AZ >> East Valley Thrifting

Remember a few weeks back when I announced the big changes

I'm making to CMC including the introduction of an Arizona based contributor?

(if you're lost, read all about it here). Well today Katrina is taking over for

her first official post (yay) so without further ado, here's Katrina...

<< 1509 N Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ 85225 >> 

Today I am going to share my favorite place in the entire

(Arizona) Valley to thrift: Merchant Square. It kills all the downtown

antique malls and it isn’t pruned, edited and marked up like the some (admittedly awesome) antique/thrift shows. To sweeten the deal, less than a mile away sits Savers and a St. Vincent De Paul’s thrift shop

(which is a close second). So if you are in for an afternoon of thrifting, Merchant Square is your place. Here is the thing that I love most about Merchant Square: the diversity of product.  They have old books, clothing, furniture, knick-knacks and jewelry. I don’t tend to go there with a specific agenda so the purchases are usually pretty serendipitous. 

Yesterday’s highlight was this authentic Hudson Bay blanket,

I about fell over when I saw it.

shop the retail hudson bay blanket: one // two // three // four // five

You can usually find a “fur” coat or two and

yesterday I happened upon several leopard print coats.

(shop similar more non vintage leopard coats here)

There are some staples that you are always going to find like typewriters and vintage luggage.  This trip I found typewriters and old cameras for days.

Another staple I love to shop are the vintage ads. There are some beautiful pieces that would make a completely original addition to a gallery wall. Oh and checking out the old cleaning ads is worth it, they are hilariously offensive. 

And as always the clothing and jewelry are worth the trip alone. I died over this gold bar bib necklace and adored the cardigan clips.

Call it what you will, but I have always found piece that I thrift are generally much more specific to my taste. There is no consuming what is laid out for you according to season or trend; it is a process of seeking out and paring down classics and selecting things that are more authentic to your true style.

Okay, It's Courtney again. I hope you enjoyed Katrina's first CMC contribution, Isn't she just fantastic? I used to spend most Saturdays thrifting in AZ, the finds are so affordable compared to NY shops! I really loved the leopard "fur", if I didn't have this one I would be coveting it ... who are we kidding, can you really have too many leopard coats? (yes, you probably can ... but I don't care). Anyways, Katrina be back next month for another AZ-esque post, stay tuned. Until then, learn more about Katrina here!