Rare Wares: Vintage Sellers Share their Once-in-a-Lifetime Finds

Drop the Link

Jenna Hochman

As you might imagine, we come across a lot of vintage and secondhand furniture and decor at Dendwell. We count ourselves extremely lucky to have a robust and talented community of sellers whose feeds and websites we refresh several times daily in anticipation of their unearthed treasures. It's from this bounty that we select the finds that comprise the entries of this very series; we Drop the Link to put objects within a certain category — cottage trinkets, blobby glassware, stoneware, and the like —  in your hands.

The thrill of vintage shopping is in the discovery; often times you don't know what exactly you're looking for, but you'll know it when you see it. The virtue of choosing secondhand over mass produced stock is rewarded with the satisfaction of being able to identify an object or in some exceptional cases, by the sheer delight and surprise of an unidentifiable piece. Amidst the blur of the Rexite swivels, IKEA Yaffa organizers, and yes, even squiggly postmodern lamps —all of which we cannot get enough— there are some objects that have the power to stop you in our tracks.

Chasing this feeling, we asked our seller network to share their rare wares (available or sold), once-in-a-lifetime finds that are the jewels of their inventory and those too-special objects that got away. Here are their offerings:

Dodo Bazaar (Montréal, QC)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Tongue Twister lamp

Midnight Home (Brooklyn, NY)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY (sold): Sepia-toned and framed needlepoint of David, Michelangelo's Renaissance icon

RARE & AVAILABLE: Wrought iron free-standing vanity mirror with subtle, Brutalist flourish

FORM (Los Angeles, CA)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: 70s Poltrona Frau Dilly Dally Vanity by Luigi Massoni

Cherin Studio (Montclair, NJ)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Metal Demilune Table (provenance unknown)

Hey Nana (Portland, OR)

ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Black marble slab clock

ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Aged chain link candleholder

dans l'Ére (Montreal, QC)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Danish brass and iridescent glass pendant lamp

Vintage Furnish (New York, NY)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Stop what you're doing and swipe through — Danish teak desk by G.V. Mobler with expandable leaves and fully customizable drawer placement

Memento Assemblage (Miami, FL)

RARE & AVAILABLE: MCM neon green lucite foldable candelabra

Into the Void Antiques (Bridgeport, CT)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Space Age molded plastic floor lamps that are giving Mars Attacks chic

RARE & AVAILABLE: Curved chrome and smoked lucite lamp with dual globes

Shoppe Clover (Toronto, ON)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Funfetti Venetian glass mushroom lamp

Archive (Jersey City, NJ)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Antique (1875-1920s) Victorian Collingnon Foldable Cane Steamer Deck Chair for real Jack and Rose vibes

The Rare Want (Los Angeles, CA)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Iridescent shell vase

Tally Living (Spain)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Ceramic abstract page-style bookends

Pip Home (Brooklyn, NY)

RARE & AVAILABLE: Art deco 4-panel room divider

Miscellanea Studio (Portland, OR)

RARE & AVAILABLE: 60s Geode, Agate and Quartz Resin Coffee Table

Todo Vintage (Oceanside, CA)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: George Kovacs Arc Table Lamp

We want to know: What's the rarest piece you've ever come across?

Jenna is the Content Lead at Dendwell.
Marble Cheese Bookends sold by Shop Rosemary Home

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Dendwell was a rigorously curated marketplace and magazine for vintage decor. From 2020 - 2022, we dug into the trends, tastemakers, and how-to's of vintage object collection. This is our archive site, and is no longer being updated.