Vintage Rescue Squad

Junking Panic Sets In

Not me, silly. The panic was among Big Flea dealers. This weekend was the 5X/year Big Flea. I didn't show up for the first day*, but should I really have been surprised that TWO DEALERS texted me to see where I was? They both asked whether I'd FORGOTTEN that it was Big Flea weekend. You know you're hardcore if dealers are TEXTING YOU. Am I that predictable?

Luckily for the dealers, I AM truly predictable: Chuck had these cool vintage laundry soaps that I couldn't resist, so I bought them ALL, which will be on etsy this weekend. I can't verify the redemption of the decades-old coupon, nor the efficacy of the cleansing agents, but these will look damn cool in your laundry room if you've bought into the faboo-laundry-room trend. Truth be told, mine is still sporting the cobwebby-lint-cinderblock decor, but more power to you if your laundry room is magazine-worthy. You win.

I didn't buy much (guess the killer smalls went on the first day), but am ecstatic about my purchases. Yeah, I went industrial again. The orange shelving spoke to me in an inexplicable manner (it might stay mine), but the rest is solid.

The stick thing is a belt sizer—too cool for the average buyer, but I'm hoping someone will dig it. It felt strange not buying smalls, and shopping on the last day, but DANG were the prices gooooood. I'm glad I responded to the bat-call.

*I was invited to a private de-stash barn sale. Like you wouldn't have taken that risk. 

Way Ahead of Ya #9: varsity (and yardlongs)

Just got the October 2012 Country Living yesterday, and guess what's the "hot" new collecting thing? Varsity and collegiate decor.

 

Guess what I started selling in May? They're up in my etsy shop now, and were featured on the Put This On blog yesterday!!! Put This On is mainly menswear (and decor), and is a "webseries about dressing like a grownup." I suspect if the editor knew me and the way I dress, I'd be booted off in a heartbeat.

And y'all KNOW I'm a downright hoarder when it comes down to yardlongs and pennants....

Embracing Etsy: Nearing a Milestone!

I'm just 2 sales away from my 500-sale milestone, so have been doing a lot of etsy reflecting lately. I've been selling there for over 3 years now—loving it, but it's still not easy. For those of us with full-time jobs, booths in antique malls (or shops), and an unslakeable junking jones, it's hard to always find the time to make it work. But it can.

I've chosen to keep my shop manageable. Sure, I'd love it to be more successful, but I've got other priorities. I can't always list new items. I don't want the hassle of shipping larger items. The beauty of etsy is that it can be whatever you want. Someone once asked me if it's "worth it". What ISN'T worth .20 for 4 months of advertising?!?

For me, the most tedious part is listing items. Other etsians complain about the photographing or the shipping. Others obsess over their stats and overanalyzing; that's just not my style. Don't even get me going on the SEO learning curve. However, it's all easily learned, and soon becomes routine.

I'm reviving my "embracing etsy" series in an effort to help any of YOU who are considering opening a shop or just want to know what it's like. Hit me up with any questions you might have. If you have a shop, what's the toughest part for you?

Rejuvenated Booth Love

Inexplicably, concurrent with (and in the aftermath of) the debacle of a possible booth change, my sales have suddenly increased exponentially in the last month. I've long said that "love your booth and your booth will love you." I knew I'd been neglecting it, and that summer doldrums were partially my fault. I'm trying to reverse that trend.

 

Since recommitting to my space, I'm enjoying it more, and have been foofing away. In fact, I actually MOPPED the wood floors today for the first time ever.*

*Oh, I sweep, but MOP? Never. What's got into me?

Law & Order: Flea Market

Early this morning, prior to heading out to Chartreuse's Market Days, I did the usual first-weekend-of-the-month event: hit the local Civitan flea market. Towards the end of my circuit, I parked my roller cart near a vendor and proceeded to peruse his wares. Nothing intriguing, so I grabbed the cart and headed to the parking lot. While heading out, I ran into 2 other dealers, so stopped to chat. Ten minutes later, I was ready to load the cart into my car.

 

D'OH! I'd inadvertently grabbed someone else's cart. Mortified, I hightailed it back into the flea market, retracing my steps. I was about 100 feet in when an imposing woman stopped dead, pointed at me and began screaming, "THIEF! THIEF!"

While she continued to scream at me, drawing a crowd, I calmly explained that it was an innocent mistake, I'd brought it back, and was very sorry. She was having none of it. She took out her phone and threatened to call the police. Whatever. The crowd kept explaining to her that it was over, crisis averted, and that I'd done the right thing in bringing it right back. Everyone proclaimed that they'd done so at a supermarket, and it was no big deal.

She was having none of it. I decided it was just time to walk away. I feel bad for scaring her, but BFD. It's happened to everyone. So much for my brush with the law.

 

I then hightailed it to Chartreuese, as my sister and many of my vendor peeps were selling. This taxidermy display out back cracked me up. I did a lot of visiting, and zero buying, which was a tad disappointing—though not surprising given my outlay in MB 2 weeks ago.

 

My sister, Michelle, had a lot of new altered dolls, which I adore.

 

The bad grrrl on the left is named Athena, the Huntress, and the one on the right is The Boss.

 

And she freely admitted that she spent waaayyy too much time on this. This, my friends, is why I adore flea markets. Even if I risk arrest once in a while.