22 July 2008

More BF Love

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{Hope (L) and Stephanie (R)}

As I mentioned yesterday, one of the highlights was meeting Melfi, Hope, and Stephanie and how I'd long been buying their stuff. I just thought I'd show you a bit of Stephanie's booth at the BF. She told me she'd sold so much stuff Saturday that she had to re-stock. And now you can see why:

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Go ahead. Drool away. It's so whimsical and inventive you just want to take it all home. I'm kicking myself for not buying one of the pendants seen on the mannequin. I think they're old pocket watch casings. She does little mini-vignettes in them that ROCK. Some are strung on pearls, others on ribbons (if I remember correctly). And, don't just think of them as necklaces; they'd be sooooo SWEET hanging from a doorknob or draped over a headboard post or on my DOG. Yeah, I can barely get him to wear his collar. Anyway, LOVE 'EM.

I was planning a trip to Charm City (aka Baltimore) next weekend anyway (all vintage-related and I've got HIGH HOPES, so tune in), so now am planning a trip to the shop Stephanie has a booth in!

But, you're asking, what did I buy at the BF? Well, shockingly, even I showed restraint, but I'm loving my newfound treasures:

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The big phat clock and clock-themed lavendar sachet were both from Stephanie. I also scored an 1898 French Bible, 3 business college ledgers [ever notice that there are NEVER misspellings in these???], 5 "I got carded at the library" lapel pins [I'm a HUGE library geek], and this vintage cheerleading medal. It was just so fricking goofy that I HAD to have it!

Of course, I wore it out to play pool tonight on my black tanktop, and the very first guy to comment on it said it looked like a trucker flap. lalalalalalala I didn't hear that.

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Wait. DOES it? Who cares? I'll wear it proudly. I only wish I'd bought all the medals.

XOX

P.S. As predicted, I also got the winning Your Wish is My Command2 score! It was only a dollar, so I'm going to let a second lucky winner in on the fun this month!

21 July 2008

A truly horrifying thought just occurred to me....

If I want to really sell my ephemera packs to a built-in audience, maybe I need to get a booth at the big-@ss scrapbooking convention.

*shudder*

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WHEW. Dodged that bullet!

July Big Flea Redux

[Many apologies for the late-ish update on how this went. As those of you who know me—personally or via blogistan—may have surmised, I needed to walk Cody, apply Icy Hot, and imbibe some vino to unwind....]


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Let it be known far and wide: I'm not proud. Nevertheless, I'm posting this photo of me and my beloved Snis MUCH smaller than I normally would. I look just as tired and sweaty as I feel. Snissy drove down from Pittsburgh for a mere 26 hours to help me out with the show ... and to SHOP, of course.

It's not only awesome having her stay overnight; not only spell me at the show so I can shop/visit; but she is a Master Salesperson, apparently. She sold a vintage pewter teapot to a woman for double what I paid for it. The woman questioned why it seemed to have been repaired. My sister postulated that perhaps it had been used to crack someone over the head as a murder weapon, so it was infinitely more valuable. Ka-ching!

In any event, this particular Big Flea (most likely my 15th or 20th, but I've only kept detailed records for the last 8, since I went "legit") was the bizarrest EVER. Highs ... lows... I experienced it all.

I was exuberantly confident that this would be a breakout show, despite the economy. Just as last time, the crowds were there in full force. However, it was abundantly clear that although people WANTED to buy, they just couldn't risk it in this economy. A bunch of us dealers are guessing that people are chary about the economy, and are just being waaaaay too cautious, waiting to see what happens after the election. I, personally, am convinced, that whoever succeeds Bush will somehow alleviate this tension. In DC, it's even weirder, because the economy TOTALLY picks up as the administration changes. Don't believe me? I planned the sale of my last home to coincide with an administration change. People move into town/people move out. It's a guaranteed thing every 4 or 8 years.

OK, bored with the DC insights?

How about THIS...

Highlights of Saturday BF:

1. Rainman Sighting: Fairly early on, a woman was standing in my booth, but her husband was across the aisle. She called to him, saying "Honey, come here. I want to show you something." In Rainman fashion, he bellowed: "TOO PINK!" and shuffled away. I SWEAR. Look back at my photos from Friday and tell me if I'm "too pink". Whatever. It was hysterical.

