Show this weekend December 11th

omg

How often do I actually write a post BEFORE we do the actual show?

It's.... it's.... the second Antiques In The Park show to be held at the Garden Club of St Pete. It's pretty cold right now. Woke up to temperature in the 40's. I hope this cold front has moved on by the weekend or it could push the kibosh on the show. Either I will give up or (if she's thinking straight) the promoter.

Florida isn't really built for cold weather. You don't want to get out of your car and wander around at a show when there is a brisk breeze near the water. Brrr! As brrr! as it feels up north, relatively. During the last show, even though the sun was shining and trying its hardest, I never did warm up, and I felt miserable because of it. If my fingers aren't working because there's no blood circulating to them, I'm very, very unhappy. Hard to make change, properly wrap an item and &$^@% !!! just you try to find the open end of a plastic bag.

So I'm sending sunshiny, warm thoughts our way for this weekend, long made short.

I guess this officially makes me a Floridian, eh?

No, wait. It gets better. I have a link to the weather report for the local area showing Saturday temps being up to the 70's, with a warming trend.

A little bird told me....

....about a little promotion that American Express is doing this Saturday, November 27th. Read all about it and follow the link to register your card here: American Express "Small Business Saturday".

What a great idea to promote small businesses all over, and support a worthy charity.

Perception is a funny thing

Yesterday we did a one-day show in Bellair Bluffs at Antique Alley. We've done it before, but not with any regularity; it's been difficult to get on the list of regular vendors for this popular show. It was a glorious Florida day. Cool and clear in the morning for set up, and no wind or humidity for the day. There was a steady stream of customers for most of the day, although, true to form, most of the commerce had been completed by early afternoon. (This is the only pattern that I have been able to detect amongst the different outdoor shows that we do during the season.)

Just about all of the dealers were grumbling about how traffic seemed to be "off" or down, and how sales were down along with that traffic. Bob and I jumped in with the rest of them, as our gleaming tables of goodies went seemingly untouched by a breeze, let alone any human hands other than our own. We packed up at the end of the day and trudged on home.

Where I finally whipped out the calculator and discovered that we'd just finished the best show we'd done at that location. Lower in sales volume but higher in sales total. So what on earth had we been complaining about? Making MORE money with FEWER sales? Wait a minute - isn't that the whole idea here?

Yup.

I think what had happened was that we - or more to the point, *I* - was listening too much to the wailing and moaning going on around us, instead of actually looking at my sales records. Yes, we are in a very poor economic state, and the outlook is grim. But Time Travelers is holding our own. If anything, we are getting a bit better at what we're doing in seeing our average sale climb when you'd expect to be seeing it go lower. We've cut back - believe it or not - on our purchases. We've revamped how we do some of the merchandising, and I'm thinking that it's paying off. Having the inventory well stored and accessible makes it easier to select items to take to a given show - a big stress reliever.

So there you go. We spent all day thinking we were doing stinko and it wasn't until we got home that we had to read the facts to set us straight. Now I know there is a lesson in there for me. Just who am I listening to?

Notes from the road - Santa Fe, New Mexico

(I was going to call this post "Psychiatric Notes from the Road" but didn't want to scare any of my vast readership away. Let me say that traveling whilst undergoing a major medication change - this point being the washout period where I am between treatments for my ongoing chronic depression - is challenging, interesting, and not the nightmare that one might presume it to be. This post is not going to dwell on those experience solely, but also cannot help but be colored by them. Onwards....)

Finding the same niche that Time Travelers occupies as dealers in Florida here in New Mexico has taken us a day or two. Flea markets are not the same - the indoor market we looked at was much like a collection of what we'd think of as yard sales, hauled under cover and with high retail price tags. We moved quickly on from there, disappointed. The outdoor flea market, advertised as having hours of 8AM on, didn't actually start that early. We arrived at 8:30, thinking we'd have missed the best deals of the day (as you would have back home), only to find 3 cars in the parking lot and no vendors set up yet. Puzzling to us out-of-towners, but we decided to return later in the day. I thought that maybe 8AM was when vendors were to wake up, and that New Mexico Time is a different thing than Florida time when it comes to Flea Markets. I was right!

