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Five Things I’ve Learned Running a Vintage Booth

Hey y’all! I am just coming out of a great weekend, and while it’s fresh on my mind, I wanted to share with you everything! This weekend I had a show with Vintage Market Days, which is my favorite event, both as a shopper and as a vendor. This was my second show with VMD, and I have continued to learn so much now that I have two shows under my booth. I still would consider myself a novice by all means, but I’d love to share the top five things I’ve learned, should you ever consider running a booth yourself!

Style the booth like a room. 

The first thing you want to do is think about your booth as a room. You don’t want to just randomly place furniture around a room in your house and call it a day. You think carefully about walkways, flow, and how you decorate. Think carefully about how to piece things together. I added walls to the back of my booth, a portable faux shiplap backdrop that I could hang things on. This created not only the feeling of being in a defined space, but also gave me vertical space to display things on. That is huge! Your house has walls where you hang things, so should your booth! You may be placed up to a wall, but chances are, you’ll be backed up against another booth or an ugly wall. Put something up so you can make your booth look homey! The shiplap walls were a big hit, and I am so impressed with how Ethan made these!

Think big! (But also small.) I would consider myself to run a redesigned furniture booth. However, not everyone who walks into a market is going to be in the market for (or have money for) a large furniture piece. I don’t know how many times people walked by my booth to admire my farmhouse table but walked away saying but I don’t need a table. People won’t usually spontaneously purchase a large furniture piece, but they will buy something small. Have items at all price points! I had pieces ranging from three to five hundred dollars. Make your items mass appeal. This doesn’t mean you have to offer things that aren’t true to your style, but bring things in that can match anyone’s price point. Even though I have furniture in my booth, I made most of my sales on small items.

Constantly rearrange. 

Things will sell. Even if you have your booth perfectly styled before the market starts, things will sell and leave gaping holes in your booth. You have to be quick on your feet and be able to move things around to constantly make the booth presentable. Another vendor gave me some great advice this weekend and told me not to be afraid to rearrange during the show. It will make shoppers less intimidated to come in and check things out, plus it brings different items to the attention of shoppers if they walk by more than once. Someone may think they’ve seen everything, but when you rearrange, they may notice something they haven’t seen the first time around. They’re much more likely to stop and shop!

Make friends with other vendors! 

Other vendors are a wealth of knowledge. Everyone has different experiences and expertise, and they all have something to offer. And the best part is that if you’re warm and friendly, they’ll be warm and friendly in return! As someone just starting out, this is huge! They are so generous with advice and tips, especially those who have been doing things for a while. You never know who you’re going to be set up next to, so make sure you learn everything you can from those around you!

Be mindful of logistics. 

Lastly, don’t forget about the logistics. Bring canvas dropcloths if you’re on a dirt floor. Bring change for cash buyers. Be prepared for shoppers to pay with card. Bring tools, because something will invariably go wrong. Bring chairs for sitting during the show. Have a plan for load in and load out, whether that means a truck, trailer, or strong muscles. Make a list and check it more than once, because you’ll always forget something.

These are just some of the things I’ve learned, but I feel like I’m way more experienced than I was before! Each show is a learning experience, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to continue to grow this little side business I have. It’s exhausting, exhilarating, and exciting at the same time. Creating the pieces for these shows and seeing my ideas come to life is an indescribable feeling. Have you ever thought about becoming a vendor at a craft fair or antique market? I hope these tips help you out!

Well, that’s all for today friends! Have a fabulous day!

April 4, 2017 by
Personal

We Didn’t Watch TV for a Month!

Yes, you read that correctly. If you’re new here, don’t quit reading on me. This blog is typically about my house and how I decorate on a budget, but this post is more personal. Bear with me.

For the month of January we decided not to watch TV at the house at all. It wasn’t really a new year’s fast thing, it was just something I thought would be fun to try. Sometimes I (and most Americans probably) can get sucked into sitting on the couch for hours on end. Which is totally fine. I work really hard during the week and sometimes I just need to do nothing.

