Trying to Contain My Disappointment

Six months ago, I was so excited to sign the lease for my OWN space in an antiques mall.  The Minuteman Minimall in Culpeper, Virginia, seemed to be a perfect fit for me.  It wasn't.

(I had already packed the small items in the booth by the time I remembered to take these photos.)

I have been a shopper at the Minuteman for 20+ years.  It used to be a great place to shop ... but it fell into a spell where it was more like a crappy indoor flea market than an antique mall.  It looked to me like the quality of the dealers and their merchandise was on its way back up, and the management assured me that furniture and items like mine were in great demand.  It isn't.

Almost all of the furniture that I moved into the space over the past six months was still sitting there today when The Husband and I went to move it out.  In an effort to reduce the load, I offered a 25% discount for the past month ... only sold the small grey and white chest during the sale. 

All empty.

Was it price?  Merchandise?  Location?  Whatever it was, it took lots of sales of small items for this little venture of mine to cover expenses ... and I never got the impression that it would do anything more than that.  No matter how much I promoted myself in this location, the location itself seems to have worked against me.

Now it's time to rework the plan.  A short-term test will be the Lucketts Spring Market on Saturday and Sunday.  I'm really excited to have a booth there, since I have loved shopping this market in past years.  I wonder, though, how well my stuff is going to do in what I imagine will be a whole sea of competition.

It's not that I doubt that my stuff can compete ... quite the contrary.  I will put the quality of my items and my workmanship up against anyone else's.  I come at this enterprise from a carpentry and remodeling background, I know quality construction when I see it, and I only spend my time refurbishing pieces that are worth my time.

I have considered taking space in another antiques mall ... and I have a couple of recommendations for ones where I would probably do well.  I'm not convinced that this is what I should do.  I also have the crazy idea to have monthly sales HERE.  My little white workshop building would make a PERFECT shop space ... so would the greenhouse when it's empty of plants during the summer.

Both trucks are all loaded up and ready to go.

So, dear readers, I find myself standing indecisively at yet ANOTHER fork in the road.  If any of you have suggestions or advice to offer, please speak up.  I could use some words of encouragement ... or perhaps the voice of reason and experience.  Whatever you have, I'm listening.

Making Room in the Workshop

For the past few weeks, I haven't had a whole lot of free space in my basement workshop.  This latest project of mine is so big ... it was in the way of everything.  Now that I'm finished, and I had The Husband's help to load it up and move it to my shop, the workshop seems so much bigger now!

What was once a dated, but hefty, solid wood dining hutch ... is now a stylish, colorful flat-screen TV cabinet.  (The TV in our family room sits in a converted hutch.  You can see it HERE.)

I knew from the moment I saw this hutch sitting on the sidewalk at Goodwill that it would be perfect for a TV cabinet ... but it's classic, 1970s style wasn't part of the picture.

The doors were the first thing to go.  I installed trim to cover where the hinges had been.  New wood panels fill the sides where glass was originally.

With these modifications made, now what color should it be?  I knew that I wanted to use two colors of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, so I stared at my handy color chart for inspiration.  (seen in THIS post)  Initially, I was drawn to Chateau Grey and Duck Egg ... but my new can of Olive was the winner.  I am continually amazed at how much I love the way ASCP colors combine with each other.  (I don't think I've found a bad combination yet.)

The original door pulls look like door knockers from a medieval castle ... they're gone now, too.  In their place, I found knobs at Hobby Lobby that are perfect!  Look how well they coordinate with the Duck Egg.

Inside those doors are two drawers and LOTS of storage space.  Everything in this hutch shows quality materials and construction ... dovetailed drawers!

At the shop, The Husband and I rearranged a few things to make this baby fit.  As tall as it is (7 feet!) the footprint is surprisingly small ... four feet wide.  That's a lot of function in a relatively small space.  The TV space is wide enough to easily fit a 42" television.

Why settle for ordinary television furniture?

 

Got Game?

I love it when a tired piece of furniture comes back to life with a new purpose!  My latest piece is a good example of this.

Originally, it was a tired old coffee table that looked like this.

I bought this table at the same time as the coffee table that I turned into the upholstered bench.  The original top of that table was in good condition, and I used it to replace this latest table's cracked top.  The new top is a perfect blank canvas for some handpainting.

Top, before.

Top, after.

This table is solid oak, well built, and it is perfect for some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint magic.  There's no need to strip the old finish or prime when using ASCP ... a quick going-over with a sanding block, and it was ready for the base coat of 'Old Ochre'.  The finish on the table was heavily distressed when I bought it ...so, after I painted, it got a good going over with two grits of sandpaper to replicate that original wear.

The frame of the table was hand waxed with Annie Sloan's clear wax, so it's silky smooth.