2. Fashion Faux-Pas Nearly Averted: Last week, I contacted Cheryl/Stash about buying one of her "Junk Posse" t-shirts ASAP so I could wear it to the show (check her sidebar for ordering info). She alerted me that someone else had ordered one and was planning on attending the BF on Saturday! I wisely wore something else (much more tame, from Loehman's), which was a good heads-up, because....

3. Person I Admire Sighting #1: Cheryl had actually told me who it was (someone whose blog I religiously read), so I knew to look for her. While trying to convince someone to buy my crap completing a successful sale, I looked up and saw the Junk Posse T. I squealed, "Are you Suzy?

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(photo courtesy of http://georgiapeachez.typepad.com; I forgot my camera on Saturday, so this is her photo)

I'd been following Suzy's blog for quite some time, so was super-excited she had road-tripped all the way back to the DC area (where she used to live), but she also was with her BFF Beth, who lives probably 4 miles away from me! They are BOTH a HOOT! I knew Suzy was in a hurry to get back to her area (so I hope I didn't take up too much of their time), and Beth and I have now promised not to elbow each other at estate sales (but hopefully will be attending TOGETHER in the near future). I have to admit, I've had customers come up and tell me they've seen my blog, but never OTHER BLOGGERS I admire come find me. How gratifying!

4. MOI? About an hour later (still flying high, believe me), a woman pulled me aside and asked if I'd be willing to give a guest lecture about how to find vintage treasures, my theory about "rescuing", and what to look for. I (for once) was speechless. I am sure I gaped for an unseemly amount of time before I stammered, "Are you sure I'm the right person? Is this a group of dealers?" She explained that she is part of a group of "enthusiasts" who get together every Friday to talk about their finds, shop, share stories, theories, etc. The more I thought about it, the cooler it seemed. She even offered that we could throw in a road-trip of sorts. I am TOTALLY up for this. As an aside, every other person I've enthused to this about asks, "What are you getting paid?" PAID?!?! A captive audience that wants to hear about me trolling?!? Priceless. Take that, MasterCard.

Saturday, however, ended on a hugely sour note. Two women had been looking at the patio chairs I bought at Lucketts. They came back 3 TIMES to sit in them (a likely story). I got them ridiculously cheap (as I fully admitted in my post), and accordingly priced them ridiculously cheap. I know I can get double at my shop, but wanted to show them here. They asked for my "rock-bottom best price". I gave them 20% off, and then they asked for another $5 off. She then muttered, "In this economy, you should take whatever you can get." WTF? I'm not POOR, fer chrissakes! {Disclaimer: I am fully aware that every single fricking article about "shopping flea markets" suggests to buyers to ask for a "best price", but this sent me over the edge. When she asked for the extra $5 off, I calmly (I swear) countered: "That is my best price for this show. I know I can get DOUBLE in my shop, but I want to move them NOW." Her counter-argument was, "What if they're not right in my home?", to which I countered, AS ALWAYS (for the right item), "I will buy it back from you at that price." You want a return policy, go to Pier 1. I'm generous in that I offer a buy-back policy.}

She countered again at the $5 less price, at which point I was gonna say "NO DEAL", but she took them. Let's see what happens. She got them for a SONG. I actually HOPE she wants her money back.

I know I'm venturing into dangerous waters now, but I want to say that I price my stuff very fairly. I am fully aware that dealers buy from me, and as long as I make what I want from something, it's all good. But when a customer treats me like I'm some sharecropper selling off my grandpappy's heirlooms just to survive, I go all mental. Can you not tell that I have cultivated a STYLE that I'm offering up? I'm ideally creating a space that you can relate to and that, in theory, you would want everything. I'm offering MYSELF up, and that's what I get?

NOW, do you get why I want to be in an anonymous shop?

OK, I'm feeling better now. Off the ledge, so to speak....

Highlights of Sunday BF:

The first 30 minutes of Sunday (traditionally the dead zone of these shows) were GREAT!

