It is just starting to hit home that we have moved into an antique mall. I'm thinking this is going to change my life...well, it already has. Starting with writer's cramp, I have not hand written that much in years. I'm pretty excited though and cannot wait until everything is moved in, tagged, and ready to go. One of the biggest changes is that we no longer have an online store over on ArtFire and the move has changed the face of our website.    It will no longer be a place to advertise things for sale although I am sure there will be some of that.  It is more about the journey of finding the story of an item.  We will also be having some guest posts as well as some internet only specials.  Although most of the specials will take place on Facebook.  http://facebook.com/JunkboxTreasures.   Here is a sneak peek at our booth. We are located in Antique Station inside Victoria Village at 1108 1st Street, Snohomish, Washington.  We are located on the second floor in booth 517.

This week I took a few days off and went to Seaside, Oregon for a few days.  Only about 250 miles from home but from my point of view it was the other side of the world.  While there I did some antiquing in Astoria, Gearheart, and Seaside but found nothing that just screamed at me "Take Me Home".  But, on the way home there was this garage sale and here are two brooch earring sets that were screaming even before I got there. There were three more sets that I did not buy but would have if they took Mastercard or Discover but I was not really planning on a garage sale on a Thursday in the middle of nowhere and my cash reserves were not what they should have been.  I did manage to whittle down her price to buy these two though and they are truly stunning.

In this new social world we live in, where we are expected to interact with our online following every day or two, it can be a bit overwhelming.  Coming up with fresh ideas at the drop of a hat ain’t easy my friends…not easy at all.<!--more-->This, of course, brings up the question, how do people do it?  How do they write and tweet every couple of days with new and interesting topics that interest their quote/unquote target market?  Well, I will tell you how…Remember way back when you had to tackle book reports in grammar school and how you absolutely dreaded the outline part?  I do.  I never understood why I could just sit down and write.  After all, I read the book and knew what was in it.  What I did not know at the time was that the outline was done so that you could organize your thoughts and hit the high points of the book.Okay, I can already hear you moaning…Noooooo, not an outline…!!!Yeah, that is exactly what I’m saying but you will be amazed at how much time it will save you and how much better your posts will be.  The saving grace of it all is that you do not have to follow your outline exactly. On some days you are going to be inspired to write about something else and there is no teacher leaning over your shoulder criticizing whether you follow your outline or not.This being said, I thought I would share some of my basic six month list with you. Although a generalist in many ways, these areas represent where I enjoy spending most of my time.  I love all antiques except maybe there are a few things where I just think “ewww”.  There will be other articles that have nothing to do with my outline but this outline provides me with instant ideas when I run dry with other things.  And that is the point…your outline provides you with specific things to write about when that blank page in front of you is SO empty.   Jewelry Identification  Identification Marks Construction Materials History Care Of Glassware History EAPG Opalescent Carnival Glass Art Glass Marks Wedgwood Jasperware History Marks

Let me first say how much I appreciate the people here and those that I have gotten to know over the last year.  It's the one place online where my love affair with antiques and collectibles is appreciated.   We have now been in the mall for 16 days and I'm so jazzed I can hardly stand it.  I go almost every day just to "pet" things...LOL  I am happy to report that we have made our rent for the month and more.  Personally I think that is great since we have really only been "stocked" for about a week.   We have a long way to go though as I learn more about staging things in our booth and also pricing for the retail market.  On the other hand, it is the adventure of a life time.  Now, when people ask me what I do I forget that I own a sign company and have for the last decade.  My response now is I'm an antiques dealer.     We sell at Antique Station in Booth 517 located at 1108 1st Street, in Snohomish, Washington.  We can also be found online at www.JunkboxTreasures.com and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/JunkboxTreasures.