One of the first estate sales I felt compelled to document/get blurry videos of/ultimately post to TikTok, was a sale in Calabasas that had a pink on pink bedroom. That was enough for me.
Technically the first estate sale I ever filmed was one during the depths of Covid, to which I wore a suit. You had to make an appointment so I thought the formality was necessary.
It was good for the deals but not life changing as this one had been, for me.
“Calabasas Estate Sale” the listing said. Like it wasn’t the fully customized home of an 80’s adult film star and her director husband.
It was a two hour line to get in. Me and the old people. Old people resellers mostly, but I could tell there were a few just there for the stimulation. A new fork could turn their whole week around. I understood it.
This never happens anymore, but resellers were sharing with each other the items that had caught their eye. A guy was determined to buy a vase, the perfect piece to cart to Las Vegas (his words). It was a convention there, he knew how it went.
I hadn’t known in that two hour line it was the sale of an adult film star. But I did know that guy could keep those vases. Take them all.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And I wanted all of the trash. I still do, that’s what keeps me going back to estate sales. And what keeps my storage unit Tetris packed.
I walk into the house. Who wouldn’t want to live like this??
I say this to old people quite often, about outdated but cool houses, and they usually laugh. Who took all the color out of their life?? I don’t get it…
It’s a dreamscape of a home. It’s my favorite movie, Casino, if it had turned out a bit cuter. A hidden bunker of a walk-in closet reveals racks of only Escada. She worked in the fashion industry, just like me. Then I found the awards, proudly displayed on the vanity. Wrong industry but nevertheless, great taste.
I wonder if adult film stars of the 80’s could work from home? Her husband had directed some of her films. I’m definitely catching a vibe if I’m allowed to write that on Substack and not sound too corny.
There were pictures of herself all over the primary bedroom. Great estate sales will stage the whole house. Can I be rude for a second? This one wasn’t staged too well… it was piles of clothes on the floor. Artwork leaned against hallways, level with vase guy’s feet as he hunted for more things to flip.
It made me believe what was hung up and displayed on either the vanity or in a game room, was there all along. She woke up everyday to portraits of herself.
I found a G-Unit sweater next to Scarface on VHS.
The living room had a vaulted ceiling of silk. I thought it looked like a circus tent for chic acts only. The walls had murals on them, the corners of the room mirrored each other with giant fake trees that looked like Pom Poms.
There were stormy scenes displayed on an upholstered wall. Maybe as a reminder that there was real life out there somewhere.
No one buys pinball machines anymore huh? You find the coolest ones at estate sales. I get they’re huge but that’s what storage units are for.
The photographer Jamie Nelson bought the huge tufted bedroom set. I couldn’t think of a more perfect place for that to live on. Now I need to find who bought the house and hope they didn’t ruin it.
Onto this weekend’s estate sales… this neon sign (available at a sale listed below) was what brought me back to that Escada’ed out estate sale.
A game room needs neon. But I’m not really sure who has a game room anymore…this is the time to start? Or if you’re a guy in college I think this could be the perfect piece for your shitty dorm? Life’s an investment.