London. One word. So many feelings. The history, the architecture, the smells, the people. Truly, it is a city that cannot be replicated. And why should it? Two weeks ago I did a little bit of wandering through New Westminster (read: Vancouver) history. Antique Alley in New Westminster is a place filled with old records (yes, we're talking LPs), rotary phones and cardboard cut-out stand-up posters of Wayne Gretzky. Compared to London's 300 year old buildings New Westminster doesn't have much in terms of longevity but sometimes it's fun to look back and realize just how much has changed in such a short period of time.
In 30 years we've gone from landlines to cordless to car phones to mobile phones to smart phones that we don't even use to talk on. Yes, I just dated myself. I've seen things that have changed. I've watched my grandparents' swinging furniture go from solid to outdated to hip and now retro. Ottomans and chesterfields once booked for pick-up by the Sally Ann is now being hocked for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I'm certain some of your grandparents have a few bowling ball bags around and an ashtray that doubles as a lamp. Go forth and scavenge!
While trolling through and laughing a few times at the mounds of Playboy magazines stuffed in the corner shelves of shops with my mother I started to think of what and how these items can be valued. A stack of hockey cards collected by a young child separated into Top Deck vs McDonalds giveways is priced at $5. Remember when you found a baseball card from the 1970s? That would just elicit excitement from my siblings and I. Now I'm looking at these mass-produced cards and wondering if a young child would think the same thing of a trading card from the 1980s.
We didn't buy much that Saturday afternoon. I found a cheap framed picture for $4.99. If I actually get things sorted I may actually hang it one day.
The stores we went to were heaving with junk. And let's be honest, some of it really is junk.
