Another week at Brimfield is completed. The time went by so fast, but then it must be said it was quite a feat. Can you say organization... The key to survival is having what you need to pace yourself for the week. Water, food, inventory, enough business cards, snacks, warm clothes, comfy shoes, patience, friends nearby and hopefully good folks on either side of your booth. A group of us moved out booths to The New England Motel Show this year. Not sure sales were higher but we were all pretty happy about the show and the location, not to mention "real bathrooms", yup, just one of those things that makes a week of selling a whole lot nicer:)
All my neighbors were super nice, my good friends Judy and Tony Pascal and daughters were directly behind me which was great. We kept our back walls up and folks could walk between the 2 booths. It looked bright and drew customers into our booths.
A few of my neighbors at the show.
A few booth shots.
our favorite breakfast sandwich spot!
I picked up this early print from Mary as well as my most cherished pin cushion!
I was entirely in love with this vintage treasure. And I can keep it on my desk at my shop! I didn't get much of a chance to walk the show...so I didn't find too many goodies. A nice piece of ticking and also a nice early brown toile from Judy P.
A small piece of Mary Maguire's booth. Such a talented collector of antique prints and art as well as a master folk artist!
Great weather until Sunday. What more could we ask for. Wednesday was an early start. DAYBREAK. I woke up a 4am, popped out of bed and 10 minutes later into the car and onward to Brimfield from Sturbridge. I gotta say, I've never gotten up that early, but it was okay until about 2:30 pm and then we all started to fade. I was happy to crash at my hotel after the show, feet up and American Idol....couldn't have been happier. Wednesday was windy and cold until late in the day. Lots of clothes and extra socks, jackets, scarves and lots of cups of tea. Fortunately the next to days were grand. Sun, sun, sun.
I packed up at the end of the day yesterday, Saturday. Rain was forecasted and I'd had enough. Lampshades are always a hard sell out of my shop, but it is great advertising and pr. Lots of boutiques and shops come to Brimfield to find inventory for their stores. People were buying, but still cautious and trying to get the best price. At times down right insulting, rude, etc. Hey, we all want a bargain. For the most part the shoppers were lots of fun and very appreciative.
What was the hot sellers? It's hard to know what to highlight for a show. How heavy to go in one direction. In most cases I have a pretty wide variety of inventory. The biggest trend the past couple of years are the Antique European Grain Bags. I had a pretty good inventory and most of them were snatched up pretty quick. Oh, I should have made more. Then of course you have more and they don't sell....... right? Drum shades are still a big interest. I brought smallish ones (they fit in my car) and could have used some bigger ones and also some more out of the grain bags, too.
I'll be in my shop all of the summer. This was the only show I'll be doing this year, but hope to go back next May. It's easier to help customers right here in Pawlet and over the phone and internet. Hope you will come up to Vermont to visit. Feel free to give a call to make sure I will be in the shop. I am usually there, but sometimes I do have to be away. Shop is usually open Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat. 10-5. I try to leave my schedule on my phone at the shop. 802-325-6308.
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