Antique stores carry top quality, top dollar merchandise. Where, oh where, were we to find the marvelous items to carry back with us on our adventures? The answer came from a different place than I thought it would - consignment shops and thrift stores. Very good quality items at fair prices abound.

Meanwhile, my nerves were jangling with the stark vistas and beautiful colors of northern New Mexico. I didn't know that I wouldn't be able to competently drive in the strange environment with the non-identifiable accents of the GPS' vocal directions, but I quickly became upset, saying, "What?? What did she say??" at every indication to turn, stay on the same road; you name it. Without Bob behind the wheel, I would not have gone beyond the hotel parking lot on this trip. My patience with myself and the rest of my world has evaporated along with the level of antidepressants in my system.

Our return later in the day to the outdoor flea market rewarded us with many vendors, but not selling what we were expecting. We kind of thought it would be a mix of packaged tube socks from China, yard sale finds, and fresh produce. Instead, it was largely artisan-generated jewelry, bulk beads imported primarily from the Far East, clothing, rugs, and the ever-present beautifully crafted silver jewelry of the area and from Mexico. We were delighted to find a vendor selling fair trade items of all descriptions from many African countries.

I'm finding that I am more sensitive than usual to my laundry list of triggers. It helps to build in some "down time" in the middle of the day to rest, block out the sensory input (some time soaking in the bath tub has been wonderful), and drink more water whenever I can. A visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum left me oddly dull, until I saw photographs from which some of her work was derived; I was just about overcome with emotion. (wtf?) A visit to a photography gallery with some truly stunning works (Steiglitz, Ansel Adams, Yosef Karsh; you name the iconic photographer and this gallery had their work represented) had the same effect. Good thing if I close my eyes I can stop seeing the pictures and the tears stop! What an unexpected effect of being without medication. I prefer to be not so very sensitive as this, and look forward to the end of my countdown when I start up on another antidepressant. Oh, and this isn't something that I asked for or wanted; the timing frankly has been awful, but I have been, as Bob says, a "trooper." Gawd, how I hate that word.

I don't currently have the mental facility to post my photos but will catch up when we get back and I'm all drugged up!

Off the Floor and On to Breathing Space

The future has arrived, and her name is Sara Trautman. This dynamo has seen the chaos that is our storage "system" and an extended stay in our home propelled her to take charge of it. Thank you, Sara!

Replacing the towers of bins stacked all over Bob's work area are steel shelving. All of a sudden we have floor space; tables and bookcases that we use for shows are in the spacious closet that had formerly been filled with other materials unrelated to the business that needed to be tossed or recycled. The day of action came when Sara helped unpack from the Dunedin show and advised us that there was a better way to build our mousetrap. *I* wasn't about to argue with her 15 years' experience in retail, particularly in managing stockrooms. Bob took a microsecond longer to come around, though it sounded worse than it was...

And that's the photo for today.

Dunedin this weekend

Well, I don't really want to talk about the Dade City show. Let's just say that someone decided to hold a show and no one came. We were missing vendors (about half of them) and some of the meager traffic consisted of people who happened to be blowing through town and stumbled upon us. I will say it here: this could a hiccup, or it could be the demise of this show, which would be a shame.

Onwards, then, to the Sunshine City show at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg last weekend. Sorry for not writing about it in advance, but I haven't exactly up to snuff - another factor that is making this beginning of the season kind of hard for me. Stock is all priced, sorted, wrapped, packed away and identified, but I am deep in my funk and trying very hard to get up to a semblance of normality.

The Coliseum show was a different one for us because we decided - at the last minute, and it was a good hunch, for us - to share our small booth rental with another dealer. It halved the cost and so we had a jump start on the profits for the weekend - woo hoo! It also meant that, given the space constrictions, Bob and I took turns manning our portion of the booth. Let's hear it for shift work at antique shows! There were several good sales that were bonafide "be backs", where Bob had negotiated the prices with the customers, and they came back to make the purchase while I was working the shift.

Generally speaking, though, there were more people looking than buying. We did bring our premium inventory and as a result our average sale was higher. The lesson for us is: whatever we bring is what people will buy.


This weekend we'll be participating in the Dunedin Antique Show on Saturday, October 16th, after a hiatus of a couple of years. The stars are aligned as Bob has some time to be able to do a couple of shows in a row, and we're trying to take advantage of that while we can. We can always gobble some ibuprofen afterwards to apologize to our backs.


