Vintage Rescue Squad

Junk Roadtrip, Keeping it Legal

Day 2: I bought so much, they made me get a residential hunter's permit—junk hunter, that is. Just kidding; it's for an upcoming project....

Junk Roadtrip, Dahlink!

Day 1: Like you wouldn't have bought all of these super-fab Hy Tique Hosiery lampshades featuring Eva Gabor....

The Plan.

Lately, I've been plotzing over various aspects of my business. Basically, I want to work on it 24/7, junking 365, but the reality of a big-grrrrl deadline-oriented job (coupled with my tendency towards inertia when tempted by a computer and a new tv) has resulted in some inattention to my booth, my etsy shop, and my blog. Ugh.

 

I know we all just want to junk and hoard, and then (maybe) sell, but the reality is that we're running businesses. It may not feel like it when you're blissfully amassing awesome junky finds, but in the minds of the IRS, and in your heart, you know the numbers need to add up.

 

The beauty of it is that ultimately, YOU are in control of it. Unless you're entirely dependent on junking for your income, so what if you skipped restocking this weekend? What's gonna happen if you don't blog for a week?

But, the fact remained: I had to kick my junky @ss into place. Accordingly, I've adopted a 6-week plan. It's not much of a plan, but a plan it is. I've vowed that for the next 6 weeks, I will do SOMETHING every.single.day to advance my business in some way.

Some days, it's the drudgery of listing items on etsy (yay, almost doubled my listings this weekend!). Other days, it's the necessities: today I repurchased my domain name, which (ssshhh) had lapsed. Yeah, I haven't done a damned thing with a real website, but I need to own it. This week, I'm opening a shop on Supadupa to sell items that aren't right for the booth, and are not allowed on etsy. Hopefully, most days will involve BUYING, my ab-fab activity.

 

You know my motto: love your business and it will love you. What other ideas do you have about kickstarting your biz?

Behold, You Sewing Geeks!

An unassuming listing on Craigslist yesterday led to me visiting a Baptist church this morning. Me! The listing was for a "1922 tailoring samples book". The price seemed high, but the book sounded interesting. As a bonus, the seller told me that it was a leftover prop from a church play, and that they were always selling off old props. That was enticement enough to reel me in—maybe I could make a good connection!

 

Check out this beauty of a haberdasher's book! I'm swooning over the typeface, especially the abbreviation of O. for Ohio, and the adorable corners that make it look like a ledger. Inside, it keeps getting better:

 

I could spend hours drooling over the opening spread. At left, "The Riverside Man," the company mascot, looms like a Macy's day parade balloon, spreading a map of the US. You can't see it, but the state of Ohio has "Home of Riverside Tailoring Co." What attention to detail! The right side is the company's pitch. But, the best part, of course, are the interior pages.

 

 

 

 

The illustrations are gorgeous—32 spreads of fabulosity. Unfortunately, all the material samples are missing (I guess glue wasn't meant to last that long), and the residual paste has caused some damage to parts of each illustration. Thankfully, they're not sticky though. This is what I love about ephemera; items like these were not intended to last 90 years. As this is a book from 1922, I'm guessing there was a new book every year—I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

 

But the best part? It's a mamma jamma of a book, measuring 22" x 16.5" x 3". Coming soon to my etsy shop!

Refueling the Junking Mojo

my booth this weekend

Lately, I don't know what's up with me. I can't even remember the last time I went to an estate sale. I haven't been buying much; and I DEFINITELY haven't been posting to my blog or VRS' Facebook page. Pathetic.

 

Holy cigar display case! This was at Chartreuse and I SERIOUSLY thought about buying it....

What I needed, CLEARLY, was not only a kick in the panties, but not-one-but-two barn sales this past weekend! Chartreuse's amazing annual $10, $5, and $1 fields were DEFINITELY on my list. And, there were more cubbies than imaginable (featured in a later post).

 

Rubbish, back in February....

I finally met Candace, proprietress extraordinaire of the amazing Rubbish at Chartreuse. I've long drooled over her displays, so this was quite the treat.

THEN, on a tip from my beloved sis, I hit up the Loyalty Red Barn Sale. Holy barn-sale treasures! I heard about this sale the weekend of Lucketts Spring Market, but thought it was a one-time deal. PHEW. It's once a month! I'm feeling like I'm bouncing back a bit, after visiting with Shelley in FL at her new booth at Adjectives Market.

 

another recent view of my booth

I'm clearly slowly crawling back to my comfort zone, so it's a mighty fine plan that I've come up with. I just hope it works. Details to come....

Early Bird Gets the Goods: Flea Market Edition

Yeah, I'm like a parrot every month: I love my local Civitan flea market. First Saturday of every month, just a half mile from my house. Not every dealer is vintage (or has good items), but those that do remember me (and some even save me some good junk).

 

This time, I of course bought a few items in my comfort zone (signs), but when I saw the box of sewing kits for a single bill, I nearly choked. At that point, I also knew that there was no way Beth had already showed up (which is a miracle—she ALWAYS beats me to the estate sales and fleas). Either that, or vintage sewing kits are now big-time dud sellers....

 

No WAY, however, would I have passed on this teensy Wonder Bread matchbook-sized mending kit, though!

 

And tell me you would've skipped this sweet aluminum grease canister. As a bonus, it's immaculate. I'm not sure I can ever part with it.

Vacation Junking

Please tell me that any vacation you take, you also sneak in some junking. I need to know it's not just me! Last weekend, I spent 5 glorious days in beautiful Rehoboth Beach, Delaware—a blast from the past! A mere 2.5-hour (non-rush-hour-holiday-weekend-traffic) trip away, Rehoboth was my go-to destination for 9 loooooong boozy years. I gave it all up when I bought my house, so it was a special treat to spend those 5 days there.

 

Of course, if I'm traveling, I'm junking. If I'm gonna sit in holiday-weekend, snails-pace traffic for 3+ hours, who cares if it now takes 5+ hours? I might as well be junking. I hit every antique/junk store on the way down to the beach.

This was a special vacation: 10 adults and 4 kids, and we're all neighbors. Yep, I went on vacation with 3 other families that LIVE on my 1-block street (and one family that moved 1.5 miles away). Are we nuts or what? 

 

I also hit every remaining antique/junk store on the drive home. Painful admission: I also spent 1 of the 5 days junking. Hey, I was sunburnt. And I'm addicted to junking. Even on vacation.