Spinning Wheel Stories

I looked out the window at the heavy-falling snow. I'd have to walk through that, a mile, a mile and a half each way if I stuck to my plan. Maybe I should just wait till next week.

But half an hour later, there I was, trudging along the sidewalk, trying not to fall, squinting my eyes to keep the snowflakes out, my boots making big holes in the soft powder at each step.

What was this epic quest for? I was going to a thrift store. To buy a spinning wheel.

Yes, that's right. The one thrift store in this little town where I live is only open for 3 hours on Saturday mornings, and I was in search of an antique deal.

Knowing that I desperately needed to supplement my income, and inspired by the original Netflix series, Girlboss, I had decided to become a spinning wheel dealer.

I'd seen one at the thrift store another time when I was there, and it had occurred to me that there were probably lots of crafters in America who would pay to have it shipped to them.

I wasn't sure if it was worth buying though. It had been priced at €30 and looked a bit iffy, all swathed in bunches of horsehair for some reason and with some parts looking like they'd been added on later.

But then I saw... this:

Next to the horsehair nightmare was a little saxony spinning wheel that someone long ago had painted turquoise. It looked so sweet and seemed to be waiting there just for me.

No price tag, though. And it didn't help that during the odyssey through the snow I had realized I only had €25 in my wallet, but I picked up the little thing and took it to the counter anyway, hoping it wouldn't cost more than that.

The lady looked it over and asked me how much it cost. I told her I didn't know. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's broken. Three euros?" Um, yes please!

I got some strange looks on the way home, especially when I took a grand spill right outside the shop. Luckily neither I nor the spinning wheel were hurt.

After I got it home, I wiped off the snow and inspected it with the help of the Internet. I found a picture of an almost-identical one under the title "Our Basket Case Spinning Wheel."

Ahem! Mine did look in a lot better shape than theirs, although there was indeed a piece missing--the "footman," that connects the treadle to the wheel. Everything else seemed okay.

The next day when my boss picked me up on the way to work, I buckled the spinning wheel carefully into the back seat. My boss rolled his eyes--another one of my eccentric plans!

But, being an excellent photographer, he helped me to get some great photos!

I put it up on my Etsy shop, and guess what? It became my most viewed and favorited post ever! Every day my shop was getting far more views and visits than usual, and most of them were for the spinning wheel.

And then finally one day, somebody bought it, a man in New York State.

And do you know how much I made on it? $75, not including shipping.

So, assuming dollars and euros are almost the same, that's 2500% profit!

Not too shabby! But there's more...

Before I sold the first spinning wheel, I made another trip to the thrift store, still wondering if I should pick up the horsehair wheel. And then I saw... this!

A beautiful lathe-turned castle spinning wheel with hand carved details, again, just sitting there saying, "Here I am, I've been waiting for you!"

Because of my previous "research" I already knew it was missing some pieces, plus the treadle was broken, but it looked amazing.

Again, no price tag. Again, I brought it nervously up to the counter. Again, the lady said, "It's broken. Three Euros?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lucky for me, I have a friend who is a professional furniture restorer and he flawlessly fixed the treadle for me before I even had the chance to ask him to. Because he's awesome.

And then my boss took some more great pictures:

I decided to price this one a little higher and see what would happen. It didn't get as many views as the other, so I wasn't sure if it would sell easily.

But then, within just a couple of weeks, I got the "SOLD" notification--from a customer in Shanghai! I wrapped and packed it up very carefully for the long journey.

In all I made about $115 profit on this one.

So again, assuming euros = dollars, that's 38 times what I paid for it!

I considered myself to be officially in the antique spinning wheel business.

But the next time I went to the thrift store, I didn't find any more spinning wheel surprises waiting--just the same old horsehair one, which I finally decided I didn't want to buy.

So if I want to keep this up, I'm going to have to find some other sources... and maybe borrow a car.

But I did find something else at the thrift store. Some beautiful Westerwald beer steins!

They seemed to be saying, "Buy us!" too, and so I did.

And you know what? They were much easier to carry home.

If you want to buy a beer stein or other stuff that I find and make, please visit my Etsy shop, The Mermaid Island

Photos courtesy of LAQUAFOTODESIGN

Furniture restoration by Regis Fournot