Some families face off in board games; others bond by going camping or cozying up on the couch for movie nights. But for Deerfield resident Natalie Filipkowski and her family, the best way to spend time together is by digging for gems in antique shops and thrift stores, or “brickerbracking,” as they call it.
Each family member has their favorite thrift mission. Seven-year-old Mason searches for vintage weaponry, 8-year-old Evelyn earned her nickname “Trink” for her paperweights and other trinkets, Filipkowski’s husband Jim picks out New England Patriots memorabilia and Funko Pops, and Filipkowski keeps an eye out for Tiffany lamps, baskets, goose-themed finds and other treasures in the “grandma-core” aesthetic.
“I love not having the same things everybody else has,” Filipkowski said. “I feel like I went minimalist, and now I’m like, ‘Let’s maximize!'”
On a recent “brickerbracking” trip, an item not typically on her family’s “thrift wish list” caught her eye.
“We would see these lonely mugs,” Filipkowski said, “so I was like, ‘Hey, let’s start a little stand. Instead of a free library, let’s do a free mug stand.'”
Together, the family painted and repurposed a bookshelf into a “mug library” outside their home on Sawmill Plain Road. Now, mugs are on the whole family’s thrift list as they scope out antique stores. Filipkowski tries to find the right mug for everyone, from children to the elderly, and “niche” mugs with clever quips.
“You’ve got to have the good handle, the good feel, the good thickness — everything about a mug … it matters,” Filipkowski said, clutching her favorite: a white mug sprinkled in rainbow splatter paint behind the word, “Mama.” “I’ve always thought mugs were kind of fun. … Some are beautiful, and some are funny and some are quirky.”
When neighbors stop by the “mug library,” Filipkowski and her kids watch by the window and guess, “What kind of mug person are you?” Before Mason and Evelyn catch the school bus in the morning, they take stock of the old and new mugs on the shelves. Since its start in September, the handmade mugs have been the crowd favorite.
The mug library has also featured the family’s own creations. Mason and Evelyn added mug painting to their long list of home craft projects, next to rock painting, jewelry and “How to Draw” videos. Filipkowski said she encourages creativity at home because “everybody needs an outlet.”
From gifts to containers for writing utensils, Filipkowski enjoys thinking about where the mugs will end up once they leave the library. As visitors take a mug and leave a mug, she hopes the stand will “make the world feel a little more neighborly.”
“Something so simple puts a smile on so many people’s faces,” she said. “We need, as Instagram will tell us, more whimsy in our lives.”
