HENRICO, Va. -- On the walls of Jessica Vincent's Henrico County home are two shelves filled with décor -- pieces she has collected throughout her years going thrift store shopping.
"They all have meaning to me, because I can remember where I was when I found them, especially the more important ones," said Vincent, who added her love of thrifting was instilled into her by her mother.
"So, I grew up having an appreciation for old things and art. She was an art teacher. So she instilled a lot of good qualities into me early, I think. And I'm an avid 'Antiques Roadshow' watcher. I love the show."
But, while each of the pieces in her home has a story behind their meaning -- they might be hard-pressed to match one Vincent found six months ago that is no longer in her possession.
"That day does not stick out to like, 'Oh, I am going to find something so great today.'," recalled Vincent.
That day was when she and her partner, Naza Acosta, were shopping at one of the Goodwill stores in Hanover County. But, she said the trip did not seem to be fruitful.
"Because there wasn't really that much that spoke to me in the store that day," recalled Vincent -- until she was able to get to a multi-colored glass vase that she had spotted earlier (but had too many people around). "When I finally got to it, it was amazing and I could tell it was good. But, I didn't know it was this good."
Vincent said "this good" because of what happened next.
First, she went to buy the vase without knowing how much she would pay because it did not have a price tag.
"And I told myself if this is $8.99 I'm buying it. If it's $12.99, I don't care, it's coming home with me. So, when I took it up to the register and she, you know, she kind of looked at it -- '$3.99.' Thank you. Thank you!"
Vincent then took the piece home and posted pictures of it into some online groups who were able to tell her that the vase was a Pennalatte created by a famed Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.
"He wanted it to look like brushstrokes, but it was with the glass. And it's a very, very complex process."
She was recommended to reach out to the Wright Auction House, which specialized in items like that.
"Immediately, basically, he emails me back and he said, 'Where did you get this?' And it was Richard Wright, the president of the auction house. He's like, 'Can I call you?' And I said, 'Yes, please call me.' So, he called and I knew then that I had something really special because the owner of the auction house doesn't just offer to call you for, small things."
Vincent said some experts came down to view the item in person and were told it could fetch between $30,000 to $50,000. Vincent said while she never goes thrifting with the intention to flip items, the amount it could be sold for and the pressures of holding on to it, led to an exception.
"When you learn you have something so valuable and it's fragile, it's glass -- it's a little bit stressful to have it in your home at that point because you're like 'What if something happens?'," said Vincent. "I'm happy that I could put it back, sort of, into the art world where it will be safe and that it's helping me so much with my position in life."
Vincent said she and Acosta watched the auction live as the bids more than doubled what the predictions were.
"When they called the lot number, 106, and the opening bid, I think, was $24,000. But, they already had a bid. So it went to $26,000 pretty quickly and then it just, sort of, snowballed. And when it was creeping up, you know $50-, $60-, $70,000, $75,000…we were holding hands, we had tears in our eyes, we were just like, 'Oh my gosh, it's just such an amazing feeling. It's like winning the lottery," said Vincent.
"I always felt like I had a winning lottery ticket, I just didn't know the number. So, I got to know the number that day and it was incredible, staggering. More money than I ever dreamed of at one time."
Vincent, who believes the piece went to an art collector in Europe, said the money will help restore a farm outside of Lynchburg that the couple has purchased to raise and sell polo and sport horses.
"Thrifting and horses are my two great loves."
And neither love will stop, as the same day as the auction, Vincent went shopping at the same Goodwill (which of the several in Hanover, she did not want to say) where she got the vase.
"The lady that actually priced the vase that day, she checked me out the same day that we did the auction," said Vincent. "My life has been made. I'm happy. This is amazing and I really don't need any more. But, I do love to look at stuff. So, I will find more treasures I'm sure. For me, personally, but, maybe not masterpieces. But, it's just, I love looking."
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