Two Steps Forward and Three Steps Back - A Rant

Linda and I want to open a little shop to sell books, vintage and antique items and handmade gifts...that's all. We don't want to open a brothel, or a business that creates loud noise or pollution.

And we would like to make this little low-key venture in a building that was created over a hundred-years ago for the express purpose of being a store front in the business district also created expressly for small businesses.

So you would think, given this information, that it would be a fairly painless process in our small Pennsylvania burg to set about opening our shop and start the, not inconsiderable, process of fixing up the place and stocking it with merchandise...but you would be wrong.

Just to start the process requires zoning reviews and plot plans and parking waivers and Planning Board approval meetings...ahhh. And seriously, that is just the first step. So this is my rant...OK, now I'm done.

Tomorrow morning the other blond and I are going to set out early to a few local yard sales and do what we love, hunt for stuff other people are looking to buy. I am remembering why having virtual store is a whole lot less complicated than a real one. No Planning Board meetings or plot plans required.

Where to Begin

Now that Linda and I have moved from "kinda sure" we want to open a used book/vintage/handmade store into "yes, let's do this" territory, I am feeling a little overwhelmed with where to begin.

I have written a list...ok, five...of what has to get done to start on the road to business ownership, and its a long one. Tax ID numbers, should we be a LLC or Inc. and how where do we even start on the paperwork we need to get approved by the town? Haven't even gotten into insurance and remodeling...ugh.

I'm going to try to take this one line item on our list....lists...at a time. First is to meet tomorrow with the guy from the township who steers us to the forms and committees needed to start the approval process. Fun times.

I am looking forward to the point when we dig into sheet rock, paint, shelves and inventory, this I have control over. Finding inventory and getting my hands dirty is my thing, committees and forms, not so much.

At least tomorrow morning I can check off the first item on our list...only twenty-eight more to go.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com/

A Grand Opening and a Little Panic

My Aunt Joan and I got an early start this morning to go to the grand opening of a new thrift store, we knew there would be a line - we weren't wrong.

Luckily it wasn't too terribly long and we waited about thirty-people back from the front door for twenty-minutes, having a lovely conversation with the woman behind us about gardening and flea markets. Not a bad way to pass a few minutes in the morning.

Then the magical moment came when the manager came out to address the crowd, a minister blessed the store and a red ribbon was cut, and then the crowd stampeded to see what cra...used items they had on their shelves.

Turns out not a tremendous amount. Joan didn't even leave with anything and I found just a few things, although I do like them. There is this pair of embroidered yellow birds. I sold another pair just like these a few months ago, hopefully I will again.

And this is just a plain old pretty cake pedestal.
Once the things I bought were photographed and put on-line in my etsy.com shop, my mind turned to the matter of opening a "for real" shop in our little town of New Freedom. Eeek! So excited, so scared, so excited, so scared.

Tomorrow Linda and I are going to put a deposit down on the rental property and the craziness will begin...stay tuned.

Brick and Mortar vs. Virtual

When I opened my etsy.com shop last July I thought it would be a good way to help supplement the family income doing something I already enjoyed - rummaging around at thrift stores and yard sales. It has had the distinct advantage of letting me make my own hours - a definite plus for a mom of two boys that are not of driving age -- and starting a business with very little risk and overhead.

So now, I have to ask myself, why am I contemplating a move that would reverse both of those advantages? The other blond and I are looking today at an empty shop in our town with the thought of opening a "brick and mortar" shop (which is kind of funny because it is actually made of brick and mortar) versus a virtual one...and I didn't sleep too good last night.

There is rent, electric bill, insurance, heating bill and regular hours that I would have to be at the shop, weekends included. Ahhh! What am I thinking?

Partially I am not thinking, I am feeling. Despite the laundry list of reasons that it would be a risky proposition, my gut reaction is excitement, joy, nervousness and a general feeling that this could be wonderful. It also scares the s*#& out of me, but maybe that's how you know you're alive...or I'm just spouting that from a motivational poster I saw once and need to get a grip.

