A journal of amazing vintage finds and all the adventures along the way

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Preview

Sweet little finds from kitsch land! I was super lucky to find these cuties this week and I will be listing them tomorrow in the shop.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Oh No!

So no one wanted this super cute holiday mouse and little knee hugger elf? No one at all? I am assuming that everyone was away baking cookies, decking the halls, and getting caught under mistletoe....  One more chance to win this unlikely duo.

Enter this week by following Agent 137 on Twitter or mentioning us on FB and then comment here. The winner will be drawn at random and I am guessing that your chances will be quite good!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Merry Kitchmas Contest

The holiday contest is here! Up for grabs are this sweet wide eyed elf mouse and his little knee hugger friend. To enter just mention this contest on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook then comment here. Contest ends this Friday, December 9th and the winner will be announced Saturday December 10th! Best of luck and Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Agent137 in the 21st Century



After much hesitation and procrastination I decided to start a Twitter account where I will offer quick tidbits of information about upcoming items, special deals, and stories. I will definitely still be blogging for longer messages, but I will use Twitter as as way to convey quick Agent 137 messages :)

Check Twitter tonight for a secret coupon code that will be valid for this Friday through Sunday only.

I will also be posting info about the Agent 137 holiday contest starting on Friday (tomorrow) on the blog in the morning. 

Hope you are all having a great holiday season! We are just starting to experience winter temperatures here in upstate NY.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Better Late than ?

So I know that its a little late...Precipitated on an early morning run for an incredibly low priced Kindle Fire... But I thought that it might be nice to post a little sneak peak at the items I will be listing today at 11:30. I think these guys are seriously cute, if I do say so myself...




Also, I launched an Etsy store for my awesome 83 year old grandmother today called Chickens In The Kitchen featuring her handmade vintage reproduction aprons and vintage kitchen wares. Please check it out and give her some love!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thankful



Sorry for the long delay here in blog land. Things have been so busy here that I forgot about my poor little blog. I  promise to be better about this in the future. Blogging is so freeing for me, like writing in a journal, that I really should be more diligent about posting.

In any event, my Thanksgiving holiday was if anything very interesting. Agent 137 is now engaged and I spent the holiday with my future in-laws who are Chinese American, eating different festive Chinese dishes. As a vegetarian I definitely appreciated the alternatives to the more traditional turkey. I laughed this year, remembering how my veg brother and I retreated during previous Thanksgivings to Chinese restaurants seeking refuge from our family's meat laden table.

This has been one of the best years of my life and I am so thankful for my amazing fiance and all of my friends who I have met through the wonderful Etsy community. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone and I hope that you have all had a great holiday as well!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Kitschy Cute Halloween

In celebration of my favorite holiday my friends and I carved jack-O'-laterns tonight with many different designs and themes to decorate for my annual Halloween party being held tomorrow.

This cute guy, carved by the most awesome boyfriend turned fiance, was my favorite:


Just wanted to share :)

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Holidays are Here!

As a lover of all things vintage I have a hard time letting anything go. I have been hoarding holiday decorations, cute winter themed pose dolls and mountains of deer for years....Today I have listed the first of what will be many kitschy holiday items.



If you are searching for anything in particular please let me know. I just might have it!

<3 Agent 137 

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Oh Deer

I had the amazingly good luck to happen upon a large collection of sweet deer recently! After harvesting the cuties that I needed for my own collection I decided to share them with the Agent 137 shop :)

Here is a preview of the cuties that I will begin to list starting tomorrow:

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Shelf Elf


When is it too early to break out the holiday decorations? This has been my debate... It always disturbs me when I am shopping for Halloween decorations and then, low and behold, I find Christmas decorations strategically placed throughout the displays. It isn't that I am not looking forward to the kitschy holiday deer and Santas that will become the centerpiece of my home, but that I am such a fan of Halloween that I would like to appreciate the fall season completely before moving on.

That said, I am now forced to decide when Agent137 should release the many many kitschy holiday items that have been kept top secret for months and I wonder when is exactly the right time? 

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Trick or Treat

I love Halloween. It is definitely my favorite holiday of the year, but I have had some difficulty finding kitschy Halloween goodies for the shop. Luckily these two little cuties fell into my lap!

