Yes, it's gone a little bit quiet here!

Time out for the holidays. Time out for wintery (as wintery as it gets around here, at least) weather; time out for some regrouping, even. Anyone who knows me well would be gobsmacked if they discovered I'd made anything resembling resolutions for the new year. Let's just call it some business planning and be done with it, eh?

The plan for 2011 is to get more of our inventory put on to the website, as the local shows are fewer and farther between. We even decided to forgo the January Sunshine City show in St. Petersburg altogether as we assessed the cost and benefits. Its proximity to home just couldn't trump the low sales this show realizes for us. Another major factor impacting our decision is the increased travel that Bob's day job entails. Working at such a pace Monday through Friday doesn't leave much time for preparation, loading and unloading - and definitely leaves Bob without the restorative down time on the weekends that is more necessary than ever for him.

I can't say that I'm saddened by this decision. The fact is that for myself, I have struggled with the shows this past year, finding them difficult as issues with my mental health just wouldn't Go Away as any of us who know, wished they would. I'm sure that things will change again, and we remain ready to adjust when the time is right for that. But economically, and personally, this shift is the way for Time Travelers to go for now.

I'm excited at the prospect of opening the doors wide on the eCrater store. I'll also be creating more jewelry and exploring more creative expression in that area.

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?

Trying to Hold our Own

What kind of a title for a blog post is THAT? Oh, it's about diversity, not putting all of our eggs in one business basket, and trying several different approaches to see what works best for us. We think we have whole heartedly determined that indoor shows - even the Coliseum in St. Petersburg - are not ever going to be the best return for the money for the likes of us Time Travelers. They are expensive to sign up with; on the order of three and four times the cost of an outdoor show. Yes, we get the shelter and comfort from the elements; but it's a nailbiter to get to that break-even point on the cost of the show, and we've yet, after three years of attempts, to find the magical mix of finding what it is that people want to spend money on at our booth. If anything, the detailed records that we have been keeping have been showing that average sales are tending to go down, requiring higher and higher volumes. It's very difficult.

The website at the moment is in a dormant state. There has been a lot of chatter on the support forum about how the Google feeds have changed lately, not in our favor as independent vendors, but towards the big-box (and no-box) stores, like Target, Amazon, and other retailers with more clout. That would mean advertising dollars. Yes, I admit I'm in the doldrums on that front, what with the intense work that the eCrater site involves; but I'm still faithfully adding items on a fairly regular basis, as just doing that helps to keep the store in a more prominent position in the Google feed. (Of course, I have yet to spend a single penny on AdWords or any other type of advertising!! Note to self: get to work on another Squidoo lens, or two, or four.... mutter, mutter, mutter.)

Which brings me to the antique shop we have booth space in. I've linked to it a couple of times in the past - Patty & Friends. Bob and I are truly enjoying the sense of community that exists by going in to the store once a week or more, checking on our two booth spaces, sprucing things up; catching up on dealers' news, and of course looking at everyone else's booths. Sometimes I swear we are all supporting one another, buying each other's wares. (Hmm.) We secured a prime spot in the store when the season was slow, counting on being in the right place when business started to pick up again. That is proving to have been a good decision. The secondary space in the store has been less productive, but we are letting the entire shop have a full year of experience before we make any further moves.

The next outdoor show we have booked is not until January 2nd, 2010!!! There have been other shows around but this thing called Life gets in the way of participating in them all. Bob's Other Job has its demands too, and darn it if that position isn't the one that pays ALL the bills and keeps us with a roof over our head. So - the shows we book are the ones that we're able to do.

I think the overall tone of this post is not so happy and optimistic; I hope, though, that it comes across as realistic. We look for the business opportunities as best we can. We try not to be foolish. We're cautious but we're still trying new things (this year it's the antique store space). For myself, this mirrors how I'm feeling about the nation's economic picture at the moment. We aren't backing down. We aren't retreating. We aren't planning on "making a killing" either. We are hoping, instead, to hold our own.

The photo is of a B & C Limoges blank of a teapot form, dating between 1900 and 1907. These are usually seen hand painted with detailed floral designs and gilt edging; yet sometimes the blank forms were left unpainted for the sheer beauty of the shape itself.

I've been mighty quiet...

But it's been a mighty quiet season.


And I haven't been well. (Less said about that the better.)

