The journey of old goods from procurement to sale

What kind of journey does an old object take before it comes up for sale and finally finds its way to a new home?

An item for sale often goes through many stages of enhancement, cleaning and preparation before it is ready to be sold and delivered to a new home. All objects also have their own history, and in the best cases, stories about the history of the products for sale have survived to be told. The story of an object gives it a new dimension, and that is why we feel it is important to find out where the product comes from and where it has been used as often as possible.

For example, I will take the industrial Tateka lamp that we sold earlier. Tateka found its way to us (or we found our way to it) when, while driving in central Finland in the summer, we turned at the "kotikirppis" sign into the yard of an old metal workshop. The lamp in question was attached to the desk and I asked the seller if the lamp was also for sale. The salesman grunted that if I really want that old lamp, it's available.

I really wanted that niceness and we hit the shops. A good example of how someone's less valued object can be another's treasure. So don't throw things away, but keep fleas at home, that's how Vintagetall's story started.

Tateka traveled with us to Helsinki and we first tested its functionality. The electrical cords and circuit breakers were in good condition. Next, the lamp had to be cleaned. Pine swamp scrubbing removed years-old, stubborn dirt. What remained was the roughness and patina as a sign of its previous life in a metal workshop.

After cleaning, the lamp came to be photographed. An interesting, but perhaps also the most laborious step is to find out information about the old object. Various Tateka lamp models were found in the old catalog, and so was this particular model. Industrial Work lamp is a table-mounted model, manufactured by Teräskaluste in Tampere in the 60s. Based on the information, the text for the sales announcement began to take shape.

In the end, we got a sale notice published and the lamp finally got close to where it had left the world, in Tampere, as an industrial detail of a beautiful interior. Thanks for the picture @kaksiopyynikilla!

This was an example of the stages of a metal vintage lamp before being sold. It is very specific to the object how much it takes to get it ready for sale. The most common work steps are acquisition, transport, cleaning depending on the object's material, small renovations, enhancements, photography, making a sale announcement, product packaging and mailing.

For renovations, we have a small construction pharmacy, which we have collected over time just for enhancements. Recycled parts can prove to be worth their weight in gold. I have often been praised for not throwing away old screws and pulls, and the same applies to old objects.

Cleaning, refurbishing and introducing an old object in a new environment can bring out a completely new side of it. Utilizing old goods is not only ecological, but also a stylish and personal choice.

Recycling and reusing objects to glory!

- Aleksi