My Fearless Adventures of Being a New Vintage Vendor
As the saying goes… a New Year, a New YOU! I’m not sure if that will be completely true for me, BUT it sure started out with a new TWIST! All I know is that when opportunity knocked, I answered it! My husband and I were shopping at our favorite antique store right after Christmas, a few days before New Year’s, and I struck up a conversation with the store manager. I decided to be brave and ask her if they had any booths available. Although they have quite a looooong waiting list for booths, they just happened to have an empty display case that day. I could not believe my ears! And since my new motto is… “there is no time like the present”… I gleefully accepted it! I had been longing for an opportunity to become an antique dealer again. Without a second thought, I jumped at the chance! Oh lucky me… and so started my fearless adventures of being a new vintage vendor!
GETTING READY
Even though the mission was to completely fill a display case in just two days, I didn’t panic. I felt like, “Pinch me, I’m dreaming.” I was over the moon and eager to rise to the challenge! We already had some vintage items in storage because we have an online eBay shop, but to fill a case we had to think fast. So, we took a full day and scouted the city. We went from thrift store to thrift store. We searched high and low, and refused to give up!
Oh my goodness! We looked at everything, and we bought whatever caught our eye. Mostly ceramic, mostly decorative. Our one rule was we had to LOVE it before we bought it… but sometimes that makes it harder to part with, LOL!
Some of our vintage finds
I think you might be shocked to discover what you can actually find at a thrift store these days! I know I’m always happily surprised!
And let me tell you, DON’T let a little DIRT scare you away from a good deal! I have purchased many grimy vintage pieces, took them home, scrubbed them, and completely fell in love with them! This 1950s ceramic white teapot was actually gray and dingy when I purchased it… after a good scrub, it turns out it’s really a Gladding McBean (paid link) Coronado teapot from California. In today’s vintage market, it’s worth $75 or more!
This 1950s fancy casserole dish with a lid and gold accents is a thrift store purchase. It is by Harmony House and made in Japan, and is worth $60 or more!
The finished product!
So on New Year’s Eve instead of enjoying a night on the town, my husband and I were enjoying curating, pricing, tagging, and styling! Our fabulous display case was finished! HOORAY!!
It sure is amazing how many treasures you can get into just ONE case!!! If you notice above there is a vintage ceramic serving platter. Believe it or not, I found this platter at a local thrift store. It is a pheasant dinner platter from William Brownfield & Sons, and was made in England in the late 1800’s, and is worth over $100.
A dream come true
If I told you that we knew what we were doing every step of the way, I would be lying. A lot of trial and error, research, scavenger hunting, and effort go into any new endeavor…but there is also a lot of FUN too! We dove in head first and we are looking forward to a year of fearless adventures of being a vintage vendor! Maybe the saying a New Year a New YOU speaks to you as well! Do you have something you always wanted to try? Maybe it’s time to be brave and GO FOR IT in 2024! You never know until you try! And if you find yourself in Ohio, come visit the Ohio Valley Antique Mall… Case 111! And as always…let’s get HOMEY!
- If you liked this article see my post, “A Fall Flea Market Extravaganza: What an Amazing Time!”
- Here’s a good resource to learn more about vintage pottery – McCoy (paid link).
