A Perfect Planter

Leave it to craigslist to help me sell an eclectic piece! I actually had this great wagon in my booth at one time, but it doesn't lend itself well to the 'stacking up' concept. I debated on keeping it and using it as a planter, but my small front porch doesn't have room for it.

I always get so excited when I see a response to one of my craigslist 'for sale' postings. But you never know what you will get - a spammer, a local who is curious but not serious, or a buyer who really wants to follow through. My favorite spam message so far was for a cool vintage bicycle I am trying to sell and the spammer asked the usual, "Do you still have it?" (Obviously they aren't reading the part about 'if you are reading this, I still have it!') But they asked another question that made me laugh - "What size is it?" Um, bike sized?!

I knew the email I received from the gentleman interested in the wagon was legit as the email address was from a local (well, global but local) employer. We easily arranged a pick-up and I asked what his plans were for the wagon; he said he was going to use it as a planter for succulents. I then immediately asked if he was a landscaper, as anyone who uses the word succulents probably knows what they are doing...but alas he is not. (We are in desperate need of some reasonably priced and deerproof landscape assistance).

The next day, I get an email from him with an attachment of the wagon in its new habitat. I so appreciate that as I rarely get to see what becomes of the treasures I fall in love with to buy and then sell...and I truly admire what he did with his new purchase! I wrote him back to say thanks and said I can't wait to share his creation on here! Isn't this awesome?!

Nice work on your perfect planter, Travis!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ahead,

Sarah

Sunday Shopping

The highlight for many this past Sunday was the Super Bowl. For me, it was some great shopping! I have been dying to get out west to Llano and Burnet, but I am saving that trip for when my friend Rachel comes to visit this weekend (can't wait!). So I decided to venture south and east. It was a cold and rainy day, perfect to spend inside shopping!

I first went to Geronimo and only visited Blue Hills Antique Mall. I had such a great time exploring all the random nooks and crannies of this house-like structure. It is huge and they recently added on. There were several vendors working in their spaces, and by the end of the hour and a half I was there, I had met each one. The hospitality was overflowing, as no fewer than four people helped me carry all my goods out to my car (that should give an idea as to how much I bought!). I somehow managed to find four display pieces and fit them all in my car. I want to give a special shout out to M.L. and Diane as they introduced me to their other dealer friends and M.L. made sure to help me load the vehicle. I was glad to finally be that customer who gets to purchase a piece while the dealer is there - Diane had her space filled and fluffed within minutes of me taking a great chippy black bookcase. I guess I was too busy shopping to take any pictures of the great spaces there. 

I was, however, saddened that my former favorite booth at Blue Hills was no longer there...Curious Boys, oh where did you go? I knew they also had a space in Seguin at Unique Boutique, but I wasn't sure a) if the store was open on Sunday and b) if I had any room in the car to go on for further shopping. I figured it wouldn't hurt to check! 

Sure enough, the open sign was lit and there were a few cars in the parking lot. I am so glad - I hit the jackpot here too with some smaller items, thanks to the Curious Boys! I had so much fun admiring all of your rustic garden pieces and picking out the ones that would come home with me. There were many! And several might not make it out of my home....

I have to admit I was worried that their space would be cleaned out because several people whose blogs I read said they were headed that way within the last week. But, the nice lady working on Sunday informed me that they had just come and restocked that early afternoon. Perfect timing, Glenn and Joe! 

Theresa, I was literally and now figuratively following in your footsteps - I guess I am copying your post but couldn't resist posting my pictures of the creative decor and arrangements of this great duo also.    

I do love a great chippy birdcage! 

I want this chaise lounge!!!!!

Here are my purchases - can't wait to work them into the booth!

One stool, a bookcase, an old open cabinet, side table, typewriter table, old globe, egg basket, sewing drawers, 2 suitcases, 2 doilies, garden planter, two yard art pieces (not pictured), an old shopping basket, a few pieces of tarnished silver, and a great old clock box - I would say that is some pretty good Sunday shopping for a quick trip!

Thanks for reading!

LY

For anyone who has worked retail, the letters "LY" bring up memories of goal setting, comparison, and optimism to beat the figures from this day 'last year.' My first non-farming/field job was at the ripe age of 16 working for the brand new store Limited Too at Eastland Mall in Bloomington, IL. I loved it! I had great co-workers, made some spending money, and spent all that money within the company due to the corporate discount. I continued to work retail for the next six years and worked for another store within Limited, Inc. This was when I was formally introduced to the overuse of acronyms. We had sales reports on our UPT (units per transaction) and a whole bunch of other performance measures with acronyms I cannot recall; the one I remember most vividly was LY - the total volume of sales from this day last year. 