The photos at the top of this post are of 2 of the theatrical robes we picked up at a recent auction. They are sumptuous and old - the silk lining of one of them is very fragile. I believe they date to between 1895 and 1933. We were quite excited to pick them up and they are a great draw for the booth.

Another Season Starting Up

First show of the 2010-2011 season is around the corner with the Dade City Antique Faire scheduled for the end of this month. Looking back on our notes from previous years show that we've never been at this show without being partially rained out! - AND - it's consistently been a very good venue for us. Also, I have notes from other September Dade City shows that read "hot as h*ll!!!" and one year I was so uncomfortable that I had to retreat halfway through the day to the air conditioned iciness of our hotel room to gather my over heated self together.

Oh, boy - I can hardly wait!

I am trying out a revamped jewelry department to see how it impacts interest and sales. Usually I group items together by type, as other vendors do; earrings, necklaces, bracelets and bangles, and brooches. I decided to take a page from my jewelry mentor's book and try a different approach to merchandising, and so came up with several groupings according to color (one is white, purple, and deep blue). Another grouping is of higher quality, designer costume items that I've been able to add to the inventory. I have enough display props from our time in the antique store to be able to put coordinated items together in "stories." This is how my mentor displays her inventory in retail settings - she finds it can inspire her customers and she can mix inexpensive pieces in with higher end ones.

You do not see jewelry-only vendors at the outdoor shows display their items in this way. What you see are trays as I described above - by commodity. I am really hoping that this trial has some impact and draws the kind of attention that will make the effort I've put into the reorganization worth it.

Other than that, we'll be taking items to the show that we had otherwise tied up in the store inventory; it will be an overall new look, which is really what you want for venues that you sell at on a regular basis. Up until now we haven't had the opportunity to rotate our stock easily from show to show.

Cranking it back up at Amazon

(There must be an association of book Luddites somewhere.)

In spite of the sales of eBooks surpassing those of paper-bound copies, my Amazon Seller account belies this hard fact. In pursuit of the organization of our coming season's reading inventory, I plowed through the heavy boxes to cull the most salable for the mega-website's store. This may sound like an utterly stupid thing to do; yet our book sales are kind of brisk, considering this is the slow time of year for retail in all sectors.

I'm not averse to acquiring a Kindle for myself at some point in the future. But I'm reminded of the advent of the Compact Disc, when all of us vinyl slobs were waiting with baited breath for our stacks and stacks of records to be re-released in this new electronic format. For the most part, those reissues didn't happen, except for the gazillion-selling albums. Everything else got filtered and sifted down into "Best Of" releases and Compilations that missed the point of all those two-sided albums' integrity. So many records in our collections sounded great because we played that whole album all the way through.

(Where am I going here?)

I have that hinky feeling that not all those lovely, keep-til-they-fall-apart quality favorite books currently in our collections will find their way into the eBook format. I fully understand that going forward, the way is on a tablet that I download newly released publications into. I'm also certain that I, and other book lovers, will continue to be keen to get their hands on the pulp and paper, honest to goodness cloth bound or mass market paperback, of their beloved stories from yesterday.

I know this because my book sales prove it. I am doing pretty well selling used books in great condition on Amazon. I don't try to sell poorly cared books, dog-eared or with marked up pages; I like to think that with my books, as I do with the other items in our inventory, only the best preserved are offered. So far this approach is working well.

Birmingham Post - Business - Business News - Manufacturing & Skills - Fears for Wedgwood heritage if historic pieces are sold to fund pensions

Birmingham Post - Business - Business News - Manufacturing & Skills - Fears for Wedgwood heritage if historic pieces are sold to fund pensions

That's a big yikes. I have many fond memories of the Wedgwood museum on the Barlaston factory grounds. I can't fathom the collection being scattered to the four winds. What a mess! Although we have an inordinate number of Wedgwood Jasperware and Queensware in our inventory, I also consider the collection, beyond a resource for those who wish to add to their own personal collection, a good representation of 20th century achievements for the firm. I'm proud to have amassed it, and happy to be the guardian for future owners who recognize the history and beauty represented by the wares. There's NOTHING like Jasperware. Queensware was so named in honor of English royalty, for whom it was originally produced. It then became popular with us "common folk" and we each are able to have our hands on easily affordable pieces of history.