1. People I admire sightings #2-5: Sundays suck at the BF. I'm randomly reading the NYT Wedding section, munching on a hot pretzel dunked in cheez-whiz when I hear, "I think that's HER." I look up to see 3 decidedly cool women (plus a baby) looking at me. We introduce ourselves, and the first is Hope (and here's her blog—which I didn't even know about). Hope is someone I've been buying from for years from Patty at Queen's Ink.

She was accompanied by Melissa and Amy (who hadn't come up on my radar yet). Melissa and Stephanie used to sell together at the BF and I bought from them every time. The three of us can't figure out (from my lame description) who designed it, but one of their larger pieces is prominent in my dining room. In fact, when I needed inspiration for my "how-to" pieces for my ephemera launch, I honestly only looked at the items I'd purchased from Hope, Melissa, and Stephanie. I'm not selling my pieces, I just wanted to SHOW people what could be done. These women are the best! I'm going to blog about them in the next few days, to show my gratitude, and enlighten you non-locals.

We came up with the idea of all getting together with some other (un-named, since we haven't spoken with them) other local enthusiasts/designers/bloggers for a THANG, which would be great!

All in all, although I'm feeling a little out of "my league" (hell, this is just my side-business/self-sustaining hobby), this was such a gratifying show. Nevertheless, I had to crunch the numbers when I got home. It FELT like a bad show, but it was my third-best! YAY!

Unfortunately, the ephemera packs were a dud. People were VERY interested but didn't buy. A few asked for customized packs and took my card (which I'm VERY up for doing). I think people going to these shows want to find their own stuff (I know I do). I think etsy will be the better venue. I'll post tomorrow about the killer ledgers and French bible (you don't even want to know) that I found.

2. Dealers Buy From Me: I made a lot of my sales to dealers. I have increasingly realized that, in my effort to offer vintage items at a reasonable cost, I sell largely to dealers. In fact, the first $100 I made this weekend was setting up Friday night. Fine by me. I'm out there looking all the time; I'll do the legwork, you sell it. We both profit, right?

3. {Bummer advisory} Unfortunately, in this economy, a lot of my favorite dealers are no longer willing to travel to NOVA. When they factor in booth rental/accommodations/GAS, their margins have shrunk. I'm missing my faves that are no longer coming to DC. Two of my dearest compatriots are not coming back. It's breaking my heart. If you like someone's wares (even if you can't afford it), just TELL THEM you're on board (even if you can't buy). That's all that most of us are looking for....

XOX

18 July 2008

Come & get it!

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After 6 trips to Chantilly, 96 degree heat, and a few broken fingernails, I'm all set up. Now all I have to do tonight is iron all the linens (unlikely). Of course, I still have to tag everything first thing in the morning....

Feast your eyes:

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And, of course I'm all nervous and twitchery (as my friend Mikey always says) about the debut of my ephemera packs. I scaled them back to be smaller than I had originally intended. I reckon that people don't want to pay too much for them. I've done 3 sizes. The larger ones (my favorites) have sheet music, ledger paper, old English AND French dictionary pages, written AND blank ledger pages, bingo cards, and assorted other small stuff. I also made large ones that are entirely French, with maps, dictionary pages, primer pages, glitter French postcards, etc. The medium-sized ones have various book pages, game cards, flash or bingo cards, stamps, and game pieces. Finally, I had a huge box of buttons, so I packaged them up into small packs by color.

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In exciting news, I saw a lot of new vendors this time. I took some pix, which I'll share with you either tomorrow or Sunday. One was ASTOUNDING and you will be reduced to involuntary spasms of giddiness. It was towards the end of the evening, so they'd already left, but I'll try to get to know them.

WAIT! I forgot about the killer estate sale I hit between runs this morning:

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The minute I pulled up to this house, I knew it would be a goldmine. It was a sweet little brick rambler with green awnings and carefully tended landscaping. Within a 6-foot radius of the front door, I'd picked up the books, silverware, and vases. The prices were unbelievable. I love this estate sale company because I'm pretty sure they have no idea what they're doing.

I got the white/pink floral chenille for an embarassingly low price (hint, turn it inside out, crumple it up and say "how much for this bedspread?"), the journal with blank ledger pages, stocks & bonds game, Hurlbut's Self-Pronouncing (?!?) Story of the Bible (1904, beautifully illustrated), The American Procession: American Life Since 1860 in Photographs (1933), a mini-multi-game set, ANOTHER set of bakelite knives/forks, very old baby shoes, and these stunning silver Italian flower vases. I would've bought furniture, but my car was full as I was on my way to the BF.

