This is...

...my best op shop find. i bought this sign when i was working at an antique store and now hangs above a doorway in our home. it caught my eye one day when my boss brought it down from storage, and all day while i was working, i prayed that no one was interested so i could take it home. the colorful bird was my favorite part.
this whole time (i've had it since January) i thought was the word "Wilkom" meant "Welcome" in some mid-European language...but boy was i wrong...since i'm a perfectionist, i wanted to know exactly what language it was in. after some intense Googling and asking J to help when i thought i was a family crest, i finally found out what it was (J found it actually). it turns out that it is no where near being an antique, it's a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign (apparantly hex is a good word in PA Dutch) and as a matter of fact, you can buy it online for much cheaper than what i got it for even with a discount! so does that mean it's not from an op shop?!? anyway, this particular sign is called the "bird of paradise," and it means goodluck and welcome. surprising what a little research can do for you.

thanks to lino forest for encouraging us to look around for the thrifted things we love!