Major Gifts

Among the many questions we have been asked, (ok, in my mind you people ask a lot of questions), two of the most prevalent are: where do you find all your treasures? And, who is the Major?  Well, here you go, it’s time to answer both of these.

To begin, the Major is my husband and the Middle One’s father, (there are also two other daughters, the Master Chef and the Little Mama). He is called the Major because, though he started his career in the Army, he retired from the USAF as a Major.  Clever huh? Now, he’s also a “collector” and a one of those people that everyone loves. He’s never met a stranger, and yes, he could in fact, sell ice in the Arctic Circle. Seriously, he is man, myth and legend.  Though his current interest is vintage/antique cameras, in the past he’s accumulated vintage/antique tools, vintage/antique sewing machines and cars… not running, valuable cars, he acquired cars that needed “a little work”… over 300 cars.  Years ago, while taking a public speaking class for the Army, he chose the speech topic of “Why You Should Buy My Truck”.  Yep, he sold it.  He sold it to someone in the class - that day.

The USAF sent us to England, we moved with 7 ½ crates, four years later when we moved home… 21 crates.  Scary, huh?? We are used to this, but to those outside the family it is often a bit of a surprise. 

To give you the complete picture – he is also an OR nurse, photographer, humorist, grandfather, teaches motorcycle safety, and rides his 40^th anniversary edition Honda Gold Wing as often as is possible. 

So these questions may not seem like they have anything in common but they do. You see, one of the places we find our treasures, is through the Major.  Take the bags of linens he brought to us, he found them at a flea market. After asking the per item price, he inquired on the price for multiple items, then the per bag price, then made an offer on all the bags – of $20. He’s the king of $20 bargains.  In the middle of all the asking and offering, he chats.  He smiles, he asks questions, maybe tells a story and while seeking a bargain, often makes a friend.  At one auction he sent me a picture of a shelf of glassware, I was interested in one item… one, single item … as the auction progressed the entire shelf was offered and he bid $5, they offered a follow on of the next 3 shelves at $5 each.  Guess what…. All 4 shelves, $20, over 100 pieces. He once gifted us with a box of dominoes he paid $5 for, “just to get us started”.  It was full of vintage dominoes sets ~ really cool sets. (There are 3 more boxes of ‘stuff’ acquired at the same time, all totaling $20 but he kept those) You would not believe how many things he’s brought home over the years. 

The Major is currently mastering the art of FaceTime from estate sales. Right now he’s got accessing it down pat, but he needs a little work on the steady motion part. Sometimes I need a little Dramamine.  We also have to work out some sort of code talk to keep from alerting others to what we value! Still, despite being in our practice stage, our last try netted 157 individual vintage Fisher Price pieces.  Yes, that’s right 157.  As well as some truly nice vintage linens, soon to make an appearance in our shop.

I suppose, at the end of the day, there are a couple of important things to know about the Major.  He served his country for over 30 years, through multiple deployments, several moves, two services and so very many great stories. He enjoys his Goldwing and photography. He loves his 5 grandchildren. He is incredibly funny in a self deprecating, slightly quirky way. Oh, and he has his own Etsy shop Premier Vintage Studio  and yes, he is a competitor. 

If he tries to bargain with you…you have two choices; 
Give in to the bargain, its going to happen, you can’t win

Or

Play the bargain; exchange some stories, toe the dirt, make a wild offer, dicker, counter offer, and in the end shake hands and walk away knowing you made a friend, sold or bought for a fair price, and most of all, you had some fun getting to know a truly good man.