Just going to take this one step at a time. I will post here tomorrow on how our tour of the rental property went and if we are going to step out of the virtual world and into the real one. I wish the real one didn't have so much overhead and paperwork.

Song Birds, Bowls and Burn Out

I have been remiss in my blog entries lately, and somewhat in my hunt for merchandise for my etsy.com shop. Life with two boys winding down their school year has gotten in the way, but I also experienced a little burn out. A saturation of "stuff" accumulating in my basement has curbed my appetite for hunting down more treasures.

I am not a collector by nature, although I love looking for interesting, old, forgotten things and bringing them out into the world for those that do. But business has slowed - spring is here and people are more interested in being outside than ordering online (as it should be). Plus, I had a bad experience with a buyer that cost me some money and soured me on the etsy experience somewhat...but the good news is I went to my favorite retirement village fundraiser sale Friday and the old enjoyment is back!

There was the gorgeous mid century carafe...

And this sweet pair of ceramic songbird salt-and-pepper shakers...And this gold-embossed bowl...
How can I not want to go out wherever I can and find these pretty things? Can't. Have to. Want to.

And to solve my clutter-phobia, having a yard sale on Saturday to clean out my own accumulations. Of course, had to schedule it so it didn't conflict with a church sale I want to go to.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com/

Mele and Me

Ever since I got my first jewelry box with the little ballerina that popped up when I was five, I've had a little thing for pretty jewelry boxes - and so do people who shop at etsy.com.

I have sold several vintage leather jewelry boxes, these two just in the last two-weeks.


Mele is one of the premiere makers of the elegant, leather jewelry box and a favorite of those who love the best of a vintage, so its one I keep my eye out for.

This morning, when I headed to my favorite thrift store, I just about jumped up and down in the middle of the aisle when I spotted a shelf with not one, not two, but four of these beauties, all in great condition.
It was kind of weird how I had the thought "I would like to find some nice vintage jewelry boxes, preferably Mele, and "poof" there they were...very The Secret. It was like I had a pickin' super-power.






I wish this super-power worked for everything...wish I had the winning lottery ticket..."poof."

I wish my house was permanently clean..."poof"...nope, still a cobweb in the corner of the ceiling and a glob of toothpaste in the sink. But I still have my Mele!

Church Sale, Blah - Flea Market, Yay

Saturday morning was a perfect spring day, a little sunshine, not too hot, plus I was in the Suburban with the other blond and her mom on my way to a church sale...all good.

My aunt Joan had told me about a church fundraiser near her - and you know how much I love a church sale. She and my uncle Jerry arrived just after we did. Unfortunately, there were only about a dozen tables with mostly clothes and newer items. Not a picker's dream. I did get this cute tea towel from 1975, but that was it. The upside was, I only spent .25.
So we climbed back in the Suburban - a little disappointed -- and headed to a flea market being held not too far from our homes on the Pennsylvania-Maryland border. I didn't hold out a lot of hope of finding any great bargains because flea markets tend to have a lot of vendors who are trying to sell their wares just as I do on etsy.com, so their prices are too high for me to make a profit. Or, it's people who are basically having their garage sale at the flea market and to find any good bargains at their tables, you need to get to them early, and since we had gone to the church sale first, we were not.

There are some advantages, however, to being a little on the late side - people do not want to pack the stuff back up and take it home again, so bargaining becomes a little easier. My favorite deal for the day was this Lincolnware aluminum canister set. I bought it from a vendor who really just wanted to get rid of what he had there and it was getting late in the day. He sold them to me for $1 and they are really in great condition.
There were some quirky things there too - and people who shop on etsy like the quirky. I found this planter shaped like a Pixie (I know this because on the back it says "I am a Pixie") at the bottom of a box under a table - I literally had to do some "pickin'" to find this.So I learned again that you might think you have a great place to find some treasures, only to discover that the best finds were where you least expected them.
That seems to happen an awful lot in life, too.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com