Sweet Finds

Paper Cowgirl Vendor Night

I love telling this story...   LOL

Last year,  Angela of Filigree Moon & I shared a booth.  

And I thought we made the perfect pair!  : )

She had the "handcrafted" items...

and I had the "stuff".

The perfect booth,  huh?

But this year,   she had other plans.   tee-hee

  
Yep,  that's me!  At "MY"  booth.     Alone.  : )

Due to space limitations,   she  we agreed to each have our own

booth this year.    No lie,  early on,  I was nervous...

maybe even doubting myself a little.

But I soon snapped out of it & did what I had too.

PLAN, SHOP,  & CREATE!

I even set up a "mock" booth in my living room

weeks before the show to make any "final" adjustments.

   
I have to say... things went really, really well.

I had a GREAT show!

I was able to do what I truly enjoy doing...

visit with friends/customers

 and share my "goods" at a reasonable price!

There was only one problem... I had no camera.  : (

(so, I borrowed these photos from Anne...  Thanks!!!) 

And to Angela,  my sweet, sweet friend...

Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone!

hugs, Joanna

ps.  I want my own booth next year as well.  LOL

The Shoppe

How was your Mother's Day?

I spent mine at the Antique Mall,

as I have the last 2 years.

(working the afternoon shift).

At first, I was a little sad...

seeing all the booths and knowing

that I would soon leave it behind.

 

But, as I walked around assisting

customers,  I thought about all the

sweet & reassuring comments

I have received.

 

And I think I'm at peace

with it now.

Thank you for

easing my uncertainties,

it means a lot to me.  :)

 

hugs,  Joanna 

One tough decision...

Today, I have to make a phone call

and I am dreading it!

 

You see, 3 yrs. ago, I opened a little

booth at the local Antique Mall. 

 

At the time, it was my only

creative outlet.  

Over the years,

I've devoted a lot of time & energy

into searching for merchandise, pricing,

creating vignettes,

working my 8 hr. shift per mo.,

and baking for sale weekends.

 

And I've LOVED every minute of it!!!

 

But my life is different now.

 

My kids are super busy...

which makes me a busy mom.

 Add a full time job, art,

blogging, swaps and travel/retreats

to the already long list of things to do...

And, honestly, I'm worried that

something is gonna get neglected.

  

 

 

 

So, as much as it saddens me,

something has got to give.

(ie. the booth, as it takes the most time

away from the family)

 

 So, today, I'm calling to give my notice.

 

Ultimately, I know I'm making the right decision.

So, why am I so bummed about it?

xoxo, Joanna

her closet

For as long as I can remember,

I've secretly dreamt about

owning my own little shop.

 

A thifty boutique, if you will, with some

cute, fun, and cheap finds.

 

(and maybe a couple of vintage items as well).

 

Of course, with the way things are today...

owning that little shop, isn't so feasible.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So, I did the next best thing:

transformed my booth at the antique mall

into a mini boutique.

I've named it,  her closet.

I'm thinking it would be much more chic,

if it was in French.   Although, I'm not sure how to

properly write that.  :)    I'm guessing,

elle son armoire.

(drop me a line if you know the proper translation)

 

There is still work to be done.

But for now, I think I am off to a fine start.

xoxo, Joanna

Spring Sale

The Big "Spring" Sale

was this weekend at the Antique Mall.

 

 

... and I felt totally unprepared!

   

Unfortunately, with the kids busy schedule

(dance & baseball),

I haven't spent much time junkin'

or "working" my booth.  ;(

    

 

  So, I threw a couple of quick vignettes

together & hoped for the best.

(which was really about all I could do).

   

All in all,  I think it went ok.

 Have a great day!

xoxo, Joanna

Sweet Finds, the shoppe

As promised, here are a couple
of pics of my new booth display
at the Mansfield Antique Mall.















As you can see, my goal was to decorate
for the sweetest of sweet days...
Valentine's.

Of all my displays over the last few months,
I have to say, this is my favorite.

As I was working on my booth &
photographing it, I overheard
some of the sweetest comments
for shoppers.  I have to admit,
I was thrilled.

I love selling things...
but my first love is decorating!

xoxo, Joanna

Mansfield Antiques

What a day!

Today, I took the day off from my
"real" job to play
 in my booth prepare my booth
for our Big Holiday Sale that starts
this Friday.  :)

 


I chose today,
because it was "dealer night".




 Which is basically a evening for all the
dealers to get together to...
eat, mingle, and work on
our booths after hours.




My only problem...
It takes me longer than 2 hours
to do all of this.

Which was the reason for the vacation day.  LOL


But, it's done.

And I love, love, love the way it turned out.

It's definitely
beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

For you local gals, stop by if you can.
Mansfield Antique Mall
Friday, Saturday, &  Sunday
(Dec. 5th, 6th, & 7th)
10 am- 6 pm

*Discounts in every booth!
Complimentary refreshments.
and Door Prizes!

I thought I'd share some
pics of other booths,
 (my competition)
I mean... my friends.

Angela's booth:






Karla's booth:



(I love this "shabby tree!)

Cynthia's booth:






Darlene's booth:


and Sandy's booth:


So, what do you think?

Personally, I love our little mall.
As you can see,  we all have our own style...
which means,  
I am constantly finding things to spend my
money on new treasures.  tee-hee

Have a great day!
xoxo, Joanna

Sweet Finds, the shoppe

Happy Black Friday, everyone!

Well, I can officially start decorating
for Christmas now.  My hubby doesn't think we should
skip holidays.  (Basically meaning, I can't put the
tree or any Christmas decorations up
 before our Thanksgiving dinner).     :)

But there are NO RULES when it comes
to decorating my little shoppe at the Antique Mall.

So, a couple of days ago, I revamped the booth.







I still have some work to do, esp. since I
just got a call saying that the white table
and "faith" sign have already sold.  Yippee!

Slowly but surely, I will have my booth
ready for our big weekend sale,
Dec. 5th - 7th.

xoxo, Joanna

A Burst of Color

Being that "Fall" is just around the corner,
I thought it was time to add bits of color to my booth....
 
Just enough to give it a "festive" look.

I added:

 
Orange!


Red!


Green!
and


Brown!

A full view of the booth:


Generally, I try to change my look every two weeks.
I think keeping the booth "fresh" with new merchandise and
rotating it helps with my sales.

I'm curious,
What type of items do you generally look for when shopping
at an Antique Mall?   Do you ever purchase "seasonal decor"
or do you typically comb the booths for vintage & antique items?

xoxo, Joanna

Feeling So Very Blessed...

Sweet Finds, The Shoppe

Have I told you lately how much I love my

new booth at the Antique Mall?

 

 I feel so very blessed!  Things are working out really

well and I couldn't be happier.

Here are a few snapshots of the booth this week.

 

I bought in several new items, which

gives me a reason to "re-work" the booth,

and create little vignettes.

I find that part of the job very enjoyable & relaxing.

 

Therefore, I try to change things around as often as I can.

 

I am hoping to have new photos again next week.

Be sure to check back.

xoxo, Joanna

* update:  Pair of folding chairs, sold.  Thanks Alisa!