Our Hopeful Home: Thrill of the Hunt #80

Welcome back to Thrill of the Hunt #80 -- where you never know what you're going to find based on my thrifting and junking trips. Today, just like in Thrill of the Hunt #79, I have some vintage Christmas-themed goodies to share with you.

First up are some fabulous vintage Shiny Brite ornaments I snagged at a consignment shop during our trip to Galena, Illinois. Any time I can get my hands on some vintage Shiny Brites I am one happy camper. Actually, the term "vintage Shiny Brites" is redundant because there is no such thing as a Shiny Brite that isn't vintage.

Shiny Brite ornaments were manufactured from 1937 to 1961. I grew up with them in my childhood home, which makes them all the more special to me. Little did I know that we were hanging vintage ornaments on our family tree. My mom must have purchased hers right at the end of the manufacturing window. I still have them today, along with other Shiny Brites I've picked up along the way. They were called Shiny Brites because the insides were lined with silver nitrate to keep them shiny from one year to the next.

two boxes Shiny Brite glass tree ornaments

I actually snagged two boxes for $2.00! It was half off all Christmas merchandise. The original price tag on one of the boxes from who-knows-when was 89 cents.

The box with six different colored ornaments reminded me of the traditional Shiny Brite box of my youth.

Shiny Brite glass Christmas tree ornaments

Shiny Brite had an office on 45 East 17th Street in New York, and four manufacturing facilities in New Jersey, one each in Hoboken, Irvington, North Bergen and West New York (yes, that's in New Jersey).

Enter the Woolworth's Shiny Brite box. While Corning Glass Company actually manufactured the ornaments, it was Woolworth's that ordered more than 235,000 ornaments in 1939. They sold for two to ten cents apiece. I remember a Woolworth's store in our downtown when I was growing up.

F.W. Woolworth George Franke Sons Company Baltimore Maryland Made in USA

Shiny Brites had their heydey in the 1950's.

By 1955, 75% of the word's Christmas ornaments were manufactured by Shiny Brite.

However, by the 1960's, Shiny Brites were on their way out. I am still so happy to find them at estate sales and thrift stores.They are one item I will ALWAYS bring home with me. I think I started collecting them shortly after getting married in 1995.

Now for another totally different type of Christmas ornament. Artist Pam Schifferl and her father Lou carved Christmas ornaments with Midwest of Cannon Falls from 1994 to 2004 -- they have since been discontinued. As such, many of these ornaments are highly collectible.

I stumbled across this rosy-cheeked Santa with Lantern at my local Goodwill. I knew it was probably a collectible since it was signed on the back by P. Schifferl.

Her you can see the "P. Schifferl" printed on the back of it.

I just love how he's holding a lantern and looking off into the distance. What, or who, do you think he's looking for? Pam Schifferl folk art Santa ornament is SOLD.

Another small find from my Galena trip was some some vintage spools. I've known for a long time that I wanted some to use for mini bottle brush tree creations.

Here they are with some vintage bottle brush trees sitting on top of them. Next Christmas they will be securely attached with glue. I paid 50 cents each for the spools which was probably too much but I don't see vintage spools often and some were green! The trees were part of a grab-bag of vintage Christmas decorations I picked up at Goodwill last year.

So the spools and the Shiny Brites were from Galena, while the P. Schifferl ornament was from a local Goodwill. All in all I think they make up a great vintage Christmas haul.

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