Shopping for thrifted treasures is my favourite form of relaxation. Here are ten great finds that I enjoy every day, including this striped Hudson Bay trading blanket.
Welcome to Letters From Windermere, where I write about:
- HISTORY: mostly Western Canada history, but I love it all.
- WRITING: info about Finding Flora, my new historical homesteading novel.
- BOOKS: I recommend a good book every month.
* * * * * *
But First, My Book News
I have just returned from a whirlwind ten-day trip to Toronto!
There I met my publishing Dream Team from Simon & Schuster Canada. From left: Senior Marketing Manager Cali Platek, Senior Editor Adrienne Kerr, and Publicist Natasha Kempnich.
The entire staff toasted me with champagne to celebrate my novel Finding Flora being on the national bestseller list now for TWENTY WEEKS!
I had lunch with my lovely literary agent, Samantha Haywood, who owns Transatlantic Agency. Her goal is to sell foreign language and film rights for all of my books.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to meet with the Indigo CEO Heather Reisman due to a scheduling conflict, but I met the entire team at Indigo’s head office.
Here I am being interviewed by one of their top executives, Amanda Gauthier, while the rest of the staff listen and learn more about my book.
I saw many wonderful sights in Toronto (with seven million people, this is now the fourth largest city in North America after Mexico City, New York, and Los Angeles).
This fountain near our hotel was a highlight. Located in the downtown Berczy Park, it features twenty-seven dogs spouting water . . . and one cat!
And now, back to reality in my little mountain town of Invermere, British Columbia with 4,000 residents!
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Hudson Bay Blanket
The blanket pictured above is probably my greatest find. Years ago I thrifted this at a church garage sale for FIVE DOLLARS. The Bay plays a big role in our family’s origin story, and I would not be here today were it not for The Bay hiring my Scottish forefathers, who then married Indigenous women. Read more here: My Indigenous Roots.
Since the recent demise of this two-hundred-year-old business, Bay memorabilia have skyrocketed and blankets are going for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
Because of my foresight, several years ago I purchased a brand new blanket and it is still in the box. It might stay there for another generation!
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Hudson Bay Coat
This may be my SECOND best find. About five years ago I walked into our local thrift store just as a staff member was hanging this original Bay blanket coat on the five-dollar rack. It’s in mint condition and fits perfectly.
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Beaded Evening Bag
The item that I have used many times in the past five decades is this beaded evening bag with celluloid handles, found at a flea market in Los Angeles in 1978. I can’t even remember how much it cost, but no more than a few dollars. I’m guessing it’s probably about one hundred years old, and the perfect size for a cell phone, wallet, keys, compact and lipstick.
ALSO in my evening bag are these miniature accessories. I often take them out and show them off. It’s a tiny manicure set and a tiny sewing kit, each about the size of a lipstick tube. My mother bought these at a flea market in England many years ago and gave them to me for Christmas.
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Vintage Tablecloths
Vintage linens are my passion, and I have collected a cedar chest full of tablecloths. (Yes, I use them every day even when it means removing stains by hand and ironing them.)
I like changing the colours with the seasons, as shown in this lovely autumn pattern.
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Glassware
Housewares is where thrift stores really shine, because there is so much to choose from. Among my most-cherished items are these drinking glasses adorned with gold-trimmed pheasants. I bought six of them at my local thrift store for five dollars.
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Crystal
Remember when everyone collected a crystal pattern when planning their wedding? Pinwheel crystal was once all the rage. Crystal abounds at thrift stores, and we have scored many lovely items over the years including this large bowl, perfect for salad or fruit. Or just to admire in the sunshine! I think I paid two dollars for this one at a garage sale.
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Stained Glass
Although this looks like a stained glass window, it’s a piece of stained glass hanging from a chain that I picked up at a garage sale for twenty dollars. By some miracle, it fits perfectly into the window over our stairwell, so I can admire the sun shining through the glass whenever I mount the stairs. Read about my house here: Ten Ways to Make a New House Look Old.
* * * * * *
Thrifted Treasures: Vintage Artwork
I discovered this framed image at a garage sale and snapped it up for five dollars. I have no idea whether it is a photograph or a print, but I recognized the scene because the original photograph was taken during the 1920s by a well-known photographer, Byron Harmon. We pass by this exact spot at Bow Lake just outside Banff every time we drive from Invermere to Calgary.
* * * * * *
Book of the Month
I could not begin to count the books (and jigsaw puzzles) purchased at thrift stores over the years. But I was happy to find this recently at a used bookstore in Calgary for twenty dollars, because I have long wanted a copy of my own.
It’s a collection of letters written by a young wife and mother named Daisy Phillips, who came to this area in 1912 with her husband Jack and tried to start an apple orchard in the Windermere Valley, and failed miserably because the climate wasn’t conducive to fruit trees.
In 1914, when the First World War broke out, Daisy and Jack returned to England. He joined the conflict and was killed almost immediately. Poor Daisy remained in England with her baby and it wasn’t until many years later that her niece Elizabeth Phillips discovered the letters Daisy had written home from Canada.
Elizabeth sent them to the University of British Columbia and they were published in 1984. The letters provide a fascinating glimpse into the early days in the Windermere Valley, where I’ve lived for the last 30 years. The book is long out of print, but you might ask for it at your public library.
* * * * * *
Last Call for Bird’s Eye View
Both my older novels are out of print. I don’t have any copies of Wildwood left, but I’m selling off my last few copies of Bird’s Eye View for $20 each. Unfortunately Canada Post charges another $20 to mail in Canada.
If you would like a signed, dedicated, gift-wrapped, First Edition of Bird’s Eye View for yourself or someone else, e-transfer $40 or send me a cheque and I’ll pop it in the mail. It costs the same to mail two books as one, so for $60 I can mail two copies if you want to use one for a Christmas gift. Contact me at elinor@elinorflorence.com for details.
* * * * * *
Friends, what I missed most when I was visiting the Big Smoke was the smell of the lake and the evergreen trees that surround my home here in the mountains. I hope you will take a few moments to enjoy the beauty of nature, wherever you live.
And do feel free to write and tell me about your best thrifted treasure!
Next month I will share a list of my most popular posts, written over the past twelve years of Letters From Windermere. Watch for it on October 15, 2025.
Gratefully, Elinor
