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!