I hope that the Wedgwood museum has a fair and noble outcome.

eCrater still kicking!

Incredible, and a bit eerie, how when I stopped working in the store, sales online started to pick up. Not one to ignore a celestial dope slap to the forehead, I have been plodding along in adding items to the inventory there and padding out some of the categories.

Not to be outdone, our cat Psycho decided to get in on the action. Here's one of her special poses.

Activities

I've been using my down-time working on the paper jewelry, and just finished a large, bib-style necklace. I wore it out in public (I like to give each piece a trial run to see how it holds up to an entire day of wear, and whether it garners any reaction from peeps) and I think it scored a 10 out of 10. I have more to make before I would consider approaching any craft galleries or putting them online to sell.

I'm also slowing working through a pile of treasures to add to the website. I've had a couple of sales and it definitely helps, no question, to list several items a week to keep the Google attribute feeds current and fresh when the public does product searches.

The other rather major project I'm considering to learn is how to use a soldering iron in order to use my vast collection of real sea glass pieces, in order to incorporate them in to my jewelry pieces. It's more of an investment than I thought it would be, so I'm pondering. Me, commit to following through on an investment in myself? It's a tough one, and doesn't happen without a lot of angst!!

Packed up the last of it at Patty & Friends

It is worthy of a time for reflection, since it ALL came home with us. I'm now inspired to do some decoratin' at home with our treasures, since the start of the next season is so far away. (I've already started with more pictures on the walls, and I'm getting excited.)

The wheels turn in my itty bitty head.

To the season approaching and taking yet another new direction in how I set up the tables. One of my most favorite things to look at are home design magazines, with their varied color palettes and every changing themes. I know I can pull a few interesting tables together with the heaps and heaps of fascinating merchandise we'd amassed. And now I can see it ALL - no more of having the best stuff sitting in the store. I can get as creative as my brain allows.

Dinner out this evening, and on our paper tablecloth, I started a mini brainstorm of table display ideas. Then came home, did an internet search, and found a dearth of information. As rare as hens' teeth.

So I call that a challenge.

Dark time of the soul

Please do not adjust your set.
The picture will resume as soon as possible.

It's all change again

Nothing remains the same except for change, correct?

I'm no longer working at the antique store.

Bob and I will shortly be leaving there as dealers and have no current plans to go elsewhere. (Which swiftly led us to the "where are we going to PUT all of this stuff??" quiet panic, but not to worry - bins have been purchased and so have puppy training pads.)

We're going to concentrate on doing shows this next season, and I will ramp up the website, offering a wider selection of items. I also added the shipping option to include the United Kingdom, as our present inventory consists of items that were produced and distributed there. So now we're shipping to the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. Woo-hoo!

We're entertaining the possibility of becoming pickers for a few other dealers - I'll be starting out with one for now, and will see how the relationship develops.

I'm not at all put off retail for the future - but for now, I have some personal issues that take precedence.

A most amazing day

I'm pretty sure things like this don't happen very often in the world of antique shops. I'm certain of it, as a matter of fact. I'm rather bewildered at what transpired; pleased that I got to take part in it and happy, so happy, that it happened successfully with all parties pleased with the results.

(Now that I've got you wondering....)

Saturday at the shop a whirlwind arrived, in the persona of a shopper with the energy of a tornado, the passion of a woman in love with life, and the eye that knew exactly what she wanted.

Which was - the entire contents of a jewelry dealer's case.

Now, I can relate to falling in love with a beautiful piece of jewelry; a certain designer's collection; and even the way a particular dealer has merchandised their space to maximize the beauty and eye appeal of their offerings. I can totally relate to being presented with a lovingly prepared case and thinking to myself, "Wow, I would love to have *anything* from here - it all looks so good!" And then I would do a double take, pare down my expectations to one or maybe two pieces out of that case, sigh heavily, and say my tender goodbyes to the remainder of the contents as being beyond my reach, reasonably speaking.

But this force of nature was someone different. This passionate, exuberant individual just about threw her arms around the case (as best she could), and announced, "I want it all! I love every single piece that's in here, and I could never decide on one piece or another; I have to have it all!" I took in her enthusiasm, and said, "Really?" (pause.) "Are you interested in buying everything in here?"

