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Modern Junk vs. Antiques

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posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:03 PM
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I was out shopping today, yes in a real brick and mortar store! I am just amazed by all the junk, firstly how much is just unnecessary stuff, secondly, how much of it is so poorly made. Furniture that weighs 20lbs!

I have been collecting antiques for a long long time, I know it is out of style right now. When I look at some of my antiques I see that even the most lowly item, like a simple box or basket is so well made, with thought and longevity. (same with houses) I know there is a machine that needs to be fed these days, but what cracks me up, is that people are decorating their houses with Antique replicas is that actually cost more than the real antiques that would last for generations. People don't know that real baskets can last 50 years or more! It is amazing how long real stuff can last. These young folks have no clue how crappy their stuff is, totally disposable everything.

The other thing that really disturbs me is how much of it is plastic, even most of our clothing is plastic now. I've been watching some documentaries on old farming methods. Everything was natural back then, even rugs, and when they lost their usefulness in the house they could be simply composted in the garden without ill effect.

I know this is the downside of progress and there are many benefits, but it seems like we are just living in such a wasteful unnatural state.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:10 PM
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When the goods become disposable then so do the peoples will.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:10 PM
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Just go to thrift stores. ideally the mom & pop types.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:12 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

I'm sorry to say this, but I don't want old #. I want modern furniture. I want it to look new, and clean. I want to replace it every couple of years.

You're into antiques and that's great. But not everyone wants some old piece of wood that used to sit in someone's boudoir.

Buy what you like and let the rest of the world buy and make what appeals to them.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:12 PM
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originally posted by: JAGStorm
I know this is the downside of progress and there are many benefits, but it seems like we are just living in such a wasteful unnatural state.

Don't forget about clothing. It used to be that clothes were made of fairly sturdy material and actually fit, because it was often made specifically for the person wearing it. This includes shoes. An average guy would only have a few changes of clothing and maybe only one pair of shoes, and that was it. Clothing these days is cheap, wears out quickly, and it looks terrible on most people unless you just happen to be the same shape as the templates used on the machines.

Still, we are getting a little better at recycling, which takes a little bit of the pressure off the environment. So a lot of our waste these days is actually a resource for others.

But you're right. So much of the stuff we are encouraged to buy is simply horrible crap, and we should avoid just buying it because it's there. We can all live with less crap.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:16 PM
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a reply to: Blue Shift

Are you fat? Certainly you're mis-shaped. Clothing comes in all manor of sizes now. It's 2018.

If you can't find clothing that fits, you're the problem.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:22 PM
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a reply to: RMFX1

You know that new stuff is all modeled after the old #, you are just too young to know it. I've seen styles cycle round and round.

As for your insult on clothing. Why do you think vintage clothing is worth a fortune, it was made so much better. A lot of it was made by real taylors that took time to make it right. I sew and I can tell you straight up 99% of clothing today is pure crapola. Just one look at the stitches, it's a joke. Most people don't even know what real blue jeans used to feel like, and they used to last decades, yes decades.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:34 PM
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originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
Just go to thrift stores. ideally the mom & pop types.


copy that...

Just found an old Nikon with 1.5k worth of prime glass........$35usd.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 05:50 PM
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a reply to: JAGStorm

It is hard to find new furniture with character. Or at least unique and built with quality materials. Furniture has been a hobby of mine since i was a kid. I would sand and refinish anything for $100. It paid for my school so i could learn to design and build my own. That is mostly all i do anymore. Everything from slab tables to hand cut Japanese joinery.

People like old stuff because they know it was hand made with solid wood by people who were craftsmen and famous for their work. Now a days, people don’t know where their furniture comes from. Most people can’t name a single famous furniture builder.
edit on 16-3-2018 by Woodcarver because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 06:06 PM
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originally posted by: RMFX1
Are you fat? Certainly you're mis-shaped. Clothing comes in all manor of sizes now. It's 2018.
If you can't find clothing that fits, you're the problem.

It doesn't have to do with weight, it has to do with fit and durability. Have you ever worn a suit tailored to fit your exact shape? Then you'd know that most of the stuff you're wearing is basically tacked together rags.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 06:16 PM
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originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
Just go to thrift stores. ideally the mom & pop types.


copy that...

Just found an old Nikon with 1.5k worth of prime glass........$35usd.


