February Recap

 February turned out to be pretty A-Okay for me and my Etsy Shop.  I took part in a listing challenge over at Apron Thrift Girl, which helped motivate me to list, list, list.   I feel good about the amount I listed, which on most days was 2 or 3 new items, and had some pretty great things happen along the way, including exceeding my Etsy revenue goal by $14.00  (THANK YOU LEAP DAY!)

New Etsy Items:  Lets just say 70
Because I didn't keep track and I don't want to go count

Eva Zeisel Creamer for Hallcraft

New Ebay Items: 4
Some things I picked up seemed like they might fare better on the bay so I took a shot and it payed off.

1980s NOS Nike Shoes with Velcro

Total Etsy Sales: 27

Valve Knobs- there is a buyer for everything!

Biggest Heartbreak:  My first (and hopefully last!) item breakage.
I'm not ready to talk about it yet.

Best Surprises:  In one week I had one item make a front page treasury and another show up in the Etsy Finds email (Etsy send out an email everyday of some of their favorite finds)  Both of these brought in tons of views and even a few sales.

Featured Etsy Find email item.  Yay!

And finally, I started a new Etsy Shop.  One for men.   I haven't done much with it, other than list a few things to get me started and am hoping in March to really vamp it up and get a few sales over there :)
Check it out if you have a second,  A Vintage Man.

Labyrinth Maze Game

How was your February? Any Highlights? 

What I found (Part 3)

I didn't get a chance to go to any yard sales over the weekend but did check out an estate sale on Thursday.  It was advertised as the home of someone who hadn't thrown anything away in 50 years.  These are the words I LOVE to read.  And apparently so does everyone else, because when I got there an hour early there were already about 40 people ahead of me.   The truth is, most of what was inside was clothing and fabric, lots and lots of fabric.  I was able to grab a few things but it wasn't heavy on the knick -knacks and home decor like I was hoping.

Misc piles of clothes

Vintage Party Supplies

I was able to score a large box of vintage party supplies.  Most still unopened! 

Brass Bonsai Tree Wall Plaque

Jellies!

As a child of the 80s these made me so happy to find.  There were actually 2 identical pairs that I grabbed, but I'm keeping one of them for me.   :)

Did you find anything this weekend that you are keeping for you?

I've got a dirty little secret

And it's that I can't stop buying vintage clothes!

Last month it was mugs.   This month I keep bringing home piles and piles and piles of clothing.   The problem is I'm not so good at listing clothing.  I do have a dress form but I get nervous about measurements and if I am taking them correctly...so I keep putting it off.

boxes of clothes I don't know how to list

I brought home the above boxes today.  They are filled with shoes, shirts, clutches and mu-mu's.  I have NO idea why I keep buying mu-mu's- but something about the fabric choices used sing to me.  sigh.

Hey look another pile!

This is the pile I brought home last weekend.  It's mostly mens flannels, with a 1960s Snoopy T-shirt on top.

A dirty secret inside another dirty secret...

And that there is a trunk filled with, you guessed it:  clothes.  It's also covered in most of my shipping supplies surrounded by other items I NEED to list.  If you were to pan out and see the entire room, well you'd probably call Hoarders for an emergency intervention.  If you sell clothing and have any quick tips for me to get this stuff listed and out the door I would be oh so grateful!

Is there a genre of vintage that you keep buying?  

Has it reached Hoarder status yet?

What I found (again)

I've been in and out of town the past few weeks so haven't been great about hunting, picture taking, listing, or blog posting.  It happens. :)  Still, I've managed to find a few share worthy items out and about.

Three Large Spools of Thread

100% Irish Wool Shirt Dress

Indiana Glass Co, Chip and Dip Bowl Set

Alaskan Clay Moose Mug

All the above items have found their way into my Etsy shop (with the exception of the moose mug which is housed in my new vintage shop for men....more on that later.)  I'm trying to get better about listing items as I find them....but lets be honest, what I'm not sharing is the massive backlog of inventory.  for every 1 item that gets listed there are another 15 that get stashed out of site...moved into the "i'll deal with you later" pile.    

How do you manage inventory?  Do you list an item as soon as you get home?

Linking up at Apron Thrift Girl and Her Library Adventures,  Join the love!

What I Found

It seemed like I was a day late and a dollar short on most of the sales I went to this weekend.  Three (3!) sales I went to quoted the famous..."well I looked it up on ebay"  I suppose this is the one major drawbacks of those great pickin shows.   .....I didn't find that many good "smalls" for the shop, but got pretty lucky with a few larger items.

Large Modular Stacking Cabinet

This Large Metal Cabinet weighs about as much as an elephant.  It comes apart in 4 different pieces and you can customize how you want your shelving.  There is even a funny little "secret" compartment (down there on the bottom row, in the middle)

Teal Virco Plastic Molded Chair

Retro Floral Print Barkcloth

I found a massive quantity of this Barkcloth fabric.  I dont even have space to roll it out to it's entire length.  Even better, it is in flawless condition.  Perhaps I am the first person to ever unroll it at all.  :)

Lusterware Tea Set

This tea set is gorgeous and complete for 2 people.  It even includes lunch plates.  It's marked Japan on the underside and has a makers mark I don't recognize.

Does this mark look familiar?  I would love to find out more about this set.  Thanks!


Linking up at Apron Thrift Girl and Her Library Adventures,  Join the love fest. 

Can You Help Me See The Light?

I found this lamp at a yard sale last weekend, and it sung to me.  (my husband hates it, by the way...which is usually how I know I found something extra spectacular)

The woman I purchased it from was cleaning out her MIL belongings and all she could tell me was that her MIL had it forever and she collected everything.  Hmmm, not much to go on.
 

The Shade and cord both appear to be original, and the condition has a bit a wear and tear, including a repair to his sombrero.

I believe he is made of concrete, chalkware or plasterware, then painted.  The lamp isn't very tall, only about 14 inches.   And there are no markings.

Do you have any information about this lamp?  I could really use your help :)

Thanks!

February Relisters Sellers Challenge

If you are anything like me, you've got loads and loads of inventory waiting to be listed.  Last October, Selena over at Apron Thrift Girl invited other sellers to take part in a listing challenge.  It's not so much a competition as it is a motivational timeline to get your butt in gear and list list list.   Well she's doing it again and since I was just complaining about my post-holiday slomp this seems like a perfect way to light the fire.  

My goal this month is to list 3 items everyday in my Etsy shop.  And 5 items a week on Craigslist.   As I shared in yesterday's January recap, when I list I sell.   Lets hope the trend continues.  

Are you going to take part in the ATG Listing Challenge?  What's your Goal?