Coastal Treasure Hunting in NYC

On a recent day trip to the big apple, I was excited to discover some unusual shell art and other vintage coastal pieces of interest at two of my favorite Manhattan architectural salvage shops offering architectural elements and antiques primarily from reclaimed buildings in NYC.

The first stop was The Demolition Depot & Irreplaceable Artifacts, located in Harlem at 216 East 125th St, between 2nd & 3rd Avenues.

The Demolition Depot offers a hugh selection of reclaimed fixtures - plumbing, doors, and much more. You just never know what you will find. I discovered (above photo) a lovely vintage tub, shelled to perfection!

Vintage shell encrusted bath tub

Vintage shell encrusted mirror.

Vintage bar entrance constructed from nautical rope

Vintage bar shaped like a boat

Piles of weathered and worn shutters

Next stop was a visit to Old Good Things, located in Chelsea at 124 West 24 Street, between 6th and 7th Ave. Old Good Things has other stores located in both Manhattan and in Los Angeles, CA. Their warehouse is located in Scranton, PA and is a must see for treasure hunters - just make sure you remember to bring your hard hat and a flashlight and get ready to sift through piles of vintage stuff reclaimed from old NYC buildings.

Vinage shell encrusted cross

Vintage giant clam shells

Large vintage clam shell Price: $1,150.00!!! The great thing about

Old Good Things is that they will bargain with you!

Vintage nautical lighting (above) and vintage fishing nets in a box

Above photos of a vintage ring buoy, vintage tin reclaimed from NYC buildings and re-worked into beautiful shabby mirrors and vintage store sign

VINTAGE COASTAL TREASURES AT CONNECTICUT'S OWN ELEPHANT TRUNK COUNTRY FLEA MARKET

ABOVE PHOTO: What a find! A lovely vintage shell art mirror - $50!

The Elephant Trunk Country Flea Market is located on Route 7 in New Millford CT and is a well known hunting ground for designers, collectors and folks who just love stuff. It is open every Sunday from April thru November at 5:45 am to 2 pm. Those of you who want first dibs on undiscovered treasures can enter the flea market at 5:45 am to 7 am for $20 per person. After 7 am , the price of admission drops to $2 per person. It does pay to get to the flea market as early as you can. Their is always ample parking however, after 9 am the market does tend to get packed and I've seen some vendors pack up their treasures and head on out as early as 11 am.

ABOVE PHOTOS: Shoppers at the Elephant Trunk flea market.

The Elephant Trunk offers a treasure trove of mostly vintage goods at mostly bargain prices. You will find a few craft vendors, some new items and vendors selling plants in the mix. My trip today was mainly to seek out vintage pieces I could possibly use with or incorporate into my shell work.

ABOVE PHOTO: Bargains on tarp. You will find a lot of things like this scattered about the flea market.

Since the Elephant Trunk is so large (it sits on a 55-acre parcel of vacant land), you really have to be focused in your game of "I spy" in order to find exactly what your looking for.

ABOVE PHOTO: Vintage steamer trunks $300.

ABOVE PHOTO: A Mermaid statue.

The thing I love most about the Elephant Trunk are the people. The vendors are friendly, funny and willing to bargain with you. I remember a few years back, a vendor, I called him the "king of the costume jewelry." He would sit in a big chair in the middle of piles and piles of cardboard boxes filled to the brim with tangled old costume jewelry. After you spent forever sifting though and untangling your finds, you would need to bring your jewels over to the "king" for a price. He was very serious. He didn't talk. He didn't smile. He would look over the goods (as if he knew the exact origin of every piece of old jewelry ever made) and do the calculation in his head. You would be very anxious to see what price the "king" was going to come up with. Then he would come up with some ridiculously low price, like $5.00 for 15 or 20 pieces. I loved this guy. I didn't see him today though.

ABOVE PHOTO: Crated model Ship sits high above piles of stuff.

ABOVE PHOTO: Very cute and highly collectable, vintage Sea Horse salt & pepper shaker. It was in perfect condition (although the dealer said it had a chip, it didn't). It was missing only the stoppers but still a deal (for a lover of all things coastal) at $5. I bought it.

ABOVE PHOTOS: Some thing I always love to see - vintage shells.

My trip the the Elephant Trunk was fruitful. I did manage to find a very large vintage wooden octagon wall clock (not shown) that could be used as an encasement for a Sailor's Valentine or related. I am going to see if I can salvage this piece. It had some molding damage but is still usable.