Other Changes at Our Riverbend Booths

In addition to opening a new booth, we added new things to our other spaces at Riverbend:

I bought the telephone for a Christmas storytelling program but never used it for that purpose, so into the booth it went today--to be displayed on the vintage telephone table I painted a few weeks ago.

Oddly enough, I sold a punch set just like this one a few weeks ago in Marietta. I was surprised to find another so soon. LE Smith Moon & Stars pattern.

We brought in the green metal chair, and the square walnut table and pitcher and bowl set too.

And added a fe more pieces of Pyrex,

a wood homemade ironing board...

the little green dresser, a mirror and two stunning lamps (one is damaged but I love it anyway). I replaced the light sockets and plugs on these all by myself  😊 My electrician father would have been proud!

Also added this silverplate dresser set.

A better look at one of those pretty lamps.

I forgot to get a photo of the pretty enamel-topped table in this picture--it has the neatest design on its top.

I added a few more teacups to the tea table--I'll probably change this display out to something else soon.

And added the cowboy wall art--not old, just cool.

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

Aftermath: Ripley on Sale

So, how was it?

It was grand! We had such a good time seeing friends and catching up with some we hadn't seen in forever as well as those we get to see more often. And we sold stuff. Lots of stuff! Our goals were to clear out some older merchandise, get rid of some "why-did-I-buy-this" stuff, and to have fun. We met all of those goals and then some.

The weather was iffy. Rain and storms were predicted for the entire weekend. I bought a canopy when I saw the long-range forecast and Thursday Larry and I practiced putting it up--good thing. I can imagine the stress if we'd tried it for the first time onsite as we tried to get everything unloaded and set up.

My friend Suzy shared the space with me, and I can't give her enough thanks for all her help. All three of us were kept hopping, and her being there also allowed us all to be able to roam around and shop from time to time.

I worked late the night before the sale, getting this chalk-painted table and chairs ready to go. We ended up bringing it home with us, but it got plenty of attention. A little boy loved the folding fan in the jug, so he got it for half price, a whole 50 cents! I sold several things like that to children, or just gave it to them, because I want to encourage another generation of vintage lovers.

Larry and Suzy hard to work!

Black on black. I had a half dozen or more woven seat chairs, all painted in bright colors. They all sold! The Mail Pouch mirror got lots of lookers but no sale.

This mirror sold to a young lady in college. Mirrors are a popular item, I've found. The quilt came back home, which didn't break my heart. I often use this one here!

The bike sold at the very end of the sale as storms threatened; the wheelbarrows and ladders came home, as did that fruit crusher thingie. It was awesome to have there, just for all the conversations about it!  The high-wheel cultivator sold earlier in the morning.

I painted this tray white and tried to sell it for a year or more with no luck. So I painted it aqua and sanded it back to reveal several layers of color, and it sold quickly.

The little tables were also last-minute projects and they sold today, The chair also sold as did the white compote.

The primitive looking items were great attention-getters, which was my plan--display them in view of the street where people could see them and maybe come on in to have a closer look.

I bought some marked-down geraniums and plunked them into coffee cans for display and color. And see the little table and set of balancing scales behind the chair? I bought them early Friday from another vendor, and sold them for more than double my money before the end of the day. I hadn't intended to sell them here but oh well!

Larry re-did these wheelbarrows and they look great, but both came home with us. They go to our booths.

Smalls attracted lots of attention, especially this table of 50-cent items. At the end of the sale all these cheaper items went either to Goodwill or to a lady who does glass art. I did NOT want to bring them home with me. We sold a lot of them though so that was good, and people loved getting a bargain.

Larry makes these ladders which sell pretty well on our booths. We sold one of them at this sale. The other will go to a booth.

It's interesting to watch people at such events. There are the "experts" who want to tell you all about your stuff and are looking for big bargains. Then there are those who say "I have no room in my house for anything else!" and yet here, they are, still shopping. There are the ones who pick up pieces and say, "I played with these as a child/I remember these coming in washing powder?I drank out of these when I was a youngster." There are the men looking for tools and loving the $1.00 bin of rusty stuff, the young girls decorating their homes or planning their wedding, the children who are looking for toys. (I had several things to give away to the latter, because I remember how it was to see things and not be able to have them.) Then there are the ones who loved the painted furniture and who take photos of it so they can do the same. I'm fine with that--sharing is what I am all about.

Amongst all of the above, there were plenty of buyers. It was a lot of work, but definitely worthwhile, and we'll do it again next year. Right now, I just want to put my feet up and celebrate the good time we had at Ripley On Sale!


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

Booth Update: Ravenswood Booth

We've been busy with gardens and grass but haven't been neglecting the booths. Here's a look at the recent changes to our booth at Riverbend Antique Mall in Ravenswood, WV:

Little gray chair is still there, so I added a miner's lunch bucket and granite pitcher to it--no flat space goes unused in a booth!

I packed this sweet little sewing basket with sewing notions, hoping it finds a place in someone's heart.

