Junkin

Today was Junkin Thursday instead of Friday. The dealer running this sale does Thursday and Friday sales.

 We arrived before 8 o'clock and the dealer was already given out numbers. We received 18 and 19. As I detailed in my May blog "Estate Sale Friday and Saturday - How I love you! " I had researched the sale by studying the photos online, we had arrived before the advertised number give out time and we had our large bags ready to buy. I had spotted a choral blow mold in the box in the photos and had surmised they were in the basement. When the sale started we headed to the basement where I thought the blow molds were found. They were there but unfortunately they had holes burned into the top of their heads. So they were out. But I did find two large blow mold candles. In fact, one lady kept following me around in case I put them back. I didn't put them back.

Score!!!!

I also found a few other things. I picked out a cute vintage, metal toy top as well as a box of vintage Christmas lights and a few other things. At estate sales the dealers usually have boxes near the cash register for you to put your selections as you continue to shop. BEWARE that I have seen people take things out of these boxes when the dealer is busy and not looking. I have the habit of putting a bag over any items I place in these storage areas. However, this time I did not cover mine with a bag. When I returned to the storage area to put a few more items in the box I discovered someone had taken the top out of my box and put it in theirs. I immediately informed the dealer and put it back in my box. Then I stayed beside my selections while hubby shopped some more. I was disappointed but not really surprised. The man that took it never said a word when he returned to the storage area. This man had been in line behind us and quite friendly. He even said he owned an antique store in a local town. In fact, after we paid he even tried to carry my box to the car for me which, not surprisingly, I denied him the opportunity. Maybe he was looking for the top.

So learn a lesson from me my friends. Everyone who seems friendly at an estate sale really can't be trusted. It is a dog eat dog business. Watch your selections as you place them in the holding areas, be sure to bring enough bags to cover your things while they wait for you to take them home. Buy what you love and get in there and start digging.

Roger Digging In

When to Close A Booth Space

This blog entry is really more for those who have a booth or are interested in having a booth.

I've been at a booth in a local antique mall for about five years. I started with a small space 5x8 for $50 and never made a big profit, but I also made at least double my booth expense. The mall I was at had 3 buildings and probably 300 plus booths. My first booth was on the outside aisle of the third building. This building was once used as a boat manufacturing business.

Our First Booth 2012

Then after a couple of years I got "smart" and decided to move to building 2. The space in building 2 was in the second row and it cost $80 for an 8x10. I thought a bigger space would be a good thing. I think you can tell by my tone that this move was not a success. Again I always made more than my booth fee but that's not really good business.

Booth 2 - Bigger

Upon observation I realized that things were changing at this antique mall but I wasn't sure why. First the lighting in my area was not as bright as the other building. My hubby actually changed the lightbulbs in the fluorescent lights near our space. The building was always clean and the staff friendly but the sales were off.

Booth 2 - 6 Month Later

Last summer I opened a booth in our local town in a new smaller antique and collectables store. It is in a downtown setting with bright lights. Wooden walls in each booth, hardwood floors and vintage tin overhead. There is a nice quality and variety of goods in this mall. There is blacksmith, a clock dealer, vintage and antique dealers, potters, soaps, candies, sauces, dried beef, hand sewn goods, paintings and other art and hand crafted items. The owners are very friendly and incredibly business minded. Sales in this new mall have been great.

New Booth 3 in Local Town on 1st Week

But one of the biggest differences is that this mall uses social media. In fact, I take the photos and make the posts for them for a slight fee. The owners often boost posts for special events on Facebook. If there is a special activity or festival in town they open the store later hours to match the timing of the event. Even though this store is closed on Sundays and Mondays, they have lots of traffic in and out of the store. Downtowns are not really dead. They can be sources of wonderful restaurants, specialty stores and antique stores.

So we finally made the decision to move out of the first mall. It wasn't an easy decision personally, but as my husband told the owner when she very kindly asked why we were leaving.; it isn't the people as everyone was very nice. It was the bottom line. We just were not making money with the same items as the new booth.

Was the fault mine? Perhaps. I would often take things to the new space instead of the old one. I had more enthusiasm for the new booth. I started to care less for the old one. Were my things lost in a huge space and lots of booths? Maybe. Was the mall advertising as they did in the beginning? I have no idea as there were no meetings of vendors and no newsletter. Was the quality of items in the mall declining? Maybe. Was a lack of advertising? Definitely, there was no use of social media. The payment methods were very reliable and honest. These were great people. They even dust every space once a week. You won't get that many places. I will miss the folks at my old space, but as hubby says it is all about the bottom line.

So our next decision was what's next. Read in a future blog how to look for a new antique and collectables space.

Booth June 21, 2917

Paper Dolls

Box of Vintage Paper Dolls

Did you play with paper dolls when you were little? Uh Oh I think I just gave away my age. When I
was young paper dolls were a popular toy. Last year I bought a box of old paper dolls at an auction. Hubby thought I was losing it, and I really had no idea what I was going to do with them. But as I always say, "Buy what you love." and I loved paper dolls as a child.

