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| Twigs, seeds, leaves and other found objects make abstract pictures |
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| Caviar in a thrifted butter dish with porcelain plates designed by Anna's daughter, Asya www.gleena.com and her blog |
"We came 32 years ago with two children, five suitcases, $50 and I was pregnant."
Anna became one of my thrifting mentors when I started volunteering at the Thriftique. When the old showroom had stuff jammed everywhere, she would walk me around and point out the things she thought were special. She is one of the go to people when there is a pricing question because of her encyclopedic knowledge gained through a lifetime of thrifting and traveling.
I like to talk with the shoppers about their FINDS. One day a lady was buying this thing, I still don't know what to call it. Decorative thermometer maybe? I thought it was cool. The globes of colored water float or sink depending on the temperature. Anna and I started talking about it and she said she had two of them and she would bring me one. Sure enough the next time I saw her, she gave me her extra.
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| Planters--A unique way to display a glass collection |
Last summer I asked Anna to be on the lookout for a mandolin when miniature eggplants were taking over my garden. She was curious why I needed one and suggested I trade eggplants for her mandolin. Good deal. I would rather trade them than eat more of them. She invited me for coffee at her house to make the exchange.
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| Art Deco brass lamp from Thriftique |
Her sun filled house looks like the stylists have just finished preparing for a Metropolitan Home Magazine photo shoot for an article on thrifting. She has an artist's eye for color and a curators knack for display. All of her FINDS are carefully edited into collections and her bookcase is filled with a good selection of coffee table books on decor and the arts. Linens are another of Anna's interests and her newest passion is learning about lace patterns.
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| Two of the cups are from Thriftique, one is from her Mother's home in Russia. When she first came to this country, thrifting was a survival skill. Now Anna describes her motivation as nostalgia to replace the things from her childhood that she had to leave. |
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| Anna was able to retrieve her 4th grade diploma while visiting her Mother in Russia. It is displayed in her guest bathroom. "Lenin and Stalin where they belong, with the toilet" |
