The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘This is still just the beginning’
Torrington woman’s decor business takes off on Instagram
TORRINGTON — Allie LaTulipe collects vintage glass, memorabilia and antiques, often centuries old. She’s developed an eye for the authentic, and arranges her found treasures on a bookshelf, table or pie shelf.
Her home reflects her preference for what she calls “primitive, with an industrial flair,” featuring household items made of wood, tin, ceramic or glass. LaTulipe, who works in the service department at Litchfield Ford, lives in Torrington with her husband Jesse, a mechanic.
The collecting was a pastime at first. She has a prized collection of green Jadeite, blue Dephite, and rare pink, glass characterized by bubbled surfaces and unique patterns, which she’ll never sell. Many of the pieces were made before World War II. The green ones, she said, contain uranium.
“They made the Jadeite with uranium, and the way you can tell is with a light test,” she said, holding a small flashlight against the bottom of a small vase. The mint-green hue of the item glowed with a yellow cast.
“That’s how you can tell,” she said. “During World War II, the country needed uranium, so all this kind of glass was donated. Post WWII stuff doesn’t have any at all. But it’s very, very hard to find.”
She was building a collection of other finds, too; a Table Talk pie shelf, old soda crates, boxes, thread spools and wooden utensils, pictures, glass, china and pottery.
Last year, LaTulipe began posting her vintage finds on Instagram. “I decided to take a leap and post a display on my account. I said, this is a preview, and people responded.”
The idea took off from there, and LaTulipe’s treasures started to sell. She named her new venture Rusty Ridge Vintage.
“I’ll put up a preview and say, ‘These will be for sale at 7 p.m. on Sunday,’ and people come on and comment, ask
questions, and make offers,” she said.
She was featured in the most recent issue of “Country Sampler,” a home decor magazine, which contacted her about her collection after seeing it on Instagram. She photographed one of her previews and sent it off, and it was published in the spring 2023 issue.
“That was exciting, to see that in the magazine,” she said. “I don’t know what impact it will have.”
The entrepreneur has learned a lot in her first year, about authenticating old pieces, and sharing that information with a community of collectors and sellers online.
“I have the best people, the best customers,” she said. “They’re supportive, and very kind. There’s no haggling, and if they’re looking for something special, they let me know and I’ll try to find it for them.”
Finding rare items, such as highly-sought-after British marmalade jars, has improved her authenticating skills.
“There are reproductions and copies, and some that are very hard to find,” she said, pointing to a Dundee jar with “jam” printed on the label. “Most of them say ‘marmalade,’ not ‘jam,’ ” she said. “That’s unusual. That’s what I look for.”
LaTulipe searches for treasures at antique and thrift stores, flea markets and tag sales, but her favorite place to hunt is an estate sale.
“I love them,” she said. “You never know what you’ll find. Sometimes, it’s as if a person just left the room . ... Everything is just there. You open a drawer and there’s no telling what’s in there.”
In 2022, she shipped nearly 500 packages around the country to her growing customer base, and a neatly organized spare room reflects her busy schedule and constantly evolving collection of goods.
“This is still just the beginning,” LaTulipe said. “I have a good community on Instagram, and they help promote what I’m selling. I don’t know what will happen next.”
See LaTulipe’s collection sat@ rusty ridge vintage on Ins tag ram.