More help! Going to the barn on Thursday - we had more than a couple of arm loads of vintage clothing to hang, and a few assorted boxes of items.
Ginna and Kristin were troopers again. Because it was supposed to get hot we started at 7 a.m. and then planned on finishing on the earlier side.
We tried out the dart board, and made piles.
A pile for the barn, a pile for It's Bazaar,
a pile for St. Mary's Attic Treasures tables, a pile for the Town Wide Tag Sale, a pile to donate.
And boxes to sort inside. We cleared off 6 or so shelves on this side of the room - those goodies went into the 'adoption' room. Now we had shelves to unpack boxes on to!
These shelves also got cleared off - and redone. The shelf on the left is filled with garden items to be listed, the glass front cupboard is filled with an assortment - all to be listed.
Because we know what is going to happen in the 'adoption' room, we just shoved anything in there that was listed. This room I can handle by myself - and I will revel in putting each piece in it's place. We did not finish on Thursday as we had hoped - but we did get an assortment of smalls up to It's Bazaar. We didn't get done on Friday (it was just two of us). But we felt confident with all of our progress, that we could be done on Saturday.
The shipping counter is also my baby - anything shipping related just got piled here - I will need to tackle this in the upcoming week.
This is what was left under the canopy at 11:35 a.m. on Saturday. What was remaining went back into the shop in a very organized fashion. Then we tackled the shipping boxes that had their own pile at the back door of the shop.
Time to bring the truck around, load it with what was left to go to the barn, the cardboard and boxes to go to recycling, and the load of items to be donated.
12:01 - we closed the doors and took the canopy down, hopped in the truck to do our three drop offs - and a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Now I feel as though I have control over my active inventory versus my latent inventory, as well as my tools and equipment to work on things.
Yes I still have the adoption room (active online inventory) to finish up, and the shipping counter to clear off, and the shipping room (where all the boxes are kept) to organize once more - but WOW! this is a huge step and such a great transition from active, displayed shop space to a very organized 'warehouse' like space.
A huge thanks to Ginna and Kristin for their perseverance and opinions/insights as we were trying to make sense of this new space.
I felt so relaxed on Sunday I didn't know what to do with myself!
When I finish up my remaining three spaces - I'll give you another peek at all of it.
for now, good night, Liz
This IS a cautionary tale...
When I opened my shop years ago (1993) and started having open houses, many of the women who would come by to shop, thought that what I was doing was so 'dreamy'. In many ways (that fall under the heading - A LOT of HARD WORK) it is 'dreamy'. In a very disciplined way. Some of them even followed me in to business - one started her own pick your own flower business on her farm and another bought a clothing and home decor store.
I thought for those of you interested, that I would give you a glimpse into one of the types of days that have.
The BUYING day:
4:30 am - get up and get ready to go - make coffee, have breakfast and get out the door by 5:00 am or so - because it is a 2 hour + trip to your buying destination. Pack some snacks, and the rest of the coffee - we'll need that on the way! Today my sweet husband has decided to forgo his plans, offered to drive, and help me shop. Our Pit Bull mix rescue dog Cali, rides in between us - her happy place. Luckily - I have purchased vintage stuff from Roxann before - so I know she'll have something for me to choose from. Otherwise - it's a crap shoot!
7:30 am arrive at destination. Start looking around, picking things up, and examining them. I have gotten to the point in my buying, that I only buy items that are in perfect shape (although I do slip up now and then). There, of course, is always an exclusion to the rule. If I know I can fix something, have the part (I just might!), or feel that it is rare enough to justify the purchase - then these guidelines over rule 'perfect'.
9:30 am this is what I have found so far. There are things I am absolute about - and others not quite so sure.
My friend Jennifer - that we hooked up with along the way - happened to 'touch' the fish sign, as well as the turquoise bowl in a curious sort of way - I snapped them up immediately.
PLEASE NOTE - I did not steal them out from under her. She was there just for the company and the fun of it. And she probably thought they were hideous :) I have long discovered that there is plenty of stuff out there for all of us - if someone wants it - go right ahead! The Icehouse sign was 'picked' by my husband - not a beer drinker - he probably liked the scene - he loves the cold! No, really, he knew it would be a cool addition to some man cave somewhere. The beige table down in front - I hemmed and hawed a bit over. I have enough to fix right now - but you can never argue with good bones. So - it will need a GOOD sanding, and then a paint job. Let's take a closer look at what else is on the table here.
From the top left: 2 white vintage planters -perfect for organizing stuff on your desk, a bowling 'trophy' bottle stopper, the fish sign - from a carnival, a bear and beehive honey pot, a Kodak Brownie camera and case - in mint condition, rooster salt and pepper shakers, a big golf ball - we'll look at that closer in a minute..., The umbrella - a Disney piece from the 1960s - Donald Duck is the handle.
back over to the left: some plastic picnic dishes, a jigger and cups from a travel bar, NOS (new, old stock) set of spoons, two different kinds of toy blocks - one kind my husband remembers playing with, the other has snaps all over them - to connect them to each other - way cute!
On the far right: A bunch of fabulous bronze pieces - way cool! These were from a jewelry store that had closed. Very old - they once had the ever popular pocket watch dangling from them! below that - some wonderful childrens' pots and pans.
as for that golf ball - well lookie there! It's the 19th hole. How kitsch is this???
