antiques/junking

When I found this landscape, I knew it had to go behind my mosaic cottages.  Even though the display was finished.  I took it apart and redid it all, not just this shelf, but the whole cabinet.  I had to distribute some of the things that had been on this shelf to the other levels so the painting wouldn’t be completely blocked.

Because I tend to layer so much that I block a lot.  Like the mirror on the wall in this photo.

What mirror?  Well the one I hung in December that no one has ever seen because it has had so much in front of it. 

Since I am a stacker, piler, and layer-er, I am careful to have most price tags prominently displayed.  People don’t have to risk causing an avalanche to get something down if it isn’t a price point they appreciate.

If I can do it, the tags are easy to find, but not right in your face.

Other times they are directly on the face.  Ha, get it?

Seriously, I try not to overcrowd, but it ends up that way anyhow.

Ceiling to floor.

Speaking of ceilings, for summer, I have added butterflies to the entrance.  They didn’t have quite enough umph, so I also hung frames around them.

My jewelry area got a makeover too.

Did I mention that I like to layer things?  This is pretty full.

By piling so much on the furniture, shoppers miss those pieces.  I’m trying to use larger tags on them to see if that helps.  I’ll have to make one for this cool chair.  I’ve had it in my breezeway for a year now, and really liked it, even though it doesn’t seem like my typical look, I thought it was cute there with a basket of rosemary on it.

Also not my style?  Red, white, and blue.

Still, I found so many, many more things I really liked in those shades, that I once again, went overboard.

My plan was to do groupings in these tones and fill a small area.  Before I knew it, I had so many pretty  items that over filled a whole wall.

Plus, I threw in bags of marbles and of buttons to coordinate and make more splashes of color.

To be honest?  I prefer neutrals with floral accents.  But- ya gotta know your crowd.  I think the shoppers there enjoy the mix.  And I really do have fun putting it all together, no matter what colors I use.

And I ended up loving the final look.  Maybe I am a red, white, and blue fan after all?

 

This month I am trying something different in my Good Juju space.  See all of the blue tags?

They border on obnoxious, huh?  That is the point, I hope.  

My booth is piled floor to ceiling with small things.  And they do pretty good most of the time, I think people enjoy the treasure hunt.  But I also think that they are so focused on the mountains of minis that they do not see the bigger picture.

That furniture underneath the massive stacks is for sale too!  And I am done with my umbrellas, am ready for a new entryway display, so they are also gaudily tagged.

Sadly, I rarely sell furniture.  Oh, a piece here and there, but usually small and extra inexpensive.  (Not that I have anything high dollar anyway)

People probably don’t even notice the tables, shelves, and dressers.  So, I tried to tag them in a way that made it obvious.

It certainly is a scramble when someone does buy a table, since there is a possible avalanche of goods on top of it.  But,  I am always happy to unload and redo.  It’s like a timed design challenge, to reshuffle as fast as I can while shoppers are looking around.

I like my spot to have a different look each month, so I don’t want the same furniture there forever and I am constantly hauling things back and forth from home.  Which is inefficient.  I’d much rather sell some and find more pieces to fix up and redo.  

Well, we will see, huh?  This month is my one year anniversary at the venue, I am still trying new things.   It’s also my birthday Friday while I’m there.  My second Good Juju birthday weekend with post concussion season.  (Not a tradition that I want to continue!)

At last month’s Good Juju sale, I tried a new out a new booth for my jewelry.

Well, that didn’t go so well.

 I think the space was too tight and hard to shop in for so many pieces of jewelry.  That stuff needs to be spread out more.

 I have already paid my rent for the 3’ x 3’ corner, so I decided to try something else for May’s shopping event.  I have a lot of vintage clothing, but could only bring a couple of pieces at a time into my man booth since a gown can take up so much space.

Rich helped me make over this jewelry spot into a clothes closet.  It feels more efficient this way, but what do I know?  I’m still figuring this whole thing out.

