bits and bobbins

thrift tags, anyone?

this is probably a long shot, but i’ll ask these questions anyway:

-are you a big time thrifter?

-do any of your local thrift haunts have cool paper tags like those seen above?

-better yet, do you live in SF/the bay area and go to thrift town fairly often?

the reason i’m asking is…

i’m thinking of doing a mural sized art piece made from tags collected from thrift stores. thrift town, the thrift store chain i used to visit bi-weekly when i lived in SF had great colorful, graphic price tags, and after a while, i started collecting the tags with the idea of doing something with them.

this week, my daughter wanted to play with them, so they were in my sight again, and it struck me that they would look really cool if somehow collaged. i happened to be sitting in front of my sewing machine…and voila, i started sewing them together, so they are basically patchworked/pieced to one another.

sadly, though, i only have a small amount of them, used up the last of them today.

would you care to collect any tags from your local thrifts that look particularly cool? or any at all that you find, and send them my way?

it could be really cool to have tags from different places, all over the country, or world, even.

i’m trying to think of how i could repay you…maybe if you have a lot to send me i could reimburse your postage? sell you my soul? bake you some cookies? or send you a grabbag of cool crafty things i have laying around? must think about that! hee. need to think of something appropriate…

it would also be really cool if you could spread the word, if you’re so inclined: “crazy woman needs thrift store tags for art project”…

email me if you think you could help contribute! thanks.

June 9 2010 | Posted in creative dabblings.

1. June 9 2010 at 3:07 pm

   kim

   oh golly, do i ever! email me your address and a package will go out asap. i am excited to see what you end up doing with them!

   
   

2. June 9 2010 at 3:22 pm

   Maven

   Oh, I will totally do this. I’m only sorry for alllll the tags I’ve recycled over the years.

   
   

3. June 9 2010 at 9:32 pm

   Rachel

   Hey, I go to Thrift Town in SF often and could easily send you some tags. What e-mail should I use, info@bitsandbobbins.com?

   
   

4. June 9 2010 at 9:45 pm

   Marie

   I love it! Unfortunately I’ve never been to a thrift store that had such cool tags, so I don’t have any to send. The ones here don’t even use tags, they just use different-colored plastic things (don’t know what they’re called) that would hold the tag.

   
   

5. June 10 2010 at 3:57 am

   Academichic

   This is such a cool idea, Tricia! I love the little collage you posted! I thrift a ton and will keep an eye out for any tags like that and send them your way. I will also spread the word on our site

   S.

   
   

6. June 10 2010 at 4:48 am

   10 June 2010 – Cluj, Romania : academichic

   [...] donations her way. If you thrift often or on occasion and would like to support this art project, read the full details here on Bits and Bobbins. It looks like my tags will be making their way to New York to find stardom in the art world soon. [...]

   
   

7. June 10 2010 at 6:19 am

   tricia

   thanks everyone! thanks academichic for spreading the word! yes, that email works, rachel.

   
   

8. June 10 2010 at 5:10 pm

   mai

   hey lady – i can help! send postal address via email?

   xo mai

   
   

9. June 10 2010 at 7:25 pm

   Mandi

   Oh my. I literally buy bags and bags from the thrift store each week. Shoot me an e-mail with your address if you would like me to send you a bunch! What a lovely idea!

   
   

10. June 11 2010 at 3:59 am

    Franca

    I’m happy to send some over, though British ones don’t tend to be bright and colourful like that. They’re mainly white centre with a coloured border and the name of the charity printed on top. Would you still want those?

    
    

11. June 11 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Liz

    If thrifting was available in drug form, I would probably be in rather bad shape.

    just started a thrifty-themed blog, in fact

    
    

12. June 14 2010 at 12:17 am

    Elizabeth

    Our thrift tags are pretty normal out here, and the stores with the neat stuff for super cheap don’t even tag their things, it’s just a set price – all adult clothes $3, all kids $1, and so on…I will mail you all the arc ones if you’d like – they are super colorful and I have some lurking around the house and car…our house is littered with them.

    I also owe you a hat in the mail…this whole grad school thing is draining my free time, and I’m positive I’ve lost your address by now.

    
    

13. June 18 2010 at 2:08 am

    bex

    i go to the SF thrift town bi-weekly. if you email me your address, those tags are all yours.

    animalheadvintage at gmail dot com

    I have been helping a friend collect old colorful Muni transfers for a similar colorful collage. Very fun.

    !!!

    
    

14. June 18 2010 at 11:57 pm

    Sherri Lynn Wood

    I go to thrift town all the time. I’ll start saving my tags for you!

    
    

15. July 2 2010 at 2:29 pm

    jamie hirano

    i have an a bunch ready to send you all i need is your address. Send me an email.