Hello again! I'm back from my trip to the Florida Keys and ready to get back to work on writing, the antique store booth, making art, and all of the other projects I've piled on the overflowing proverbial plate! I thought I'd start with a check-in on my antique store progress for motivation after the short break!
I Can't Keep on Top if it all Yet... I'm making lots of merchandise and hunting for more every weekend so it's been difficult for me to find time to put it all in the shop! The shop is closed by the time I'm work, so I try to get off early to spend at least an hour or two a week in the shop.Luckily the ladies at Southern Crossing Antique Mall have tolerated me coming in close to closing time and recently offered to help me add some stock! Sad it's come to this, but it's my only option for now!
Next I need to learn to beautifully stack merchandise into a small space like the Southern Crossing ladies manage to do beautifully. That will come in handy if I ever open my dream shop! (And it really is an art form!) I'll update again with another look at sales numbers for August and updated photos of the booth's new look.
Remember... if you're local, ask for booth number "4504" to visit me at Southern Crossing Antique Mall. If you want to set up shop here, I highly recommend it. Tell 'em "Vanessa" sent you! Also, many items pictured are also for sale in my online shop...which I haven't had time to update, either! I'll try to host a sale and add more fun items soon.
Past Antique Store Wisdom Posts:
[2/02/2011] Don't Underprice Your Items
[2/10/2011] Should You Rent a Booth at the Antique Store?
[2/16/2011] Stage Your Booth Like a Pro and Increase Sales
[3/03/2011] The Answers to Your Antique Store Booth Questions
[5/03/2011] The Four Month Update (A Candid look at my Sales)
[5/11/2011] Finding the Best Antique Store
[6/02/2011] The Vintage Cabin's Expert Reselling Tips
[6/09/2011] 10 Action Steps to Improve Booth Sales, NOW!
[6/07/2011] Antique Store Wisdom: The 6 Month Update
[7/14/2011] A Frank Look at the Sales Numbers
[7/21/2011] Sales Trends and Surprises
Remember... if you're local, ask for booth number "4504" to visit me at Southern Crossing Antique Mall. If you want to set up shop here, I highly recommend it. Tell 'em "Vanessa" sent you! Also, many items pictured are also for sale in my online shop...which I haven't had time to update, either! I'll try to host a sale and add more fun items soon.
Past Antique Store Wisdom Posts:
[2/02/2011] Don't Underprice Your Items
[2/10/2011] Should You Rent a Booth at the Antique Store?
[2/16/2011] Stage Your Booth Like a Pro and Increase Sales
[3/03/2011] The Answers to Your Antique Store Booth Questions
[5/03/2011] The Four Month Update (A Candid look at my Sales)
[5/11/2011] Finding the Best Antique Store
[6/02/2011] The Vintage Cabin's Expert Reselling Tips
[6/09/2011] 10 Action Steps to Improve Booth Sales, NOW!
[6/07/2011] Antique Store Wisdom: The 6 Month Update
[7/14/2011] A Frank Look at the Sales Numbers
[7/21/2011] Sales Trends and Surprises
[8/10/2011] A Bigger Booth and Increasing Sales
How are your reselling efforts going? Got any tips to share?
Hi Vanessa! So good to see you are back...I hope your trip was super fun!! I would love to be a picker for vintage items for your shop...I am always finding fun things for super cheap out in my neck of the woods, but I've decided not to purse the etsy store route. I just don't think it's what I want to do at this point with listing time involved, shipping headaches, etc. I have a nice box of items that I am considering what to do with now that my summer etsy shop plans are being re-thought.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you might want to think about hitting up some local Hallmark stores....I happened upon our local dumpster one day and found the most useful acrylic tabletop display pieces that our Hallmark was unloading. I snagged a boxful with the hopes of using them one day in a craft booth. They would be great to add height and stacking ability to your shelf displays. I believe there is one in the old Roosevelt Mall area. It would be worth a phone call... :)
Good luck with your new booth...keep us updated on the picnic baskets I can't wait to get back in there to check everything out!
Carla: Thank you for the hints! Display pieces are always needed for running a craft/antique booth, so I'll start checking behind places that would have some display goodies.
ReplyDeleteThe trip was super fun, and thank you for checking out the antique store booth :)
So excited to hear that you moved into a bigger booth and love your cute colorful wares!! This summer's sales for our booth are very sad compared to last summer when we first began. However, August is starting to look up and that is a great motivator! Good luck to ya and sell sell sell!!!
ReplyDeleteGirl, don't worry that you get help from the Southern Crossing ladies. They want to see you succeed, and accepting help is part of running a business!
ReplyDeleteTinyMatchBoxStudio: Good luck to you too. Let's keep switching up the booth and hitting 'em hard! Oh, and getting ready for what needs to be a Christmas sales blitz!
ReplyDeleteFenn: You're quite right! I need to join forces with more trustworthy people, it's impossible to do it all alone!
ReplyDeleteA bigger booth is so exciting! Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteBelvedere: I hope they help :) I'm straggling along here, just learn from my mistakes, people!
ReplyDeleteI'm like you I can't keep up between the full time job, the website and the antique booth. I have tons of new stuff, but I want to list it on the site before it goes down to the booth...sometimes my sister just grabs it, puts a tag on it, and takes it to the booth anyway. If my sister wasn't helping it would be impossible for me to do it all. She stops several times a week at the booth on her way home from work, which is a big help. I do all the facebook and website updates, oh and the ironing Note: don't buy linens and scarves if you hate to iron. I really need to get her taking photos. I find when I'm stressed like this I don't have time for creative blog writing or crafts...and of course the house looks like a storage locker...oh well.
ReplyDeleteJolene: I'm working on forming a partnership with someone to grow this business, because yep, with everything else it feels impossible.
ReplyDeleteAnd yep, I don't buy clothes, scarves, or linens for that reason! I'd be BURIED in vintage linens with no time to iron them!
We'll find a way to balance it all somehow, it gets easier all the time. I'm right there with you, with a CHAOTIC house and no time to craft!
Sorry I'm late to the comments again - just wanted to say it's great to hear that your sales have picked up with the bigger booth. Always inspirational to read your antique booth posts!
ReplyDeleteNo prob Brian, I know you're crazy busy with your business and home renovations on top of that, ouch! I'm glad my posts are inspiring!
ReplyDelete