Opening Day

First post!  This will be a blog about my adventures in operating a booth in an antique market called Mad Maine Vintage Shop.  As the title implies, my booth will focus on selling items from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.  And, yes, I am located in Maine - right on Route 1 in Scarborough.  More on that later.

Today was the first day setting up the booth.  When I decided to go ahead with this adventure, I had no real knowledge on how to operate such a venue - I thought only professional antique dealers did this.  However, after browsing online, I soon found out there is a quite varied market in this area.  Not all sellers seem like they belong on the Antiques' Roadshow - there are several young people out there who do this as well, some as a hobby, others as a way to earn some serious side hustle income. 

I guess I sort of fall in the middle.  I have a day job, but since I work from home, I get some serious bouts of cabin fever, and my retail therapy usually consists of stopping by my local thrift stores and the occasional flea market and yard sale.  Once in a while I have picked up items to sell on eBay (I used to do this quite a lot in college, and earned some welcome cash for a student on a budget).  However, as much as I like eBay, I hate the shipping part. Hate it!  So, this is a way for me to keep picking up things I like or find interesting and resell them without shipping them. 

And who wouldn't like to set up a little shop and not actually have to work from 9 to 5 behind the counter?  It's a sweet deal.  Or so it seems.  I will be brutally honest with you about how this turns out.
Here are some pictures from my tiny booth - number 68 at Cliff's Antique Market. 

Everybody needs at least one paint-by-number picture on their wall, right?  Also, your breakfast toast would taste sooo much better if it was served in the ultra-British toast holder. Still looking for a proper butler to go with it.

A never-used travel bar for the serious drinker traveler.  Don Draper surely would approve.

Deviled eggs are more devilish on 60s serving platters.  We have a whole collection of these, and we will gradually let them go.  It's a 10-step-program, folks.

For the groovy smokers. Too bad they don't make cool trays for discarded nicotine patches.

I love this old Coleman cooler, complete with metal side handles, and, yes, the built-in bottle opener!  You can't buy this patina at Target.

Some of the various kitchen items (so much more to be added, but I have no room). I especially like the cross-stitched gingham apron.  Get back in the kitchen and make me some deviled eggs, woman!


While setting up our nook (of course it was pouring rain while carrying boxes in and out from the car), three items sold!  A tourist from Canada (I assume so since she spoke French, and here in Maine all people with a fancy language like that are Canadians on holiday) picked up a coffee pot and a matching creamer.  Later a grandmother bought a Fisher Price Humpty Dumpty Toy.  Sweet!  Now the optimist tells me that all my items will be sold out in the next couple of days, while the pessimist assumes that now my three best items are gone and everything else is stale and will sit there shrouded in cob webs tomorrow. 

Do you have an antique booth?