Exploring Local History: Unique Finds Across the Southeast
You never know what long-lost treasures await discovery at your local flea market. With patience, curiosity, and a keen eye, you could find unique, valuable objects and trinkets hidden in storage cabinets that would make an incredible conversation starter in your home.
While striking gold at a sale can be challenging, many invaluable items have been uncovered through the years at such events. We broke down some of the rarest, most peculiar, and most valuable items to be discovered in the storage of folks throughout the southeast United States. So perhaps you will be inspired to attend or host a yard sale or storage unit auction to uncover some of your own.
Vintage Furniture at Antique Sales
Are you shopping for pieces for your home with a little more personality than those at your run-of-the-mill furniture stores? An antique sale is a great place to look! In online marketplaces, discovering authentic vintage furniture has never been easier—though there is no substitute for perusing a market in person to find the piece that best speaks to you. From 19th-century upholstered couches and handmade wooden tables to highly valuable antique musical instruments, antiques can be a one-of-a-kind staple in your home.
As with most things in life, the best things come to those who wait. You likely won’t happen upon a gorgeous centerpiece for your home the first time you venture into a flea market, and if you do, odds are it will break the bank. Once you decide that you’d like a historic Southern staple to tie your home together, research a variety of locally owned vintage stores in the area. For instance, Arkansas has a plethora of antique, vintage, and flea markets throughout the state. With some digging, you may uncover just what you’ve been looking for at a reasonable price.
Antique Jewelry at Estate Sales
If you’re searching for an heirloom to become a statement piece for any outfit, estate sales can be a hub for a wide variety of antique jewelry. Necklaces, broaches, and earrings are passed down through generations, and inviting them into your jewelry box brings local history into your wardrobe. While urban legends can construe pre-owned jewelry as unlucky or less valuable, all pieces are a matter of personal taste and were once loved by their owners. If you like an item, add it to your collection!
The more authentic a jewelry item is, the higher the dollar value. Be sure to talk with the seller regarding the origin of the piece, and if you want to turn a profit on your bejeweled regalia, take it to a local jeweler to inspect for authenticity. With so many historic homes and families across the southeast, many estate sales date back to the 1800s, so you can be sure to find a plethora of valuable jewelry if you go hunting.
Vintage Clothing at Storage Unit Sales
Are you a fashion connoisseur with an eye for trends, old and new? While thrift stores are a great spot to find preloved apparel, flea markets and storage unit sales are an excellent place to find genuine vintage clothing. From pre-Y2K sports apparel to 70s-era dresses, it’s fun to wear an authentic piece of history and look stylish while doing it. The southeast is no stranger to dedicated vintage stores, either. In fact, Atlanta, GA, is consistently cited as one of the top five thriftiest cities in the U.S.!
While antique and vintage finds like tables and broaches are unlikely to deteriorate in quality, clothing requires a bit more TLC. When you find vintage apparel at a flea market, yard sale, or storage unit auction, take the time to assess the quality of the item to ensure the fabric hasn’t worn and the colors haven’t faded due to storage malpractice. Even fashion experts may have difficulty restoring these one-of-a-kind pieces, so take the time to make an informed, quality purchase.
A Guide to Antique Shopping
What Is the Difference Between Vintage and Antique Items?
If you plan on reselling your finds, you should know the difference between antique and vintage items to be sure you aren’t misleading potential buyers—or yourself, for that matter. An antique is any item, be it furniture, jewelry, or trinkets, that is over 100 years old. On the other hand, vintage wares are newer items that are less than a century old but were made before the past 20 years and are likely to consist of clothing and fabric items. Depending on your preference, there is not one variety of items that is better than the other. It all comes down to what you like best.
Tips for How To Shop for Antique Items
Knowing your way around a shop or sale offering up antique and vintage items is essential to making the most of your trip and your money. Here are some essential tips for antique shopping to bear in mind while searching for the perfect find:
- Make a shopping list. Don’t head into a sale without a clear goal in mind. Otherwise, you’ll wander aimlessly until you purchase something you didn’t need—or turn up empty-handed.
- Research prices. Do some basic research on how much certain antique and vintage items are worth to avoid paying too much for something. This is also useful for those planning on hosting a sale. You should also be ready to barter for the deal you deserve.
- Discover new shopping locations. You won’t need a full-fledged map of the southeast United States to find a worthy sale or store. Local thrift stores, antique shops, auctions, and estate sales are around every corner!
- Be inquisitive. Ask the seller questions about the items’ history and quality, especially if you are doing your vintage shopping online.
- Inspect everything. Don’t wait until you get home to discover cigarette burns in a blouse or tears in a sofa. Do your investigating before making a purchase, which will also help you snuff out any impostor items that seem too good to be true.
Lock Up Your Antique and Vintage Finds at Superior Storage
Whether you need a place to store furniture that’s being replaced by your antique discoveries or somewhere secure to keep excess vintage items, ensuring you’re giving your belongings the utmost care is essential. Superior Storage offers personal storage solutions in locations across the southeast, including Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
For added peace of mind, we offer climate-controlled storage to safeguard temperature-sensitive belongings from the elements, keeping them in a balanced environment year-round thanks to heating and cooling technology. We highly recommend keeping antique or vintage items within a storage shed or unit equipped with temperature control capabilities. What better place to do so than at Superior Storage?
To discover your ideal storage solution, contact us and rent or reserve your space today!