Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Thrifted Homeware

"One man's trash is another man's treasure" is the probably the unwritten slogan of the thrifting community. I grew up thinking 'new' is much better (although I must say my parents never taught me that) so I resented hand-me-down toys and clothes from my well-off cousins. I guess I resented it so much I formed my own strong sense of style totally opposite of what they can appreciate or understand. But now I laugh at myself because more than half of my stuff are in a way 'hand-me-downs', second-hand stuff from the thrift shops, or passed on by my stylish friends. But now I don't think new is so much better (although you won't hear me refuse buying new stuff hahaha) and I really appreciate so many things that have acquired the test of time.

And with this cooking bug hitting me, I've also been buying thrifted homewares. Anything functional, cheap and Margielic fits the bill. I've collected a bit of stuff from ceramic vessels, drinking crystals, pepper grinders, serving apparatus, strainers and plastic containers. Now I'm in a lookout for large drinking tumblers when I want to make Milo Dinosaur (milo + cold milk + milo powder topping) or iced tea. There's this new thrift store that opened recently here in Siem Reap and it's where I get most of my stuff. They send me a text message whenever they have new stuff coming in.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Milo Dinosaur???:-) That's so close to my childhood favorite too ("Milo on the rocks"...which is really just a Milo drink served with crushed ice). I wholeheartedly agree with your philosophy. In my part of the world, there are certain days of the year when people could leave unneeded but still usable items by their doorsteps then you are free to get them. One time my son found a really quaint handcrafted wooden toy which always drew comments from people. Freecycling and thrifting are good and eco-friendly.:-)

Sintea

Anonymous said...

new thrift store? i wanna go!

Anonymous said...

i super like your new muji muji collections! neat! --cielo

Jogels said...

cant wait to live a new life in PP the ukayera's paradise ever!!! moving in with my partner this year