1997 Cont'd

Teaching myself how to sell on EBAY with my boss's computer was fine for a time but the day did come when I had to buy my own.  I loved my Gateway computer and managed to teach myself how to use it.  I actually got quite good with buying on EBAY but selling was another thing.  But I was resolved to be a success and to NOT have to find another job. 

With the Clash of the Titans toys I had stored and the Beanie Babies I was now buying, I did quite well attracting the attention of EBAY.  I was profiled by Newsweek (the magazine) and things seemed to be going well.  I was making a living, paying my bills and still managing to go to London each year.  There was a short spell there where I actually went in for a job interview but it didn't work out and I thought maybe that was the Universe's way of telling me to stick to the Internet.  So I did. 

Trips to England were getting to be a little expensive so I decided to look elsewhere for inventory.  I decided to visit my aunt in uncle in St. Louis as they had told me that the garage sales there were good as well as the antique malls in the area.  So off I went and there I learned that the Midwest was absolutely the BEST place to find inventory - well, next to London that is. 

I always enjoy my trips to the U.K., short as they are. I can cram quite a few antique shows into a small space of time and usually could spend all my money on new inventory.  I have my own little corner of London that I stay in - a small B&B on Sussex Gardens just down from Paddington Station. I've stayed in the same B&B for 25 years now, without a toilet in my room (it's around the corner) but yes, there is a shower.  With hardly any heating (you have to beat on the radiator). I must admit I missed being warm! I know all the businesses in my small area. My money changer is there, my grocer is there, and I'm right around the corner from Paddington Station where I can enter London from Heathrow via the Heathrow Express. 15 minutes rail time, a short walk, and I end up at my "home away from home." There's something quite comforting about seeing faces you've known for a long time at the end of a journey. They're more than faces really, they're friends.

February in London is always iffy. It's always cold but it can also be wet, dry or snowy. In my case, it was a little of all three. Portobello Road was clear and dry and cold. Victorian Horticultural Hall was rainy and cold. Covent Garden was snowy and cold. Kempton Park was just plain cold.




PORTOBELLO ROAD

I think a lot of people's first glimpse of this popular London road was in the movie "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. While Mr. Grant could be seen strolling through the food and clothing sections, it was the antique section that I think moviegoers really wanted to see. Well, they didn't and so I will try my best to explain the antiques section of the road. 

 

Portobello Road starts at Chepstow Villas and runs downhill from that point. In the early morning taxis congregate at this starting point letting out eager customers for antiques and yes, souvenirs of a London trip! Running for two full blocks is the antique section - hidden in little "cubby holes" of buildings running along the left side of the street. Enter these small tunnel like alleyways and you'll find a myriad of antique dealers eager to sell their wares. Jewelry, paintings, prints, clothing, statues, woodwork - you name it, you will find it on Portobello Road!

 

I search for jewelry and it seems that almost every stall along the road has a little bit of silver, gold or costume. Prices vary by dealer as does quality. But when you've found the good stuff you'll know it because your mouth will begin to salivate!

 

For the last 25 years I have been walking down Portobello things had hardly changed. But this time, I noticed something quite disturbing. A large block of dealers in a corner section of the road had been displaced by a clothing store called All Saints Spitelfields. In the old days, these section would have held close to 100 dealers in individual stalls - now there was just a big retail store selling modern day clothing. It was quite a shock. The store had attempted to "blend in" with the flavor of Portobello - its window was stocked with every old fashioned black Singer Sewing Machine that the store could find. The effect was amazing and people lined up in front of the window to have their picture taken. I felt right then that what I was seeing was the beginning of the end. Hopefully, I will be proved wrong and Portobello will stay the same for the rest of my lifetime. 

Anyway, after seeing Spitalfields I wondered how much more of Portobello Road had changed. Thankfully, not much. But I guess the writing is on the wall. 

Till next time....