A Busy 4th

Day one of the annual big antique show and flea market is over and man am I whupped. The temperatures were over 90 degrees and with the humidity it was one of the hottest days I can remember.

It was a good day, though, with lots of sales and so many nice people. One of my favorites today was the young boy of about 7 who looked very puzzled when I said hello to him. He thought I must know him.

"My name is Willie," he said, "and that's my grandpa William," pointing to an older gentleman.
Then he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Susanna," I said.

"Oh. Well, it's very nice to meet you." And off he went with his grandfather. I am still smiling over his courteousness.

Then there was the couple with a 4 year old and year-old twins. The four-year-old was wanting to touch a lot of things, and Dad was kept busy keeping him straight. I had a bag of small toy cars, and offered them to the little guy. He was over-the-moon happy about that! "I've never had so many cars!" he said. "Thank you very much!" What sweetness.

Other memorable people: the woman who came back three times to enjoy standing in front of our awesome antique fan (that is NOT for sale!); the woman and daughter from Texas who bought one of my painted mirrors and an old, faded flag; the lady who stayed for a leisurely conversation about storytelling when business was slow; vendors, some of whom I see often, others only at this market. And so many others.

Our sales were good on this first day and although the heat was beyond believable, people seemed to enjoy themselves.

I started the day by getting the booth opened up, then I left to tell stories at the annual Mountain State Arts and Crafts Fair a few miles down the road. Since it was early--the fair had just opened--it had not yet got really hot. I was in a tent with a big fan, a real blessing. Today was stories from the German culture. I'll be back at the Fair Friday and Saturday for Celtic and Americas storytelling.

Right now, though, I'm off to bed early so I can be ready for another hot, busy day.

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

The Day After: The Fairplain Antique and Flea Market

The van is unloaded. The crates, totes, boxes and flotsam is organized and pretty much put away. The truck is still full but we will wait until tomorrow to put away tables, planks, sawhorses and other things that won't be hurt by the weather.

Groceries have been bought for the first time since Mid-June except for the milk-and-bread-toilet paper-and-wine runs. Necessities, you know.

The laundry is caught up. The bills are mostly paid. The trash has been taken out or burned.

The money has been put in the bank--a big ol' pile of ones and fives with a nice amount of other denominations and a few checks. The bank teller's eyes looked funny until I told her what we'd been doing. Guess she thought I was a drug dealer or something.

Larry is out checking on his gardens after 5-6 days of neglect. He is also refilling bird feeders and cussing at the red squirrel who is helping himself to the feeder while we're away.

The antique/flea market was a lot of fun, a lot of work and a ton of sweat. We finished emptying our booth this morning, which was much easier than filling it.  We made 150% of our goal, bought some cool stuff, traded with other vendors and downright gave away stuff we had no intention of bringing home. We met some of the coolest people and earned strong respect for those who do this every weekend. What tough people they must be! We are wimps, worn out and limping after this week of work. But we're more than satisfied.

Tonight all I plan to do is watch a movie. Or maybe two. And drink a glass of wine. Or maybe two.

Tomorrow morning we get back to the routine, loading the van to restock Ravenswood, then re-loading storytelling things for Thursday and Friday's performances in the northern panhandle. I'll be tired again by Saturday but it will be a different, yet no less satisfied tired.

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

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

Day 3: Reflections

Fun,tiring day at the antique/flea market. This was day 3--one more day to go. This is our first time trying a market like this. We took stuff that was stored in an outbuilding for the past year or so, just needed to unload it. We sold like crazy til 2:00 today, then it was almost all lookers and no buyers.

The good parts:bought some cool stuff, talked to lots of people, saw many friends and some family, getting to know other vendors --very nice, generous people. The not-so-good: many hours on our feet, long days, dragging it all in then having to pack up again after 4 days (our space was 14x24, a lot to fill). 

Would I do it again? The jury is still out, but I think so. Best buy: 4 antique (1885) goblets for $3.00 each that have sold recently on eBay for $26+ apiece. Second best buy: a cross-stitched quilt to raffle at the family reunion next May .

Some things I learned: 

• rearrange often! moving stuff around throughout the day seemed to help sales.
• have lots of light--we keep adding lamps and it helps--this barn is dark
• bring a fan
• figure out the cash-out station in advance and set it up. We were not set up well for this.
• hang as much as possible.
• bring extra totes of stuff to set out as things sell

One more day then we pack it all up. And lots of stuff we needed gone--gone! Some of what's left is headed to the charity shop because I am NOT going to drag it around any more!