I must admit that this haul completely made up for the cr@p one I went to first thing in the morning, which clearly was the estate sale of a globe-trotting diplomat with unbelievably bad taste. Most likely a State Dept. employee. If you've ever met one, you know I'm spot-on with this call.

Time for Icy Hot and a glass of sangria. Screw ironing. XOX

17 July 2008

Flea Market Press Clip

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If you're anything like me, the weekly Home section of the newspaper is the highlight of the week. JOY of JOYS, today's Washington Post was all about flea-market shopping!!! 'Course, you or I could have just as easily written the article (or been featured), but p'haps the rest of the world will come around to our way of thinking. WAIT, they'll be competition at the sales. Hmmmm.

Most importantly, it lists this weekend's Big Flea as the very first thing on "Mark Your Calendars". With any luck, hoards of will be coming to visit me this weekend!!!!

(My scanner is still busted, so that's why I had to photograph it. How pathetic.)

XOX

*UPDATE*
Don't ask (ok, it's my afternoon off and), but the DC Big Flea just ran a tv commercial during Judge Judy. They're pulling out all the stops advertising this year. Might need to rethink what I bring, if that's their target audience. Tee hee. Wait, apparently, I'm the target audience. Scratch that derogatory remark.

I Love My Mailman!

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When I arrived home from work late last night (accursed deadline), I found these 2 packages on my front porch! I didn't get home until 10 p.m., and had to get up at 5, so postponed my gratification until this afternoon.....

The smaller one is something I ordered from Joy. Look at the gorgeous packaging:

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I'd seen these on her website about a week ago and lusted after them. I finally broke down, but there were only 2 left; fortunately one was my lucky number 7!!!!

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It's a vintage horse racing identification tag! It's hanging in my bedroom with my tiaras and other fun vintage stuff. LOVING IT! I'm sure it'll be hanging from lots of other things in the near future (namely my beltloop).

Before I show you the contents of the second (and larger) package, I should divulge that I am the Queen of Instant Gratification. It took every fiber of my being to not rip into it right away. I waited, knowing that I'd want to savor the contents.

A few weeks ago, another blog BFF (who shall remain nameless so you don't bombard her) contacted me through our Mutual Admiration Society via email. She'd seen some stuff on my blog that she wanted to either buy or swap. SWAP! If that doesn't make me all tingly....

She said she had a ton of ephemera just sitting around that she knew she'd never do anything with. She wanted my items for a photo shoot and to add to her collection. We swapped a few photos, I added a few more similarly-themed items to the package and the swap was underway.

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GET A LOAD OF THIS! Can you even fathom the generosity of this? All the vintage bingo cards, rifle bullseyes, fantabulous vintage cards, stamps, photos, milkcaps, millinery, etc. I'm in HEAVEN. And I ADORE the baby shoes!!!!

The funny thing about the shoes is that I've had my baby shoes from my own teensy feet hanging on my bedroom doorknob in every single place I've lived since I went off to college (and that was in 1979)!

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In all, I'm going to hit every sale in the DC area in a vain attempt to repay her for her kindness. Although she's ecstatic with what I sent her, I suspect we each think we got the better end of the deal. Then again, that's the way swapping works, right?

***

Just a few minutes ago, I completed all my ephemera packs for the Big Flea this weekend, and was feeling slightly depleted. NOT ANY MORE! I'll post about them tonight so you can see the finished products.

15 July 2008

Your Wish is My Command! 2

Back by popular demand.....

It's the SECOND MONTHLY giveaway with a twist! The onus is on ME to make this happen, with a healthy dollop of FATE thrown in.

On the 15th of each month, YOU decide what you want me to find for you! You got it! It's a challenge for me, and a giveaway for YOU!

Want vintage aprons? Brooches? Cocktail shakers? Rosaries? You got it! Whatever is reasonably inexpensive and shippable.

NITTY GRITTIES (reprinted for your viewing pleasure):

1. Post a comment on the monthly "Your Wish is My Command" post (and only there, so I can find them easily) telling me what you want.

