Welcome 2015
I am going to share a bit about my booths at Village Antiques Mall at least once a month. I am proud of the collections I have put together, the many eclectic bits and pieces that make up my stock. There are always surprises while out searching, finding something unique or funky or something that needs TLC before it is ready to resell. Painting. Cleaning, Polishing.
I started out 20 years ago, a neophyte in reselling but not in collecting. I've been a collector of ephemera, linens and china since childhood, adding vintage Canadiana later.
Amazingly naive in the beginning, amazing learning curve over the last 20 years I've been a reseller of collectibles at Village Antiques Mall.
Always there is something new to learn. The business portion of being a reseller involves a lot of record keeping and all the related tax work. Paper, files, lovely office supplies, a decent camera, a decent computer, space to work, for me a great many books on Antiques and Collectibles. I also need vehicle that can haul furniture as well as lots of boxes full of stock.
Photography is a nice off shoot of collecting. There are always fresh items to use for a painted project before and after, for a vignette, for a collection/group, to use in a post.
Having a great love of reading, sewing and painting and doing paperwork in a timely way is useful for a reseller of vintage collectibles.
Wood, metal, cloth, vintage. A few painted projects. There are always great ideas on pinterest that often lead to new ideas for display, upgrading, embellishing, creating.
Sometimes repurposing. Reselling collectibles involves finding and storing a great amount of wonderful vintage objects. The finding of stock involves purposeful acquisition - that means scouring thrift stores, estates, auctions, garage sales, flea markets, watching for pop up sales, on line sales, being ready to follow up on leads, invitations to make offers, so much more. A great deal of personal time is involved in finding stock.
A great deal of washing of china or kitchenware, cleaning of metal pieces (and sometimes not cleaning them), cleaning, repairing if necessary, waxing and sometimes painting of wood, hours of research for pricing, writing tags, packing, hauling, grouping. You have to enjoy doing this sort of work (and I do).
Always, there is work to be done in one's booths. Lots of shelf dusting, china dusting, furniture dusting or perhaps polishing. Rearranging stock. Checking linens to see if they are 'shop worn' from handling. Decisions about where to put fresh items, how to freshen the shelves and vignettes, seasonal stock, storage. Boxing up stock that isn't popular or that is out of season, deciding to donate or store. Sweeping/vacuuming floors, picking up any messes, checking for spiderwebs/spiders and making sure the light bulbs are ok are included. The jobs that enhance the look of booths is another must do for successful reselling.
What do I do after I bring new stock home? Before stock is ready for sale it needs to be prepared and more often than not my kitchen is the paint shop, work shop, washing shop and office. My home works around the business. Organization, decision making, cleaning, fixing, painting, photographing, recording (I use spreadsheets for my inventory), pricing, tagging, packing, hauling, unpacking, placement in my booths in attractive configurations are all part of the job of buy the stock to place the new stock in my booths.
Thanks for visiting.
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It's not the piece of cake most think it is, is it? Most don't realize all of the hard work that goes into something like this. You do a fantastic job! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteJudy
Joy, thanks for sharing all the hard work that goes into having a booth. I love my vintage stuff but don't think I could ever make a seller. Wish I could shop your booth for sure.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Linda
Joy, I like that you have a little something for everyone's style. I think that's sometimes where I go wrong. I stock only what I like and wind up taking it home to decorate my house and I'm left with an empty booth. I am taking a break until Spring. Sounds like you're in it for a lifetime. Love all your fun finds .
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing this glimpse into your life!! Wish I lived close enough to visit this awesome booth! So much eye candy!!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you love what you do! You would have to!
Stay warm! It's cold all over the continent! Even in Texas!!!
Yes, it does take time and more to sell treasures at a shop. Enjoyed seeing your booth.
ReplyDeletewarmly,
deb
What great treasures!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun read. Looking at that one shelf with coffee / teapots...think they are Corelle or similar made me chuckle as I am sure that I had one like that when I was in my twenties.
ReplyDeleteThere is a local antique toy store that makes me crazy as half of the things in there are from my childhood which makes me an antique too :)
ahhh...this is just the sort of vintage shopping I love.
ReplyDeleteHappy Pinks...
You've done such a wonderful job. It takes a lot of work to keep up a booth. I've been thinking about it, but I don't think I have the time to spend doing that type of thing.
ReplyDeleteFabulous vintage collectibles, Joy. TFS. I am now a follower of your blog and look forward to return visits. I invite you to join me as well on my blog at http://atastefultouch.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHugs, Gayle.
I enjoy going to quarantine malls and have enough to fill a booth. Just did not think it worth the time it takes. You have so many nice things.
ReplyDeleteHi Joy,
ReplyDeleteI am just stopping by from Pink Saturday and how surprised I was to find that your booth is located in Fort Langley. I have been there several times. I was expecting to see it was somewhere far from me in the U.S. I must visit again soon. Karen (in Poco)
Happy Pink Saturday, Joy. I am so glad you joined us again today. I do wish you would include a link to Pink Saturday in your post so that some of your visitors might find us, too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the tour through your booth. I know how much work it must be, and your dedication shows in your great displays.
So many people want to try being a vintage dealer...it IS fun, but as you write so perfectly, it takes a LOT of work to do it well!
ReplyDeleteHi Joy, I so understand all of the time one spends in a business of reselling vintage and collectible treasures. I too did it for a few years. I still love the hunt. Your booth shows that your hard work at keeping it fresh and pretty as well as interesting is worthwhile. Everything is so lovely and well displayed. Loving it is very important.
ReplyDeletexo,
Jeanne
a lot of work and if you enjoy it, then you're a step ahead of it. I have a friend who does the same - her shop is Wow and Then - plus she organizes annual vintage sales in AB Canada. She loves it too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Guess what? You are being featured again as the link with "the most clicks". That's two weeks in a row. Congratulations!♥
ReplyDeletethis is a fascinating view of reselling, I LOVE this post! I had no idea it was so involved, is it your only source of income or do you work another job on the side?
ReplyDelete