There are fewer shows to do, so fewer opportunities to get out there and show our beautiful stuff. The folks are not as willing to part with their harder earned - and less valuable - dollars. We've seen a shift in what people are attracted to this season, as well. They are loving our single old photographs, loving the jewelry, and mostly price checking everything else we have on offer. (Personally I think they are looking to see what the items they own themselves are worth.) Foot traffic is also down compared to last year.

It's tough times.

The eCrater store, if I could pay more attention to it, would be tickling me pink. As it is, it's pickling me a very, very pale shade of pink, but only because I haven't been able to put the effort into it that it really needs. We've had sporadic sales there, and I do have a little pile of goodies waiting to be put onto the website. All in good time - I still have some healing to do, and my priorities, truth be told, are a little shuffled around at the present.

But I see that I'll be back at the shows shortly, ready to help Bob out. He's been such a trooper. I'll be able to work on the website soon too. Once I'm up and running, I'll be back up to speed pretty quickly.

I've missed my blog, this world, the newsiness of it all. It's waiting for me, patiently.

A Bummer

We got our deposit for a couple of shows returned with the following letter today. Seems the economic hard times have hit the local show promoters, which is really no surprise - a disappointment, for sure, but understandable. The note from Jeff reads in part:

"It is with my sincere regret to announce the cancellation of all 21st Century Shows scheduled in 2008 and 2009. The sluggish economy, reluctance of dealers to travel to shows, weak customer spending, and continuing increase in the costs of renting facilities, advertising, and energy costs, have forced us to make this decision which we feel is in the best interest in our dealers and customers."

Bummer, like I said. (Interesting to note, though, that it was just last week that we ran into this same person at the international airport in Atlanta, where he was returning home from making a purchase of 10,000 license plates. I know that you have to invest in your business in order to grow it, but maybe he could have managed to put on a few of the shows instead of canceling ALL of the them had he not decided to buy all those mother lovin' pieces of metal? Just a thought.)

So that freed up our calendar a bit, again - there's a show that we had rejected out of turn because it was immediately after one of the 21st Century Production ones, so we'll look into getting into that. And we've been able to book a spot in this fall's Antique Alley show on November 9th in Bellair Bluffs. This is one of those shows that we've faithfully attended as shoppers for years now and have had our eyes on as dealers. Last spring we failed to get called on the stand-by list; this time Bob was proactive and gave the organizer a call to see if any spots had opened up. (The squeaky wheel gets the grease!) And what do you know - she had a dealer cancel due to medical reasons, so in we've squeezed.

I think that we'll find other shows to cobble together the season, but perhaps they won't be what we originally planned to do - I'm not averse to some creative thinking :-)

Hurtin' for certain

Oh, well. It was a nice weekend for sitting outside! We did about a third of the sales at this Dade City's Antique Faire as compared to the same event last spring. So much on the economic landscape has altered - gas prices are at a new, higher standard; many people have watched their investments take their own wild rides; the silly season of the election has many people on edge as the future leaders of the country are a couple of question (and perhaps some exclamation) marks; - it's a much different world to be trying to do business in.

I did a side-by-side comparison of the sales records of the events from this past weekend against the same one several months ago. The same type of merchandise was selling, so we made no missteps in what we brought with us; but the volume was just way, way down. C'est la vie, as they say.

One of the marketing tools that helped us slightly was to set up a table with value priced items on it - in our case, it was everything for $5.00. It was a popular choice for the bargain hunters - who, though not out in any kind of numbers, made up the majority of our shoppers. So we're doing the right thing, you know? And also, just asking our customers just what their price range is is often very helpful. We're a lot more familiar with what's out on the tables than the casual eye can pick out. That helped us sell a teapot.

Finally, I wanted to share some photos of how we had out booth set up, showing the $5.00 table, our shade canopy (and matching chairs!), and the very lovely setting under the Live Oak trees in Dade City.

I do think that this will be a difficult season for us all, but we're in this for the long haul - Bob and I both believe that it's important that we continue to put ourselves out at these shows. You can't do business if you don't put yourself out there to attract it, after all.

Indoor show coming up in Fort Lauderdale

Of course (of course!) I'm filled with anxiety about our first indoor show, our first show in Fort Lauderdale, coming up next weekend - August 2nd and 3rd - who would I be without my stories of anxiety that never come to fruition? Gotta keep that monkey mind busy, is the order of the day.