They will be available tomorrow in the Agent 137 shop

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Sale Continues...

More kitschy cuteness will be added to the Agent 137 sale today! Check in for more vintage mod Japanese items and super cute big eyed plush. Sale will continue until Friday :)



Monday, August 22, 2011

Sale!!!


Agent 137 end of Summer Sale starts today! Check out the shop for great deals to celebrate the end of summer. Sale starts at 8:00pm eastern time :)


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Agent 137 has Dysentery


Remember those old Apple computers and floppy disks? In elementary school we had computer class every week. Usually we were forced to play a math blasters game, but on those rare special occasions our teacher would whip out the Oregon Trail for the last few minutes of class. I LOVED everything about this game.


Imagine my delight when I downloaded the original game. I guess I can thank my computer class for surprising my interest in American history.




Monday, August 8, 2011

Preview

This weekend proved some exciting finds including these cuties and a 1972 Emerald Witch doll by Kamar!


I was so stoked to find such a batch of cute faces and all in such good condition too. I am thinking about keeping the kitty as a mascot for my Retro Kitten vintage clothing shop. She has such a great face.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Favorite Finds

I LOVE Upstate New York flea markets! I harvest some of my most amazing finds from the varied booths, but this weekend's find topped many of my recent faves....

A pair of matching ballerina sad eyed girls like new! I could not believe my eyes! I also found a pair of big eyed Victorian girl portraits, but at least for now they are all mine!


The pair of sad ballerinas will hit the SHOP tomorrow

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Dolly Dreams Winner....

So in true Agent 137 style I announced a contest for the brand spanking new opening of the Retro Kitten vintage boutique and Etsy shop and then I became so busy with shop happenings that I forgot to announce the winner of the contest. so without further ado..... let me share with you the winner....

The fabulous Colleen from SpaceAgeSquirrel has won the dollies mentioned previously on the Agent 137 blog and an extra secret special prize all for her lovely eyes!!! So congrats to Colleen. Thank you to all who entered! And here is Colleen's story of her fave find:

"I would say my favorite find lately is this great googly-eyed "brat" dolly! [see picture] 
I went to go to a church sale to find it closed but was lucky to find a yard sale going on down the street! It was being ran by a sweet old lady, sitting next to a giant see-through jar of cheese balls. It pretty much was the best sale ever but the coolest part was when my boyfriend Andy called my name and showed me this dolly! He knew Id love it :) "



Ironically enough the Agent137 shop has just listed another little guy like Colleen's this week






Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Ode to Deer

An ode to deer... I found this little guy and fell in love. Now we have decided to part. Find him in the SHOP. And enjoy pics of other deer I love!













Sunday, July 17, 2011

Agent 137 Finds of the Week

This had been a major week bringing some awesome finds to the shop. So I thought that in an effort to take my mind away from this heat wave we are suffering through now on the east coast perhaps I should share a little preview of what will be coming this week. Enjoy...

Friday, July 15, 2011

Shop Sneak Peek

Sometime ago I promised that I would share some pics from the shop so without further ado here are some photos from our grand opening...


The shop window


shoes shoes shoes


Business cards in a tea cup


A lovely purse cake that Jeni, our cake decorator made for the opening


Dresses


1950s record player to set the mood


Clothes lounge with Victorian sofa


My pose dolly greeter sits next to the door



Our craft classroom, so far we have pin up 101, book making, cake decorating, Beginning Crochet, Knitting, and oil painting


The shop counter...How many pose dolls do you see?

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

New Dolly

Presenting the next dolly to be added to the Agent 137 dolly giveaway....


Sweet Native American folk art dolly with hand bead work. She is really pretty in person! I will be adding more cuties throughout the week leading up to the Retro Kitten grand opening. If you happen to be anywhere near Vestal, NY this Friday you are welcome to stop by and check out my new shop!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Hello Dolly Contest!

I am super excited to offer another Agent 137 contest. Unlike the other Agent 137 contests this time I will ask something from participants. To enter please send a pic of your fave kitschy vintage find and the story of where/how you found it. Selected entries will be featured on the Agent 137 blog and the winner will win a dolly grab bag stuffed with vintage dolls!