On the little table I was dithering over:
A fabulous black floral carpet bag and white carpet bag change purse, a baby sweater and handmade flannel slip, the 1970s bowl - with a mink and ribbon hat - would make a great 'spider' fascinator for Halloween! I may have to play with carpet bag for a while - we'll see. It is pretty wonderful.
Other picks that have already been put in place up at It's Bazaar:
The hat rack was getting empty - so I added the peacock blue Peter Pan hat, the purple cloche, and the wool hounds-tooth.
Three fabulous picnic hampers - ready for your fall picnic or tailgating party :)
Two bedroom pieces - a little bit french provincial - one a dresser, one a chest of drawers - there is also a mirror - not shown here. These I added 'as found' - They have great lines, but I am passing them on at a lesser price. Take one home and use it - or have fun with it and paint it up differently!
10:00 am OK - now let's get back to my day... The furniture goes into the truck bed - we hear rumbling in the distance - hmmm... The rest of the smaller items get packed into the picnic hampers and these get loaded into the back seat - I have a crew cab truck - these fold down seats get used quite a bit.
Bob and I go back and forth a minute on how this will all be paid for, and finally Roxann gets a check, and some cash. We say goodbye to Jennifer - it was great to see her if only briefly! We take a different route home - very pretty and scenic. We're still hearing thunder as we drive along and decide it would be a good idea to get the tarp and bungees out to cover the furniture in back. Good thing - because as soon as we do - it starts to rain. The rain follows us the whole way home. Honestly, how many times does a weather front go from NE to SW?? Really?
12:30 pm Once at home - I unload the picnic hampers on to the front porch. Time for some lunch! After lunch I start washing everything, and going over it with a 'fine tooth comb'.
3:50 pm Time to start thinking about dinner - boy am I ready to sit down!
The next day we unload the furniture onto the porch. Thanks in big part to the flooding tropical storm, Lee, that is making it rainy all over the East Coast. I think I am going to repaint the blue pieces - but I change my mind. We re-load them back into the truck - No, Bob doesn't mind - isn't he the greatest?! and helps me unload them, putting them in to place at It's Bazaar. On Thursday I manage to get some suitcases, the picnic hampers, hats and some other smalls, packed up to take to It's Bazaar. Bill, the owner, gives me some good news - the gold 1880s sofa in the background behind the picnic hampers sold the day before. YAY - this is good - because I have had this piece since mid May (which reminds me about another "Day in the Life" post I could do...) I spend 5 hours, pricing and arranging these 'new' finds. All done, time to go home!
My DAY summarized:
Up at 4:30 am - finally 'done' around the same time that afternoon - 12 hour day. But wait, there were two of us. So that makes for even more man hours. And we haven't even taken into account moving the furniture into place, (have't cleaned that yet either), pricing, etc...
Did I make any money today? - NO
Did I spend any money today? YES
And more money - This truck costs a lot in gas these days - the bright spot was that we filled up at $3.49 a gallon - cheaper than it is where we live. Not to say I don't love my Crew Cab Chevy Silverado - I do! But she is an expensive habit.
The rest of my purchases are sitting on the kitchen table - most of them waiting to be photographed and listed in my Missing Heirloom shop on Etsy.
So there you have it. Just one of my days. Now it's up for you to decide.
When I moved some of my furniture and smalls into It's Bazaar a few months ago they were filled to the gills with vendors. I was able to get a small space out in the middle of the room. A column anchored my space.
Many of the furniture items are from a friend of my Mom's. She was in the process of moving into a retirement community and needed to down size. Her husband had taken up chair caning and she bought him every chair that had a broken seat within miles :)
He did a beautiful job!
I stacked them tall - trying to maximize all of the space possible. The sewing machine cabinet is without a machine. It has all of it's drawers, and is in excellent condition. It would make a great hall table or sofa table.
On the left is my vintage 'dresser'. Bob made this for me to display my vintage hats, purses, and clothes. He made it from an old door - I added a pretty floral porcelain door knob - he attached a 1940s school bench. On the back I had mirrors cut to fit the two recesses in the door. This way you can hold an item up to see if you like it!
Some of the goodies for sale displayed on the fabulous 1930s Art Deco Vanity. I have sold a few ;} things since I started here - and the owners Rebecca and Bill are great!
Four months later...
Luckily for me some wall space opened up - and so Ginna helped me move everything on Friday.
Needless to say, it didn't take me long to put up all of my antique mirrors, my 'Tin Types' (antique tin ceiling tiles - brought back to life), 'Faded Glamour' & 'Window on your World' (my message /jewelry boards).
After one of the little tables sold - I stacked 3 suitcases to make a 'coffee table'. Now I just have these stacked against a wall. Yes - I do have more of these vintage beauties back at my own shop.
The cupboard was here for me to use. I will probably fix it up and paint it. It will make a great display piece - until it sells that is! I will be adding vintage jewelry to the mix in the next few days.
More pics to follow as I change things around. So what has been selling?? Vintage negligees, vintage hats and purses, as well as some smaller pieces of furniture, and art work.
