Hello old friends!

Hi all!  I'm finally back with internet access - Hooray!

So this is just a quick note for now to let you know to 'watch this space'.  I'll be posting again soon, but in the mean time I have to get it together and get over to Booth 78 at Kenrick antique mall and get it spiffed up and add a bunch of new goodies for the Big Sale that starts tomorrow.

The whole mall is having an Independence Day sale, Wednesday through Saturday.  Booths can participate at whatever level they want, and it looks like lots of booths will have 20% off, but the Moon Booth is doing 25%!  Much better to knock off a full quarter of the price, dontcha thing?

So don't miss the awesome deals on all the pretty things!  Pictures of all the new goodies I'm bringing in today and all the changes I've made in the booth since last I had internet access will be coming in my next post. In the mean time, here's a hint at one of my very favorite new treasures:

Happy Independence Day all, see you soon!

Embrace serendipity

My Grandpa was the original 2ndhand Moon.  He collected vintage tools and farming/gardening equipment and had gorgeous old car the make and model of which currently escapes me.   His house, too was full of fascinating old treasures - everything from a victrola to an antique metal and marble ashtray/stand to a very cool collection of arrowheads.

Grandpa's cool old stuff fascinated me, as did the flea markets he freqented.  And while his were real antique and vintage treasures, I also learned from him and others in my life the value of just general thriftiness.  Of using something until it wears out, of giving new life to other people's old junk.  So when I first bought my house, I proudly furnished it with hand-me-downs from my parents, a couple of chairs from St. Vincent de Paul, and several items picked up on Big Trash Day (one of which is the wrought iron floor lamp sitting beside me right now).  

All of this to say I came by my love of old junk honestly, and really had no choice but to embrace it.  Still, it hasn't been that long that I've been reselling, and I'm not exactly raking in the dough yet.  With far more successful resellers out there, I'm not sure I'm qualified to give advice on thrifting, necessarily, but here it is anyway, totally unsolicited:

In thrifting, as in life, embrace serendipity.

My #1 most important rule of thumb in thrifting also just happens to be a major part of my philosophy in life.  If you go out with too specific expectations, you will almost always come home disappointed.  That may sound pessimistic, but in my experience, it's true of most things.  A simple example:  I recently watched the movie Cowboys and Aliens:

Honestly, it's sinful to use that fantastic name, those actors, and teasers like this and then put out a product with so little wit.  They should have saved the name for Pixar if they weren't going to have any fun with it.

Based on the frankly fabulous title and the actors involved (Indiana Jones/Han Solo!  James Freaking Bond!), I was expecting an action-packed movie with a tongue-in-cheek wit about it, and maybe a touch of kitsch.  Had I gone in without expectations, I likely would have enjoyed the film much more.  Expecting a sense of humor and a quick pace left me disappointed. 

On the other hand, my favorite type of getaway is the road trip with no destination.  I pick a road, I ease on down it, and I see what there is to see.  I have very rarely failed to have a totally satisfying adventure, from stumbling upon midwestern street festivals to exploring abandoned places: 

And so similarly, while I read frequently in thrifty blogs about having a plan of attack when you walk into a store, and a BOLO list of items to Be On the LookOut for, my strategy for thrifting is basically this:  Go to the thrift store.  Wander around.  Look at everything.  Let colors and textures and patina call to you.  And (this one I've learned with experience, the rest is gut) if you don't love it, don't buy it.  Just because something is vintage, and a good deal, and you think you maybe could sell it, doesn't mean you need to.  Conversely, if something speaks to you, and the price is right, sometimes you have to just go for it!  If you walk into a thrift store intent on finding this:

1950's unabridged Webster's Dictionary

Or that:

Cheery yellow telephone

You may well wander the aisles frustrated and go home grumpy.  Both of the items above are things I thrifted that I adore, but I wasn't looking for either one.  And had I been looking for the telephone, I might never have noticed any of this:

And who doesn't want a high-five hand, blue people and some hipster mice?

With eyes peeled for a particular item (or even a particular type of item, like little black dresses, vintage barware or high-end linens), you are less likely to find success on any given day, and more likely to miss out on the surprise treasures your eyes skimmed past in search of something specific.  So while I'm not sure it was Grandpa's way, my advice is simple: embrace serendipity and see what your Fairy Godthrifter might bring your way!

