Friday, June 1, 2012

My OMG Goodwill SCORE

Whenever I drive by a Goodwill I feel this intense pressure to run inside and see if there is anything awesome waiting to be rescued. 

If I succumb to the pressure and decide to make a quick pit stop, and when I'm unloading Rhett from his car seat, I keep my eyes on anyone else who might be heading into Goodwill too. 

And if I see anyone else walking toward the store I start walking a little faster (OK power walking) so that I get to any good stuff first. 

Is that mean? Or just a thrifitng survival technique...?

(Either way sharing this makes me sound like some kind of Goodwill vulture.)

Anyway, I'm so glad I pulled over the other day because I brought these home with ME.

OMG







I'm totally keeping these. 

Structurally they are in great shape, but there is a lot of refinishing and restoring that needs to be done.


I'm planning on restoring them as close to their original state as possible. 

When I think of our future home, I picture pieces like this being scattered throughout.

Handsome antiques with character and the ability to flow with some industrial, vintage, and classic influences.

On the back of one of the tables is this stamp. 

Obviously part of it is missing, and I've been scouring Google looking for any information about the store or company that sold these, but I'm not finding much. 

Does anyone recognize this name or mark?


When I found them, this was the price on the sticker.  


I stood there debating for forever whether I could justify the cost of buying both. 

Not that they weren't worth $50 apiece, I just couldn't rationalize spending $100 on furniture that wasn't going to be turned for a profit.  

I figured it couldn't hurt to ask for a lower price so I wheeled them up front praying the cashier would understand how much I LOVED these tables.

To make a long story short, I was blessed with an amazing cashier and manager who sold them for $30 apiece. 

That I could do. :)

I'm not planning on touching them till I know a little bit more about their history.

(I don't want another barstool fiasco.) 

But I'll let you know what I find out and when I start on their restoration!



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37 comments:

  1. Really fantastic! I've never seen anything like that at my local Goodwill. Lucky dog.

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  2. Holy Batman and Robin! I would literally hyperventilate if I ever found anything that cool at any of our GW's!!! gorgeous!

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  3. Wow, I stopped going into goodwill a while ago (as we don't have any close by) but maybe its worth the drive!!!! Congrats on that score!

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  4. what a day for you! She shoots she scores!

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  5. These are awesome!!!! I can't wait to see how you transform them.

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  6. What an amazing find! That is also a great price.

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  7. I always wonder if it's OK to ask the Goodwill store to come down in price -- guess it never hurts to ask! Great find.

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  8. I love them, great find and even better swindling!

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  9. Wow I love them. They are so full of character!! I can't wait to see them restored!

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  10. I found this that might have something to do with who made those night stands... http://www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=1144439673&targetid=profile

    It looks like this particular person is a third generation of working with furniture? maybe this persons grandparent made the piece you found? worth a look!

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  11. STOP it. Those.are.amazing. And you got them for a deal!! COngrats, lady!

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  12. O.M.G. is right!!!
    What an incredible score - they are beautiful,
    lucky lucky you -

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  13. I love them! Can't wait to see what you do with them. I must confess, I always feel the same about goodwill and other thrift shops. Maybe we are both Goodwill Vultures huh?

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  14. Great find - just beautiful!
    Stacey :o)

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  15. why don't ever negotiate prices? ask and ye shall receive is going to be my new motto! these are gorgeous! i can't wait to see what you find out about them!

    btw, i'm a freaky goodwill parking lot speedster, too! psycho but speedy!!

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  16. Those are GORGEOUS! Great find! And I totally relate to you running towards thrift stores, hehehe! ;)

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  17. Very cool find! Love the texture on them. They are darling. Goodwill in my area has been way over-priced lately. I haven't gone in for awhile... I'm sticking to the streets, they've been good to me.

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  18. those are gorgeous! This is all I could find:
    http://www.showcase.com/property/164-168-Canal-Street/New-York/New-York/159301

    Not much but I wanna keep looking, it's kinda fun :)

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  19. Oooh - I love a good mystery. Have done a bit of digging and come up with a whole lotta nuthin'..... So I have emailed a NYC history buff... Fingers crossed that he has a bit of info.
    I know that the chests are post 1915 because that is when the building pictured on the label (still standing at that address) was built. Apart from that I am stumped..
    BTW - I am green with envy, have never, ever seen anything like these chests in a thrift store...

