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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Working on the Booth

We worked on our Marietta booth on Sunday afternoon, adding a few new items. Sales are slower in both locations this month, but we were warned in advance that January and February were traditionally slow sales months, so we weren't surprised. Still sales have been better than I expected. Here are a few picks of some changes we made at the Marietta booth. We'll be working on our Ravenswood booth this week as well; constant updating keeps the stock looking fresh and attractive, especially for the regulars who might not stop in if everything looks the same each time they come.

I added this small clothes rack to hold linens. I'm not sure I like it, though. I'll see how it works out over the next couple of weeks. I think people are going to knock things off of it pretty easily. One of those good ideas that may turn out to be not so good.



Boy, can you tell I was hurrying when I took these? The floor really isn't that unlevel!

Here I moved the Ransburg canisters and cookie jar to to top of the old kitchen cabinet. I liked the red and white contrast. I grouped  few other red items and left the gold polka dot pottery for contrast. I also grouped the peachglow pieces and added a vintage cookbook to this table.

On the wall is a recent acquisition, a coal miners lunch bucket. These are getting harder and harder to come by and the prices reflect that scarcity.


We also found this copper boiler recently. It's in good condition with no holes, but it has a few dents which is not uncommon for this old pieces. I debated cleaning it to a bright copper shine, but decided to leave that to the taste of its (hopefully) new owner. Right or wrong, do you think?

I made some major changes in this cabinet. I removed most of the stock I had on these shelves--it's been there a while with no real interest so it was time for a change. I added new items and displayed the older things so that they showed better. For instance, on the top shelf there is a green Depression glass bowl. I've had it there for a bit, but you could not really see its color. Its new home shows it to better advantage. Will it sell? Who knows, but at least it might get noticed.
 More new additions: a small wood folding stool, a lidded tin bucket with a nice shabby look to it, and a lidded basket that looks just right for a small sewing basket.

Here's the bottom shelves of the big cabinet. The butter churn is a recent find, actually 2 finds. We found the jar in a junk shop, then I went on eBay to find the top to fit it. A lot of what we do is like this--find, fix, clean, repair, and then finally and hopefully sell.


We still (always) have more to do in this booth, but I was happy with the changes we made this time.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

6 comments:

  1. I love linens & it is always hard to display them well & make them easily accessible for customers.

    My favorite way that I've seen is to hang them on hangers - where they can be slid on a rod or at least hung on hooks, ladder, anything. Drape the larger pieces over the hanger & clothes pin the smaller pieces to one. Maybe something you can think about in the future if the drying rack doesn't work.

    I so wish I could come by your booths!

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  2. I do enjoy looking at your shops and the things you have for sale. It is fun to see how many of the items I have, or had at one time. One thing I've never ever seen is the peach glow pie plate - love that. I think leaving the copper for the buyer is a good choice - I would prefer mine be aged - and it is. LOL Good luck with sales.

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  3. That is what I've been doing too. Removing, adding, grouping for color/season/type etc. Its quieter in my area in January and February too. Very important to change things out so regular shoppers can see fresh views. I am going to be painting a hallway shelf, removing the videos (not paying their way) and putting in mid-century modern, which I am surprised to find is about what I sell anyway, just thought it was vintage stuff. I love blogs for learning tools.
    Joy

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  4. Love checking in here to see what you are up to. I'm convinced you are the energizer bunny incognito. I've never seen nor heard of anyone doing as much as you. From canning, to packaging for ebay to your booths and shopping for them. Whew. Tired just saying all that stuff.
    Love your stores, at least looking at them on here. Someday I may get to visit them in person.
    Until then good luck with purchases and those sales.
    Blessings, B

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  5. I love all of your things, but really those peach luster dishes :)

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  6. Joy, I find that the mid-century things are what sell best too. It's generational, I suppose--people get to a certain age and begin looking back, looking for memories of home, childhood, grandma's house. There will also always be a market for primitive/antique items, I'm sure, but the current trend is the mid-century. It could be inspired by TV shows like Mad Men.

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