A second bit of Tuesday kitsch and some "old" stuff I found in the corner (ahem - hoarder!)

Last night I showed you guys Timmy, from my quick thrift stop-in that day.  Here's another fine bit of retro kitsch some misguided soul chose to get rid of, and I, seeing it's intrinsic awesomeness, rescued from the cold lonely shelves of the thrift store:

The thing I like best is knowing that somebody Made this.

I also picked up a super cool old pillowcase, and a little daisified lotus bowl:

The little bowl is a bit bold all by itself, but
it's almost a wallflower compared to that print!

And while snapping the above snaps, I noticed a bag sitting in the corner and found a couple of treasures I picked up awhile back and promptly forgot about!  

Handy Hannah hair dryer - and it still works!

This one fascinates me with it's machine-age chrome and it's early version of an ergonomic handle.  It's even got a hot and cold setting and a little slider to let you increase or decrease the amount of heat by opening or partially closing the vent holes.  Pretty impressive for something so obviously old. The smaller print around the circle there indicates that it was manufactured by the Standard Products Corp of Whitman, Mass.  These  were very well made machines, because there are lots of them still floating around out there, mostly for sale on Etsy and Ebay.  Some of the listings claim it's as old as the 40s, and the Handy Hannah name was not exclusive to hair dryers.  Apparently the same company made other "Handy" machines for ladies of the mid-century.  But I'll let you go look that up for yourself.

This next one is even more special:

Gorgeous gray-blue beaded cardigan

Tag reads Made in Scotland Expressly for Peck & Peck  and below that, Braemar, which I happen to know  (now that Wikipedia told me so) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that hosts annual Highland Games.  Wikipedia also tells me that Peck &Peck was a venerable name in fashion on 5th Avenue in New York going back to the 1880s, and it died out after it was bought out in the 1970s, so this is a real-deal mid-century beaded cashmere cardigan.  The beads are heavy and white with tiny, ever-so-tasteful rhinestones inside the U shapes of the swooshes.  Not a single bead or rhinestone seems to be missing, it's soft as clouds and it still smells like some delicate perfumed powder or other.  I would consider it a size small, probably.  If anybody is interested (in this or anything else I post here), let me know.  Otherwise, it's going in the shop on Monday or Tuesday.   

And on that note of elegant sophistication, I bid you all good night!

Guess who has two thumbs and Actually Made a Profit?

You guessed it!:

This girl again!

I am so excited, you guys!  I stopped by Kenrick Antique Mall yesterday to pay March's rent on booth 78 and get my check/info for last month and find out what all I sold.  Now, I didn't have anything available for sale until the 13th, so I'm feeling kinda spiffy at this point, because: I sold 15 items, for a total of $113.50!  Of course, my pro-rated February rent was $79.00, plus the mall's commission and the 3% per item I lost if the customer payed with plastic took off another $12.84, which leaves $21.66.  Minus what I paid for the items in question (I had to guestimate on some because of my extremely poor organizational/planning skills), I would say I made at least five bucks!

Celebratory fireworks - Wahoo!

Perhaps I'm crazy to celebrate making five dollars in the course of two and a half weeks, but here's my reasoning:

1.  When I was pondering giving this a try, I chose to consider it an educational opportunity and, expecting to lose money, at least initially, told myself that it would be like paying for a class in reselling vintage goodies.

2.  I'm already starting to learn from it.  I have a list of 15 items that sold right off the bat.  I have already sold 2 of the 3 men's hats that I started out with in the booth.  That wasn't something I originally expected to be a big seller, so now I will be looking out for more.
3.  I also told myself that if I lost money consistently for 3 months, the experiment would be over.  So this at least means I get to keep trying.

4.  It's $5 for doing something I actually enjoy.  Hundreds or thousands made doing something you tolerate in order to pay the bills is useful, but occasionally depressing.  Ten bucks made doing something that I love doing, while it won't pay the bills, at least makes me feel justified to continue doing this very fun thing.

So yay me!