The problem is that when I sit around doing nothing for multiple hours, I just feel unproductive and gross. So when I brought up the possibility of not watching anything for a whole month, Ethan was on board. He may have been a little bit reluctant, but if he was, he didn’t let on. I wanted to see what it would be like without it in the house. And let me tell you: it was awesome. Here’s what happened.

First, I just did more. More of everything. I worked on projects more frequently. I actually got off my butt and got into the garage to get stuff done. I painted more, finished a lot of things that had been in my garage for months, and got ahead on pieces for my upcoming spring shows. That alone would have been enough to call it a success, but there was so many other benefits.

I read more books. On a normal weeknight, when I would normally be watching my shows, I was reading books. I frequented the library much more often, and read four books this month. Which is a lot for me. I have always enjoyed reading, but I’m not what you might consider an avid reader. I have always used the excuse that I didn’t have time. Which wasn’t really true. I had the same amount of time, I just didn’t prioritize well.

I also felt more rested. Somehow even though I was getting more accomplished, I just felt better. I had more energy, and I wasn’t a total zombie when it came to the end of the day. Teaching can sometimes drain your energy, and so when you’re teaching all day you tend to be exhausted. And there were those days. But overall, I wasn’t super drained. I felt all around good. I cooked at home more and even baked some too! At first I thought that we would spend more money because we would be bored at home, but honestly I think we spent less money than we normally do because I was so much more productive and energetic.

There were things I thought I’d miss, and I’ll be honest, it was hard not tuning in to the newest episode of Fixer Upper each week when everyone else was posting and sharing photos of the great episodes, but there were other things I didn’t even miss (cough* The Bachelor *cough). As the month went on, it seemed like the feeling of missing out on things kind of passed.

Overall, it was a month of rest and rejuvenation. It was the perfect way to start the year off right, and it set the tone for what’s to come this year. I think it might be a good tradition to continue into the years to come, but we’ll see. Ethan may not quite agree. 🙂 Either way, I’d recommend it! I enjoyed this month, and I think if you gave it a try, you’d be surprised at how it turns out! That’s all for today, friends. Have a fabulous day!

February 1, 2017 by
Personal

2017: My Word for the Year

Hello all! Can you believe that Christmas has already passed? It seems like the season moves more quickly with each passing year. I saw someone post on social media the other day about the time between Christmas and New Years being “a week of not knowing what day it is or what you’re doing with your life.” It’s funny, but it’s so true! Especially for me because I’m a teacher, I don’t have to work on the in between week, and so I’m at a total loss. Every day is leisurely and wonderful.

It is always a time for reflection though, and I love to use this time to reset before the new year. Last year I wrote a quick reflection on the year, and you can read that here . I was reading over it, and it is so awesome to see what this year has held for us, even when I didn’t know it. God is funny that way, isn’t He? Always knowing what’s ahead even when we’re doubting the plan.

This year rather than making any official resolutions, I am choosing one single word to represent my outlook for this upcoming year.

wordoftheyear1-1

I’ve never done this before, but it’s an alternative approach to resolutions. One with lower stakes. I’m not one for making make or break resolutions, but I can get on board with one single word. So for this next year, my word is:

wordoftheyear1-2

grow. 

It seems simple, but for me, it has so much meaning. This past year, we moved into a new rental house, I continued blogging, and we had our first successful show as a vendor at a vintage market.

This upcoming year, all I want is to grow. I want to continue to grow this blog, and grow more relationships with the people who read this blog or are in my so called “community.”

I want to grow my little business (it’s literally a family joke that I am technically a small business owner, because I had to get a tax license to be a vendor at a certain event). I want to grow my little side business into an actual side business. Something that is continually bringing in a side income while allowing me to be creatively fulfilled. I was able to get my feet wet a little bit this year, but I really want to dive in this next year.

I want to grow professionally as well. Teaching is no easy career, and there’s always areas of improvement. I want to continue to grow in that area.

And of course, there’s always room for spiritual growth. That’s something that almost seems silly to include, because it’s a no brainer for me, and it’s nothing new this year, but still an important facet to my word this year.

And that’s it! Do you make resolutions? Do you choose a word for yourself each year? I’d love to hear what you’ve chosen!

December 29, 2016 by