Well, this weekend 'LY' (last year) was the unofficial start to Barn Chic Antiques. This was the brainstorming phase, and my lovely little business all began with this:

I found this beauty of a green trunk at the Austin Antique Mall. I somehow got it in the backseat of my sedan, brought it in the house, and discovered a whole bunch of other treasures inside of it - pictures, great cowboy boots, a frame, and other random antiques. The vendor was either storing merchandise in the trunk or had carried in other items and forgotten to take the pieces out. The next day, I headed back to the antique mall to return the items and spent several more hours wandering from booth to booth, wishing I would one day be in the antique business. I went home that night and expressed my interest to Andrew, who couldn't have been more supportive. My next step was to see how realistically I could buy and resell to cover expenses, so this exact weekend LY, I took my first buying trip. I headed out west in a rented Expedition primarily to buy a Hoosier Cabinet in Bertram....but I also discovered a country auction being held in Lampasas and wanted to make the most of my rental. I ended up loading that vehicle to the ceiling and even out the window. It was a slow but exciting drive home thinking about the possibility of having my own booth. 

I didn't actually get a space for two more months, but I began to lay the groundwork for Barn Chic Antiques. I researched, window-shopped, gathered some inventory, car hunted, read countless blogs, and filed for status as a business in Travis County. 

And here I am today, just one year later, with a fun little space in a great mall, a new community of online and in-person friends (never a stranger in this business!), a blog to share my experiences, great connections with old friends about the new endeavor, a better decorated house, an overflowing garage, a Texas-sized SUV, a massive excel spreadsheet, and a hobby that never gets old. 

This morning I introduced my great friend Aden to the booth. We met nearly ten years ago at the UT School of Social Work 'Steer Towards Texas' weekend, and this May I will be honored to stand by her side at her wedding. I had a great time hosting her this weekend and I loved showing her around the antique mall. 

Aden had a mid-day flight back to New Orleans, and after she left I headed out to Geronimo and Seguin for a little shopping. Glenn and Joe, I really upped your 'UPT' score today - just a heads up! Stay tuned for proof of today's shopping success!

Have a chic week,

Sarah

Timing

Being in the right place at the right time is what makes any shopper successful. This is especially true of an antiquer. Hitting the Goodwill just after the most awesome corner shelf or ironstone dish is placed out on the floor, visiting an estate sale on the 50% day and seeing the perfectly chippy pie safe waiting for you, getting up early to tour garage sales and finding great blue glass Ball jars for next to nothing, finding and displaying merchandise in the booth just before that shopper who falls in love with a pricey cabinet comes in....it really all is a game of 'just in the nick of time.'

Here are some timing stories of recent good fortune:

-searching Craigslist just minutes after a seller posts just the right piece; I found two great shabby kitchen cabinets, a red cart, and two green side tables on Craigslist.  

-selling a piece on Craigslist - can you believe that I listed a rusty metal shelf and then communicated with the buyer to later find out that she too is a vendor at the antique mall?! The piece went from my booth to hers.  

-running into two Craigslist sellers at the antique mall while I am in my booth, and the object I bought from them is there too! Is that not coincidental that they are there, while I am there, and that our paths cross?! 

-the annual Austin Summer Camp Fair at the Palmer Event Center taking place at the same time as the Citywide Garage Sale on Saturday; Andrew had a YMCA booth there and with it came a parking pass - we actually rode together AND I got to park in the vendor lot! What a stroke of great timing! I put that $7 savings toward the early shopping pass. 

-choosing to be an early shopper at Citywide yesterday and finding some great pieces that I would like to convince myself wouldn't have been there had I not gotten there to wear the coveted 'early shopper' nametag. 

-meeting a talented vendor at Citywide and striking up a conversation about her great stuff; mentioned I was at the antique mall and she asked me to describe where my space is. I explain and she says, "Did you have a large turquoise cabinet?" Turns out she is the proud new owner of that and a few of my screens. As she said, we are kindred spirits! Check out Janet's work at blog.talksweettalk.com and her posts about the "blue hutch"! 

-having good sales again this week and getting to my Leprechaun-attacked booth to clean up yesterday's aftermath just before the height of a high-traffic day 

(today's evidence)

I thought my recent booth destruction was bad - this one took the cake. But, I did invite the Leprechauns back to do some shopping, and the invitation is still happily extended. 

and back to good timing:

-rearranging and stocking new merchandise and getting OUT of the booth just before deterring shoppers. My recent trend on the weekend is to not get to the mall before the middle of the afternoon, which is the mall's busiest time (I hope I stop that trend...). I hate being there in my booth while shoppers are in full force, usually because I think my presence prevents them from shopping in it. Today I got there right about 2, and there weren't many shoppers there until just as I was leaving at 3.  