It took forever for me to hand paint the top, using 'Graphite' and 'Primer Red'.  Since this was destined to be a game table, painting a checkerboard was a given.  To balance the composition on this long rectangle, I added backgammon to the ends.  After hand distressing and a wipe of antiquing glaze, I sealed the top with oil-based polyurethane for durability.

As soon as I finished taking these photos, I loaded the table into my Jeep.  Ruby and I will take it and a few other things to my booth in the morning.

No time to rest on my laurels.  My workshop is clogged with a really large piece that I HAVE to finish so I can get it out of there and have room to work on other things.  I'll show it to you when it's ready ... over the weekend, I hope.

 

Sunday Snapshot... My New Shop Sign

A few weeks ago, I found a lovely woman named Pamela (of Backwoods Cottage) through a comment she left on one of my blog posts.   Pamela's blog is full of great garden info, she loves roses (who doesn't?), and she has the cutest little studio building!  She also makes and sells beautiful handpainted signs. 

I contacted her to ask if she would design a sign for my antique booth, and she was excited by the idea.  After a couple of weeks (to let the Christmas mania subside), she sent me photos of three flower designs for my approval.  All three of them were beautiful, and it was hard to choose my favorite ... in the end, the pink roses win every time. 

After I made my choice, she finished my sign, and now it hangs in my shop for everyone to see. 

It's perfect, don't you think.

Visit Pamela's web site HERE to see more of her beautiful signs.

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Connie

Another Finished Project Out the Door

I'm thrilled that my 'Yankee Doodle Dresser' has been met with such positive feedback.  It's hard to know what's going to happen with when I step that far out of my comfort zone.  Today, I'll share with you two more pieces that I recently finished.

These tables are solid wood (as are all of my pieces), but they were wearing a dated, pseudo-pecan finish when I found them.  Their details are fantastic ... they just needed a bit of paint and some wax to help them show their best features.

I can't believe that I completely forgot to take any photos before I started working on these.  You'll have to take my word for it ... they were nothing special. 

The only 'before' photo I could find was the close-up of this table leg, and I did this side-by-side to show the progress with each step of paint and waxing.  Look how the hand-rubbed wax finish makes the distressing almost glow!

The tables are from a good maker, and they're solid and well constructed, so they are worth the effort of a redo.

With my trusty can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in 'Country Grey' (which is really almost the color of a manilla folder), a bit of distressing to bring out the details, some Johnson's clear and Annie Sloan dark wax, and the difference is striking!

Like the 'Yankee Doodle Dresser', the finish on these pieces is a bit of a stretch for me ... but think I could get used to producing this patina finish, and I am really coming to like it.  I know that this was definitely the way to go with these tables, to bring out all their moldings and carved details.

This table has one deep drawer, though it's made to look like two.

It feels great to say that these tables are FINISHED!!!  I took them to my booth at the Minuteman Mini Mall last Friday.  

If I'm not careful, I could almost make a habit of finishing things and actually clear some storage space around here ... ha ha, that's not going to happen any time soon ... but I'm working on it.

 

I Changed My Mind

When I went to my booth yesterday to rotate and fluff the inventory, I had planned to bring the red settee home with me.  On my way there, I realized that the settee is BIG, and I don't really have a place to store it till I'm ready to start slip-covering it, so I left it there and I brought the little cream and turquoise table home instead ... the one that was between the two green velvet chairs.  (you can see a photo of it in yesterday's post)  I will keep it at home for a while, and put other things in its place. 

This time, I put this lovely thing into the booth ... I finished it the other day, and I'm eager to show it to you.

It's a Henredon side table with a very sophisticated touch of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint love.  (I totally forgot to take any Before photos of this piece.)  The bottom of the table is painted in my new favorite color, Primer Red.  It's lightly distressed, just enough to add character, and finished with amber and dark wax.  I left the top alone, simply freshened it with a bit of dark wax.

These old pieces are made really, really well ... it's just the style that could use some help.  I love how it looks in this color!! 

Here it is in the booth.  Hopefully, it won't be there for long.

It's a relaxed morning here at the Manor. 

Alice and Dorothy and Daniel and I wish everyone a very Happy Sunday!

Meanwhile, Back at the Antique Booth ...

I go to the Minuteman Mini Mall once a week to check on my booth, rotate the inventory, and fluff things a bit.  When I was there last week, I found it scrambled and it looked a bit bare ... this was a GOOD thing!  Some of my large pieces had sold, and the folks at the Mall had to move stuff around to get them out of the booth.

The big hutch is gone!

 

It's 'Last Call' on these white chairs. At $15 apiece they were a good deal for someone who wanted a project, but no one seemed interested. I brought them home with me, and I plan to repaint and upholster them myself. If you're interested in them as is, or would like to have a say in their redo and put in a custom order, shoot me an email because they're now in the queue in my workshop.

I'm learning as I go with this endeavor.  For the time being, I won't bring any more raw project pieces to the booth.  Most folks appear to want things that are finished.