2. As mentioned earlier, it must be reasonably priced and easily shippable. No furniture.

3. I'll take all suggestions into account, and search for all of them. If I find more, I just might be generous. MIGHT.

4. However, whichever I find FIRST, that's what I'm giving away.

5. Moreover, if a preponderance of commenters want the same thing, I'll either (a) search for multiples or (b) have a random drawing to see who gets it.

6. If you're merely out to stump me, you'll be immediately disqualified. That's a nice way of saying you're S.O.L. that month.

This month, as an added shopping bonus, I'll be at the BF with 1099 other vendors this coming weekend, so I should be able to find nearly ANYTHING. Then again, that means I'm missing 2 all-important days of estate-sale shopping.

Lemme have it! XOX

Vintage Items IN BULK!?!

One of my OG junking buddies lives in Larchmont, NY, and forwarded me this email she received today:

I sell vintage collectible and costume jewelry online at Beth's Beauties. I am closing my shop and would like to sell these items that I have left in bulk at a very discounted price. Many items can be viewed on my website, in addition to lots of things that never made it to the site. I have several sets of vintage 1950's/60's glassware, 1960's California Pottery Lazy Susan's, vintage kitchen and home knick knacks. Georges Briard serving platter, McCoy canister and coffee set. Many vintage purses. Some vintage costume jewelry. If you are interested in purchasing this collection please contact Beth at bethsbeauties@gmail.com (I deleted her phone number, figuring that's just not my place to pass THAT along).

Her treasures are not quite my style, but maybe one of y'all (particularly anyone in the Tri-State area) might be interested. Happy hunting!


13 July 2008

Prized possessions?

In my most-recent "urge to purge", I've decided to offload some stuff that I LOVE, but has been sitting around for, oh 10/15/32 years that I have been hanging onto:

Blocks

40 vintage blocks that have been sitting in my basement since June 1997. NO IDEA what I thought I'd do with these, but now they're debuting at the BF.

Bottles

50ish small vintage bottles, most of which have been in said basement for 11 years. Someone wants them, I know.

Barbie

Now we're getting into difficult territory. I'm fully willing to admit that I played Barbies for an embarassingly long period of time. I'm serious. Most of y'all were probably playing spin-the-bottle, and this dork was still playing Barbies. Anyway, my point is that my primary obsession with Barbie was her fricking shoes. They were impossible to keep track of and you were always losing them. I am even willing to admit that I STOLE some from a childhood friend. Yes, I stole coveted Barbie shoes. In any event, I have a lot of Barbie shoes that I've been holding onto for nigh on 32 years. I've long thought I'd make some cool collage or frame with them, but it now seems absolutely ridiculous. I'm offering them up at the BF. It's not quite in keeping with my usual wares, but I'm willing to wager that some other now-grown pathetic tween loser is still jonesing for Barbie footwear.

I dug my Barbie Dream House out of the basement yesterday. In doing so, I was awash in memories of the all the fab clothes she had. None of the Mattel clothes really survived (either from decay or getting lost), but I had a house full of clothes that my mom and grandma made. I mentioned way back that they made matching outfits for our Barbies for whatever they made us. Don't believe me? Check out Barbie's skirt in the above photo (ignore the fact that she's lost her vest and is now topless), and re-visit my holiday posting:

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If that doesn't delight a 9-year-old, what will? Uh, don't answer that question.

Among the other cool things, though, I found this "skating" outfit grandma knit for my Barbie:

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These, of course, I'll NEVER sell. As well as the Barbies, Skippers, and Dawn Dolls (remember them?) with the punk-@ss haircuts we gave them. As if.

12 July 2008

Punching the Junking Clock

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Today was an awesome day! I'll spare you my usual overly descriptive blatherings, except to say I got all this awesome stuff from Chartreuse, and then my friend Tammy's farmhouse sale. All whites, pinks, and dove gray. LOVING it all!

I'm furiously compiling ephemera packs, painting furniture, ironing linens, and dragging out some stuff that I've been holding onto for years that it's time to offload! I've only got this weekend, since I'm working late all week. I have a good feeling about this next BF (next weekend). OK, that's just wishful thinking...