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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.

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The King (we think)

via Thrift Store Art

3.

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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From political science to joining the fight against cancer: How one woman found her passion

An unexpected pivot to project management expanded Krystal Brady's idea of what it means to make a positive impact.

Krystal Brady/PMI

Krystal Brady utilizes her project management skills to help advance cancer research and advocacy.

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Cancer impacts nearly everyone’s life in one way or another, and thankfully, we’re learning more about treatment and prevention every day. Individuals and organizations dedicated to fighting cancer and promising research from scientists are often front and center, but we don’t always see the people working behind the scenes to make the fight possible.

People like Krystal Brady.

While studying political science in college, Brady envisioned her future self in public office. She never dreamed she’d build a successful career in the world of oncology, helping cancer researchers, doctors and advocates continue battling cancer, but more efficiently.

Brady’s journey to oncology began with a seasonal job at a small publishing company, which helped pay for college and awakened her love for managing projects. Now, 15 years later, she’s serving as director of digital experience and strategy at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which she describes as “the perfect place to pair my love of project management and desire to make positive change in the world.”

As a project manager, Brady helps make big ideas for the improvement of diagnosing and treating cancer a reality. She is responsible for driving the critical projects that impact the lives of cancer researchers, doctors, and patients.

“I tell people that my job is part toolbox, part glue,” says Brady. “Being a project manager means being responsible for understanding the details of a project, knowing what tools or resources you need to execute the project, and facilitating the flow of that work to the best outcome possible. That means promoting communication, partnership, and ownership among the team for the project.”

At its heart, Brady’s project management work is about helping people. One of the big projects Brady is currently working on is ASCO’s digital transformation, which includes upgrading systems and applications to help streamline and personalize oncologists’ online experience so they can access the right resources more quickly. Whether you are managing humans or machines, there’s an extraordinary need for workers with the skillset to harness new technology and solve problems.

The digital transformation project also includes preparing for the use of emerging technologies such as generative AI to help them in their research and practices.

“Most importantly, it lays the groundwork for us to make a meaningful impact at the point of care, giving the oncologist and patient the absolute latest recommendations or guidelines for care for that specific patient or case, allowing the doctor to spend more time with their patients and less time on paperwork,” Brady says.

In today’s fast-changing, quickly advancing world, project management is perhaps more valuable than ever. After discovering her love for it, Brady earned her Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification through Project Management Institute (PMI)—the premier professional organization for project managers with chapters all over the world—which she says gave her an edge over other candidates when she applied for her job at ASCO.

“The knowledge I gained in preparing for the PMP exam serves me every day in my role,” Brady says. “What I did not expect and have truly come to value is the PMI network as well – finding like-minded individuals, opportunities for continuous learning, and the ability to volunteer and give back.”

PMI’s growing community – including more than 300 chapters globally – serves as a place for project managers and individuals who use project management skills to learn and grow through events, online resources, and certification programs.

While people often think of project management in the context of corporate careers, all industries and organizations need project managers, making it a great career for those who want to elevate our world through non-profits or other service-oriented fields.

“Project management makes a difference by focusing on efficiency and outcomes, making us all a little better at what we do,” says Brady. “In almost every industry, understanding how to do our work more effectively and efficiently means more value to our customers, and the world at large, at an increased pace.”

Project management is also a stable career path in high demand as shown by PMI research, which found that the global economy will need 25 million more project managers by 2030 and that the median salary for project managers in the US has grown to $120K.

If you’d like to learn more about careers in project management, PMI has resources to help you get started or prove your proficiency, including its entry-level Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification program. For those interested in pursuing a project management career to make a difference, it could be your first step.

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