Favorite Finds: Leah's Drafting Table

It's so fun to follow other vintage resellers and see what awesome finds they score and what they're up to! I was happy to find Leah's blog Plainview and her etsy store MoxieThrift. She stocks such great items with super affordable prices. I'm pleased to share her favorite find below!

What is your favorite find and where did you find it?

I purchased a drafting table about 7 years ago from a guy I worked with at the time. I didn’t really know him that well, and me, the shy ol' transplant to the area was intimidated by the large group of guys that worked in the back. (Lucky for me, those guys turned out to be a super group of grandpa/dad/brother types that helped a single gal whenever I asked). One day he walked up to the front office, peeked his head in and asked if I wanted a drafting table for $50. He heard that I was ‘artsy’ and thought it would work well for a work table. He even offered to set it up in my apartment. So, I guess I didn’t find it at all...it came to me!



What were your first thoughts when you saw it?

Believe it or not, I purchased it sight unseen. Call me faithful or call me naive, he described it to me and I thought it sounded fine. Now-a-days, I would totally get measurements and height and measure out a spot and hem and haw and do all that grown up responsible stuff -blech. But back then, naaah, I would just figure it out as I went.

I thought it was totally great when he delivered it and set it up...but i had no idea how many hours I would eventually spend standing in front of this great piece working on all sorts of projects.



Did you have to make adjustments in your home for it to fit?

I was in the infancy stage of discovering that I wanted to make things - creative things - and realizing it would always be a part of my life in one form or another. I never thought about having a dedicated “work space.” ---heck, I lived alone at the time, my whole apartment was my dedicated work space.

Did you have to do any restoration/repair?

Fun fact: the green rubbery sheet on top is “self healing.” ---yeah, I had never heard of that either. If you use an exacto knife and it goes through to the green sheet, it will ‘heal’ and you won’t be able to see the slice. Ok, so, it’s self healing except for the one big area where I cut up hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of my photographs to make greeting cards and artsy pieces. It’s pretty sliced and diced
now.



Any other details we should know?

It’s a jack of all trades table now. Making stuff, cleaning items we find thrifting, packing items to ship...you name it, this is the go to spot. Ok, so it’s also easy to collect junk supplies in the drawers and under the table --- that wood drawer underneath is chock full of vintage greeting cards and notepads. (Vintage paper...it’s a sickness, I tell ya). And the middle tote runneth over with yarn and ribbon (also a sickness -- but, c'mon, the colors and styles are just too good to pass up!) secured from a garage sale and a few auctions.



Why do you love buying vintage/secondhand?

I have a wee bit of trouble articulating the answer to this question. How about this: it’s usually very well made or has great design/color or both. And then tack on the thrill (high?) of the hunt and satisfaction of getting a great price on a funky piece...and add to it the luxury of a constantly rotating “favorite item” collection and of course it goes without saying that cookie cutter designs from big box stores are so...well...cookie cutter. And who wants to be a cookie cutter...unless of course it’s a funky old cookie cutter from the 50s. Then sign me up.

Who all is behind MoxieThrift?

Brent and I will be married 5 years in April. I opened our shop in May of 2008 because the leftover vintage supplies I sold in my handmade shop were selling better than my handmade stuff (bummer, but I’m over it). About a year later Brent came on board and it’s been 50/50 ever since. I absolutely realize and am appreciative of the oddity that is a husband and wife team when it comes to reselling vintage and having similar tastes in what appeals to us when we are seeking out items. We really do love it and still, after more than 3.5 years of reselling, still get all giddy and holler out to the other person when we sell something...”We sold something on et-syyyyy!”

So fun! I would love a huge table like that (and the room for it in our house!)! Great score, Leah!

If you're new to Owl Really, welcome! Please check out my favorite posts and consider subscribing! :)