the roller skate case.

Published on by Quandie

My friend/picker Sue found this metal case for me.

She was told it was a roller skate case.  Or at least someone kept their roller skates in it, even if that wasn’t its original intention.

Either way, Sue knew I could breathe new life into it and maybe also give it a new purpose.

I started with my usual prep; cleaning, sanding, etc, followed by a coat of Dixie Belle’s B.O.S.S.  Then I made the decision to stick with the original black color, so I gave it a quick coat of Dixie Belle’s Midnight Sky.  I avoided painting over the brass fittings because they have an amazing patina to them.

Just a side note here about the B.O.S.S.  This is definitely one of those occasions when I really appreciate the clear B.O.S.S.  I wouldn’t have wanted to use a colored or white primer (other than black I suppose) on this piece because you would have seen that when I distressed the edges.

Once the Midnight Sky was dry, I followed up with one of the stencils from the set of 4 German Grain Sack stencils from ellen j goods.

Isn’t that a fun one?  I used Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth for the stenciling.

I finished off the outside of the case with some clear wax.

I briefly considered doing something to the inside of the case, but ultimately I thought the original vintage paper lining was pretty fab.

Obviously it’s not in pristine condition, but I cleaned it up a bit and I rather like its shabby appeal.

Not many of us need a case for our roller skates these days.

So how about using this case to store your old photos?

OK, maybe you don’t have photos quite as old as these (I have a stash of the most amazing photos from my mom’s side of the family in South Dakota), but you must have some sort of photos or other mementos that need a cool case to live in.

Now, if only I could think of a way to repurpose those old skates.

Any ideas?

The roller skate case is for sale so be sure to check my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details if interested.

Thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for providing the B.O.S.S. and paint used on this project.  Thank you to ellen j goods for providing the stencil.

12 thoughts on “the roller skate case.”

  1. Nicely refresh on your very old roller skate case.
    The ‘newer’ ones in the 60s were brightly colored and made of metal. The tradition at my neighborhood Catholic school was to check your case at the roller rink (aka the gym – prior to having the floors restored) and retrieve it for weekly skating. Of course, there were homemade pompoms on the white skates and curiously, rather than lace the skate all the way up, the fad was to roll over the top at the ankle. That didn’t make much sense for your stability but was the cool thing to do!

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  2. Love this case! Especially the cow horns. I saw one of these old skates with a picture frame mounted on it that looked very cool. Another was made into a lamp. I love to see vintage things like this repurposed and you are so good at it!

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  3. I have a very similar box and wasn’t sure what it was for-perhaps it is also for skates. I’m sure you’ll come up with something for the skates! Could you attach them to a crate for rolling storage?

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  4. Well, Miss Quandie, this post led me down a very sweet memory lane 👀🚶‍♀️ I had this kind of roller skate when I was in grammar school. After school we’d put them on and tighten them with a skate key! Then we’d skate on the breezeway connecting the two sides of the old grammar school…..it was made of very slick and smooth cement and you’d get an awesome ride! Now I’m wondering what happened to them and that old key……just another one of those things that disappears in the mist of time! I did not have s skate box, though. I would remember that. I love what you did with the box, I love the horns!

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    1. Ah, those were the days. To be honest, I was never good at roller skating or ice skating, too clumsy for sure! But it sounds like you had a great time with yours 😉

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