Renninger's Recap, Part II

Here's me and my new BFF, vintagesue:

Sue & Colleen

She drove all the way from Washington DC to visit Renninger's on Friday and Saturday. And she even brought presents! We have so much in common, specifically our obsession with junking and our love for wine. Sue found some great deals at the show, including a few in our booth. She is starting a blog very soon, so I'm sure she will share her finds there. And I can guarantee that her blog is going to be super fun!

If you need a great morale booster at your next sale, I suggest that you hire Sue. She kept telling my sisters and I that our booth was great, and she pointed out the fact that so many people were lingering in our space. They just didn't want to leave! She is trying to convince us to join her and her sister in Round Top Texas next spring. It is very tempting. And I know that my antiquing mother-in-law, Mary, wants to go there...so maybe its time to start thinking about it.

Here are a few of our last-minute customers who swooped in and bought a bunch of bulky items that would never have fit in our SUVs. They saved the day!

Their devoted husbands miraculously fit an enormous amount of stuff in the back of their truck. Among many other things, they bought Erin's robins egg blue door, vintage convertible highchair, and wooden trunk. They even bought the Mantiques sign!

There was a rumor circulating that Country Home was there taking pictures of people buying antiques. I didn't hear about it until the very end of the show. And, boy, was I disappointed. If you are reading this, Country Home editors...I will gladly send you some high-resolution photos of my booth if you want to include them in your article about Renninger's!!

So, the bottom line...Would we do it again? The answer is yes, but we'd do some things differently next time.

1. Rent/borrow a truck so that we don't have to worry whether everything is going to fit in our minivans/SUVs at the end of the show.
2. Pay for TWO spaces instead of one. We had waaaay too much stuff for our 20x25 space. Most dealers kept their car/truck in the space during the show. We didn't have room for that. That was prime real estate for us!
3. Be more prepared. We would buy more tarps, squeeze clamps (that aren't chip clips), stakes and a pop-up tent.
4. Bring more furniture. That's where we made most of our money. If we rent a truck next time, we'll have more space for furniture, which means more $$$ for us.

Also, we heard about a few other sales that would be great for us, including the Ocean Grove, NJ antiques market. Has anyone been there (as a dealer or a shopper)? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Oh, and about our brush with movie stardom...one of our wonderful customers bought a few children's books from us. On his way out of the booth, he spotted a vintage umbrella and said that he had to have it. He works for a movie production company and is responsible for props. The umbrella and books are for a movie that is being filmed as we speak! It took some gentle encouraging (we took him behind the corndog stand and beat him with the umbrella until he was bloody), but we eventually got the name of the movie from him. But we promised not to tell. A few hints wouldn't hurt, though, right? It takes place in the seventies and is based on a best-selling book. That's all I can say. Talk amongst yourselves.

Comments

[StarXLR8]

I have a guess! Is it The Kite Runner? I saw a stand of books at Starbucks this morning, all with a new cover from the movie.

[Rosemary]

Wouldn't it be cool to see your stuff in a movie??
I love that you had such a great time, and sold so much stuff.
I do love the mantiques sign.
Thanks for sharing with those of us that live too far away to go to these great events.
Have a good day!
Rosemary

[Laura]

Hi Colleen,
Love your blog!!! I am originally from NJ..live in Florida now.. we lived a couple of towns over from Ocean Grove... and ALWAYS ... ALWAYS.. went to the Antique Fair.. never sold there.. just bought.. its GREAT!!!! ALOT of customers.. and dealers do VERY well there.. (so they told me).. I would suggest if you did Rennigers.. definately check it out!! Email me for any info.. at anytime..
PS>>> I miss Pat's Steaks!!!!! LOL
Laura

[Sarah]

SHUT UP!!!! Is it Lovely Bones????!!!! I just posted a big ol' post about the casting. ACK. Will you email us if we are right??? That would be so great!

Your display looks ABSO LOVELY!

[Joy]

LOVE the pic of the 2 guys holding the MANTIQUES sign - priceless! ;)

[Wanda]

How fun! But aren't you glad it's over? And your stuff in a movie! I'm glad you said that about selling a lot of furniture. I need more when I open my store, hopefully in November, but was debating over maybe not carrying much furniture. Sooo...... hmmm..... Guess I should rethink that.

[Pam]

Now I just wish I had someone here to talk with! Hope we'll know the name soon!

[vintagesue]

In case you haven't noticed, Colleen totally knows what she's doing. OK, she forgot a tent, but I witnessed customers definitely lingering and spending a LOT of time hanging around, as well as repeat customers, which is HUGE. I even heard someone tell her "you guys are definitely the most fun of all the vendors here." I know for a fact that one of them was being photographed by a professional which leads me to believe FV will be featured in an upcoming magazine we might all know and love.

Not to mention, she and her sisters were so welcoming (Erin even helped me carry my first round of purchases to my car). Heather was a hoot, too, and a better troika of sisters could not be found.

Y'all keep your eyes on Colleen; she knows what she's doing, though I doubt the wisdom of posting a photo of me with a visible wad of gum in my mouth! Wait, that's my fault.

XOX

[Farmerswife]

My guess for the movie is also Lovely Bones. And the proof is right here.... http://justjared.buzznet.com/2007/10/04/ryan-gosling-weight-gain/

HA! What do I win?

[colleen]

vintagesue - thank you so much for the kind words. people are going to think I am bribing you with free vintage goodies if you keep talking like that.

farmerswife - what the hell kind of proof is that? a chubby ryan gosling?

[Richelle]

Looks like you had a blast. I always enjoy going to our local flee markets, but your shows sound so much better. I live way out her in eastern oregon though so I will just have to enjoy them via pictures. Thanks for posting them. I could almost feel like I was there!

[laurie]

we were the girls in the picture and those guys were our husbands . but we had a lot of fun with colleen and she made us forget that we had to deal with those two unhappy packers later..
her booth was great and if you get the opportunity to meet her or her sisters you're in for a treat.....

[pinkgreen]

It sounds like you had a great time. I only wish I could come to some of your upcoming events! I'm glad it went so well for you. Hope you get your name in the credits for the film!!
Cathy X

[colleen]

In case anyone is wondering why I was so rude to farmerswife...she is my sister (the one who didn't go to renninger's and doesn't like to get her hands dirty at yard sales). So I'm allowed to be bitchy with her.

[Kim]

Yeeesh!!! I go away for a bit over a week & miss some blogging & look at all that I missed--I didn't know that you were going to be at Renningers! That is great! And, I loved the pics of your old Dutch Colonial...I've always loved that style.