Salvage Rescuer:
Salvage shopping is to me like going to a museum, an art exhibit, or taking a trip in a time machine.  Saved from the wreckage or demolition of the walls that surrounded them, the history of these treasures whisper their own uniqueness and have much more appeal to me than anything can be mindlessly made from a mold or found new in a catalog.  Even broken pedestal bases can be ornaments that fit right in to any garden, yet carry with them the ghosts of a past era.  I often discover ornate doors, mantles, and other pieces that I absolutely fall in love with and want to rescue, but realize that I cannot give all of these vintage treasures a home.  My enjoyment comes from imagining the history and where these pieces were displayed before being displaced.  Were they part of a plantation or an estate?  Whose lives did they enrich?  Were they witness to elaborate balls as women in corsets and voluminous gowns gracefully danced by them?  Do these treasures carry with them the secrets and confessions of those who lived around them?  Whatever their stories or origins, even the bricks found at salvage yards have potential and a history all their own.