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buying & selling antiques

Lucketts Recap 2012

I’m not sure what it was about Lucketts this year, but I am more tired than I have ever been after a fair. My voice has been raspy and squeaky for three days, my foot that I broke when I was a kid is aching, my hips are sore, my nose is sunburned and I am totally exhausted. Now that I got the grumbling out of the way, I can also say this was my favorite fair ever. I’m proud of the stuff I brought, I was overwhelmed by people I met, I love that my family was there with me (and Mini)… …and I am so thankful that I was left with very empty tents at the end of day two. I sold all but one of my painted pieces of furniture. This was my favorite fair, but it was also my busiest. Five of us were working in the tent

May 21, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

’twas the night before Lucketts

Well, here it is…Lucketts Eve. I am about as nervous and excited as a kid before Christmas. I’ve been preparing and shopping for weeks and I’m now just over 12 hours away from the event. Whew. We dropped our stuff off at Lucketts yesterday, but it’s just stacked under a tent, not arranged in any particular fashion. I know it’s going to be a frenzie to get it all set up tomorrow, so we’re leaving at 6:00 am. (Ugh.) I am in the same exact place I was last year, so those who came last year will know where to find me. If you’re coming for the first time, I’m on the gravel and hopefully you’ll recognize some of my stuff. (I’m in the two white tents on the end.) It was hard to not get distracted by all of the Lucketts goodness everywhere… I will

May 18, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

Lucketts Link Party & Giveaway

The “I’M SAD I CAN’T COME TO LUCKETTS THIS WEEKEND” Giveaway I am busy preparing for the Lucketts Antique Market and I know it’s driving some of you crazy that you can’t come because of distance or other commitments. Well, I want to bring a little Lucketts to one of my readers. I am having giveaway for some of the special items I’m bringing to the fair. Here are a couple of the items that will be included in the giveaway…. …an MMS t-shirt (let me know the size – S, M, L, XL, or a custom size)… …one of my “take-away” tags… …you’ll also get one bunch of lavender, a bag of loose lavender and a few other surprise goodies. I’m not sure what they’ll be, yet, but they’ll be cool. Probably an old brass number stencil, a skeleton key, maybe a piece of ironstone. You’ll just

May 15, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

something special

Last year I made a couple hundred mini cupcakes with my logo stamped in the top to give away at the Lucketts Antique Market. I knew I wanted to bring something special to give to customers who come to my booth again this year, but I also knew I didn’t want to be baking until almost midnight the night before (again.) So, I talked with a couple of my girls, Jami from Freckled Laundry and Reni from Bliss & Tell. The three of us came up with some clay tags that read “move mountains.” I think it’ll be a nice little reminder for people who visit me that they can move mountains in their own homes…in their own lives. Jami made them in yellow, gray and pale blue. Reni designed the paper closure for the bag. I think that says it all. I’ll

May 12, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

colours & projects

I’m in the phase of getting ready for Lucketts where I spend most of my day in the basement painting, stripping (furniture), sanding, waxing, distressing…you get the idea. I get to the end of this kind of day and I wonder what in the world I’m going to post about. I’ve finished pieces, but they’re still in the basement and I have about seven other things in the works, but they’re really not ready to show. So, I’m just going to share some of what I’ve been up to today. When Mini first arrived to watch my boys for the day, I took a long soak in a hot bath. I was sleepy and a little sore and I just couldn’t face all of the work that needed to be done without a little down time first. After the bath, breakfast and a quick check of my e-mail and I got to

May 7, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

getting ready for a fair

I wish getting ready for a fair just involved putting on a cute sundress and taking some cash out for ice cream, but I’m not talking about simply going to a fair. I’m talking about being a vendor at a fair and that involves a lot more. First of all, I tip my hat to those who show at fairs regularly…like almost every weekend of the year. I don’t know how you do it. I do one fair a year and it just about kills me! Well, not literally, but it takes over my house, my poor husband has to fend for himself for dinner most nights, and it means I am paint splattered more than usual (and that’s a lot already!) I know a number of my readers are also antique dealers and are currently vendors at fairs or want to be, so I thought I would share some

May 3, 2012 1 Comment

Miscellaneus

What price is right?

I receive a lot of questions through comments and e-mail and one of the things I’m asked most about is pricing. When you’re selling pieces as a part of your business, how do you know what number you should put on the tag? I wish I could just throw out a perfect formula like investment + labor + desired profit = price, but it’s much more of a “soft” thing for me. It’s a gut feel. And it varies so much depending on your location, the shop, the event, the piece, the time of year, the weather, your mood. Get the picture? There are so many factors. I make a huge profit on some things (like a chair I bought for $10 and sold for $285) and I make a small profit on other things. I’m a cheap person and a DIYer, so it’s hard for me to imagine paying

April 18, 2012 No Comments

buying & selling antiques

moved in

I moved into my current room (more like an alcove) on the first floor at Lucketts back in December, but I have never really moved in. I sort of dropped off the boxes and made do. Karen and Jennifer have been filling the space for me while I worked on my book and went through a few other things that weren’t quite as fun. When I brought my stuff there on Thursday, it felt like the first time I was really moving into the space and getting settled there. I am still planning to patch and paint the walls, do something new with the curtains and hang a few things from the ceiling. I’m looking forward to when I have the time to do that. Until then, it’s starting to look like “me.” I’m working on some rewriting for the book, so I’m just going to let the pictures do

April 14, 2012 No 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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