"Absolutely." was the prompt reply.

And so started the odyssey of negotiating the sale of the entire contents of a jewelry dealer's case, minus the props and non-jewelry items. It was a hair-raising process for me; my blood pressure medication was tested for its effectiveness. There were times when the buyer had to be soothed at the magnitude of what we were going through - this was extraordinary for all of us involved.

Certainly there are times when dealers are known to sell off their inventory when they have decided to get out of the business or retire; this transaction, though, where a single, non-dealer purchaser has decided to acquire such an inventory, is not a common occurrence, if it ever happens at all.

But truly, it went rather smoothly. My anxiety-induced hysterics (hidden from most, especially on the job!) might have been necessary in the process for ME, but the transaction was completed within two days, leaving a very, very happy customer; a dealer who sees this as an opportunity to rebuild a collection with an almost clean slate; and a shop owner who is happy to have a significant sale during a time of year when such sales are certainly not expected.

I have also made a lovely new friend in this excited customer. Her enthusiasm is infectious; her spouse is charming and bemused, and they are, it turns out, neighbors of ours.

You simply never know what's going to happen when someone walks in the door of the shop, and that's what I love about it.

Fell in love with a little box

One of those times where the more you learn about a piece, the more you come you admire it. This is a Victorian trinket box in a style called "jewelry casket". Made by the Jennings Brothers firm, the box is marked on the bottom with the initials "J.B." and in the opposite corner, the numbers "336", probably referring to a style number.

The elegant swirls of the Art Nouveau twines of stems and leaves are so lovely. I think I am going to keep this one in my active collection.

Show at the Museum of History in St. Petersburg

This weekend we're doing an antique show at the Museum of History in St. Pete. It's being run by the same promoters who do the show at the Coliseum (and who are presently dealers with us at Patty and Friends Antiques). It's a small show due to the venue - we'll all be set up amongst the museum's exhibits. I know it will be a challenge but I also think it will be a fascinating opportunity to promote the city's museum and its rich history. It's a natural extension to have an antique show at the same location, to my mind.

I'll be helping Bob to set up our booth on Friday; but he will be manning the space by himself during the 2-day event, as I'll be working at the shop.

In other news, I have been working on creating the Facebook page for the Patty and Friends Antique Village (note the rebranding - part of the mall's 30th anniversary celebration coming up later this month). I am on a learning curve with this project, but having fun as I do it. (Er, note the number of Fans that Patty's has - please feel free to join us!)

And lastly, I've secured the final spot in the "red house" area of Patty and Friends where I work most of the time as our secondary booth space. I'll be preparing it - painting and installing some lighting - and slowly moving over from our upstairs booth space from the main building. This will allow me to monitor a sales area of our own while I'm working, and allow Bob and I to have a presence in both buildings. It also means that the red house, which had been a furniture gallery just a scant few months ago, will have made its conversion complete, once again, into an antique shop. I'm glad to be a part of that healthy growth and change.

And today's word is SKOOKUM

I admit I resorted to the Wikipedia listing, after not getting the spelling right on the first couple of tries. What I see in the store are Indian dolls made for the tourist trade, dating to many different ages. I did find a terrific resource from the Wikipedia page that is devoted entirely to the subject.

It's not a type of item that I personally find to be of interest, but since there are such a number of these dolls in the store - and of such variety - I knew that it was worthwhile that I read a bit more about them.

Comes under the category of "whaddya know"?

Patty and Friends Antiques and what I'm doing there

I have the pleasure to be a part of the staff of Patty and Friends Antiques in St. Petersburg, where Bob and I have booth space. It is so rare in this life to be able to work in a field that is also your passion - I can say that this is the first time it's happened to me.

It's a dynamic place, with many recent changes as the mall absorbed dealers from a store that closed elsewhere in St. Pete; it's those additions that necessitated the extra staffing that allowed me to come aboard as a member. I find that every single day that I work I get the opportunity to learn about another aspect of collectibles and what people find desirable and valuable. Whether it's Depression glass, celluloid animals, restored furniture, or vintage designer jewelry, I get to go to school every day that I show up to work.

I took the initiative to create a Facebook page for Patty and Friends, and slowly I'm learning about how to manage it as an informational and promotional tool for the store. Just as I learned about the building of my own website and store on eCrater; this very blog, and those darn Squidoo pages, I am determined to make the Facebook page yet another destination for Patty and Friends' fans and customers.

