buying & selling antiques Archives | Page 12 of 23

buying & selling antiques

Show Business | Tagging & Setting Up

Today I’m continuing the series on “show business”, aka being a vendor at an antique show/fair/market. If you missed part one, you can check it out HERE. In part two, we’re going to talk about tagging (branding) and planning the space. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a little in love with my tag. There’s something very exciting about seeing my logo and name on a tag, hanging from a piece I curated or made. After a few years of tying my tags onto thousands of pieces, that feeling hasn’t gone away. My current tags were designed by Reni of Bliss & Tell Branding Company. But, when I first started, my marketing budget was zero. You might think I’m exaggerating, but buying a piece of furniture for $50 was a HUGE investment that was very scary to me. I was fortunate enough to have my logo, which I am still using

March 15, 2014 27 Comments

buying & selling antiques

Show Business | Part 1

As I’ve mentioned how I’m getting ready for the Luckett’s Spring Market, I’ve received several e-mails asking various questions about my process, so I thought I would share the answers with “the group” in the way of a series. I think we’re overdo for some information-heavy posts, anyway! So, here we go… If you’re happily selling in an antique mall, on Etsy, eBay or maybe just occasionally at tag sales or you have a stash you’ve told your husband will become a business…at some point…you might wonder why you should try being a vendor at a fair. What is the advantage of being a vendor at an antique fair and is it worth hauling your stuff to an event? I’m going to give you a very muddy answer. It depends on the type of vendor you are. If you’re really a collector who needs an overflow, so you have an

March 14, 2014 37 Comments

buying & selling antiques

tagging, keeping & selling

I had a living room full of stuff that needed to be sorted out today. Boxes of ironstone, boxwood wreaths and butcher twine, furniture and other things that have been delivered or bought over the past few days. I had a little bit of time this afternoon, so I picked away at it, selecting what needed to go to the basement to be worked on, what needed to be photographed to be listed in the shop and what I wanted to keep (well, keep and exchange for other things to sell.) I tagged things for Lucketts that had a tighter margin and I felt they might be too expensive with shipping included. I also thought about what would be better to take to an antique fair as opposed to packing to ship and what would be good display pieces. Also, I want to make sure I have great stuff, which

March 2, 2014 13 Comments

buying & selling antiques

Here comes Lucketts…

I know it’s just the first day of March, but my sights are already set on the Lucketts Antique Market. It’s historically been my biggest event of the year. And every year I try to top the previous year…in the pieces I bring, the way things are set up, the planning and prep that goes into two days. Last year, I felt a little off. It was still an amazing sale, but it rained and I didn’t have enough time to set up the booth the way I wanted to. I remember shoppers running towards my booth when they opened the gates early and I was still frantically unpacking boxes, crying out, “I’m not ready, yet!” Well, I just had to relax and let it be…rain, big blue tarp, frizzy hair, damp shoes, unfinished booth and all. If you didn’t see the photos from last year, Jeff photobombed about 85%

February 28, 2014 30 Comments

Antiques

Guide to Shopping The Chapel Market

Well, this is a guide to shopping my space specifically at the Chapel Market tomorrow. First of all, here are some pictures of my space and the things that are for sale (and everything is for sale!)… I did not bring t-shirts, because I am almost sold out and need to reorder, but I did bring a bunch of books… …and I’d be happy to sign them for you. Also feel free to bring a book you already have for me to sign. I brought samples of all of my milk paint colors, including the newest ones… …but the paint and companion products will be sold across the aisle at Perfectly Imperfect. So, here are some tips for shopping my space… Since the space is small, we don’t have any display pieces or a checkout, so you have to find me or my husband Jeff in order to pay. We’ll

October 18, 2013 60 Comments

buying & selling antiques

Lucketts 2013 Day Two Recap

Day one of Lucketts is all hustle and bustle. Day two is much more relaxed. It was still the busiest day two I’ve experienced in my Lucketts fair career, but it wasn’t anything like the Saturday craziness. I actually had a chance to stage my space and take some pictures before the gates opened… …and I had more time to spend with people who came just to say hello. Lorraine brought me a beautiful ironstone sugar jar with a daisy planted inside. Does she know me or what? Candace of The Love Tag Shoppe, who had waited in line since 8:00 am Saturday in order to shop, came back for day two to hang out. (Thanks so much for sharing your pictures, Candace.) I also had a chance to see my dear friend, Funky Junk Donna, in action over at the Hometalk booth next door. She was teaching how to

May 22, 2013 38 Comments

buying & selling antiques

Lucketts 2013 Day One Recap

Saturday is always THE DAY of Lucketts. That’s when the die hard buyers come and the place is always bustling. I started the morning super early at 5:15 am, so I would have plenty of time to drive down and get the booth set up by the time the gates opened. The skies looked a little cloudy as we drove south, but I was still optimistic. Clouds are okay. Clouds are good. Just as we drove over the bridge into Virginia, the rain started to fall. Nooooooo! There were some clear spots of sky that were taunting me. I thought of Maryanne in Sense & Sensibility. “There’s some blue sky. Let us chase it!” Well, the blue sky just moved further away and when I arrived at Lucketts, there was a steady drizzle. Bummer. My heart sank. All of my stuff was in a cube under a tarp. There was

May 21, 2013 102 Comments

buying & selling antiques

Carrying me to the finish line

I feel like I could write for a week straight and still forget to share things I want to share about the time leading up to Lucketts and the event itself. The recap and tutorials and before & afters and stories and pictures and lessons learned will come…but not in this post. Yes, we had some stinky weather. Despite that, this was my most successful Lucketts Fair ever. By a lot. And in more ways than can be kept in a money box and counted at the end of the day. I took enough to Lucketts to fill a 20 ft truck and my van. I came home with a van load and a few things in the back of a pick up. I met amazing people, cried with some of them, laughed with others. It was all amazing and I can’t wait to share more about it. Tonight, though,

May 20, 2013 85 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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