So for the last year those cute paper dolls sat on a shelf in the storage side of my basement, but in the back of mind they were floating around. I researched Pinterest a few times but found few ideas I liked. Then one day I decided to frame some of the dresses. I found an old shadow box type frame at a flea market to use. I took the art out of the frame and glued some blue scrapbook paper to the inside for a background. Then I took mat that came with the frame and spray painted it a contrasting color of orange. I chose a couple of cute 60's style dresses and glued them to the background. I spray painted the frame white and sanded it to give it a worn look. Finally I put the whole thing back together. I like the results.


A few days later I found another bargain shadowbox frame that was a little larger. This time I used some cute striped paper as a background and used some washi tape on the mat. Washi tape is a beautiful type of paper tape sold as most craft stores now. I chose several great old paper doll outfits to glue to the background. As before I painted the frame white and sanded it a bit.

For the next box I found a cute idea on Pinterest where they created a clothesline and hung the paper doll dresses on it. This time I took and old silverware box I had and found a frame that fit it. Then I painted both parts. I made a clothes rod out of a wooden skewer and attached it to the sides. I used pink scrapbook paper and another cute washi tape to cover the insides of the box as well as the mat. I made hangers out of craft wire and glued the clothing on it. On the skirt I used little clothespins. Then I attached the frame to box. In this picture on of the dresses is crooked but I can shake it an straighten it out.

The final paper doll item I created was a clothesline banner or garland. I used twine and glued a selection of vintage paper doll clothes to the twine. Then I tied the string in bows at the ends. I love how these turned out but with anything new I have no idea if they will sell. I'll keep you updated.

Organizing Your Workspace

This is a post I dread to make as my workspace is horrendous. By horrendous I don't mean it's a bad space. It's a fabulous space. It's my basement. I have a fully heated and air conditioned, walk-out basement with sliding doors on one side a two windows and double doors on the other.  It's warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Goodies from One Estate Sale

The horrendous part is all my fault. A dear friend one gave me the nickname "Messy Marvin". That says a great deal about the problem with my workspace. However, I set a goal this year to clean and reorganize my workspace.

When you buy vintage and antique items for resell you have to purchase them when you find them. I'm always hitting the estate sales and often buying Christmas items in June and dressers when I already have five ahead to paint. It's all about stocking up when you find a good deal. However, that takes storage. Lots of storage.

Luckily. I have a full basement of about 1800 square feet. One half is for storage and the other is playroom/workspace. That's not working real well. My basement, like most basements, gets the leftovers. Mine and everyone else's in the family. So my 900 feet of workspace was (note the was) filled with a big TV stand and a big old TV. There were (note the were)  also two couches. Add to that mix an old china cabinet, end tables, a freezer, a train table, shelves and a vintage trunk. Not to mention a vintage farm table I work on, built in cabinets and a cabinet top with shelves all along one wall.

All that has potential for a fabulous workspace. I mean you have a counter top and a table to work on. You have shelves and cabinet storage. Right...in dreamland. I've lived in this home for over 40 years. We have a lot of stuff. It overflows into the basement.

So I have been slowly working on cleaning and reorganizing my space. I started last summer by having a huge yard sale. What I didn't sell was packed up and donated. There were years of craft supplies (and yes I have wished for some of it back), furniture, toys and lots more. This made room to begin on the other half of the basement. Next I purchased some nice metal shelving. I reorganized my Christmas items for sell on them moving them from workroom side to storage side. Then a friend gave me about 12 pieces of vintage furniture. That pretty much put a stop to organizing the storage side. But did I say FREE?

Before Workspace side of the Basement

For the last two weeks I've been organizing the workshop side of my basement. And here I will share the horrendous part of Messy Marvin's workspace. Remember....It no longer looks like this.

After Paint Storage

I started with one area at a time. I added a steel shelf unit over by the hutch where I put projects I'm working on or items I just purchased until I have time to move them to the storage shelving on the other side of the basement. I organized the button and sewing notion shelves first.

Work Table After

Then I went for the paint area. Then the cabinets. Hubby (Have I mentioned him today?) and I carried out the sofa, the TV and the old TV stand. That went to the dump. Then we took 5

Stencil Storage

boxes of things to Goodwill. By tackling one area at a time I've managed to clean and organize the whole space.

So I found you are about to tackle your work space remember  these things. Think about alternative ways to store things you use the most. I use stencils quite a bit to make signs. We came up with this area to store them on an adjustable rod. So easy to access now.

My work table is clean and has a new cheap tablecloth. My paint storage area is now all organized. My crafting work area and storage is all neat and clean.

After Craft Storage

I still need to do a bit more but my workroom area is so much better now. I left the train table as the grand daughter loves playing there with her vintage metal doll house and wooden barn. I moved a large screen TV to the spot where the old TV was and set it on a great old black bench we found.  

Remember to buy what you love and have space in mind to store that treasure. When a project seems to big to do, break it down into smaller bites. Organize one area at a time. Throw things out or donate them when you just have no more room. Finally, think of alternative ways to store those things you love, treasure or use often.

Now if I can just talk Hubby into building me my own barn.