Dade City Spring Antique Faire Wrap-Up

Boy, do I love this show. Once again, this show conflicted with an event being held at Mount Dora, "The" destination for antiques in our area. As a result, even though dealers had prepaid for space at the Dade City show, they headed instead to the Mount Dora event. Although dealer attendance was way down (by *20* dealers, what a wallop to the promoter of the show!), Gayle advised us ahead of time that our booth space was being expanded as a result. Right now we have not one but two mini vans in our fleet, so we were able to take full advantage of the extra room. We brought ALL our tables, and larger items that we don't always have space in the vehicle to haul. Our booth was the best looking it has EVER been; and Bob thought it was the nicest looking one at the show. (Shucks.)

Saturday was a fantastic day - sunny, not too warm, a light breeze; perfect for all of the cabin-fever Floridians who have dealt with such a harsh winter. We were busy right out of the shoot, up until pulling the tarps and securing them over the tables at day's end. We had a great day's trade and it was nice to see some regular customers from previous years' shows.

We had a special treat in having a fellow dealer from Patty & Friends come and make the trip to see the show and visit with us. I walked the show with her and it was exciting to watch such a passionate dealer in action as she made her purchases, and for me to say hello to the other dealers at the Faire. I'm usually scurrying from place to place and don't often take the time to truly enjoy other peoples' booths.

Sunday was pretty much a bust as a large front with lots of rain blew in with dank, blustery weather. Some dealers started packing up as soon as they arrived in the morning, but we held off for a few hours until it became apparent that the weather was not going to improve. We still managed to 1) make several sales, including a piece of jewelry that I'd already packed away, but remembered exactly where I'd put it, and so was able to pull it out as neatly as a rabbit out of a hat; and 2) beat the rain by a good bit, so there was no panic at all in our packing up, and we weren't completely exhausted, beaten down by the sun and/or wind or rain.

So, even though the show seemed like it should have been a bit of a dog's dinner (so few vendors, really only one good day to sell instead of two), overall it was a success for us.

I did a little bit of shopping. I am trying to expand my areas of interest and expertise; so I have gathered a small collection of celluloid toiletry articles. Interesting that these are extremely flammable, and an extensive collection should be stored in a freezer - I never knew that before I did some research. I also found some nice red painted wooden handled kitchen implements, some with white stripes, that date to the 1950's. I believe their condition, with no paint loss, make them attractive to collectors of such articles. Oh, and some old-fashioned wooden clothespins. They sure look great, and I think I have a little basket they will be charming in.

Thieves Market wrap-up

Yesterday's Thieves Market on Anna Maria Island - our first chance this year due to inclement weather - was held in brilliant sunshine with a light breeze.

Shoppers were fierce with their bargaining skills, though, so it was tough work to keep our ground. We sift through our inventory and drastically reduce prices on items that we bring to this market, so it was quite a surprise to have one person after another offering us HALF of the marked prices! Wow, that is some rough work. Negotiating on every single transaction isn't a pleasant way to do business when you deal with middle- and finer- material. There are definitely businesses that are happy to operate in this end of the market, but it's a marked change from the way the Thieves Market was a year ago for us.

We're not certain that we'll go through it again next month - it has a definite whiff of a garage sale, rather than a fair market, at this point. Took the stuffing out of us, to be honest.

More Bunnykins hopping into the eCrater store

I put an evening aside and put a bunny generation's worth of Royal Doulton tableware on to the eCrater site this evening. I do like doing it once I get in a groove - not too many items at a time (to photograph); items all cleaned, researched and camera-ready before I start; and I have a storage destination at the ready so I know exactly where I put the bunnies once I've entered the items.

(Can you tell I'm on my own this evening? I have a difficult time doing this intensive type of work with company, besides the cat, in the house. I keep the CD's playing, I keep a cup of tea at my elbow, and I crank away.

Here's the link to the category in the store. I even put a BONUS item in the mix - a teacup and saucer combination that would normally be sold separately. Since the saucer has a chip on the underside, I have bundled it together with a suitable cup in the most desirable "Casino" shape, and put it on the site at a special price.

(That's the photograph at the top of this post.)

