And the winner is....

C Eddins is our winner for the one year subscription to FOLK magazine.

Congratulations! You should be getting...or have already gotten...an email from me letting you know the good news. I know you will love and enjoy the magazine.

Are You an Indie Tither?

I recently heard the phrase, indie tithe and realized I am an indie tither. More and more artists and craftsmen are becoming indie tithers in support of their peers and the trend seems to be growing quickly from what I've been hearing. 

 For those not acquainted with the word indie, it is a term used for independent artist....and in case there is anyone that isn't familiar with tithing, it is usually associated with the giving of ten percent of your income back to God's work.

So if you wanted to support other artists or craftsmen with a percentage of your income on a regular basis, you'd be an indie tither. 

My parents are good examples of lifetime tithers and told us early that we could never out give God. It's true. We've been very blessed and I believe it's because we tithe regularly. I will tell you that it was very hard in the beginning as a young couple with small children...learning to trust that we'd have enough to cover our bills and put food on the table...but we quickly discovered that we were provided for...not manna from heaven, but extra side jobs for Rick or another floorcloth order for me. Regular tithing has been a way of life now for us for over 20 years and it lead us to be indie tithers before it had a name.

When the need arises for us to buy either a gift or something for our home, we like to shop for something handmade or vintage rather than going to a mall or looking for the best deal online.  It feels good to support independent artists and merchants and to see or imagine the smiles on their faces when they find out they've made a sale...I know how good it feels to know that someone really appreciates your work! 

This wasn't written to say that I am good because I tithe or indie tithe...but, to say that

when we open our hands to give they are also open to receive blessings ourselves.

It seems like I continuously hear people complain about money...or the lack or it.  To me, it goes without saying, that if we give of ourselves then it's universal law that we too will be given something in return. This can even apply to our time.  It takes some faith, but what doesn't? If you think this is a load of bull...then it is. If you believe that it's possible...then it's something to think about and at least try.


Oh, if you didn't already do so, leave me a comment on the previous post for a chance to win a year subscription to FOLK magazine....Here we go.

Until next time,

Angie

FOLK Magazine Subscription Giveaway...Get the Scoop Here!

FOLK Magazine Issue IV

I don't remember exactly how I discovered FOLK Magazine, but I know it was sometime last summer and probably through someone's blog or Facebook...What I do remember is that the magazine wasn't yet published and I anxiously awaited, along with so many others, until September for the first issue because of the enthusiasm of the young staff and the freshness and variety of content.

So Cute!

When I say young staff, I mean...I am old enough to be their mom! It doesn't seem like so long ago that I was a twenty-something ready to set the world on fire and here I am already looking at the next generation's great accomplishments. I'm so very impressed at the vision, editor-in-chief, Ben Ashby and the staff at FOLK has for this new magazine...which is soon to go national by the way with Issue V

Blueberry Sun Tea

In their blog announcement they say, "We are all about the country, sweet tea, indie music, antiques, roadtrips, small towns, comfort, home, artists, locally grown and locally made, one-of-a-kind art, open spaces, photography, patriotism, simple living, and the little things." 


Do I need to say any more? They had me at "sweet tea"!

There is more...lots more that will appeal to you, my blog readers, besides the beautiful photography, great ideas for your home and the scrumptious family recipes...

...they call for submissions for each issue from their readers and this month they are collaboratively working with Donna at Funky Junk Interiors. If you've ever wanted to get published, this could be a wonderful opportunity for you! The folks at FOLK are looking for contributors of projects and stories. If your submission is selected you will receive: 

- a feature in FOLK!
- 5 free FOLK magazines of the issue you are in
- 1 free year's subscription to FOLK
- an opportunity to host your own FOLK giveaway event on your blog
Follow the link below for complete details if you are interested....

Funky Junk Interiors FOLK submission link up

Have you ever seen such a generous opportunity? 


Well how about another? 

1 year subscription

FOLK has given me a year's subscription to give away for one of my readers. For the next week , here at the ranch, I will be running a contest for the winner. I have to keep things simple so here's the deal...


