Vintage colors and styles of yesteryear are at the heart of Golden Yarrow’s aesthetic. Our founder spent her childhood scavenging her grandmother’s attic and later moved to pillaging her mom’s basement to find handmade dresses from the 60s. 

We love an item with a patina of wear and love, and loaded with stories. We also love the sustainability of items finding new life instead of ending up in a landfill. So most weeks, you’ll find us hitting up a local thrift or vintage store. Here are our top tips for making the most of your vintage hunting trips:

• GO OFTEN! You never know when someone has dropped off a cart of amazing finds

• Don’t be discouraged if you walk out without anything. That’s vintage baby – some days are diamonds and some days are stones.

• Be well hydrated and fed so you can patiently dig through racks without getting hangry.
• Take a chance--you never know if a yardsale will unearth your favorite painting.
• Do the ‘Can I live without it?’ test. Imagine how you’ll feel if you leave the store without it. Do you feel ok–probably not the item for you. Does the thought of leaving it alone on the shelf make you hyperventilate? It needs to come home, stat. You want to make sure each item that comes home is special to you.

• Ask to look through old family items. There may be treasures your aunt or mom wants to offload that have special meaning to you.

• Bonus: You may want to sage products to clear of any stagnant energy. (Our story of a haunted vintage Fisher Price radio is for another day).

RESOURCES AND IDEAS

• Buy Nothing groups on Facebook. These are specific to neighborhoods and are designed to give new life to items and keep them out of landfills. Many a great treasure can be found here. Also a great place to pass along things that you’ve loved but have moved beyond.

• World’s Longest Yardsale. This annual event is the perfect vintage road trip. Stretching from Michigan to Alabama, this snakes through scenic byways and gives access to treasures–and local food delicacies!--through a huge swath of the US. Grab your gals and plan an epic trip.

• Estate Sales. Some of the best treasures come from people’s personal curated collections. Find local estate sale companies in your area and join their email list for first notifications of upcoming sales.