Online world is waking up!

OK, now I know there is some voodoo hoodoo mojo going on with having a blog. No sooner do I write about the stone silence of the eCrater site, than it starts banging empty cans together, and I've started to receive orders again. Hmmm. Never mind that I tried that "is there an echo in here?" post, and had an email that negated my theory of emptiness :-)

And my first foray into the wacky (wacky? maybe not, but nail biting, at least, for me) world of eBay did result in a successful auction. Not wildly successful, oh no; and I understand that the ground of that world will shift again come the end of this month. But I am glad to get yet another "first" behind me - whew! - and have had an auction that had bids!

Meanwhile, in the Real World of brewed coffee, sore backs and feet... Bob worked the Trash to Treasures show by himself because it was raindated to Sunday, and I was unable to assist him, because I was working. Yes, take that word in, you read it correctly. This Time Traveler was on her feet, indoors, in an antique mall, working for half a day. Is this the effect of the full moon, you may well ask? Is this the same madness that has turned on the machinations of the internet and its commerce in its suddenness? We must ponder and wonder, but all this Time Traveler knows is that she (that is, I) is a part time helper at Patty & Friends Antiques, and it's a fantastic place to find myself. Great co-workers, great bosses, great dealers (with the new ones coming in as the "red house" has been revamped to accommodate them). I'm feeling like some sponge, as I'm learning SO much each time I put in a shift. The other day it was about celluloid animals. (Hint: just ask the avid collector who is shopping for them about their passion, and BOY, will you learn a lot!)

Today's picture is of the Bunnykins Money Ball that sold yesterday at the eCrater store. What a sweetie!! I'd be putting my allowance in that for sure.

Finds of the week - yes, from the same place

The first is the most impressive personal collection of Wedgwood Queensware I've ever seen, anywhere. I received advance notice of an estate sale and was able to procure this incredible, *131* piece collection of the cream-on-lavender dishes, with a few lavender-on-cream. It comprises 12 5-place settings with a generous number of serving dishes: platters, oval bowls, a covered casserole, a gravy boat, cream and covered sugar, ashtray and cigarette holder (used as a toothpick holder and tray), and 2 different styles of soup bowls, 6 of each.

My understanding is that the owner's mother acquired them in the 1960's and 70's. The condition of these dishes is excellent - there is a single cup that bears a crack; everything else is pristine.

Queensware was developed by Wedgwood for Queen Charlotte, who was so delighted with the result that she allowed the design to be named in her honor. It has been in production ever since - that is, up until the company's recent journey into receivership (the British term for bankruptcy). A private venture firm has purchased the company, but the future of Wedgwood remains uncertain.

And then there's this other acquisition. This would be a musical, mechanical, casket shaped cigarette dispenser. When wound up and the wooden button depressed on the side, the "Death March" plays. Open the top of the casket and a single cigarette is presented as the music is played. I can't say I'd ever seen one of these before! (And from the same estate.)

OK, so I'm a liar...

We just had a sale on eCrater.

I swear, you write something in a blog and it causes the universe to take action. Or someone might be reading.

Nah.

This Saturday - Trash to Treasures in Tarpon Springs

The weather's warming up, the sun is shining again, and it's time for Trash To Treasures, the flea market sale in Tarpon Springs at the other end of Pinellas County from where we are. We are well prepared this time around with the appropriate inventory; we'll have our portable shade with us, and items priced to sell! Bargains for everyone, from books and ceramics to jewelry and glass.

We passed on the chance to set up at the Thieves Market earlier this month on Anna Maria Island, as it was simply too cold, windy, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Not conducive for customers to stroll and shop, and it would have been utterly miserable for us (well, ME, as Bob seems to be able to handle any weather condition thrown his way) to set up wearing mittens. This can be a capricious time of year with the weather, and I don't blame the snowbirds for their dismay at our out of whack seasonal temperatures.

Meanwhile, sales at Patty & Friends are holding their own, although my Teapot Extravaganza sale has been a fizzle. I don't think it was a wise idea with the coincidence of the Tea Party, perhaps. I could be all wet here (antique and collectibles folks certainly cover the gamut of political views), but maybe my choice of merchandise struck a nerve with some people. I'll finish it up at the end of this month and try a different promotion for March, and try to give the selection more thought.

