It Worked!

Its been a busy, busy few weeks. I was asked the other day if I am enjoying my semi retirement, & I laughed. Since switching the shop to occasional, I am busier than ever.

And loving it!

We've been to more auctions & flea markets in the last 2 months than we have in the last 2 years. And the hunt is the best part, am I right?

One auction we went to took us to where old school buses go to die. Ha!
No, they weren't for sale. The guy uses them for storage. I guess that would work!

Another auction took us into the heart of maple syrup country in the mountains of PA. I could have sat by this stream in the back yard all day.

But alas, duty called. All this stuff wasn't going to get loaded into the truck by itself.

Once we get it all home, its time for the one part I don't like: cleaning. Fortunately, our grandson loves that part. Any excuse to use the water hose!

I couldn't resist setting up all those sap buckets for a photo.
Galvanized heaven!

Then it all gets taken into the shop to be priced. That may be the slowest process off all.

I should have taken some pics of the semi organized chaos that has been our back room.
Old stuff going out.
New stuff coming in.
I've donated a few car loads of old inventory and display pieces to Goodwill.
And held some online auctions on our Facebook page to get rid of more.

I am going to make sense of that back room.
Or pull my hair out.
Whichever comes first.

But out front in the store, it all came together.

Our first weekend open finally arrived. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous.
Would people really come?

They did!

I wish I would have had the presence of mind to take a picture. We had a line waiting!

I almost cried.

Friday morning was hectic. It slowed in the afternoon, but remained fairly busy.
Saturday morning started painfully slow.
Uh oh.
But as the day went on, more folks started coming, and though Saturday was was not nearly as busy as Friday, it was still successful.

We realize it will take time to really get the word out about our new limited hours. And while the occasional shop concept is popular around the country, it's a new thing here. I'm getting quite used to the shocked expression on peoples faces when I say we are only open one weekend a month.

But as I explain that when I was in the shop every day, I could never get out to buy new things, and now I can, resulting in lots of new inventory every month, their shocked expression changes to a smile and a nod. "Ah, I see."

George sheepishly admitted that Saturday evening that he didn't think it would work. When he heard we sold as much in one weekend as we often would in a whole month, he became a believer.

I couldn't have done this without him. He has been my auction & flea market partner as often as he can. He helps me carry the heavy stuff. And let me tell you, no one can pack a truck as full of stuff as he can!

And now?

Now we are getting ready for our second weekend open, Friday, August 10 & Saturday, August 11.

The theme is Old School.

We have several old school desks, and are in the process of setting them up as if they are in a classroom of sorts. 

But it won't just be school stuff. We will have lots of other cool stuff too.

B is for Boxes

C is for Crocks

G is for Garden Tools

H is for Horses

P is for Porch Posts

Q is for Quilts

T is for Trunks

W is for West Virginia

And so on...

And S? I decided this morning I'm going to set up a small S is for Sale spot. 

The items in that spot will be $2 each. 

Older inventory I want to move out quickly to make more room. 

You won't want to miss the $2 sale! 

AUGUST 10 & 11.

10-5 BOTH DAYS.

Hope you can come! Tell your friends! 

And thank you, thank you, thank you, for taking this journey with us.