“A WONDERFUL NEW BOOK” 

– Zac Bissonette, TIME.com

When Tereasa Surratt and her husband purchased a rundown summer camp in Wisconsin, Camp Wandawega, she set about returning it to its rustic glory. Inspired by the discarded treasures she found there — vintage Boy Scouts memorabilia, board games, midcentury aprons, and Fiesta Ware — she set about building them into collections that would make the camp a step back in time — everything old and nothing new.

Some excerpts from his story:

“If you were to go today and buy any sort of a spatula or a strainer spoon from Target, it might last you four or five years — not 70 years like the ones I use every day,” says Surratt. “It’s remarkable the way they still last.”

Surratt chronicles her vintage decorating adventures in her wonderful new book Found, Free, and Flea: Creating Collections from Vintage Treasures.

Because most vintage kitchen implements aren’t especially sought after —  it’s often just as cheap to buy many kitchen wares at flea markets, antique stores, or online. Plus, they look cool, and vintage finds come with a history.

“I like walking into a room that’s full of antiques that all have a story,” Surratt says. “Restoration Hardware and Kmart are not the same as a serving platter that saw three wars and four weddings. The fact that it costs like 2 bucks is a great bonus.”

 

thanks much to Zac Bisonette for the nice plug- Hes a fellow collector & lover of antiques. and incredibly thrifty, which we appreciate- his first book is all about how to pay for college without going into debt.