SOLD!

Ah, what a lovely word.  Sold a few items this week in the shop.  Somehow, this seems more satisfying than selling at the outdoor fall festival.  Maybe because this means that in a shop full of lots of other items, they wanted MINE.

Anyway, my mom's lovely green dresser sold which makes me a little sad actually because I would have gladly purchased this cutie for my own house...

And my little gossip bench sold; here is the before primed and ready:

And here is the after on the left - painted black and finished with some darling toile fabric:

I can't wait to sell more since that means I get to buy more! ;-)

Every Item Tells a Story

The subtitle on this blog as well as on my price tags is, every item tells a story.  My vision is that I will write a little something about each item I sell which will make for some (hopefully!) interesting reading.  Sort of like a mini version of the old J. Peterman catalog, if you're old enough to remember J. Peterman and if you're not, go watch some old episodes of Seinfeld.  Did you know that the J. Peterman catalog still exists?  It's entertaining reading.

But that subtitle isn't just about making good reading for customers or trying to make a sale.  I truly believe that all antiques and vintage items do tell a story.  That's why I love them.  Especially the ones handed down to me.  Sometimes I look at some of the dishes that belonged to my great grandmother and think, I wonder how many times she used this...or did she save it for special occasions?  Or the monogrammed linen napkins that I use for everyday because EVERY DAY IS A SPECIAL OCCASION. I wonder who bought the napkins.   Were they a wedding gift?

Take this vintage church pew I purchased for example:

I stripped off all the old paint (three layers) and sanded and re-painted and waxed it.  It was a labor of love.  But while I was doing all this, I kept thinking, What kind of stories could you tell?  Did mourners sit on you at a funeral?  Did proud parents sit on your edge with excitement over the baptism of their first child?  How many prayers did you get to hear?  That's why I'm doing what I do.  Because I love a good story.  Who doesn't?

All Fluffed Up

Ah, what a dramatic difference a little fluffing makes!  Here are some pictures of the new booth space.  We managed to fit quite a bit in this small space.  Mom seems to think we could fit even more, although I don't know how we'd manage that.  I think it's perfect now, except for the bare lightbulb that is making me crazy.  To the point of where I might have to go put a little shade on it tomorrow.

Hoping we sell some of these lovely items SOON.

Needs A Little Lipstick or Something...

Here are some VERY rough before shots of our booth space.  It's not pretty now, but it will be after tomorrow!  Mom and I plan on making this dingy, cramped basement spot into a cute little space.  Stay tuned!

On the bright side, at least there's a window! :-)

The First Show

Lousy weather resulted in a low turn-out but our first show was fairly successful.  My mom is a master merchandiser and was able to transform an ugly canopy into a nice booth along with a little help from me!  Now that we have a few items in the store, hopefully they'll sell!  And hopefully by next week we'll get our inside booth.


Below are a few pictures of all our cute items.  Come out to Countryside Antiques to see us soon.