Putting Out These Intentions To The Universe

I think it is very important to wish for things. Not just wish, but pray for good things to happen and then keep living, It is not quite goal making and not just wishful thinking either. I make picture books of the things that I want. I go through magazines and clip photos and describe why something in that photo makes me feel good.  I recently came across one that I had made about 3 years ago while I was going through a great trial. I was living in Korea (I'm married to a soldier) and had been through a medical injury that left me bed bound. To give myself something to hang on to, I clipped pictures that described the life I wanted to live. There were pictures of chickens and barns. There was a terrific house and fields with great round hay bales. I showed photos of the pets that I wanted and even cut outs of future grandchildren! I even had a name for the place where the backdrop of my life would take place. I had called it Cardinal Meadows. This would be my farm.

After returning home to my beloved Missouri I lived in a rental home in town for a year and a half while waiting for my soldier husband to come home from Korea too. I had gotten home earlier on special dispensation from the Army to get my medical problems taken care of. In preparation for his arrival I had decided it was time to purchase a home that we would probably retire in. God found me a place that I had been thinking of in my pictures. It is a little cabin tucked away in the woods. It has plenty of land for chickens and gardens and I love the inside of my house too. My home has character, with wood walls and a terrific kitchen. It is not too big and not too small.  I have birds out the back window at my feeders.

Before I had run across the picture book I had made, I had named the place Redbird Hollow. I had forgotten my picture book, So when I found it while going through papers as we were moving in, I was very surprised to see how closely life had mimicked my little dream book. Three years ago, before any of this had happened, I had named my home Cardinal Meadows. It has been a miracle. There are many things that will take years to happen (having grand kids), but most of the book has come true. So I am thinking that more picture books are in order. Hoping for things not yet seen seems to be the way to go. Putting my intentions out to the universe is one way to say it, but I find that prayer to God is the ticket that works better. The pictures just solidify ideas best.

So I want pictures of my ideal business. I want pictures of me being healthy and free from fibromialgia. There will be clippings of beautiful gardens and jars full of blackberry jelly from my own land. I will believe for a great marriage and for both of my children s success. I will be able to sell my art and make a good living from it. I will be prosperous and not be poor, but not also be so well off that I would forsake Jesus. I am a woman of great faith and wisdom will be on my tongue. I am kind and loving. I have common sense and stick up for myself, I am intelligent and will use my God given abilities to bring about good in the world I live in. God's plan for me will come to pass.

So now it is out there.

Evergreen (Or What I want To Be When I Grow Up)

I have been driving  to The Lake of the Ozarks for 6 weeks now. I have been getting knee injections to help make my life a lot more comfortable. I go in and get my shots and then go shopping! The shopping part makes the injections worthwhile. Anywho, one day I went in to Evergreen. They are a silk flower shop that is only open during the tourist season. I have known about the place for 8  years or so from when I and my family had lived here last time. So I was chomping at the bit to get in and see what it was like. Barbara, the super nice lady who used to run the preschool for my church, tipped me off to the place way back when. I am so glad I remembered her recommendation. I was not disappointed. Get ready for some eye candy!

This huge crystal ball greets you when you walk in. It spins too!

It is like walking into a really well appointed jungle.

Look up, there is beauty

Everywhere.

Shelves are bursting with pretty things that make you want to take all of it home.

How about some of this, or a little of that?

I soooo want my shop to be this exiting. (When I get one, that is).

That is an upside down wrought iron tree made into a chandelier. Genius!

I love the explosion of color everywhere.

What a cute birdcage.

These are the folks who dream it all up, them and the owner. But I didn't get a picture of him. Don't you love the canoe? It goes with the whole Lake of the Ozarks thing going on around here.

I should have bought these.

Can you imagine getting to make all these cool floral arrangements for your job every day? That would be so fun.

I want to get this layered look in my antiques booth, and later on in my store. Like the title says; I want to be like this when I grow up. (I'm 41).

