Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Antique Mall Booth DIY: Chalkboard Sign Revamp + Thoughts


I have an ambitious plan for a bold new antique store booth revamp, but my latest temporary solution is working nicely until my new sign is complete. Like the last sign it didn't cost one cent, I used what I had around the house to craft a new look.


First I removed the letters from my old sign, then added hooks to the back of it so I could hand the letters however I want on the wall and rearrange them when desired.


Then I painted the back of the old sign with one layer of chalkboard paint so I could use it to write messages to shoppers and further connect my online and offline branding.


I spent six hours one day arranging and rearranging to fit in as much merchandise as possible and hanging new signage. I'm not completely satisfied yet, but I like how it makes me stand out from the other booths.


I missed getting out and spending more time with my brick and mortar space, it was neglected while I worked my ass off setting up on Etsy.


I've made some interesting connections with local designers, bloggers, resellers, and vintage buyers in just a couple of days lingering at the booth and trying to perfect the display. I'll admit there have been times I've wanted to give up keeping up and pursuing brick and mortar spaces and keep my brand online, but making that local connection takes it another level. I'm hoping to move up to a larger space at Southern Crossing really soon; can't wait!

How are your antique mall booths and reselling adventures going? Do Tell!

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

29 comments:

  1. Looks great! Thanks for sharing. I love the chalkboard paint idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Van, the booth looks great. I stopped in for a moment today at lunch to pick up $ and check on this weekends sales. This weekend was a success for our booth...u could tell right away because it was a hot mess! Happy to report we did really well in our first month! We are the little booth that could by the dealer door. Thanks for continuing to inspire us newbies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw the empty spaces in your booth. You guys have a BEAUTIFUL selection of the best kind of charming vintage so it's no surprise you're doing great. :) Looks like we just missed each other today, I stopped by to pick up a check and seal the deal on a second larger space.

      Delete
  3. Van I'm always inspired how you are constantly reinventing the way you do things and giving it all a go. I really admire your passion. On the resell question things have come to a stop here but a rehash is underway. Through my renaming and rebranding would you believe my Etsy store name is unavailable and contacting the powers that be at Etsy have resulted in a dead end. Oh well onwards and upwards hey, I'll find a way around it but in the meantime onto other things right? Next week I have a small selection of stock going into a store who wants to give me exposure (front window exposure mind you so I'm stoked). In three weeks I have my first market under my new blog/business name. Finally I'm also currently in throws of setting up Ecwid so I can add a proper shopping cart and checkout experience to Facebook. So although there are setbacks things are definitely happening.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations on the exposure, definitely sounds like you are moving onwards and upwards in all the right ways! There will always be setbacks, all we can do is keep producing the best work possible and working hard to hit out goals.

      Delete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! The spammers have been hitting your site hard just like mine. It's obnoxious, isn't it!!

    Your booth looks great! I would love to try a booth but my DH is not too keen on it as the market here is oversaturated and a city business license is $200. However, I really think a lot of it is branding and how you present yourself and your items as you have so wonderfully shown. I may bite the $200 bullet next year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeh, they've made it past blogger's natural defenses it seems. Grrr! You should definitely come up with a business plan and try it!

      Delete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't wait to see your new space!!! Are you moving bigger or getting a second space in addition to the one you have now? Either way it will be exciting!! Keep it going, everything looks great!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Carla :) I'm lucky enough to move to a bigger space. I will have actual floor space for the first time in my career reselling in antique malls and I'm already excitedly drawing up plans and pricing merch for it. I'll move in in April. For April I'm going to try running the current and new space, I may drop the old one if it proves to be too much.

      Delete
    2. How fun!!! I have my current space drawn on graph paper....to the inch, so I know exactly what will fit and where. I also graph all of my large furniture items as soon as I bring them home. These tricks have saved me a ton of time when it comes to moving things around + knowing what to haul down there at any given time. I can't wait to see the big reveal in April!!!

      Delete
    3. That's an awesome idea that I must subscribe to ASAP. :) I need to get better and pre-planning in general, saves so much time!

      Delete
  11. Looks great! My boyfriend and I just opened our first antique space a couple months ago and I love looking at what other people have done with theirs and reading tips and advice. I like the idea of how you've named yours and linked it with your Etsy shop. If you'd like to see what we've done so far, here's my latest blog post about our space:

    http://scavengerhunttheblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/february-antique-space-update.html

    Thanks for putting out a great blog!
    -Melissa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So jealous of your huge space to play with. Congratulations, it looks amazing thus far!

      Delete
  12. How fun! I love reading about and seeing other peoples booth's at antique and peddlar's malls. It makes me daydream about my own.

    Then I remember we don't have anything like that around here (just flea markets) and that I don't have anything to stock in it anyway.

    I still love seeing others though. It puts me in a happy place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seeing other's spaces online always inspires me, too. :) Even if it's just for ways to rearrange things around the house or seeing display/organization potential in things while I thrift.

      Delete
  13. You sure have worked your ass off on your Etsy shop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, and HUUUNDREDS MORE items are 'a coming. More work ahead...

      Delete
  14. togelpelangi

    Thanks for information bro
    Back Visit my website

    ReplyDelete
  15. These activities are very useful for children and through this, they can learn properly and get benefits. We should provide such kind of activities to our children because these are helpful. Dissertation writing services.

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments. Thank you for adding to the discussion! I always reply to any and all questions.

Like us on Facebook

Related Posts with Thumbnails