February 24, 2012

Another great find at The Shop

By Rachana Shah, Communications Team

Last week I visited The Shop during their semi-annual sale. I transferred into the JLPA-MP this year, so it was my first time visiting The Shop. When I saw the announcement of their sale on my Facebook news feed, I thought it would be a good chance to check it out.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I am addicted to the show Storage Wars on A&E. For those of you who have never seen it, it is about several people in Southern California who make their living by buying abandoned storage lockers, sight unseen, and then selling the contents. They are always digging through the piles of boxes, hoping to find interesting antiques. It was with something with that feeling that I entered 785 Santa Cruz Avenue.

The collection was amazing. There was a gorgeous Horchow cabinet marked down to $300, Wedgwood China, vintage Ferragamo shoes. I wound up with a silver-plated serving platter with the hallmark W.M. Mounts (pictured right). It had been a prize for a Pro-Amateur Golf Tournament in 1937. It had a well-worn look that reminded me of one of those "found" items in the Pottery Barn catalog. Asking price? Five dollars!

As I took my score home and was generously applying the Wright's Silver Cream, I realized that this had probably once belonged to a League member, and I wondered who it was. It was interesting to think that I had a connection to the owner of this item. It made me feel connected to the League, like the Shop in some ways is like a giant "Big Sister's Closet" that we can raid at will.

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