.  I mean, really...who needs a six-foot-tall faux leather giraffe for $249.99? 

Polaroid can't stop making film!  How will I feed my 215?

JD

[valleythriftshopper]

Thanks for all the responses! 

Ashtrays?  Goodness, I like 'em all.  I find myself attracted to any ashtray in avocado green (my favorite color), especially Fostoria's Coin Glass and Anchor Hocking's Soreno.  I also love those huge ceramic ashtrays from the 50s and 60s.  You know, the ones that are so large you can flick your cig from across the room and still hit the ashtray.

Here's a funky avacado ashtray I found at an estate sale once.  Ashtrays are not my thing so I sold this one, but I thought it was interesting because it had the makers name on it.  It is from one of the Oklahoma potteries that was bought out by Frankoma.

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj292/thriftshopper/synarc.jpg

Also, I guess you better stock up on your film before they stop making it!

[Jay2TheRescue]

Thanks for all the responses! 

Ashtrays?  Goodness, I like 'em all.  I find myself attracted to any ashtray in avocado green (my favorite color), especially Fostoria's Coin Glass and Anchor Hocking's Soreno.  I also love those huge ceramic ashtrays from the 50s and 60s.  You know, the ones that are so large you can flick your cig from across the room and still hit the ashtray.

Yes, I do have a special fondness for Instamatics.  My favorite is the Instamatic 804(hence the screen name), a behemoth which weighs as much as a brick but takes beautiful photos.  I'm also quite fond of Brownies and Kodak movie cameras. 

I live in Bristol, VA, where the thrift stores are not what they used to be.  I'm especially unhappy with the Goodwill stores around here.  I mean, really...who needs a six-foot-tall faux leather giraffe for $249.99? 

Polaroid can't stop making film!  How will I feed my 215?

JD

You probably already know this, but film can be kept indefinately in the freezer.  Just be sure you take it out and let it come completely to room temperature before opening it and trying to use it.  Back in the "old" days before I went 100% digital I used to buy film from a company that wound leftover movie film from Hollywood into 35mm film cannisters.  It was always top quality film, better than I could afford otherwise (I was in high school and college at the time), and I always got a deal buying in bulk. It always seemed that the film would expire before I could use it all.  That's when my grandfather told me to put it in the freezer when I bought it.  I was able to use film that was quite expired, and still had beautiful results. 

-Jay

[Good Buddy]

Great tip about film preservation Jay, thanks!
You're still the man with the best tips!