If this isn't enough to get you excited I will show you one of the dolls being shipped off to the winner..... A vintage 1970s Betsey Clark doll:


Agent 137 will be adding selected dollies to the grab bag. The contest will continue until the last day to enter, July 8th, which is the grand opening of my vintage clothing shop, The Retro Kitten.

To enter email your picture and story to Agent137vintage@gmail.com.

Good luck!



Preview

Long time no write.... It has been a while. So where have I been? In vintage world gathering items for Agent 137, but also out and about creating a brick and mortar shop to house vintage clothes and home decor called the Retro Kitten. It has been a very busy month. My shop grand opening is almost here and to celebrate I thought that it would be only fair to have an Agent 137 contest to kick things off!!!

But I am getting ahead of myself... The details of that contest will be coming up in another post, but first let me share some of the finds that will be coming to the shop this week.


A haul that includes a sweet oil cloth bunny, 1950s long necked plush, skunky, fun squeakies and a lot more! 

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Agent 137 Fairy Tale

Once upon a time all of Agent 137's finds seemed to match a theme. Lately it seems like I am tripping over fairy tale finds. Check out this week's picks:


Little Red Riding Hood vintage 50s oil cloth doll


Amazing 1960s 3D portrait


Pinoccio


Goldilocks and the Three Bears


Coming soon.....A sneak peek inside the new Agent 137 shop: The Retro Kitten opening in June!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Mermaid Sisters

I love pose dolls. I love them so much that I look for them everywhere. So what could be better than a 60s pose doll? A mermaid pose doll! Better yet- two mermaid pose dolls! I have had my coveted mermaid pose doll for quite sometime. I was super excited to find another mermaid posie. Especially since the little darlings are so rare. Since I already have one I thought that I would offer this posie in my shop.

She will be listed today along with some other fun finds. 


The blog has been a little neglected lately as I have been busy viewing possible locations for a "real life" Agent 137 shop! I am soooo excited and will post updates as progress is made.

<3 Agent 137

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Some of the Juicy Details...



I have been negligent in my blog postings lately.  It has been a week now since I have returned from my trip to China and I wanted to share a little from the trip with all of you in blog world! So I received some questions about why, of all places, was I visiting China. I have been a college instructor in history for some time and have always wanted to visit all of the sites that I have studied. Beyond that my bf invited me to join him on the trip to meet his family living in China.

The trip was an amazing experience. I learned so much about the people and culture of China. There were some particularly interesting things that were either too beautiful or too strange to pass up.

One of the biggest differences in China was the change in bathrooms:

The majority of bathrooms in China consist of a squat toilet. Western toilets are a rare find in most parts of the country. Even in private homes the majority of "facilities" are squat. The other big difference is the lack of toilet paper. Bathrooms do not provide toilet paper so you need to carry your own wherever you go. I actually became a napkin scavenger in restaurants.



The infamous squat toilet...


These cute little kitschy rides were everywhere! They each had a video screen with a driving video game and played cutesy music. The sheep in the center is a new cartoon character that is super popular right now. He is everywhere!


As a vegetarian I was surprised to see open air meat stands everywhere. This stand was by the ocean.


A village bus


Alleyway in the city of Yentai


The "Intimate Lover" van, a van for taking newly wedded couples to photo shoots


Ceremony for the dead in a Buddhist temple


A shrine to Guanyin, goddess of fertility and motherhood. In an effort to get pregnant my bf's cousin came to pray to Guanyin and became pregnant soon after. 


Waste disposal is not incredibly developed. This is a ditch filled with garbage in a small farm village. This ditch was literally right behind the stands of the market vendors. 


A house in the small market village with a goat



The small village market- There are small businesses everywhere in China. In villages to cities you can find small businesses of every kind including shops, pharmacies, and restaurants.


A shop in the small farm village


People people everywhere... This was our visit to the Forbidden City in Beijing. There were tons of people there. Apparently forming lines in China is a rare happening this was a crowd of about one hundred people trying to force their way to the front to take a picture of the emperor's throne room. 


The Great Wall- So the Great Wall is not actually just a wall in the flat traditional sense. It actually climbs mountains. The wall is all stairs, thousands of them... We climbed this mountain all the way to the top!



Beijing food stands outside of the train station. I sampled some delicious stinky tofu. It was super tasty!


I will be back with more pics soon! For now I am going to try to enjoy the sunshine outside.