1)Follow the FOLK blog....American Folk Life and leave them a nice comment.
If interested you can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest...look for the links on their blog sidebar...again, let them know you found them.


2) Leave me a comment here on this post. That's it! 


If you don't have a blogger account you can follow a blog by subscription (RSS link in sidebar) and can leave a comment by checking the anonymous option for commentors. Also, if you don't have a blog you will need to leave your email address with your comment so I can contact you if you are the winner.


It would also be great if you told your friends and sent them back here too for an opportunity to win too...oh come on, let's share!


This contest will run until midnight, Sunday February 26th, be chosen randomly and announced on Monday morning here on the blog.


 In the meantime you can pick up a copy from your retailer, locally here or buy a subsciption here.


Good luck!


(photo's from FOLK's blog and Funky Junk Interiors blog.)

What Makes a Good Antique Booth?

I haven't posted any booths pics here in a while so I thought I'd show you what it looks like these days. I sold the big beautiful mantle (see in this post) last weekend and had to get creative this week to find enough to fill the space before this weekend. I have a couple of large pieces in the barn that I'd planned to have ready but real life isn't allowing much time for projects lately. At any rate, this is it....

Pictures always highlight the gaps I need to fill! 

This is the quick fix for the void the mantle left...the metal tool bin is ready to hang with predrilled holes...
If I were to keep it I'd probably let it sit out in the weather and rust a little, then spray it white and let the rust  do it's thing...put it in the kitchen and put all of my little salt and pepper shakers in the cubby holes...

I've never liked this wall for some reason, but the beds work as well here as anything I've had here....so maybe they will sell soon and I'll be back to square one with...an awkward area!

Ugh! Big hole...needs something with a WOW! factor.

I took the doors out of the back corner for the other booth...now I see my neighbors drop cords coming in from 3 other booths...I am looking for more doors!

I am liking this little area and so are my customers...it's becoming  my magic table . When I move  something here that I've had for a while it magically sells!

The other booth doesn't get quite the attention from me that the Ranch Dressing Booth does...and it shows! I'm almost embarrassed to be seen working in it! If you're a reader of this blog, you'll remember it was intended to be a children's specialty booth with antique and vintage toys, furniture and such...the reason for the color scheme.

This was it during the Christmas season...

Dec. 2011...We did rather well...considering!

In January, I called my booth partner Cheryl and asked if she'd mind if I painted it out solid turquoise and get rid of the beige...we'd joked around the day we painted it saying that empty, it looked like a cantina. Well, it just never got any better with stuff in it! We also decided to let it be an everything booth after all.

This is it this week...Feb 2012

It still is plain Jane and I am NOT happy with it. There are some really great treasures in there but if I were the buyer I'd pass this one by in favor of the many, many other well thought out and creatively designed booths. Ours looks like something we threw together on the fly!...oh, well! We DID!

I know that it all takes time to evolve...and time is something I feel very slighted with these days! I do have some ideas..finally, for this one. Ideally, I'd love to have the booth directly behind my Ranch Dressing Booth to take advantage of our rough cut board wall that's already in existence but until it comes available again, we will make this one do.

Having a booth that is successful takes an incredible amount of work. I had no idea when I started!  I thought this would free up my time to work in my studio more by not having to keep my shop open myself. Now, I'm having to plan every little detail before making the hour long trip down there, where as in my shop here I can make changes anytime I need to. 

Booths not only need to look great, show creativity, and be stocked with great finds...they have to be straightened up weekly, cleaned twice a month and rearranged at the very least once every month...and then when you are fortunate enough to sell out you have to be ready to restock ASAP...which usually requires rearranging again! I have realized quickly that when I put a lot of effort into my booth I get a nice reward! It's becoming part of our lifestyle. Fortunately, it's fun and I'm enjoying it.

Yesterday after I had reworked the Ranch Dressing Booth a man came in while I was snapping pictures and complimented my efforts telling me it was "decorated attractively". YES! I left a happy woman. 

We have a lot of competition at our mall, The Depot, but we also feel like family there among the other 500+ booths...another of the benefits of working your booth regularly. It's nice to be known by your name by the staff in such a large place and be able to network with real people!