Fiesta teacups, glass birds and all kinds of oddments gather on these shelves.

Larry tried his hand at building a rustic work stand, and I think it came out very well.

We moved the dresser and rocker to a new corner because we needed the front space for...

this table and four chairs we've been working on. The table was a sad little dropleaf that had been left out in the weather so the top was all curled up and ruined. We took off the legs, Larry built a new top, and I painted it to give it an aged, farmhouse look. Then added 2 chairs I'd bought already painted, and painted 2 more to match, and ta-da! A new set, ready for someone's home.

Pyrex is increasingly difficult to find at prices I can afford to buy for resale, but every now and then a piece turns up.

We didn't have any cast iron at Ravenswood so I added some. There is still a demand for it; men especially seem to look for it.

Teapots and more teapots. I love the tall one--I suppose it's really a coffeepot, but in this house, it would be for tea.

Now I need to get to work on new projects. Maybe a Hoosier? or that credenza that's been in my way for a year? or a chest of drawers? Decisions, decisions!


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

Back to Painting: Riverbend Booth Upate

It was a beautiful morning for a walk, so that's what we did. We had to give up on walking for a while because Larry was having so many knee/back/neck issues, but today he was finally feeling good enough to go again. We found that we were able to walk all the way to the top of our steep driveway without a pause, which is pretty good. We also picked up a large bag of trash as we walked, stuff that had been tossed along our road over the winter months. There's still more; our bag filled pretty quickly.

We've been on a whirlwind of furniture work the past few days. Two larger pieces sold at our Riverbend Antique Mall booth and I had nothing ready to go. That meant choosing from our stockpile some pieces that could be completed quickly. We worked Friday afternoon and most of Saturday and then again Sunday morning, and by the time we were done we had a big load to take to the mall.

Here's a look at what we took. Once again I forgot my camera, and my cell phone photos didn't come out well so please forgive the quality of some of these photos. I blame the cameraperson entirely.

I love rocking chairs but usually steer away from buying them to sell because they seem to be a hard sell. But this one, I think, will attract a buyer.

 We have several old bikes that we need to get into booths. We wired a little wicker basket to this one and added some silk flowers.

Here's the rocker, at home in the booth, with a quilt to keep it warm.

The dresser has been in the booth for about a month now, but the little white table was a new add yesterday.

Weird angle on this photo! Cracked ice formica top table and the white bread box are also new to this booth. I don't have chairs for the table yet, still looking.

Treadler base table and some Easter bunny blow molds are also new. Larry whipped out that table pretty quick.

Here's a little better look at the table. 

And a closer look at the top. This top has a funny story with it. I bought a table at a thrift shop that was kind of short, and this was the top on it--but it was painted white and had a notch cut out of one side. We took the top off because we had a porcelain top we thought we could use on the short table, and I bought leg extenders for it--who knew there was such a thing! That project, however, has been on hold. When we did a room cleanup a couple months ago we almost pitched this top. Then when we were looking for a top for the treadle, we came upon this one. Larry cut off the notched area, and when he was sanding it all these layers of paint appeared. Needless to say, we left it just as it was, just waxed it for protection. 

I love, love, love the way this desk came out! Will someone else love it as well? We shall see. This had damage to the top drawer that took a creative repair and necessitated the paint. I am hoping someone will want a bright and sunny spot in their workroom or home office. Yellow isn't everyone's favorite color, but I could not see this desk in any other color. The old portable typewriter even has the manual that came with it. So cool.

Now, maybe I can get back to work on the dresser I was planning to do next. Or maybe that other table. Or the credenza. Or some chairs...

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

Booth Update: Marietta

We worked for hours, literally, on our Marietta booth yesterday while we waited on some people who wanted to look at a few things we had there. They never showed up, but the booth got a good going-over and we added lots of new things, so it was a good day after all.

Getting in the holiday mood with green Anchor Hocking glasses and pitcher, and some budweiser Cydesdale pilsner glasses.

I loved this long framed piece featuring New Yorker covers. The woven seat chairs are in front of a rusty old Chevy tailgate.

More green! I don't know who made this set, but it's heavy and has an interesting design.

A glass dome, globe bookends, musical note ornaments co-exist on top of a victrola.

Teapots! Lots to choose from here, along with an antique apple peeler, a chrome percolator (it works) and a lovely tureen with its ladle.

A friend recently hooked me up with a family that wanted to get rid of boxes and boxes of afghans and linens. These are just a few of them. Beautiful workmanship in these cozy pieces.

Tick tock goes the clock(s). Vintage clocks fascinate me.

Holidays strike again with these two lamps.

A better look at the chairs. These are in really nice shape.

Aprons, anyone?

Framed art, a huge old trunk, beer stein ornament and Budweiser mugs.

This dressing table might come home and get a mirror and some paint added.

Seems like I'vee added a llot of beer items! The big deer is another metal beer sign.

Two Hoosiers at Marietta. These take a while to sell but they make great display pieces meanwhile.

That's all for this post. I have many more pics from Marietta I'll share later.

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