Fall 2011 season start

I wish I could drum up the requisite enthusiasm for this... we'll be setting up at the Dunedin Fall Antiques Fair on Saturday, October 15th, for the day-long show. I'll put it this way: summer was a snooze-fest, to the point of us deciding not to acquire any new inventory.

We had an amazing vacation in Paris recently, with the exception of the much-anticipated trip to les Puces. Bob had been there 8 years ago - admittedly, a long time ago. The website and tourism information looked encouraging. And then, we showed up at one of the biggest (I'm not even going to name it) flea markets established. And found it almost empty of dealers. Welcome, my dears, to the global economy. What sucks here also sucks in Paris. I understand (from doing some after-the-fact research) that this one particular market suffered from mismanagement and disputes between investors in the massive property and the dealer tenants, during which, the customers' needs were not served. But this I would compare to the colony collapse of a beehive. Gone.

We have a lot of work to do to prepare for this upcoming show. I want to be ready for the customers should they arrive and be prepared to shop with us. We are ready to do serious commerce! I mostly want to have my business radar on and do some serious listening to what the customers have to say. I know what we are doing in our own household: keeping a much tighter rein on the expenses and being less generous with where the dollars go. I hope a policy of meeting the consumers partway, with an adjusted view of our pricing, will help to encourage the continued success of Time Travelers.