Redecorated a bit already

So I've sold a few more items, it looks like.  Another hat - the brown felt fedora, an army messenger bag, a yellow ceramic big-mouthed fish, a glass... every little bit counts, right?  But I'd REALLY like to sell some clothing, since I've collected more of that than anything.  Do people just not buy clothing at antique malls?  Was it a bad idea?

I'm not sure how often it's customary to rearrange a booth at an Antique mall.  Really, there are booths I've come across that I saw a year ago that haven't changed significantly, and I'm just this upstart newby so what do I know?

But... I started in February.  Mid-February.  Right before Valentine's Day.  So I had a booth full of coats and all red heart-y things.  And then February was almost over, and Valentine's Day had passed, and nobody had bought any coats, or, come to think of it, anything red and/or heart-y.  So Monday I took out (almost) all of the coats and (almost) all of the red/heart-y stuff, and put in a bunch of green St Paddy's Day appropriate/ "hey, it's almost Spring" relevant stuff.

I added a ton of cute fun green stuff, and rearranged lots of the various tchotchkes so that the center table is now completely populated with greenery of the non-botanical kind.

I left in the booth both halves of the coat love story, because I'm sentimental like that (or possibly just mental), and the buttery soft Berman's leather blazery-y jacket, and one red dress and most of the black and gray stuff I'd had in there, but I added lots of green.  Including two big-collared 70s era double-knit shamrock-y items:

I think of this as a teacher dress for unknown reasons.

This photographs well, but it's awfully thick.  I don't
know why I keep buying things for the kitsch factor.

There are a couple of other uber-kitschy items, but there are also some great vintage things worthy of both love and a regular spot in the wardrobe rotation, including a very cute green and orange plaid skirt that I would hoard for myself if it were my size.  I think it would be super cute with some cable-knit knee socks and loafers or oxfords:

I like the length, and it's well-made.

These two dresses are super cute as well:

This is woven, but with a nubby texture.
I imagine it on someone creative and organized.

I like the cool wrap-tie on this spring green dress.

And since of all the clothing and accessories in my booth I have sold so far only an army messenger bag and two men's hats, I now know my real audience for vintage.  I have, accordingly, added another nice hat, and will continue to be on the lookout for manly goodness, too.

So, with lots of new items and rearranging, here is what my booth looks like now:

A bit more Spring-y, lots more green, and an adorable toddler-size plaid jumper.

A closer look at a few bits:

Mostly the same, plus awesome green/blue shirtwaist dress.

Lots of green, including a very funky 60s green/gray/
black/white print dress - go-go boots not included.

Lots of pretty green pottery and things.

Added some more linens and whatnot.

So what do you think?  Better?  Worse?  Do I need to knock it off with the kitschy clothes, or do they attract attention?  What do/would you do?

Philosophy of reselling?

Most of what I thrift, I plan to at least try to resell.  And yet, I haven't done a ton of research on what sorts of items are hot sellers, and I don't go looking for particular brands/marks/designers/etc.  Maybe I should.  Maybe if I did, I'd be already making money at it.  But I admit I haven't ever been all that motivated by money.  Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have money.  I'd like to make money off of my obsession with vintage things, particularly.  But money has always seemed more like an unfortunate necessity that forces me to spend 40-50 hours a week in a cubicle than something I want to someday swim around in like Scrooge McDuck.

I don't care about the best cars or big houses in perfect neighborhoods.  And so like everything else in my life (the French lit degree, trying to move to Mauritius, getting involved in urban ministry...), I know I probably could make choices that would make more money thrifting.  For instance I keep reading about people making money off of certain Starbucks mugs.  But I can't be bothered.  I keep passing on the mugs, for $.10 at St Vincent de Paul, because they just... don't interest me.

So I buy what I like.  Sure, I keep my phone handy and Google the names on labels sometimes, but for the most part, if I don't get excited about it personally, it's not coming home with me, and if I do get excited about it, I don't care what Google says.  I'm hoping that "what I like" (which is a very, very broad category) translates into "what people want to buy", but I'm not trying to force it.  Which in one way is nice, because... at least if nobody does want to buy it, I'll be stuck with a bunch of stuff I like, instead of a bunch of stuff I hoped other people would like.

