Booth Changes

This past weekend I had three options for things to do: go to Beckley, WV for the Coalwood Festival, go to Jonesborough, Tennessee for the National Storytelling Festival, or stay here and participate in the annual Sidewalk Sale at the Riverbend Antique Mall.

I chose the sidewalk sale, for several reasons. First, the other two would havecost money and meant I'd be away from home for one to three or four days. I have a lot of travel coming up this month so a weekend in the home territory was appealing. Second, I had some ideas in mind for changes I wanted to make in my booths at Riverbend. And third, one of my retirement goals was to participate more in events in my home area.

It was a blast! We worked hard, not just Larry and I but the mall owner and employees and the other vendors who participated. We had lots of traffic even though the weather was less than perfect, and we sold lots of stuff. Oddly, the things we had on display outside did not sell nearly as well as the stuff inside! The outside sale certainly attracted attention, though, and drew people into the mall.

During slow times I worked on the booths. We'd rented a new space into which we were moving one of our 4 booths. I wasn't happy with the last one we rented, and can't really say why except that it just felt too small and I could never get it arranged to my liking. The new space is a little bigger and has a good exterior wall for lots of hanging space.

I thought I could get it all done in one day, but that was optimistic! I had new things to bring in, big things to move and all while people meandered in and out. But it all got done and I am happy with the results. Will it improve sales? That remains to be seen, but even if sales remain steady I am still happier with the new space.

Here's a few photos of the changes. First is the new booth. The space to the right is currently empty, awaiting another vendor's expansion later this month. Everyone in this mall seems to do well.

Those placemats sold online this evening when I posted this photo on a vintage kitchen group. I'll have to go over and get them tomorrow.

Here's the steel cabinet we re-did recently, ready for its new home.

The Sellers cabinet, in the new booth. I'm not 100% happy about where it is, but it will do for now.

Since the holidays are approaching I thought I'd get the dining table out where it could be better seen, and deck it out with china and crystal.

The Wexford pieces make a nice display and they're inexpensive enough for the everyday table.

I followed another vendor's advice and set up the treadle table with kitchenware to suggest using it as a kitchen island. Perfect for rolling out piecrust!

This cabinet got moved to a better location too, more visible and fits better.

And the same for the washstand.

The old standby metal shelves still serve a good purpose; they hold a lot of stuff!

The view up-booth.

Perfume bottles and a pretty glass lady.

This nice desk is really heavy, very pretty and would also make a great kitchen island.

We still have this cabinet. I've noticed that most furniture that's over $200 takes a good while to sell. In the meantime it makes a good display piece.

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