I was shocked to see that it has been some time since my last blog post. I have been a first rate blogging procrastinator. But I have found new motivation! The season has changed, fall has arrived, and
I have an announcement to make.
My
sister, Betty, and I have decided to take the plunge and open our own vintage
furniture shop! I am 63 years old and
getting close to retirement and she is in her late 50’s! What are we thinking? Are we completely bonkers? Well, maybe...but we have thought about this
for some time now.
I decided I have at least one more career adventure in me. Betty and I love the thrill of the hunt for
the vintage pieces we put into out antique mall booths. We love to find forlorn and forgotten vintage
furniture pieces and paint and refurbish them into treasures someone would love
to have in their home. It is more than a
hobby with us, it is a passion. And if
you look at our respective homes, it might resemble some sort of vintage furniture hoarding disorder has smitten both of us. We can
only fit so much stuff in our mall booths and we are thinking bigger than
that. We began to dream….
Then we began develop a plan. We began to believe that starting small (even
for a small business) and starting on a proverbial shoestring was something we
could accomplish. Fortunately, we have a
small building next to my home that served as a family carpet business for many
years. It has not been in service for
some time as a business but we have been using the front portion as a storage
facility for our vintage finds. My
brother-in-law is using the back portion as a garage to store his motor cycle
and work on his cars.
Talk about low overhead!
No rent! Just insurance and
utilities. With some much needed TLC, we just might make this place into a
quaint, little shop! We had the
vision! Now, it was time to take the
plunge. We decided to invest in a new metal roof (already on before I thought
to take the photos) and add a country porch to the front to go with our cottage theme. We are in the process of getting the porch built at this time.
See that RV storage shed?
It will be perfect for furniture sales in the summer months. That country porch will make a great display area for
several of our primitive, outdoor pieces.
My wonderful brother-in-law is a great carpenter which is another blessing to us.
Once we get the outside finished, we plan on spending the
winter months remodeling the inside. I
plan on doing a series of blog posts on our progress not only in remodeling but also our experiences in setting up our business.
If you are thinking of starting your own shop, our successes and
mistakes (they will come, I am most sure) might provide some inspiration for
you.
Until next time,
Donna
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