+
Joy

People are sharing the weirdest, most unforgettable art they've found in thrift stores

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.

thrift store art, thrift stores, bryan dickerson

A few of the rare finds at Thrift Store Art's Instagram page

As the old saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.

Even though people can easily buy used items on eBay, the thrift store business thrives in America, bringing in an estimated $10 billion annually. At a time when the economy is shaky, thrift stores are a recession-proof business. When times are tough, people love to find a deal, and there's never any end to the fashionistas who roam thrift stores looking for a rare find.

San Francisco surfer and self-proclaimed thrift store junkie Bryan Dickerson has turned his passion for rare treasures into an Instagram page with over 246,000 followers. Thrift Store Art showcases the most bizarre things that thrifters find in stores and leans heavily into strange-looking works of art and clothing with questionable sayings. His crowds of followers send him countless strange finds every day, and he rewards them by calling them rude names in the comments.

But for Dickerson, it's all in fun.

He told Bored Panda that the idea of Thrift Store Art is “not to bash art but to expand what can be considered as art—clothing, album art, book graphics, vacation souvenirs.” Dickerson's foray into thrift store content was a much-needed break from his job as the editor of a news website.


“I wanted a space where I could post fan art of Tom Selleck and say that it’s Pat Sajak or claim that every post is our 'first post ever and still our favorite!'” he told Bored Panda.

Here are 13 of the best finds from Thrift Store Art and they cover everything from odd-looking rock stars to a truly epic portrait of a sad Barack Obama.

1.

This appears to be a work of art celebrating a kind-looking lady with three beautiful cats and a husband that loves to light up a Camel while sitting shirtless in his Lazy Boy.

thrift store art, bad art, paintings

Painting of a family

via Thrift Store Art

2.

It's either Elvis Presley after he went a few rounds with Muhammad Ali or an impersonator with a rather large nose.

thrift store art, bad art, elvis

The King (we think)

via Thrift Store Art

3.

"Chewy loves the little children. All of the children of the world."

thrift store art, bad art, chewbacca

Chewbacca scaring children

via Thrift Store Art

​4.

The Kennedy brothers as remembered by someone with some serious issues with depth perception.

thrift store art, bad art, jfk, rfk

John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy

via Thrift Store Art

5.

A pillow of former President George W. Bush admiring Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This probably helped a lot of people sleep easily in the early aughts.

thrift store art, bad art, george w. bush

George W. Bush and Jesus pillow

via Thrift Store Art

​6.

It's either a coffee mug of E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial or a monkey missing an arm. You decide.

thrift store art, bad art, et

E.T. in his teapot pose

via Thrift Store Art

7.

This is truly an impressive beehive. Priscilla Presley would totally be jealous.

thrift store art, bad art, big hair

A woman with an enormous beehive hairdo

via Thrift Store Art

8.

The artist took a big swing at capturing the majesty of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, but the piece falls a little flat. It could be that it looks like the microphone is attached to an upright vacuum cleaner.

thrift store art, bad art, queen

Freddie Mercury on canvas

via Thrift Store Art

9.

David Bowie's French passport was located in a thrift store in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

thrift store art, bad art, david bowie

Ziggy Stardust sans Spiders from Mars

via Thrift Store Art

10.

The guy on top is clearly John Lennon and beneath him, Paul McCartney. But the other two don't resemble Beatles at all. It's more like John Oates from Hall and Oates and Sonny Bono. This must have been for some Monsters of Rock-themed Ice Capades show.

thrift store art, bad art, beatles

The Beatles on ice

via Thrift Store Art

11.

This is the look Willie Nelson gives people when they owe him money.

thrift store art, bad art,

A stern-looking Willie Nelson

via Thrift Store Art

12.

It's either former president Barack Obama or Moe Howard of "The Three Stooges" after a lousy round of golf.

thrift store art, bad art, obama

Obama looking super bummed out

via Thrift Store Art

13.

This painting appears to be a tribute to a dog that really needs some water.

thrift store art, bad art, dog painting

A painting of a dog panting

via Thrift Store Art

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

Keep Reading Show less
via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

Keep Reading Show less
Family

Mom’s blistering rant on how men are responsible for all unwanted pregnancies is on the nose

“ALL unwanted pregnancies are caused by the irresponsible ejaculations of men. Period. Don't believe me? Let me walk you through it."

Mom has something to say... strongly say.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, are a conservative group who aren't known for being vocal about sex.

But best selling author, blogger, and mother of six, Gabrielle Blair, has kicked that stereotype to the curb with a pointed thread on reducing unwanted pregnancies. And her sights are set directly at men.

Keep Reading Show less
Family

Dad takes 7-week paternity leave after his second child is born and is stunned by the results

"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/ TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids . It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons , confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

Keep Reading Show less
Science

She tattooed half her face and you'd never know it. Her skills are just that good.

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

All images via the CBS/YouTube

Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts...


Meet Samira Omar.

The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.

Keep Reading Show less
Images via Alan Taylor/Flickr , used with permission.

Updating the kitchen.


Remember those beloved Richard Scarry books?

Books from when you were a kid?

Keep Reading Show less
Education

Voice recordings of people who were enslaved offer incredible first-person accounts of U.S. history

"The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak." - Ted Koppel

Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence —so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

Keep Reading Show less