Since I am a big believer in using the WHOLE piece of real estate, I had Rich add some shelves for me. 
He made the clothing rod out of one of his grapevine walking sticks and the rest of the installed bits and pieces are things we had in the garage.  So the changeover didn’t cost us anything. 

It was sad to see him cut up one of his cool sticks, but he has a few and using it does class up the area.  I think I’ll ask him if I can have more of those, then I’ll fix them up and sell them.  I think there could be a market for his whittled grapevine walking sticks, I really like them.  I might add some leather and crystals to them.

 

The Good Juju sale is the first Friday of each month.  Which means we have a full month to set up after the previous event ends.  I typically get right in there, get all the furniture shifted, wallpaper changed, and basics set up as soon as I can. Then start filling in.

Over the next few weeks, I tidy up and add more, but it is usually looking okay if something comes up and I cannot get back to do more.  

Well, I sure am glad that I have that habit of getting done early, because something sure did come up.

After my head bonking last week, I have done nothing but rest.  Then rest some more.

I have had nothing going on but rest.   Usually, I’d be  bored by that much laying around and tempted to sneak out to the studio to find a project.  Not this time.  I felt so bad, all I could do was doze in a dark room, listen to an audio book, or watch tv with a blindfold on.  

I’m finally up and even going for walks now, to get my rubbery muscles moving again. Between my jiggly brain and unused body, I am a mushy mess.

But my gray matter no longer does summersaults when I look at a screen and my stomach has settled, so I am easing back into the real world.

I am even starting to feel curious about some of the shows I listened to while my eyes were covered.  Was that Meryl Streep, Ed Norton, Ross from Friends and that guy from Hamilton on Extrapolation?  I think I might have heard Diane Lane too.  

That show might deserve a rewatch while actually watching.

I can’t say that I am fully back.  I am enjoying the improvement, though.  And need to be ready to spend 12 hours on my feet Friday and Saturday.

Come by to see us there if you can.  I will be very happy to be out of the house, functioning and talking to friends.

I hope. 

For right now, writing this might have used up my entire screen time for the day, so I’ll be slapping the satin mask back over my eyes, going back to my dark room and listening to another episode of Extrapolations and trying to guess which stars are popping up.

 

In my previous post, I had mentioned that one section of my booth had a Yellowstone inspiration.

That is a pretty loose reference.  I guess what I was going for was my typical, romantic neutrals with a dash of western rustic thrown in. (Really, just boots and Stetson hats, but hey, I can spin all sorts of tales in my head about the stories behind the look)

There is some of the more neutral Easter decor on that side too.

And throughout the whole booth, I have scattered nests.

I seriously love the look of an all neutral design, but I cannot pull it off for my whole booth.  Because I also adore cottage roses and pretty colors too.  So I try to designate sections for each theme or color.

Hmm, my whole Yellowstone theme might just be in my head, because if you watch the show, you see very little white.  

As I said before, though- inspiration and copying are very different.  You want to keep that line separating the two.  I doubt if there is anything truly original left to do in this world, but the trick is to add as much of your own self to any idea as you can, right?

As I usually do, I’ve managed to cram a lot into my small area.  And then mentally slap myself when I start to day dream about expanding into even more booth space… or getting another spot somewhere else….

If I was smart, I’d just try to beef up my online shop.  Honestly, editing photos and writing descriptions is not half as fun as arranging things in person or precariously trying to hang decor from the ceiling.

There is a pile of goods accumulating for my Boutique, though. And I love the nice people I meet online who shop there.  Wrapping up the packages to make them pretty is my favorite part of selling through the website, I should concentrate on letting that part be the carrot on the stick to motivate me to get more done.

Then again, I am trying to give myself some grace and realize that I just can’t do it all.  
We could all use some of that Grace in our lives, where we try to appreciate what we can do and not feel bad about being unable to do more.

ps- Good Juju is open First Friday and Saturday of each month