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  20. I just love them...as is too! They are really gorgeous.

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  21. Hi, I'm just googling the same thing - Leslie Mark. I just inherited a bedroom set from my father, and it was his father's set. His father moved to NY from Italy in 1925, so I'm guessing the furniture is from the mid 1920s. The label on the back is Leslie Mark. The 164-168 Canal Street building is still there, but it's a Citibank location now. I can't find any other mention of Leslie Mark online. If you find anything, will you pass it along to me? I'll do the same. Thanks! Merril Buckhorn - mbuckhorn@comcast.net

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  22. These are amazing!! I absolutely love them! I am so happy you are keeping them :-)

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  23. Oh my gosh! The SAME THING happened to me the other day!!! I found some AWESOME tables similar to those...except mine look like they used to be a vanity. I wish I could show you the pictures! Once I put them on my blog, I'll let you know!
    And I SO know how you feel about running into GW! I have to FORCE myself to NOT look into the baskets of people at the checkout line because I get all upset when I see them purchasing something awesome! HAHA! I'm like "UHG! If I would have only got here sooner those could be MINE!" LOL! It truly upsets me! And then when I find something I like, I take a pic and send it to my fiance to "ok" it if it's above our imaginary price limit. And so while I'm waiting for his response I wont MOVE from that spot! Ha, when someone walks by, I like, put my hand on it and stuff so they wont come grab it! Hahaha! So, yeah, your comments made me laugh! I thought I was the only GW vulture! I REALLY AM a good and nice person, really! Haha, just dont mess with the goods man!
    You're too funny...I'm so gonna follow you!
    I'm new at blogland...Check me out at http://propheticwings.blogspot.com/
    Thanks!!

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  24. Oh wow, I didnt realize how lengthy my comment was! Sorry bout that!

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  25. Oh, what an amazingly incredible score!! Glad you were able to get the price discounted, too! Your latest follower (here from Redoux). Blessings!

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  26. Hi - I'm the person who posted on June 12. I have the Leslie Mark bedroom set that I inherited from my father.

    I just visited the refinisher who's working on my set. Now that he has it down to the original wood, it's apparent that it's made from 4 different woods - Walnut, Mahogany, Oak, and Red Gum.

    The refinisher said this is how furniture was made at the turn of the century in Europe, using preferred woods from different countries. My set was made in NY in the mid-1920s, catering to a European immigrant population.

    I thought you may want to check your pieces to see whether they're made of different woods, too.

    Merril Buckhorn - mbuckhorn@comcast.net

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  31. love the leslie mark find. I am looking for a leslie Mark dresser with a radio but have not had any luck in finding any info on the year.

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  32. I am Leslie Mark... granddaughter of the Leslie Mark of Mark Furniture "the Mark of Quality." He did indeed have a shop on Canal Street and before the Depression 6 other locations across the boroughs. I believe he specialized in bringing the old world to the new... as many of the pieces shown in picture albums surviving in the family are the more ornate and heavy styles of the late teens and 1920's. Kudos to all who are restoring and preserving! ldmark61 [ at ] gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. I was lucky to find a beautiful dresser. It took me a while to figure out the maker as the paper sticker is not fully intact. It's a very pretty piece. I was thinking of stripping it and possibly painting it. I dont know if it's in it's original state or if someone started the process of stripping it already. I didn't pay more than 75.00. I bought another piece at the same time so hard to know which piece I got a deal on.

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  34. I have an original Leslie Mark NY dresser that used to hold what is now an antique radio but cannot find anyplace in NYC that would sell any other pieces like that, I would like to buy another one but not sure where to look. When you put in Leslie Mark NY it comes up with no other information. I know the store is a citibank now but there are no places in NYC that sell any of the Leslie Mark NY furniture listed as antique anywhere. If anyone knows where to find any other pieces like a dresser please state so. Thanks.

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