Pop & Circumstance | Guidebook for Beautiful Living

I’ve just finished flipping through Found, Free & Flea, which gives a look into the restoration of a 1920s summer resort.   Camp Wandawega, purchased by Tereasa Surratt and her husband David Hernandez, is a summer camp in Wisconsin that David attended as a child. Upon purchasing the camp the couple finds hidden treasures in the form of Fiesta Ware, tennis rackets, oars, fishing lures, hurricane lanterns and lots of other goodies. A collector by nature, Tereasa resolves to round out the collections by searching high and low at flea markets, thrift stores, and even scoring some items for free.

Tereasa encourages readers to make the most out of everyday items that might already be in their home, and to see the beauty in mundane objects. (Think we might be cut from the same cloth?) The final passage of the book really resonated with me  and I wanted to share it…

“…the next time you think you might need something for the house, consider first rescuing it from your local thrift store, charity shop, yard sale, or Grandma’s attic. If you stick with the “found, free, or flea” mantra, you’ll save money and somebody’s once-precious “something.” And best of all, you’ll get the bonus good feeling of knowing that you saved a relic that might have been destined for the trash bin.

Thriftiness and determination can transform any forgotten item into a collection. I find that at the end of the day, if we surround ourselves with “lost” objects and embrace their individual stories – and incorporate them into our lives and homes – it brings our surroundings much more depth and richness. Here’s to finding the little stories.”

All photos by Julia Stotz and Matthew Gore