Vintage Rescue Squad

VRS Worldwide Enterprises, and The Winter Junk Blues

a corner of our booth at Weathered Elegance

This time of year, when the good junking is sparse and flea markets and fairs are non-existent 'round these parts, it's easy to lapse into the winter junk blues. Said blues are compounded by sloooow sales in the antique malls.

 

a corner of my Leesburg Antique Emporium booth

I have a hard time getting stoked to re-stock/re-foof when I'm not scoring new junk, and when the weather is cold, and (for what it's worth, honestly) when sales are slow. As Snis is quick to remind me, this time of year is ALWAYS slow, so we can't take it personally. It's hard not to, however.

 

What's the solution? Stock the etsy shop!

I've employed some creative mind-tricks (well, reality-based sensibilities). But, if I remind myself that VRS has many presences, and it's not about "covering the rent/expenses", then I can see my business (once again) in a successful light. Yeah, sales in the uber-expensive booth are down, and sales in the new booth are just now coming to fruition, but with etsy's super-low overhead and reliable sales, it all evens out.

What do you do to weather the fallow months? When you stare at the hoard in your home? I'm redoubling efforts on all fronts this month—not necessarily for the income (I'm fortunate in that I don't rely on VRS' success), but to make way for MORE JUNK!

Moving Into a Second Shop ... Gulp.

If you were just as surprised as I was that I was painting again, then I feel I owe you an explanation. With each new calendar year, we all assess what we might need to change up. What's working? What's not? Why do we still have SO MUCH JUNK?

 

Back in November, my sister made a business decision to close up her booth and re-focus on creating and having more fun junking, rather than selling. Well, that lasted about 3 days. Next thing we knew, she's moved to a new shop that had just opened up in downtown Leesburg: Weathered Elegance. She's loving the new shop, and it's gorgeous, as you can see. Two vendors from the now-closed Urban Pickers started it up.

Weathered Elegance is more of a shabby chic/home decor shop than we've previously been in, and when the owner and my sister asked if I'd like to come aboard, I decided it's the perfect time to move the last of my shabby items. And, hopefully sell more so I can BUY MORE.

 

Now, my sister and I are sharing a booth. Although I'm well aware of the perils of sharing a booth, I think we can definitely roll with it. Our junk works well together, and we've got our eyes and hearts open. It's bigger financial commitment for me (hence the GULP), but I've got to move the junk!