We have our lovely and to-code fire retardant table covers. We are amply - AMPLY, that is - stocked for the upcoming season. Nothing has been packed away even unless it's been priced and tagged, which is pretty methodical if I say so myself. We installed the passenger seat in the minivan because Bob's daughter will be accompanying us, both to help us set up for the show, and to visit with his parents. This does mean that we'll have less room to take things with us, but, on the other hand, we're not having to take tables and chairs with us. I'm thinking it'll be a toss-up.

So what on earth am I so worried about?

Worried that we won't be successful. Several months have passed since our last show, and the nation's economy has been in steady decline, particularly in our part of the state. Gas prices have risen steeply. I know that I am not going out for shopping trips as often, and I'm feeling the impact that higher food and gas prices are having on my own discretionary funds - times are feeling tighter.

But Fort Lauderdale is worlds away from here. Just the other side of the Florida coast from us, the local population is much more affluent and the economy more stable than ours presently is. There's more of year-round population than our transient one, too (the traffic is horrendous!). Having an antique show during the summer in Florida is kind of, well, weird. You just wouldn't do that where we live - there's no business, and no dealers, either. They all go up north. But we're making the presumption that this show in Fort Lauderdale will have customers, and plenty of dealers.

I would love to say that I'm excited rather than anxious about this show. And perhaps it's partly because we've had this gap in our selling season, and I just don't have a pulse on the shopping public at the moment. All I know is what I'm exhibiting as behavior - which is, stagnancy. I'm not doing much shopping, and I'm not doing much driving either. I'm holding my breath, really. Which is also uncomfortable! And makes for more anxiety. (Note to self - remember to breathe!!!) Maybe it's just in my nature to worry so before an event. I do know that on the day, I will be able to relax and enjoy the moment, enjoy the buzz of seeing other dealers and their treasures, and really enjoy engaging with the public. As much anxiety as I've ever felt, it doesn't interfere with the business itself, which is good :-)

thud

And that was the sound of the recession officially hitting the Time Travelers' business, I think. Today was the last of the Anna Maria Island Privateers' Thieves Market, and it was a dismal place. Absolutely crammed with vendors. Overflowing with people walking around. Note: not shopping. I'm pretty certain that only the food vendors did well today - from all accounts, none of the other merchants like ourselves did at all well.

It certainly was a sobering day.

Compared to the same event held in February, we did about a third of the business. Now we could argue that many of the seasonal residents have packed up and gone back north - except that there were SO many people there today! (OK, so most everyone was wearing a bathing suit; we are on the beach, after all.)

I guess that these are the tough times - whether it's the beginning of them or this is a hiccup, or it's only going to get much worse, well, you got me. I know that we are not going to be going to all the garage sales, estate sales, auctions, and rummage sales that are currently going on, because our inventory levels are just fine where they are; and I'm not too keen on putting out much more money if so much less money is going to be coming in from now on. It just seems to make sense to me right now to batten down the hatches for this ride. I keep a sharp eye on what we've sold, so in any case if we start to really run low on anything, I won't NOT go shopping.... but for now, I'm going to leave the treasure hunting to the other people out there. The treasures will just have to hunker down and wait for me to find them later.

In a couple of weeks, we'll be doing the Heirlooms and Blooms Event in Gainesville, which will be a three day show for us! Another first - a small booth space (10' x 10', just large enough for our shade canopy), so we'll bring fewer tables and hopefully have to replenish from our stock that we'll bring along to the show. Also a first in that it will be our first overnight stay away from home for show. I wonder what we'll forget to pack and bring for this one!

Shortly after that show we'll be doing another out of town event at the beginning of May at the West Palm Beach Antique Show. This is a monthly event that we'll be trying out for the first time, in the hopes of making it a regular stop on our show calendar. For this particular show we'll also take the opportunity to visit with some family on the east coast (they'll get to see what's left of us at the end of a day after a full day spent at a show!). It's not a pretty sight.

And the week after that, we'll be trying out an indoor event (this is a year of firsts for us, after all), at the Black Pearl Antique Show in Port Charlotte. This is also the first time for this show, so it's pretty exciting to get in on the initial event. This is a one day show and we'll be able to drive down and back in the same day - whew!

(You know, I really thought that the season would be over for us by now. See how much I am learning!)