So I will remain hopeful and keep pressing on through my business classes in college. I will keep learning hands on retailing out of my antiques booths, and I will continue to gather ideas from stellar businesses like this one.

If you are ever in the area, this is one stop you just have to make. By the way, they did not pay me to make this post. They don't even know I did. I just love to toot other peoples horns when they do something fabulous. I'm even going to pin my own post because I think the world should know what a cool place this is.

Before and After

Recently I re-did my big antique booth at Heartland Antique Mall. It is located on east bound interstate 44 in Lebanon Missouri. I have 2 small ones at Bear Ridge Antiques In Crocker Mo. I will be consolidating those two, and moving some of their stock to this booth at the end of the month. Doing this will reduce my outgoing cash. The result will be a good amount of stock that has never been seen by the crowd that frequents Heartland. So I think it is a good move. But more importantly I had to change the look and stock of the Heartland booth. Originally I attempted to market a 1970's groovy kind of vibe. It is all over the home dec magazines and there is a great deal of it to be found in the thrift stores around here. I worked very hard on it and the idea completely bombed. Nobody would buy my cute mushroom cookie jars and my orange and green knit afghans. So the only thing to do was change. I sold off all my stock at 75% off and took the money to buy shabby chic whites and romantic accessories. So here is a before and after comparison of the two styles in the same booth.

The real lesson here is to know my market. Here in this area, primitives sell well and so does pretty glass and anything to do with fishing or hunting. Shabby Chic is just starting to catch on in the antique malls here when it has been in urban areas for about 8 years now. My new booth is one of two of it's kind in my mall. This means there is not a great deal of competition. There was nothing like the previous 1970's look, but it was too different to be accepted.

Here I am in process, I decided to paint the walls to look like old parchment. They kind of look dirty, but the affect provided a neutral backdrop for merchandise. My 12 year old son Josh helped me paint. It was fun working with him.

This is the finished look with all of the goodies in it. Well, most of the goodies. I have an antique Victorian parlor set that I have to get in the booth in time for tax refunds.

The last picture didn't get in the overhead ladder. I really wanted one but had no idea where I was going to find one or how I would get it to the booth. I don't have a truck. Well, on painting day I noticed one for sale by one of the other vendors in the mall. It was only $25.00! God gave me the ladder I needed at a price that was super. Go God! I can hang chandeliers and candle holders. Or whatever. I also wanted a dress form to display jewelry and vintage clothing. Then the other day I found this great old (read, hard to find) dress form in another vendors booth. Oh happy day! These may seem like small events to you but to me they are examples of God's love and concern for every part of my life. They are love notes to my heart.

These items are  known as "smalls". In the antique business they are the bread and butter of daily sales and they add up a lot at the end of the month paycheck. Heartland sells mostly items that are under $20.00 because of it's location on the interstate. Travelers looking to pick up a small gift or something special stop in for a break from the road. They buy an ice cream or box of chocolates next door at the Russel Stovers outlet and then come in to cruise up and down the aisles a bit before they hit the road again. In the summer tour buses going to Branson stop here too. Big items won't fit on the bus but little things will.

Here are more smalls and I have already sold that black desk lamp this last weekend. I made the shade on the big lamp. I hope somebody falls in love with it and takes it home.

Typically items should be marked up three times the purchasing price. This is needed to cover the overhead of rent, credit card fees and 10% commission. But lately I have learned that the big ticket items such as furnishings may not even have double the markup. The idea is to understand what price will best appeal to the buyer and be able to move the high ticket items in a reasonable amount of time. Also, if sales are slow, a sale can get things moving again. So can moving around what is already in the booth. Pairing like objects together, matching colors, and resetting the booth are all important ways to keep repeat customers interested.

 

 I bought these shelves from other vendors in the mall. The screen will be used to sell wreaths I think it makes an airy divider between the booth and the aisle too.

Thanks for visiting my Heartland antique booth. Come on by if you are in the area. Again it's in Lebanon Missouri. There are loads of signs so you won't miss it and hours are from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, 7 days a week.