The vintage furniture market is booming as more and more shoppers seek one-of-a-kind finds for their homes, including one Redditor who's bagged a truly eccentric treasure from a flea market.
Posting to the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit, the thrifter shared a photo of a clamshell-shaped lamp, which contains a spherical bulb that resembles a pearl.
"I think it's from the 80s/90s," they wrote in the comments, before adding, "I really like to hunt down items I find to find the exact similar ones somewhere and get to know more about them. But with this lamp … I couldn't figure anything out yet."
Even though there are look-alikes on Etsy and Amazon, the Redditor has not found anything of an identical make, which only adds to their antique lamp's uniqueness.
Buying this model at a flea market helped save some money, too. The lamp cost its new owner roughly $20.
A quick search shows similar lamps going for between $25 and $40, with one Urban Outfitters model costing as much as $98.
Buying furnishings from flea markets is a great way to help the environment, particularly when shopping for electronics.
One study found that 59 tons of e-waste was generated in 2019. It predicted that that number would rise to more than 67 tons in 2023.
Although lamps comprise a small share of that waste (around 1 ton), the study notes they are one of the fastest growing shares of e-waste, as the amount of lamps trashed increased by 4% since 2014.
The trashed lamps include a mix of valuable metals that could otherwise have been recycled into new electronic items.
Some lamps also contain toxic gases and metals like lead, mercury and phosphor. If these start to break down during transportation or in landfills, then they can leak into the surrounding soil and water supplies.
Redditors have been commenting in droves to compliment the OP's new vintage lamp.
"This is literally one of the most interesting and fun lamps I've ever seen in my life," one wrote.
"They don't make things like this anymore," another commented.
"This is the lamp I have been searching for all of my life without ever knowing. Absolutely stunning!" replied another user.
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