1997 to 2001 - St Louis I Love You

Picking up where I left off once more.

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 featured on ABC News Los Angeles.  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 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 and uncle in St. Louis as they had told me that the garage sales and antique malls there were good.  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.

My aunt and uncle lived in Maryland Heights and one of the first places my aunt directed me to was the Warson Woods Antique Mall.  I would that particular location the "high end" mall of St. Louis.  Wonderful items with (what I considered) fair prices that caused me to spend my money as quickly as I could pull it out of my pocket.  In 2 days I had spent every penny I had brought to St. Louis and even had to resort to borrowing from my uncle.  When I got back to Los Angeles and hit the antique shows, I sold everything right away.  So what else to do but schedule another trip to St. Louis!

Trip after trip after trip I made to St. Louis until finally it dawned on me that I probably would do a whole lot better if I just moved from Los Angeles to Missouri so I decided to do just ONE more trip to St Louis and vowed that if I sold everything I bought once more - either at a show or on the Internet - I would make the move.  Well, I did and I did and that story will be the subject of my next post.

Until then. 

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....

1992 to 1997

From 1992 to 1997 I stayed with the same law firm and traveled at least twice a year to London - one year, I even got to visit the place 3 times!  That particular year I was finally upgraded with American Airlines (having purchased my favorite airline, TWA) and could get the best deal on a Business Class ticket.  At first I'd fly Coach over and Business back (to save on miles), then I was finally in a position to be able to fly Business both ways - what a treat that was!  There was nothing better than flying business on a Boeing 747!

In 1997, I quit my law firm job and jumped to yet another law firm.  The pay and perks were a lot better and it was at this time that the personal computer was starting to make an appearance.  The Internet was new and buying/selling through a computer was also new.  EBAY was all the rage in 1999 (having begun life in 1998) and while I was mildly intrigued with selling via the Web, I didn't have the resources to purchase a computer as yet (they were still very expensive) nor did I have the money to purchase an AOL subscription.  I can still hear that screech AOL made when you were finally connected to the Internet.  To teach myself, I used to stay after hours at the law firm and use my boss's computer to log onto the Net - his was the only computer in the firm that would do so.  Good thing.  The minute I tried it, I was hooked.  I taught myself everything about EBAY, saved my money and finally bought my own computer.  A prepackaged deal from GATEWAY.  Anyway, once my package was opened, and my personal computer operational on my  desk, the next thing to do was to come up with inventory to sell.  And that was easy!

Recognize the critter?  Well, guess who had a wholesale account with TY.  Yep, me.  Because of all the crafting I did before getting into antiques, I had bears by Ty Warner up the whazoo in my apartment.  I also had been a bit of a hoarder and managed to keep a lot of toys in the apartment from the 1980s that I thought might grow in value.  The Clash of the Titans toys were the ones I had oodles of and when I saw their value on EBAY, well it was time to get rid of them and buy BEANIE BABIES!

And I will leave now to continue a bit later with this story.

Till next time.

1987-1991 Los Angeles Flea Markets & London

From just west of St. Louis (isn't this a pretty view).......

Soooooo, after my Culver City debut I was anxious to get back into the show again.  At that time, wait lists were common and it took me a bit of time to get a spot.  But every time there was a vacancy I eagerly gathered inventory and participated in the show.  As I sold, I learned.  And as I learned, my eye got better.  And as my eye got better, my pocketbook opened a little further, taking a chance on big (and small) but BETTER stuff!

So the cycle started again.  I'd buy something I loved, would live with it for a spell but because I was holding onto something a bit better, I had to let something go.  Oftentimes I would buy a lot more than I needed but would eventually separate the better from the best. 

I attended all the Flea Markets in Los Angeles - Rose Bowl, Long Beach, Santa Monica and in 1991 (after finding a new job at yet another law firm) I booked a trip to London for April. 

Now my first trip to London in 1976 was when I was married.  My second in 1984 with my then-room mate was a complete disaster so in order to erase bad memories, I had to take another trip only this time by myself. 

Flying TWA and going for a week, I managed to hit every flea market I had ever heard about - Bermondsey, Portobello Road, Newark, Covent Garden - it was one of those dream weeks that every antiquer dreams about.  Only problem was, I didn't have much money.  And by the fourth day of my sojourn, I had pretty near spent every penny I had.  But I went back to the States a happy lady having found some really good bits 'n pieces that I was so sure would sell. 

Going back to a law firm after having had the time of my life in London was hard but I justified the job due to the fact that it would afford me another opportunity to visit London to purchase even more goodies to sell. And the next Culver show proved that point.  I sold EVERYTHING that was new in my booth, in other words, all the new stuff from London!  I commented to other dealers how weird I thought it was, selling only the new stuff.  "Radar" was what all the dealers told me - "antique radar, all the regular customers here have it."  Again, I went home with more money than I thought possible and I started salivating about heading back to London even sooner than expected.  But it was not to be.  April and October seemed to be the best times to shop in the UK so I had to wait quite a few months to cross the pond once more.  But I did purchase my plane ticket right away.