Like this place in Trondheim. Norwegians only want modern new stuff. So all the old wedding dresses, suiits, biscuit tins, glass bottles, copper metalwork, porcelain vases, silver cutlery, wooden tables, chairs, childrens toys, lampshades and camcorders end up there. Would have loved to buy up all that stuff, but I didn't have the money or space, so I'd just take pictures of those things.

goo.gl...


edit on 16-3-2018 by stormcell because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 06:44 PM
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I'm sitting at a new desk which is right next to my antique conference table. The new desk is cheap veneer which is showing bubbles from glue failure after only two years. The 100 year old table, which was solidly built by a craftsman, looks new and I've been using it heavily for 17 years. The new desk cost me $1,200 and the antique table cost me $200. The antique will still look new when I pass it on and the new desk will look to bad to take anywhere but a landfill in another year.

Amen to old stuff being far superior, not to mention people who worry about waste and the environment should be all for the maintaining and using of truly fine furniture that's all but impossible to buy now, unless you commission it built by a modern crafts-person with the old skills.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 06:45 PM
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It is hard to find a good potatopeeler nowadays. The stores are full of junk, the old peelers could be resharpened easily and would last a lifetime.

I tried to find a good toaster, they all work for about three months and give you a decent browning and a softer inside at first. Then they go to hell, they dry out the toast and brown unevenly after that. I remember the old toasters, they made great toast for years. I could buy a commercial toaster, a two slicer makes excellent toast and you can make four slices in less than the time that a four slice toaster makes one batch. I had one for a while, but it was really old and we wanted a nicer looking one. I went to buy one and they are almost two hundred fifty bucks. I remember the food toasters back in the seventies, equivalent to a commercial one, were only forty nine. That is a substantial increase. The thing with the commercial toasters is that they still have problems. I talked to the business manager and he said the heating elements do burn out occasionally. But two toast in one minute is pretty good, soft on the inside and evenly browned on the outside.

Not all stuff built long ago was well built, but you could find good stuff that would last a long time. We just got new mattresses this year, the old ones were great while we had them but after twenty eight years the padding was thinned out pretty much. Still more comfortable than a cheap mattress though. We bought the same brand, seven hundred bucks though, up almost three hundred from back when we bought them. Hopefully these do last the rest of our lives. Since the bed is higher, we might fall out and get killed someday.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 07:07 PM
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originally posted by: RMFX1
a reply to: Blue Shift

Are you fat? Certainly you're mis-shaped. Clothing comes in all manor of sizes now. It's 2018.

If you can't find clothing that fits, you're the problem.

Sorry but that's not entirely correct. People don't come in one single body shape. Some are long waisted, some have broad shoulders or chests, longer than average legs with wide hips... and so on. There are very few places that create off the rack clothing that will fit every size person equally well.

That is the difference between cheaply made factory clothing in one basic shape, and clothing tailored to fit you.



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 08:10 PM
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lord ten years agaio I know a farmer who had a 1950s frig in his barn ( still worked )
I found a very old Kenmore washer put a new belt on it 15 years later ( just last month the dude got a hold of me to say its still working . Man was it heavy 3 times as heavy as a modern washer .

My sister had a washer so old it did not have spin and you had a squaser that you ran the clothing through .
sucker was 60 years old .



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 09:54 PM
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"When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am." --Goo Goo Dolls



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 10:02 PM
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originally posted by: RMFX1
a reply to: Blue Shift

Are you fat? Certainly you're mis-shaped. Clothing comes in all manor of sizes now. It's 2018.

If you can't find clothing that fits, you're the problem.
when you've got a set of guns like mine, it is hard to find clothes that fit right. you must not be the kind of guy that has that problem. lucky you. lol



posted on Mar, 16 2018 @ 10:19 PM
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a reply to: MantheDevilsApe


when you've got a set of guns like mine


bb guns?



posted on Mar, 17 2018 @ 12:21 AM
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Sadly, yes a lot of it is made cheap, throw aways so that people buy more of it. Thrift stores, especially the chain stores, may not always have the best quality and some will sure have a more expensive price than what it's worth. Check around for different types of used stores. Consignment ones may offer better quality. Community garage sales where items are donated can have a lot of better deals then smaller garage sales.

Clothing is my complaint as well. Synthetic materials can cause more skin irritation as much as wool, ect., allergens. Clothes are already thinned by the time they are second hand, those materials seem to add to that.



posted on Mar, 17 2018 @ 12:28 AM
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a reply to: MantheDevilsApe

Just go to Hong Kong. They tailor beautiful clothes, quality materials, excellent fit for next to nothing.

I still have have some of my clothes fro there like a cashmere coat, silk dresses etc.

Definitely, the trip pays for itself. Plus designed furniture and had it shipped to the US. Took about 3 months to get here but still have many pieces.

After WWII, the US became flooded with cheap Chinese/Japanese items and have been spoiled with cheap stuff at the expense of quality American made products. You get what you pay for in the USA.




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