One place that has definitely gone silent has been the eCrater site. I added a large number of items before the holiday season, but there hasn't been a single sale since October. I don't know what could have caused the sudden drop in sales, but I am just happy that I have no cash outlay in that part of the business, because if that was the case, I'd be very upset. At the most I'm just really puzzled and disappointed.

I am continuing to develop my paper and found object jewelry necklaces, and am really enjoying the creative outlet it affords. When the glaze is dry and the findings are crimped on, I'll take some more photos and post them here.

Now listed at Collectible Detective! and other neat stuff

(I just think that's the coolest name for a search site!)

Time Travelers was submitted and accepted for listing at the Collectible Detective site, where over 6,000 links to vintage and collectible websites can be found.

Interestingly enough, our submission of website information to the ACNA hasn't been listed yet. I'm hoping they are doing a massive re-do of the site.

Patty & Friends Antiques is undergoing changes as more dealers are joining during this start of the store's 30th anniversary. The Furniture Gallery is in the process of being altered to accommodate dealers who were affected by the recent closure of the Central Avenue Antiques store. It's an exciting time to be a dealer at Patty's with all the new, old wonderful enticements about. Currently we're running a teapot "extravaganza" with reduced prices on some really whimsical pots, practical pots, and collectibles all. Also to come will be an improved jewelry department as we better highlight our selection of necklaces, brooches, and earrings.

Merchandising at the store

These are some photos of the remerchandising that I've done using color themes in our booth space at Patty & Friends Antiques. Previously I had grouped items together by type or function - now I'm trying out a more decorative approach.

Today I worked on the jewelry display in anticipation of Valentine's Day, using heart motifs - earrings, ankle bracelets, pins, and necklaces; and the color red. I consider the display a work in progress ( = I'm not totally pleased with the result yet!) but we'll see if it has any impact.

What I took away from this year's ACNA meeting

I am so glad that we decided to attend this year's ACNA (Antiques and Collectibles National Association) meeting in New Orleans. We met with other dealers and collectors; mall owners and auctioneers; and received expert instruction in several areas that we're able to take directly back to our business and apply immediately. Now THAT'S what I call a well-placed investment.

The association has 3,000 members nationwide and the meeting attracted 50 attendees. Bob and I attended seminars on furniture construction, rhinestone jewelry, going green with antiques, and ceramics. We participated in a charity auction that raised over $1600 for St. Jude's Children's Hospital (and came home with some treasures!). We took the bus trip to Magazine Street, ogled the high priced French antiques, ate some enormous and delicious oysters at Cassamente's, and - came home with a couple of treasures.

We took to heart the message that part of the greening of the antiques business is the repurposing of our own inventory: fine dining sets of china have fallen out of favor with the buying public, as have those small, 2.5 oz. wine glasses from the 1950's. Any wine pour these days is of 6 ounces or greater. So what to do with those small glasses? What to do with those sets of luncheon and salad plates, when all people want now are large dinner plates? (And forget cups and saucers.) It's not a matter of waiting for these items to come back into fashion - it's more important to identify the need for those items now and repackage the merchandise so that it's more attractive to your customers.

Those small luncheon and salad plates, especially odd ones out of sets, make lovely stands for pillar candles. Display them with coordinating colored items in your booth, and your dead inventory items have a second life.

Small wine glasses come back to life with a tealight placed in them and similarly displayed. What are the new wine glasses? Water glasses with stems - they exist in many older glassware patterns. It's not always necessary to go out and source new inventory; we often just have to take a fresh look at what we already have - that's part of the greening of the antiques business.

Candles can be purchased in bulk at little cost and when paired with these re-purposed housewares from our existing inventory make easy point of sale items for your business.

Break up that stuffy dining set by placing coordinating colored items amongst them to add variety and flair. A white china set with a grey floral pattern is instantly modernized by adding some pink glasses and candles sitting on pink glass side dishes to the setting.

I came home from this meeting, and immediately started to rearrange my booth space at the shop, shelf by shelf. (I've got 3 displays done so far and I've been back for a couple of days. I'm fired up!) Today's project was to spread our remaining inventory out and categorize it all by color so that we know exactly what we have. Which is: a lot of BROWN. A lot of GREEN. (I had no idea until this morning, honestly.)

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm so excited to be excited!