My October trip to London proved to be better than the prior April.  And when I showed up at Culver yet again for another show, it seemed that every dealer knew where I had been and between them and the buying public, I yet again sold out of all my new inventory.  Everyone, it seemed, was in love with all things Victorian or Edwardian - the want lists at that show came out in full force.  Could I get this? Could I find that? October 1991 in London may have passed but I couldn't wait for April, 1992.

But that story will wait until my next Blog.

Stay tuned.

1987 - Antiques, Crafts and More!

With the move into the new apartment on Sawtelle I was more concerned about storing my "craft stuff" than anything else so I separated the living area/dining area into a living area/craft area. One table, many shelves, one chair and a TV that could move from back to front was all I needed to keep me happy. I would come home from work, eat dinner, then start crafting while I watched TV. Well, you know what they say about idle hands. Every now and then I would participate in a craft show and sell my goods. I did well. I specialized in Christmas ornaments but I also did other things - I decorated baskets and Teddy Bears, I sewed lingerie bags, made purses, sachets and well, to be honest, I think I tried to make everything from every "how to" book ever published. And with each new learning experience, I knew that somewhere down the line, all the knowledge I absorbed would would be put to use some day. With the money I made at the craft shows I was able to purchase more and more antiques and collectibles. And of course the inevitable eventually happened - I had more stuff than I knew what to do with. But I also still wanted MORE!

This is the learning curve that every dealer has to go through - how to hone the eye, to learn to purchase the "best" and then discard the "less than perfect" piece. Everything I had purchsed in my "early days" I considered a learning experience, and yes, I made mistakes. Never anything major mind you, but I did get "taken" at times. Oh well. So as I bought new things for the apartment or for my Treasure Chest (every dealer has a treasure chest), I placed the "old" into a box. And so it happened that one day in 1987 I simply had too much stuff in the apartment and needed to SELL!

Santa Monica had a small 1 day antique show at the corner of Lincoln and Santa Monica Blvd. Well, somewhere in there. It was held in the parking lot of an antiques shop and it was where I honed my eye. I didn't make much money at first but I certainly learned about linens, quilts, prints, jewelry and so much more. I had some of the best teachers at that time and they were more than happy to point me in the right direction. From that show I learned of another antique show in the area, the Culver City Antique Show (now defunct) held once a month on the 3rd Sunday of the month. Yep, it clashed with the Long Beach Flea Market, but at least it was inside and air conditioned. Even today, I just can't take outside heat!


I managed to secure a space at one of the shows due to a cancellation and I showed up with high hopes. The first person I met was Pat Bates and the second, Richard Fauteux. Pat dealt in (mostly) textiles but she also carried furniture. Richard specialized in jewelry and small collectibles of the silver sort. Both were great dealers and both made their living by their trade. I was honestly amazed that one could make a living just by selling antiques/collectibles. At the time, I couldn't have existed without my job as a legal secretary at a law firm. How times have changed!

Pat welcomed me to the show and with one eye on the inventory I was unloading, she was quick to cry "I want that" every time I pulled out something that pleased her. Soon, she disappeared and the next thing I knew was that my booth was filled to bursting with other dealers from the show. No customers (we weren't open yet), just dealers. And they picked me clean! I couldn't believe it. My pockets were filled with cash and my booth was practically empty. It was one of those moments when I thought I could do this forever and I envied those who did it full time.


Well the doors to the show finally opened and when the customers approached my booth, I was greeted with groans as obviously they knew something I didn't. But even with the limited inventory still in the booth, I sold. At the end of the day, I had practically nothing left of my old inventory. Instead I had a purse full of cash and checks and, of course, couldn't wait to spend it all.

As I was packing up to leave Pat wandered over and asked how I did. I told her I had done well, $1,300 to be exact. She nodded her head and replied "that's good but do you want to know how you could have done better?" Curious I said yes. And here's a lesson for every antique newbie out there.......

"How did you price your inventory?" Interesting question, I thought.

"Well, what I paid for it and then doubled but with the best stuff, maybe a little more to the price" was my reply.

"That's what everyone does at first. Now let me ask you this, did you do any research before you put a price tag on your stuff?"

"No" I said. And Pat began to tell me how researching the market was what I had to learn. Who was selling a similar item for what price - how scarce was my item - was it common - unusual - possibly one of a kind? Well, the questions were such that I couldn't really give any answers and that's when Pat dropped the bomb.

"Okay, let's take a look at some of the stuff I bought. You sold me a quilt for $75. I'm going to ask $250. You sold me a mink wrap for $65 - I'm going to sell if for $500. You sold me a pair of beaded shoes for $125. I'm going ask $500 for them." My jaw dropped! The prices she were quoting were unfathomable to me. Even today I think back on those prices and still think they were high. But....

So, with my first lesson I was prepared to do battle. I would learn more, research more, and sell better. After all, since I had a full time job, I could afford to take a few more risks. Well, as much as my pocketbook would allow.

And on that note, I will end now and continue later.

(All images on this page are from a past CALM Antique Show held in Santa Barbara, a show where I exhibited for a few years.)


Till the next time....