When a Dealer is Glad for Missed Sales

When is a dealer glad for missed sales?...Glad when an item doesn't sale?...Glad to be hanging onto a piece of inventory?

Answer:  When the hanging wicker chair and stand from the 70's are found at Pier One Imports, as a repro, for $500!

I have held onto my hanging chair and stand, after no one paid me $59 for the set at Liberty Belle.  Now I am so thankful that I didn't sell it there.  It might get moved to River Market Antique Mall, where I can command a bigger price, but I've grown attached to it on my screened porch. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are great bargains to be had at the first Friday weekend sales in the KC West Bottoms.  I will be shopping there in a couple of weeks.  Never know what you'll find!

Giveaway AND Liberty Belle

First things first:  I've reached (insert mental drum roll) 25 followers!  Thank you! 

So...scroll to the lower portion of my blog and all  my blog subjects are shown, hit "giveaway".  You'll see that I am giving away a Vagabond Hat.  I'll have a drawing today and announce the winner of this little hat.  I embellish these hats with Amy Butler fabric.  Tres cute!  (If I draw your name, please email me your address.) 

Lastly,  set-up for Liberty Belle is complete, except for a few smalls that I'll tuck into spaces.  Plus I need to paint a Fleur-de-lis on a vintage card table, which is currently rather plain.  Enjoy the photos.

Of course, Independence Day is just around the corner.  I don't mean to offend anyone in another country with the display of the US flag.  (I believe I lost a follower due to this in a previous post.) 

I greatly admire and respect all those who have fought in our Armed Forces and many have given their lives in service.  I am not ashamed of my country's flag.  It represents so much for so many...Thanks to all who served and are now serving. 

Just yesterday I attended the funeral of a young soldier who died in combat.  I'm deeply moved by his sacrifice and his family's sacrifice.  No words suffice. 

My Find of the Week

Finding a set of 6 matching antique chairs is quite unusual.  I don't normally buy antique dining chairs!

But...when I found 6 (only 3 pictured) with the original red leather seats I couldn't resist.  I got them at a great price.  Don't you love the studs!

They are going to Liberty Belle on July 1st! 

Change

Change is in the air...

Last week, I moved into the River Market Antique Mall in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.  I have been on the wait-list for quite some time.  This is one of the best and best-known antique malls in the midwest.  I am on the 3rd floor and am thrilled.  It is an awesome space against a brick wall, half painted white. 

I am setting up this week for the Liberty Belle sale.  And I'll be vacating Nellie & Nico's.  All in a week's work!

Last weekend, I found this antique fainting couch - gold velvet!  I have some just-purchased items and some stuff I've had a while.  Try and look for the bookcase - it was reddish-plum on the last post but is now a clean cream color. 

Now I'm off to find new hardware for the dresser which is now cream, because I can only find 7 of the original 8 pulls.  Don't you hate it when that happens...

Liberty Belle This Weekend

What do these things have in common:  Punch & Judy puppets, pair of rose lamps, Cortez statue, and a President Lincoln picture?  They're all in my space at Liberty Belle this weekend. 

Hope to see you all there, if you're in the area!  I will be working there Saturday afternoon.  Come by and say "Hi!"

Liberty Belle this weekend!

If you live in the Kansas City area, don't forget that this is the first-Friday weekend in the West Bottoms. 

At Liberty Belle, we are having lots of vintage clothing for sale this month, complete with models!

There are also 2 other vintage venues this weekend by us - Good Juju and Bottoms Up Antiques.

I will take a picture of the location for you who don't live around here - you won't believe the part of town that these markets are.  Originally the stockyards of this beautiful "cowtown", this previously-blighted area is now booming with businesses - studios, lofts, eateries, antique venues and all sorts of businesses.  Actually there is a lot of history and Kansas City had an important role in the settlement of the western US.  Okay, history lesson over!

My first project of 2011

This hideous record player stand is my first project piece of the year. 

Using a brownish-black paint, Valspar Fired Earth, I painted this piece after taking it all apart, then used a gloss polyurethane on it.  I think it would be a great TV stand.

This piece will be in my booth at Liberty Belle next weekend.  I'll share some other photos this week. 

Fun Times in the West Bottoms

It's the first Friday of the month and you know what that means - treasures in the West Bottoms.  Liberty Belle is booming!

Time is running out...

Time is running out for me at Vintage Market in Zona Rosa.  I will be vacating that venue early next week. 

Look for me at Liberty Belle, first-Friday weekends in the West Bottoms.  That's next Friday!

There are so many wonderful people I've met at Vintage Market.  I am so grateful that God led me to rent space there.  But we have to know when it's time to close a door.

Christmas Decorating with Casualties

Yesterday was a day for decorating for Christmas.  Of course, the trees won't go up until after Thanksgiving.  But I spent fifteen hours dragging tubs out of the attic and pulling out decorations from the upstairs hall closet. 

I had three major casualties:  my fav antique brown transferware plate, a Clothtique santa, and a Snow Village Christmas tree farm shack.  The plate, I'll save for the mosaic graveyard, possibly never to be seen again.  The shack was beyond repair.  Santa might be saved with glue, though.

On a more serious note, I am vacating my space at Vintage Market at Zona Rosa the end of this month.  But I am still at Liberty Belle - first Friday weekend of every month in the West Bottoms.  There are 2 other venues in the same area - it won't disappoint.  All the decorators, collectors, dealers, and designers from the area attend every month.  It's a feeding frenzy! 

The best part of being a dealer is the other dealers!  It's a terrific community with all its' quirks and glitches.  Of that, I am thankful to be a part.

...for the Love of Ironstone...

I love ironstone.  I refuse to part with most of it.  Here are some of my favorite pieces around my home. 

Later in the week, I'll post pics of my space at Liberty Belle in the West Bottoms.  The sale starts Friday at 9am.  You won't be disappointed.  I've been working on an antique walnut buffet, a matching antique dining table, and 6 lyre-back chairs, which I will paint and recover the seats in burlap. 

Liberty Belle

Liberty Belle is located in the West Bottoms of Kansas City.  There are a couple other "first weekend" venues besides this one.  This is my new space.  I love the thrill of the hunt and selling!  My first sale was a handmade wooden box with mosaic-inlay of wood.  Very intricate and detailed, the gentleman from Prize bought it.  He spotted it instantly and picked it up!  What a compliment!

Now, after selling lots of stuff, I am on the quest for new junk...peace...

Appealing Arbors

Arbors are so mysterious and appealing in shops, filled with splendid finds...I plan on duplicating this someday, putting my own touches on it.  It won't look the same but I mentally picked it apart and realized I might actually have some of the materials I need.  I will put it in my space at Vintage Market. 

News flash:  I am going to sell in a 2nd venue - Liberty Belle - located in the West Bottoms of Kansas City and open the first Friday-Sunday of each month.  A couple of vendors from Vintage Market have been there a while - Antweaked and Vintage Boyz of ReDeux.  My soul sister Cristie M. has generously offered to help me stage it.  Yikes!  I need to get home from my trip and get busy.