Age is Just a Number. By Katie Kucharski

Estate sales. Vintage shops. Antique stores. Oh My! No matter how many of these I attend I will still walk around feeling odd. But why? Just because I am usually the only one under the age of 30 walking around and actually interested, not just dragged.

This is my Mom, Sister, and Me. Yes we enjoy vintage hats. And we look good!

But lets back up for a minute...
I was the kid who accompanied everyone to these places as a kid, and sure sometimes I would be that  kid who was throwing a tantrum. But for the most part I love to be there with the older members of my family, listening to their stories of memories of similar objects, and imagining the stories of the items that were unique and sometimes just odd. I learned so many things about my family and just history in general that I almost always was excited to jump in the car and have an adventure.

And so I grew up appreciating the amazing things that one can find at an estate sale or antique store. I still go as a semi-independent young adult and just look at the past through a modern lens. I knew from a young age that music sounds way better on vinyl (still think so), furniture should be made of actual wood and built to last, and some of the best treasures are found when and where no one is looking.

This is my record player, I love it and have a wide variety of records to play on it. 

So... Now that you know way more about me than I thought I would ever share on my love of the past and its objects, I will move forward to the present. After I grew up roaming the past for objects that tell a story, I find myself still going on Saturday mornings just to see if anything has a story to tell. I often find myself walking around with people twice my age or more, and while this isn't as strange as it used to be (Thank you hipsters!) I still find the looks to be interesting. There is nothing inherently good, bad, or judgmental about a look in anyway. I can just always tell when I am getting a look that questions why "This young lady is walking around alone looking at things that were made well before her time."

I don't mind the look, I really don't. But just know that the next time you see me at a sale and look over with the look, I know you what you are thinking. And maybe next time you will engage in a conversation to see what I am on the hunt for that day, because you may just have the story that I am looking for. Either way, look out because if I am hunting for something I will find it, but don't you want to be in on that story? I know I would.

Remember age is just a number. My outside number is 26, but inside... well my friends tell me it's like 80, but however you look at me I am just looking for an adventure and a story. So stop and talk, I would love to hear your story too.

Katie


And yeah... I am rocking a sweet vintage dress with flowers and my aviators. I'm killing it too!