Barsony Black Lady Lamp - Flamenco Dancer

This is by far my favourite purchase and was simply the case of being in the right place at the right time. About 3 years ago I was wandering in the furniture section of a Lifeline shop and on the way out noticed this lamp. I loved her straight away and quickly bought her for the marked price of $25. When I got home I looked her up on the Internet and found out a bit about these lamps and that they are quite collectible by a number of people and sell for around $750 (although I've seen this one with an asking price of $1500 - not sure if it sold for that price though). I don't plan on selling her and would love to find another one in a different pattern.

Barsony Black Lady Lamp

Small Bird Plates

These plates were bought in a Vinnies store about a year ago, so not a recent purchase. It's a set of 4 small plates although I'm really not sure if they would be just display plates or perhaps something you might serve butter etc on. Each plate features a different image of birds yet they all match in with each other due to their colourings. They are stamped Made in Japan, but don't have any other markings so I have been unable to look up their history. They only cost 50 cents each so a total of $2.00, but they were behind glass, stacked one on top of the others, in the display case and hard to actually see. I've yet to actually use them or even display them properly but I'm still glad I bought them.

Set of 4 plates featuring birds

Souvenirs while on holidays

 I don't normally buy many souvenirs while on holidays - I find them mostly pointless as they are often something you cannot display in your home for long. However, I love buying something that you might use everyday and when you look at it you're reminded of your holiday. I always seek out second hand shops when I'm away to find something more unusual to remind me of my holiday.

Recently I was in Japan visiting family and asked to be shown the local second hand shops. Second hand items aren't really very popular in Japan which keeps the prices low, and it's not charity run. However there are a few stores around it you know where to look. I visited quite a few times and came away with a few things to remind me of my time there.

This cat temperature gauge came from a lovely little shop near Yamadera Shrine in the Yamagata Prefecture. It's made out of cast iron so it's rather heavy for it's size. It only cost $12.00 but is by far the most expensive item I bought while op shopping in Japan!

Cat temperature gauge

Another place I visited was a branch of Book Off stores in Yonezawa, in the Yamagata Prefecture. It was actually quite a popular store with more than a few other shoppers browsing each time I was there. It was quite a large shop and I made 3 purchases there over the course of my trip - I could have bought much more but with checked baggage on the flight to think about it was not worth the trouble.

Dragonfly brooch - this is a cheap brooch but made really well. The gems are clearly not real diamonds (I wish they were!!) but it still looks quite elegant and I don't have to worry about losing it when I wear it. It was in with other cheap jewellery and cost $5.00.

Dragonfly Brooch

Bird patterned bowl - the shop had a lot of large plates and bowls, all with unique and beautiful patterns. This one features 2 birds in a nature scene and the colours are much deeper in real life. It cost $5.00 and as it's a large-ish bowl it caused the most trouble packing my carry on luggage on the flight home! It's suitable to use as a centrepiece bowl or maybe a fruit bowl.

Bird Bowl

This little ceramic container cost only $2 and is in perfect condition. I'm not actually sure what the traditional use for it is, perhaps a tea canister? It was located with the kitchenware items and there were a lot of them in assorted patterns. This one has gold colourings throughout the pattern which doesn't stand out well in the picture. I use it as a trinket box. 

Ceramic canister