-or, conversely, being at the booth when a shopper falls in love with your piece. This has happened to me a few times, and not only is it so nice to hear people say they like your style or merchandise, but it is also extra flattering when the shopper picks out a purchase while you are there.   

-having a friend host a 31 party just when I realize I need a better organizing 'booth bag.' I lost my camera twice in the same messy bag today. I can't count how many times I've had to pick up the spilled contents from the floor of the car. I can't wait to get a new 'utility organizing bag' so I don't have to search for my tape measure, pencil, staple gun, price tags, scissors, etc.

Andrew visited the booth with me today and helped me carry in new pieces. He hasn't been to the booth in quite some time, so he had some interesting observations. After he reads that I shared a few of them on here, he probably won't be back for quite some time again.

-Andrew: "Did you take my old baseballs?"  Sarah: "No, I bought those - they are vintage." Andrew (while customers are in the next booth): "You are charging $5 for them? They aren't even worth that new!" Sarah: "Well, here, they are worth more used than new. And they aren't $5, they are an additional 20% off, which makes them $4." (Side note: My baseballs may be overpriced, but I saw some in a great booth two weeks ago and they were marked $12 each!) I need to find those vintage baseballs he thought I took...

-Andrew, picking up a bag of candy hearts from my bag of items I brought it, "Why are these in here?" Sarah: "I thought I would use them for Valentine's Day decor in this bowl." Andrew, in condescending tone: "Are people actually going to eat them?!" Customers walking by.

Guess next weekend I will be unloading items without help. But I did appreciate it while it lasted - thank you, Andrew!  

The current state of booth #309:

As I see it, good timing is directly tied to probability. The more often I shop, the more likely I am to find that great bargain!  Looking forward to my next shopping adventure and sharing it with you!

Have a chic week,

Sarah

i LOVE JUNK!

I'm loving my new marquee letters! I spent a good chunk of time sorting through hundreds of letters to try to spell out just a few words. The 'i' isn't very clear in the picture, but I think it is actually an exclamation mark - I just turned it upside down. As any teacher does, I have much experience with improvising! But this teacher is also constantly correcting papers and reminding students to capitalize the first letter in sentences, and especially the word "I." Guess I will make an exception this time. 

I went to the Big Red Barn Sale in Round Top last weekend and got some fun smalls, including this heart-shaped cookie cutter and several antique light bulbs that were on an old airport runway!

I also found some fun vintage Valentine's cards to add a little love to the booth.

Isn't this heart handkerchief fun?

See that red dish in the library card catalog drawer? It is no longer there due to yours truly attempting to slide the green table down and it shattering on the floor. :(  I can hardly believe that this is the first non-Christmas ornament that I have broken in the booth. That's not too bad of a track record for nine months I suppose.

I am looking forward to some good shopping at the Citywide Austin Garage Sale next weekend - I am thrilled that I have been selling lots of side tables, carts, and cabinets! Theresa, bring some goods for me to buy! My space is looking a little sparse; I have some inventory at home, but few pieces will fit in the small holes of the booth.

I am excited to reveal this shabby cabinet - it is so perfectly chippy! It is also the heaviest cabinet I have ever (attempted) to move. I have no idea how another girl and I loaded it into my car when I bought it.

The blue bookshelf has found a new home, as has that adorable suitcase.

Since the sale of the bookcase, the booth added a great Goodwill find - the tiered corner shelf.

It isn't in perfect condition, but with all the goods on it, the imperfections are hardly noticeable. Can you tell what's wrong with it?

 Stacked stools with an old encyclopedia.

I spent over three hours redoing the booth on Monday, playing Tetris with the new pieces I brought in and adding more burlap (unwashed of course) to the walls. BTW, I am sure I entertained a few shoppers as I attempted to hold the burlap against the top of the wall with my hands and use my feet to mark where I needed to cut the fabric. I think I looked like I was climbing a short rock wall with no rocks, harness, or spotters. Talk about improvising. Or maybe just stupid? I had a tape measure with me and just now realized I could have measured the length of the wall to get the right amount of fabric. Instead, my burlap looks like it was cut by a five year old. No worries - no one can see the bottom through all my junk in front of it.  

I took a break and walked around to a few of my favorites and had to stop and drool at Nancy's new larger space at the mall- I just love the industrial/garden/vintage/farm/shabby mix that she creates! So talented! 

It is always great to have vendors whose style you admire so close by.

Today was too nice of a day to spend in the car driving out west for shopping; instead, we cleared the front lawn of leaves and then I rearranged my junk in the garage. At this time last year, I had a smaller sedan and parked in the garage. Now, I have a giant SUV and it sits in the driveway, no hope of having any space in the junk-filled garage anytime in the near....ever. The sacrifices we make for antiquing!

i LOVE JUNK- and all my fellow junk-loving readers!

Have a chic week,

Sarah