But if you are, or are thinking about being a reseller, do you have a coherent philosophy for what you buy?  Do you stick to a certain type of thing, or a certain era, or a certain aesthetic?  Do you buy only what is in a certain price range, or what you think will sell for X amount more than what you pay, or, like me, do you just blunder around without a plan, buying what pings some pleasure center in your brain and hoping it will do the same for the next person?

Polling the public: advice for a newbie seller? Anyone?

Some questions for any more experienced sellers of vintage goodies, and/or any potential or actual buyers of same:

-How do you feel about antique malls, in general?  How do you expect them to compare, price-wise, to Etsy?  Ebay?  Thrift stores?  Any other venues?

-What's your advice on a booth that is stuffed full vs. one that is less cluttered/more "designed"?

-Do you think it's worthwhile to have an item/items in the shop that are not likely to sell, but might attract attention?  For example, when I set up my booth on Feb 11, I included these:

 

Red and white jackets with "Barb" and "Dave" embroidered on them.

I did not expect a couple by those names to walk into the store, spot the jackets, and feel the need to buy them, particularly, but I displayed them prominently, allowing them to take up wall space in an 8x8 booth on the theory that it was Valentine's week and they made a sort of sweetly kitschy, funny eye-catcher that might draw people in to my booth.  I removed them on Tuesday of this week, since Valentine's Day is past and I don't expect them to sell any time soon.  I thought I might bring them back out around Halloween for a similar reason, and on the theory that a couple might consider them easy/funny matchy costumes.  Similarly, I have a couple of obnoxiously fun double-knit polyester items with shamrocks on them that I intend to put up within the next week or two, to attract attention for St Paddy's Day.  Do you think this is a worthwhile endeavor?  I mean, I'm hoping at some point these items will find buyers as well, but I don't exactly expect it, so am I wasting precious booth space?  And if so, what do I do about the other half-ton of kitschy clothing items I purchased because they amuse me?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated, and will earn you points on Santa's Nice list, I'm sure!

A few more lovely things that will be going into the shop

Hey all!  Just thought I'd share a few more bits and pieces that I've got pics of, that will be going into the shop:

Royal blue wool coat.

Spiral bound floral photo album.

I love the font on the photo album, and this one came complete with a few pages of actual old photos.  I haven't decided yet whether people will like it better with or without them inside, so I'm not sending this to the booth right away.  What do you think?

Vintage fabric - an old curtain panel.

\This fabric is amazing.  Its not very big, but what an impact!  I can't for anything imagine who designed it or who thought it would make a good curtain, but I'm glad they did!

Two planters and a small vase.

The green planter is a Haeger piece - stamped on the bottom, and there's a sticker still adhered to one side.  The other two are unmarked, but nifty.  I like the origami-esque nature of the brown and cream pot, and the speckle finish and sweet green interior make the little vase special.

Half a dozen Nancy Drew titles.

I don't know much about Nancy Drew, but I do love the cover art.  On one of them, the bottom corners of many pages are torn, or possibly chewed.  The others are in much better shape.

Bovano of Cheshire Connecticut ashtray

I love this thing.  The company is still in business, but hasn't made these glass-enameled copper trays since some time in the 60s (according to their website).  It's just such a cool mid-century Mad Men cocktail party kind of thing.  But I can't imagine smashing out your butts in something so pretty.  It should hang on the wall like the artwork it is!

Small desk lamp.

Sorry the picture of this is so dark.  Suppose I should have plugged it in and turned it on.  He may look shy, but just wait till he lights up - he's a handsome little guy.

Fabulous mid-century clock radio

This little lady isn't going into the booth just yet.  I haven't tested her out yet, and to be perfectly honest, I'm enjoying looking at her too much to be disappointed if she doesn't work.

Look how cool she is!

Autumnal kitsch - tin mural-clock.

I need to get some batteries and test this guy out as well.  So awesome - the image is printed on metal, and I love the font of the clock.  I could have kicked myself when I bent one of the hands slightly (after it had survived all these years unscathed), but it went back into place with no signs of a problem.

Semi-sheer red and white polka-dot dress.  AB FAB!

What can I even say about this one?  It's a show stopper.  Can't you just see it in a movie musical from back in the day?