How is your booth doing? Got any tips you'd like to share? Leave a comment for all to benefit from.

Until next time,

Angie

Third Generation Picker

I'm teaching our son to pick.

It's not really a new concept to him. Bless his heart, we've dragged him to auctions and antique malls since he was a baby. When he was playing little league sports on Saturday mornings I would pray for an early game so we could stop by any yard sales along the way and hit the estate sales on the way back.

We come from a family of pickers. My daddy is a picker but not a seller. He got me started with my bottle collection when I was in my late teens and early 20's. He would dig up bottles he found on job sites...see this post for the story.

Part of my soda bottle collection

Corkers in the bathroom window

I love bottles in the window

He has a varied collection of things he's picked from over the years. He rarely if ever sells anything, but for the most part he can justify keeping his treasures because he has put them into use at some time or another. What he hasn't is somewhat on display around the barn or shop.

At any rate, I got the bug honestly. I spent a lot of time as a kid, digging through old trash piles on farms near where I grew up, finding little saucers or zinc jar lids...enough to make me want to keep digging and searching. 

My first auction buy was a Diamond King wood cookstove that I saved until we built our house and still have it today. It cost $150 in 1981. I was offered $500 for it a couple of years later and I wasn't even tempted to sell. I loved it that much. 

Our cookstove, here piled with stuff during our recent ceiling reno project...we now have tin, but more on that later...

And now...generation three. Our son.

Sam NEVER intended to be a picker. Since becoming a teenager four years ago he began his protest against anything old. But, now at a wiser seventeen, he can be motivated.

Sam likes to spend money. His likes far exceeds his needs, which is probably true for most of us. Being homeschooled has so many advantages, one being we get to choose curriculum. This semester his electives are Photography and Essentials of Business along with his last English class needed to graduate. 

With jobs for teenagers being slim to none here, we finally convinced him that he can be his own boss and generate as much or as little money as his own efforts produce...plus he will be earning school credits at the same time...or in other words, an internship.

Picking without selling can become hoarding! We can easily have a relationship with all of the cool things we find...so, I've started Sam out selling first to get a taste of profit and motivation for more. We still have a barn stall full of things from the trailer...see here for story... that need to be sold. I'm letting him pick from there first. He has been sifting through boxes for smalls to list on ebay. 

Ford Volt Meter

Model T Headlight

He cleans, researches, photographs, packs, weighs, measures, writes descriptions, lists on ebay or craigslist,  answers any correspondence, ships and collects his rewards. This helps me immensely by taking care of things that need a broader market than than our local venues, by building positive feedback in our new ebay account, and saving me the incredible amount of time it takes to do all of this.

He is doing a great job, all the while, using his creative writing skills, business essentials, plus teaching me all about the functions of my camera. Win! Win!

The items above end this evening, February 8. Click on either photo for a link to the auction if interested.

Do your kids work for you? How's it going?

Part 3...Been There, Done That, Will I do it Again?

Creating...my favorite part of the business...

Over the last five years or so, I've felt like it's been a struggle to find the time to just create. I feel like I've  literally wasted years of my life on my computer learning how to make my own websites and blogs and social network connections. It's been an addiction of sorts...one thing lead to another until I was spending hours daily online...working but not creating. 

....so, when do I get into the studio? To be quite honest...in spurts...between other obligations. When I have orders I work at nights without interruptions. I have to admit that's harder than it was when I was in my 30's!  My studio is in constant chaos..and sometimes so is my life! It's not been the life I had intended to have by working at home.

I've thought long and hard recently about why I've worked so hard at being busy all these years and have only come up with one reason...I wanted to be taken seriously as an artist and designer, but unfortunately it may have been at the expense of my family members and pets.

Well, I am done with all the busyness of business! I read once that you can't be creative if you are on information overload and I truly believe it. The writer suggested giving up information for one week and see what happens...meaning all sources...tv, newspapers, internet...etc. I didn't try it until just recently and I'm here to tell you it does more than bring back creativity. It is most liberating!

