Shopping for Bargains

When vacationing with Leslie and Larry, one must expect to shop. Husband Styro is not a big shopper, but is a very patient man. We do two kinds of shopping together: for original art, and for, shall we say, pre-owned merchandise.

We love to peruse local galleries, and the west coast of Michigan is loaded with art galleries, I suppose to appeal to the Chicago crowd, as well as anyone in Michigan who still has money in their possession. I love to shop just about every booth at the Harbor Springs Art Fair on July 4th. There are a sprinkling of "craft" booths, and many for jewelry, but most are original art of differing media.

As many artists tend to be somewhat introverted, we've noticed that the more successful bring with them an assistant of sorts; a shill. Someone to go out and engage the crowd, talk about technique, and share the artist's vision. Leslie is a big chatter, and has decided this is the job she will pursue upon retirement from her regular profession.

At the other end of the spectrum, on this trip we have hit just about every resale shop in town, ranging from the one that looked like a gigantic garage sale in too little space, to the one that took up a warehouse floor, and was organized by categories. My favorite thrift store up here is the Habitat for Humanity store, which is a fundraiser for its parent organization. There are no clothes there, but every sort of home goods you can imagine.

The fun part at these stores is finding the extremes; the ugliest, the biggest, the most ridiculous. Occasionally, there are just awesome bargains. I found a beautiful, tiny framed print of a goldfinch that looks like an Audubon for 85 cents. Leslie found four gorgeous green and blue Pfaltzgraff coffee mugs for 40 cents apiece.

We haven't forgotten our souvenirs, though. There's a shop in town called Momentum that sells embroidered t-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts. Husband Styro and I each got one that says Petoskey, his in steel blue, mine in tie dyed royal blue and lime green. Soon my Michigan hoodie collection will be sufficient to clothe everyone at BlogHer. We can be toasty warm together.

Comments

[the Mayor]

Bravo on finding a bargain in Northern Michigan where the mantra is "fleece the fudgies" for the 8 week long tourist season.

[Sal]

Ahhhh, now you're speaking my language. Wish I'd been a mouse in your pocket.

[Captain Dumbass]

I love shopping for stuff. Not for clothes and groceries and that sort of thing, but just stuff. I'd be doing some of that today if I hadn't just come back from McDonald's where my ATM card was refused because I only had $1.13 in my account. It may be time to start looking for work again.