Here we are, after I moved things around and added some new stuff.

The red settee is the next thing on the chopping block.  If it's still at the booth when I go there later today, I will bring it home and I will slipcover it, probably in dropcloth with painted legs and a cute pleated skirt.  It is coming home with me because I need the space for some finished items that are stacking up in my basement.  The Husband was out of town last week, and I got lots and LOTS accomplished!  (Why is it always like this?)

The barn prints, the red shelves, the step basket, and lots of other stuff are new.

Another challenge has been learning how to arrange my merchandise within the booth to make best use of the space and to showcase the items as well as I can.  I'm restricted by the current configuration of the booth itself ... I can't move the shelves on the back wall, and there's a shelf on the right wall that's about shin high ... you can sort of see it behind the green chairs in the photo above.  That wall used to be filled with adjustable shelves, but haven't needed them so I removed them.

I don't want things to look junky and jumbled ... but I don't want it to look bare, either. 

One of my favorite items is still here, this T. G. Green 'Spectrum cheese dome ... perhaps no one has come yet who knows what this is.  If I had a place at home for it, I would so want to keep it. 

I love this thing!

It feels wonderful that things in the booth are selling.  My job now is to make sure that the merchandise is fresh every week, to make things appealing to customers who come into the shop on a regular basis ... rotating merchandise out that hasn't sold, rearranging what is still there, and bringing in things that are new and different ... I'm having so much fun!  The best part is, this is turning out to be a good way to clear out some things that are causing clutter and chaos here at home.

Meanwhile, Back at the Antiques Booth ...

The past two days have been filled with visits to antique shops.  I had my camera in my pocket, of course, so you can come along with me. 

On Friday afternoon, The Husband and I loaded up a truck-full of some more things to take them to my antiques booth at the Minuteman Mini Mall in Culpeper.  It was the first time I had the chance to go back there since I first put items into the empty booth on the 8th.  I was really anxious to see what (if anything) may have sold in that time. 

When we arrived, we found that all the big pieces were still exactly where we left them ... nothing big had sold.  I looked through the small items on the shelves, and I discovered that one item was gone ... a glass straw dispenser.  My first sale!! 

We did the best we could to rearrange the booth a bit to fit all of the things we brought into the space.  I had counted on at least one big item being gone so we'd have room to stage everything a bit nicer ... but we had to make do with what we had, which was a very crowded space.  I think we did okay.

I love these velvet chairs!  They are incredibly comfortable, and they have just the right amount of retro cool factor.

I also added a set of four green kitchen chairs, three hand-knit shawls, this cute little two-drawer chest, and the white Italian table with turquoise accents.

Yesterday, I had a To Do list to kill.  One of the items on the list was heading to Warrenton (about 45 minutes north of here) to visit with Janet of The Empty Nest.  She was manning her booth at the gift fair at Shumate's Auctions. The auction company has an antique shop, called Past Reflections.  I had never been there, and I was very, very pleased with what I found.  So many temptations!

I saw this oak desk right away.  It's a fabulous size, and the honest, original finish is perfect!

Don't you love the blue paint on the base of this table?  Someone replaced the top with tongue-and-groove salvaged flooring ... which is a pretty cool idea.

Transferware chamber pot ... with roses!

This pile of trunks and chests has some real beauties! 

This is the piece that I wish I could have bought ... a pine mantel shelf.  I stood there and stared at it, trying desperately to imagine a place in our house where I could use it.  Finding nowhere, I sadly walked away from it.

While Janet and I were visiting, I also needed to talk a little 'shop' with her.  I have only used regular wax on the furniture that I'm painting, and I wanted to know about Annie Sloan's dark wax.  She assured me that I would love working with it, and that I would love the effect.  Her endorsement is enough for me.  When I left Shumate's, I headed 10 minutes up the road to Fox Den Antiques, where Janet has two booths and sells Annie Sloan paint and products.

It's fantastic (and a little bit dangerous) to have an Annie Sloan stockist so close to home!  I picked up a can of dark wax, and a quart of 'Primer Red' paint.  I need a good red, and this one looks like it will be beautiful.

The Fox Den has some great vendors, and I always find beautiful things there ... not that I can buy anything, because we already know that our house is FULL.  This doesn't stop me from wandering around, camera in hand, appreciating what I find.

I don't think this stained glass piece is for sale ... I sure like it, tho.

The price on this cupboard has been reduced to $299, which I think is a steal.

This looks like Dorothy all dressed up in people clothes.

Isn't this vignette perfect?

Here is Janet's other booth.  The pieces are even more beautiful in person!

After I paid for my paint and wax, I hopped into my Jeep and headed back to Fredericksburg to finish my Christmas shopping and pick up a few things at the grocery store for some baking today.  We're having a Greyhounds Rock meeting here this afternoon, and I'm making pies.

Have a great Sunday!