Creativity can't be planned, not for me anyway. Planning to spend xx amount of hours at such and such a time has never worked for me. When I'm motivated and inspired, creativity happens! I don't have to fit time in for getting into the studio...it becomes my priority.

I'm not saying I won't use the internet ever again, but I will say, it will be on a limited basis. I don't really care what the marketing gurus say anymore. I appreciate their views and advice but, I've been in business long enough now that I'm already seeing some things come full circle. I've found that networking in person and mailing out postcards to real mailboxes is becoming the preferred method for information for my customers in particular.

2012 is going to be a year for going back to my roots and remembering why I wanted to work at home in the first place...to be able to spend more time with my family.

I realize that only by the grace of God, have I been given many talents along with a wonderful family, friends and home. I realize my talents were given to me to use for the glory of God himself, not my glory. Anything I do that is creative and makes our lives as a family better is in the new plan. Anything that takes away time from our family is out!

I hope that this series can help you in some way, but I've written it for myself as well...in case I slip and need a reminder.

If you missed Part 1 or Part 2 I hope you will go back and catch up...and leave me a comment with your experiences.


Angie

Part 2...Been There, Done That, Will I do it Again?

I'm back for part 2...glad you are too!

I'll get right to the point without any intro since this is the second part in the series...this part includes more details of my experiences...I needed to use the stories to remind myself why I've made my decisions for the upcoming year. I can be wishy washy at times!

Occasional Sales

We started our junk business out by having an occasional sale as our Grand Opening. I sent invitations, posted like crazy to our Facebook page and blogged about the upcoming event for months and months. It was exciting and we had people show up that I'd never met that were friends of friends. The first one was really great and we felt like we had something to build on.

I have read all over the place about the positive side to occasional sales versus keeping shop. The benefits are that you can do as much business in a long weekend as you would in several months of staying in a shop day in and day out. Sounds wonderful.

The next few sales were also good but we were not growing. For the most part, the only people showing up were the ones that I would mail out invitations to. I still used my social networks, but were only having maybe one or two new "fans" per sale. I began to wonder what I was doing wrong.

After talking with others that do this same thing I got the "real skinny" on the matter of attendance and found out that my sales were average for a country sale. If we were in an antiques/artsy district in town where people are already out and about we would most likely be having the attendance numbers that I'd read about. 

It's a lot of work to put a sale together, and a great majority of it is the marketing. Personally, I feel like I look desperate for business when I ask people to attend...it's a phobia of sorts I suppose. I know I will have to get past that if I'm going to continue having these sales.

Will I have another sale? For now there isn't another one scheduled but I'm not ruling them out for the future. I still feel like it's okay to test the waters and find out what's going to work best for our family and our schedules.

I say, Maybe for Occasional Sales. Since it will be in addition to what I'm already doing and not my sole venue for sales I can look at the option differently this year. I would love to maybe do a small vendor sale in the yard as well to offer more variety and bring in friends of friends of friends.

Keeping Shop Hours

As you know, we started out doing occasional sales, but were also open by appointment. Because it was few, and far between appointments during our first winter, I decided to keep regular hours 3 days a week. This worked for a while until I realized that I couldn't shop auctions or estate sales on the weekends so I quickly went back to plan A when summer rolled around...by appointment only. By this time, more people knew about us and this was working much better, especially for those that had become regular candle customers and those needing a unique gift item.

I love having a shop...or storefront as I call it now. It's my pride and joy and everything I've always wanted but I've downsized here in order to grow my business as you will read under Getting an Antique Booth. I took back some of my display space as work space and I'm really glad I did that. I'm able to be more productive and it's good to let people see what I'm working on.  I'm only open here at the shop now by appointment. That may or may not be a good thing for others but it's good for me.

I truly love being a shopkeeper, but I hate being tied to it. I love merchandising but hate marketing. I love people but hate waiting on them to show up...so what's a girl to do?

Yes! to keeping shop but doing it on my own terms.

Getting an Antique Booth

At our last occasional sale I realized that I had too much inventory and my shop was crowded to the point that it was hard to see and appreciate what was in there. I wasn't selling as fast as I was buying and I felt overwhelmed at the thought of listing at least half of it on ebay or etsy...even though that was in my business plan. 

