Metal Shop

Hot colors

Out on the deck tonight after arriving home from work, I’m happy to see a couple of new acquisitions holding their own under dark, cloudy skies. On a recent trip to nearby favorite, Ontario’s Treasures n’ Junk, I was excited to see a new booth devoted to metal and industrial items. Two items came home with us, the turquoise-topped rust table and the diamond-textured ‘bench’ in the foreground. Both pieces have that special industrial appeal I find hard to pass up …

Perfectly worn

… that combination of utilitarian good looks, color, texture, and wear, that only something that’s had to work hard most of its existence takes on. I think that’s why it’s so fun for me to acquire these objects; it’s like I’m taking these things away from their drudge-filled former existences and bringing them to a better life of lolling around in my garden … to the easy life of being admired while looking clever. The table is actually makeshift: a heavily rusted open-mesh base has been topped with what was probably once a lid for a steel drum. What attracted me to it immediately was the amazing turquoise color of the top; I sensed it would work perfectly with my recently painted vinyl sofas, not to mention being the exact complement, color-wise, of  its rusty base. Had to have it … then, cruising through the booth, I caught sight of the diamond texture of the bench (although piled with other items) and was a goner again. The bench’s odd shape and texture, the 40s creamy mint green, the scrapes on the corners revealing raw metal and rust, those bolts … this was mine! After placing my dibs on the items, helpful T n’J staff moved them to the cashier while I looked around. By this time, though, all I wanted to do was pay and get the pieces home … I had to see if I was right about the tabletop’s color working with my sofas … as  you can see, it does. I love when that happens…

Waiting for me

Here’s the table as I saw it in the store. Just sitting there, waiting for me patiently.

Cool metal stuff

There was tons of stuff in this new booth and it was fun looking at it all … lots of racks and storage items (trunks, toolboxes, etc.), a whole wall of lockers, some furniture (love those chairs!), lots of interesting items for camping and picnicking, rolling carts, and some things I hope don’t sell before I can get back to T’n’J: that green cart with drawers and the orange smudge pot-thing peeking out from behind it. Treasures n’ Junk’s prices are very reasonable and I paid a fraction for my new items what I’d pay at one of the LA flea markets. Check them out when you’re in the area (see previous post here) … just please don’t take my stuff!

Treasures n’ Junk: 215 S. San Antonio Avenue, Ontario, CA. (909) 983-3300.