Vintage Owl Bookend Update Mistake

The Thrill of the Thrift

I found today’s Quick Thrift & Update piece for the bargain price of 25 cents at a garage sale. This little vintage owl bookend was flying solo, which is probably why he was in the cast-offs. He was pretty cute in a kitschy-vintage way, but I couldn’t resist the urge to update him with paint. Not all vintage pieces are in need of an update, although that’s mostly an issue of personal taste. Before you grab your spray paint and grandma’s vintage decor, read on.

I don’t shop garage sales much, because I don’t want to set my alarm before the sun is up on a Saturday, and it feels like it takes more time than shopping thrift stores. However, you can’t beat the price, and some of the biggest bargains I’ve found were at garage sales. I’ll definitely never miss the quarter for this adorable vintage bookend. In fact, they did me a favor, because it’s one less vending machine Dr Pepper. Truth.

Love At First Sight

When I saw this sweet vintage owl bookend, I immediately thought of Harry Potter. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that all Potter fans are in want of a Snowy Owl like Hedwig. Just like P&P fans are in want of a Mr. Darcy . . . that looks like Colin Firth. That’s, of course, where my mind went – to Hedwig not Mr. Darcy – but I did give the tawny owl a chance. He flitted around from shelf to desk, looking for the right perch. Then one day I couldn’t resist the siren song of the spray paint any longer. Who doesn’t love that immediate gratification? Every time-crunched crafter needs a can of white spray paint so they can feel like they’ve made something.

And that’s what I did: fulfilled the need to craft without actually crafting. Let’s face it. Spraying paint on this little vintage owl gave him a different look, but it’s not exactly the start of a modern renaissance. It was, however, the start of his life as a modern, minimalist owl. Or if you’re like me, he’s a low-key nod to my Potter addiction. For a time I thought maybe I shouldn’t have painted him, but it was OK . . . because Hedwig.

If you like happy endings: spoiler alert – this isn’t it.

Why I Regret Painting the Vintage Owl Bookend

As I let the spray paint fly, I realized the pages on that book were a deep, rich gold, and the book was already a creamy white, and his eyes. . . There was something special I was obliterating with paint. I should’ve just put the can down and stepped back from the owl. Now I know my gut instinct was right. This is a vintage Lefton porcelain owl bookend. (Here’s a pair listed for $71.) I should’ve known better because of my experience selling vintage. That’s why I was feeling these twinges. It was a mistake. My gut was trying to stop me from committing a heinous crime against vintage. Now I’m reading about how to remove the paint, so look for that post. Hopefully, it’ll be after the owl is restored, and I’ve mastered my urge to buy a replacement or 2.

Research Vintage Before Updating

The most important thing I hope you take from my post is how not to paint vintage pieces that you’ll regret later by learning how to identify them through research. All I needed was to do a little digging to find out the history of this vintage bookend. This is when you pull out your sleuth hat and do a little investigating. Thanks to the internet, searching is painless. It should be the first step you take before deciding to alter a vintage piece. You could make a profit from your thrifting, but you need to check every piece before painting and never assume “dated” means “worthless”.

How to Identify Vintage Pieces

• Look for identifying marks. These are often on the bottom, and if you’re lucky, you’ll find a label. My vintage owl has H1683 visable through the paint. I have a faint memory of an oval, red label that fell off. That would be good to have and to use as a clue.
• Look for “Occupied Japan” or “Made in Occupied Japan”. These are from 1945-1952 and were made when the Japanese economy was undergoing revitalization after being devastated by WW2. Japan was occupied by Allied Powers and ordered to mark items for export. Exporting ceramics was a big part of their recovery, and these were highly collectible until the 90’s when the market was flooded with fakes. There are still some people who are interested, and these are from an interesting time in history.
• Do an online search describing the item trying different descriptors. This can be found with a simple “vintage owl bookend” search.
• Select “images” on the search results, because that’s the easiest way to make a match.
• Pay attention to the date on any listings of comparables, and do further reading, because just like with my Lefton owl, trends change.
• Search Etsy and eBay if you don’t see matching listings in the search results and do a search for past auctions on eBay.
• Check www.replacements.com. This is especially good for glassware, flatware, and dinnerware.
• When you have the manufacturer name, add “history” to your search to find out about that company which can be helpful for dating it. For instance, I searched “lefton ceramics history” to learn why these are collectable.

How to Avoid My Biggest Mistake

Here was my dilemna that ended in paint. There’s a part of me that wants to go all kitschy vintage. However, I’m not ready to pull the trigger and commit. You know what I mean. It’s my Pinterest porn, my guilty pleasure. I can look at it all day, but I’m not going to actually live in it. There’s a very fine line between kitsch adding whimsy and making it look like grandma’s time-warp decor. I can see this guy nesting against colorful cookbooks in an eclectic vintage kitsch-en quite easily, but I don’t have that whimsical kitchen, and I’m not convinced I want to live with it. And here is where I went wrong, I wanted a fast project because I had no free time, but I hadn’t done my research. Researching each piece is the first thing you do when you bring vintage into the house. Before you clean it and possibly destroy clues, do your homework.

What I saw in a 5 minute assessment was that my white Ikea shelves (with the Dollar Tree hack) needed more white décor pieces. I had a thrifted bird in the hand, white paint in my craft closet, 5 free minutes all together, and a pizza box in the trash, so I was set to go! (Except for the fact something told me not to do this.) In my haste, I broke my rule: Always read before altering vintage pieces.

Prepping the Vintage Owl Bookend

This is as simple and thrifty as it gets. After a quick bird bath (wash and dry) to prep, I perched the owl on the pizza box and sprayed. I didn’t prime or sand. I used the cheapest, white, spray paint I could buy. You know the stuff. I keep the Walmart dollar cans on hand in black and white, and that may be the saving grace now that I want to strip it. However, nothing updates tired pieces like a shower in white paint. Armed with white spray paint, duct tape, and “42”, (the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything) I think you could pretty much survive the Pride and Prejudice and Zombie decorating apocalypse. At the very least you could update a vintage piece or two. I just can’t promise there’ll be no painter’s remorse. (Remember to research before you paint.)

In the end, it really comes down to your taste and decor goals no matter the provenance of a piece. Remember that it’s much easier to put the paint down than to remove it later, if that’s even an option. What do you think about this owl, my Harry Potter obsession fan girling, and my decorating dilemma? Do you like the tawny vintage owl bookend or the snowy white, magical, a’ la Hedwig owl better? Have you painted something you regret? Tell me about it in the comments!