Getting a booth has been a good decision for us. It allows me to continue to buy, merchandise and sell my goods while someone else keeps long hours, advertises and collects the money. It gives me the freedom to shop or work in the studio. I couldn't hire someone to work in our shop seven days a week for what we pay in booth rent and commission. Yes, there is a lot of competition at the mall but we are finding that we have our own customers now that are repeat shoppers.

Yes! to an antique booth in a great antique mall. I am fortunate to have found one that is not only busy, but also with the most creative and inspiring booths I've seen! 

Selling through Etsy or Ebay

I use them both but only for smalls and items that I'm not comfortable leaving in my booth unattended. It takes time to photograph and list but worth the effort. I've opened new accounts for my new business so essentially I'm starting over and building a new brand. That has slowed sales I think since my many years of positive feedback is still with my old accounts. Lots of good feedback is key for good sales. Personally, I won't buy from someone without a good record.

I've learned the hard way to always ship with a tracking number and to always use priority services... and also that Paypal can and will freeze your account if someone gets antsy about a slow order and files a complaint...and they will!  

Yes! to Etsy and Ebay! Yes, to speedy delivery, careful packaging and insurance. (Did you catch the news footage around Christmas time where FedEx deliveries were thrown over fences and onto driveways and porches? CRAZY!) Yes to keeping a good inventory and a good selection of items to bring in buyers. This is a goal for me in 2012...a steady amount of inventory in both online venues. 

 Having a Plan

I had a vision when I opened the art gallery in 2004. It evolved wildly into something that paid the bills but looked nothing like what I had envisioned by the time we closed the doors and moved back into my studio at home. The classes at the gallery grew to the point that it was all I had time for...and it was NOT what I wanted to do full time. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ungrateful for the business and I loved my students dearly!

I burned out from doing too much of one thing by myself...and I was so burned out that I couldn't think clearly enough to figure out what to do to get back on track there. I did the only thing that made sense at the time and took my students home with me where I could have the income and at the same time more control of my schedule. That worked for several years, especially while we homeschooled, but I missed my beautiful gallery and I missed being a shop owner. What I didn't miss was the expensive lease or the daily drive to another town. 

The junk business as we call it, started also with a vision, but this time we had a plan and goals and deadlines for meeting those goals. It also has evolved and taken on its own life as it has grown. We are positive in our thinking, speaking and actions. We have good days and bad but despite all we are doing it. 

I claim to fly by the seat of my pants daily, but really I have a routine and I couldn't function without one. 

YES! to having a plan. It can change and it's okay. As we learn we can always do things better, but we should always have a plan!

Riding Your Own Horse

This is a phrase I used to use with my children a lot, that originated at my daughter's riding lesson one day. There were several little girls in this class and one in particular would spend more time criticizing her class mates than paying attention to her own equitation. One afternoon the instructor had had enough and politely yelled across the arena to this little girl..."just ride your own horse please!"

This is a good metaphor that can be applied to many situations and I am going to use it this year in my own business.

In Part 1, I mentioned a little about what I learned from the antique vendor who sells tools and bottles. I think of our conversation often and I've thought of his success. I believe he rides his own horse and is focused on doing it to the best of his ability. He doesn't seem to compare himself to others. I like that about him. I admire his self confidence. I admire his enthusiasm without apologies. I tend to try to hide my enthusiasm sometimes because I feel like it's boastful...another of my phobias!

I'm inspired to ride my own horse. This year, instead of comparing myself and my business to others, I'm just going to do things the way I do them and be content and confident that it's my best. That's good enough.

I'm not going to recap this time...for the sake of time...but I wanted to add before I close that I believe if we really love what we are doing and focus on that instead of just making money that we will be far more successful.

What do you think?

The last part of the series will be about getting into the studio and being creative. I struggle with this. I either spend too much time creating or too much marketing. I was more balanced when I first started out 23 years ago when I had a new baby at home...so I'm going back in time to try to figure out how I was a smarter artist at 28 than I am at 51.

Part 1