What's selling: 

• small, cheap furniture pieces
• old rusty tools
• quilts ( cheap ones, less than $40--these were cutters, with many issues)
• chenille bedspreads (all to one woman, so my price must have been good)
• small window shutters, the kind that go inside the windows
• windows
• Pyrex
• wood boxes
• picture frames
• inexpensive, cool-looking lamps
• kids' toys
• shutters
• chairs

Also sold:

• one rusty old bike
• one old door
• picket fence pieces
• some handmade pottery
• a few doilies, after many, many people pulled through them
• one old, non-working radio
• one weird tool that no one knew what it was, but the guy who bought it said for $2 he'll have one tool he doesn't know what it's for!
• axes, hatchets

What hasn't sold well:

• glassware (I had a good bit, priced it dead cheap and sold some, but still plenty left)
• GlasBake--no collectors for this stuff yet
• DVDs--even for $1 each
• linens other than quilts, aprons and doilies (0 sales so far)
• framed art, even dead cheap in nice frames 

What other vendors say is selling well, and is generally true for antique malls too:

• rusty stuff--washtubs, galvanized buckets, etc
• cast iron
• metal signs
• automotive stuff
• blue canning jars
• milk bottles
• chests and boxes but they have to be very cool, and cheap
• graniteware if cheap!
• Tobacco tins
• metal gasoline cans

What everyone looks at but doesn't buy for the most part:

• the old bikes
• apple butter kettle (we hear lots of stories about making it!)
• tools (men are picky--and cheap)
• doilies
• rolling pins
• granite-topped kitchen table (we hear stories about Grandma's table though)
• our fan-because it isn't for sale :)

Have you noticed that cheap is a recurring theme here? I guess because flea market is in the name so people expect low prices. We had heard this and planned accordingly. 

So that's what I've noticed so far. Tomorrow, who knows? 

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

People Watching at the Flea Market

The Fairplain Antique and Flea market is a great vantage point to watch the world go by. Like:

The young boy in worn boots and jeans, whistling as he walked by with long strides, hands in his pockets.

Two year old Aubrey, who offered to stay and help, her dark brown eyes serious as she touched my hand.

The 87 year old Marine, Korean War vet, who walked straight as an arrow.

The older man from Weirton who spoke so wistfully about apple butter as he looked at the kettle we had for sale. A jar will be in the mail to him soon.

The little girl with a dollar who wanted the $3 beanie baby...of course she got a $2 discount.

The tall, thin young man in black carrying a pink guitar.

The two women who met in our booth and discovered that while they both had roots in Jackson county, they were both now living a couple blocks apart in Indiana, and had not met before this moment.

The little girl there with her father, a vendor, who befriended another older man who was selling milk bottles in the booth next to us. She became his very best friend, bringing him little gifts she'd made.

Fred and Tom, elderly vendors across the aisle from us, who lived a continent apart but got together several times a year to sell or fish, or just to visit, friends since high school.

The man with one arm, the one in a wheelchair, the woman with two canes, the young father carrying a sleeping baby, the mother with four adopted daughters...

It was been an interesting day at the antique market.

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

Mercy Me! The Fairplain Antique and Flea Market

Just getting started, not even unpacked.

Basically, setting up for a long weekend antique/flea market is like setting up a big booth at an antique mall--and then taking it all down again four days later. It's a LOT of work! I watched the pros setting up and realized that they have this down pat. First they hung tarps or sheets around their stalls. Then they put up lights, then the shelves.

This is our first venture into selling at a short-term place like this, and it's been an experience. We didn't bring sheets or tarps; we didn't bring lights. We had tables but not enough of them, and no lights. I'd brought some sheets to cover our stuff up when we were closed in the evenings, and those ended up on the stall walls. Not the colors I'd have chosen, but hey, it worked. Larry went home and got cords and I had brought some lamps to sell so we were able to plug up some lights. We also brought our old fan, a godsend. I used crates and whatever I could find for additional display space and we were set. After about 16 hours between us, the booth was ready to open.

We got there early this morning and that gave us time to tweak things a little more. Sales started out early and brisk, and that seemed to set the pace for the day. There were a few lulls but we were busy all day. I did not bring anything very expensive--almost everything was under $50--and I think that was a good strategy because people were looking for small things, and for things that would fit into cars, vans and SUVs. The biggest sale all day was $60, but there were lots and lots of small sales that added up to a very good day, above my expectations. Maybe that's because I said Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit this morning?

We noticed what was selling and Larry made a trip home to get more of the same. Being there alone was not so easy--no bathroom breaks, no time to wander and browse. But it was doable, and now we have new supplies for tomorrow. We also came home and looked for more--quilts, chairs, small tables, primitive/rustic items were the sellers. Glass, not so much. In fact, hardly at all.

Tomorrow we'll be up and out early again, and I hope we have another good day like today. Even during slow periods it's not boring because it was so interesting to watch what people walk by with! I'll have to remember to take better photos too--most of the ones I took today with my phone were blurry, so I'll be back to the camera.

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