This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Wendy Sheridan, a full-time intuitive psychic and artist who loves to thrift. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I began thrifting and antiquing at the age of 12. I’ve always had an interest in reusing and recycling things.
Thrifting was my outlet once I stopped working and stayed home with my kids. I used to put my youngest in the stroller with a sucker and take them to Goodwill. I would use my intuition about things; I had a sense when things were going to be significant.
Back then, in the mid-90s, you couldn’t research things on your phone. It’s harder to find things now because more people are thrifting, and places like Goodwill pre-pick and sell online.
Thrifting has been a way for me to get to know my new city
I was so good at it that I started my own antique business, then went into staging people’s homes with my finds. I eventually started an interior design business. We’ve lived in nine different homes, so my creativity with interior spaces has come in handy.
I got divorced after 30 years and moved to Milwaukee, where I didn’t know anyone but my daughter. It was a big transition from being in Chicago for 35 years. To get acquainted, I began exploring my surroundings, including thrift stores.
There’s one within walking distance of my house. I’m always on the hunt for things that tell a story, and I collect portraits, busts, and folk art in particular.
I found 2 bowls there for $.99 each
In the summer of 2025, I found two bowls that I think no one else would have suspected had any value or importance — they were marked at $.99 each. But I had a feeling when I picked up the first bowl; I could tell it was finely made.
My sister is a ceramic artist, so I have some familiarity with the craft. I turned it over and saw there was a handwritten signature on the bottom and a serial number. The bowls were crafted by a husband-and-wife team, Otto and Gertrude Natzler. The name kind of rang a bell, but I didn’t know their full story.
The bowls are from the mid-century period, dating from 1960 to 1964. Gertrude would throw the bowls, and Otto would glaze them. The couple was Austrian and immigrated to California while escaping Europe during World War II. They were really responsible for the resurgence of the craft pottery market. It was once a significant movement, but then World War I and World War II occurred, and production shifted to a more utilitarian focus. Their work brought back people’s appreciation for pottery as an art form.
I sold them at auction for almost $1,400
I took them to an auction house that had done previous Natzler sales. They sold for $1,397 at Rago Auctions in August 2025. I posted about it on social media; I didn’t expect the Thread to get so many views.
I feel like we’re always looking for those moments when we can turn treasure into a profit, although sometimes I hold onto things for a bit.
I’ve kept an engraved book from 1595 that I found at the same Goodwill, as well as an etching from Mozart’s time, around 1785. I have a map from 1600 that I purchased for $5.
It’s fun to connect with others who share the same pleasure in discovering things, and to have it pay off…it was nice to have my intuitive sense come through in such a big way.
