New plant display up and running

I finally finished the live plant display at the store today. A very generous donor paid for the table and frames, which really helped keep the costs down. I had to wait for my handyman, Justin to stop by to hang the leaves and last frame. I hurt my back this past weekend and really can't lift anything. The gold leaves are really a wall light and it would be so cool to have it wired so the lights work but that wasn't going to happen. 

It was funny that people wanted to buy the frames and I kept saying no, had to wait until the display was done so I could take a picture for the donor. Not the best business practice but we're not really following traditional business model. The wall turned out the way I wanted now I just have to see if it sells plants!

I had to make a sign asking customers not to squeeze the plants to see if they're real, it was making a hot mess on the table.

Table $200

Frames $80 plus one donated

Gold Leaf light $80

Cooking

I don't cook as much as I use to when I lived in Cupertino. Main reason is I don't have to make Annie's meals anymore, so having to cook isn't a priority anymore. I do miss it!

The store is also close to  a lot of resturants, even thou I don't like most of them, it is easy to just get something to go. When I worked at the Dr's office, we couldn't leave the office, so I had to make my lunch. I do miss shopping for groceries every few days that was a fun hobby.

This is a one of my go to recipes when Mees is here since he likes pasta. I always have to stash of gluten free pasta in my pantry and bacon in the refrigerator. Bacon makes a great favor base for a lot of dishes. Nothing super fancy but uses whatever I have on hand.

Cool Auction Finds July 2021

I still have a booth at Cottage Crafts in Campbell, which is about an hour away. It's a challenge to keep it stock with new stuff but I've been there for years and Tami and George are the best. The pandemic didn't help but now that things have opened back up, finding cool and interesting things has been the major challenge. Since I live so close to the Michaan Auction house, going once a month is easier ,but it's a very popular auction so getting a good deal isn't easy. 

Their online site is really good, so it makes it easy to bid from home. Everything else is just like any other auction house but that's another story. 

This vintage kerosene lamp is old school glam camping back in the day.  The milk glass shade is an added bonus! 

 The sewing machine drawers came in a lot with other things not as interesting but this is what I wanted. It's the second one I've found and really sells well. Nice piece for anyone into sewing or crafting. 

Update Auction and a little rant

Well I took a risk and bid on a lot of purses and it was a bust. My first instinct was not to bid but I started seconding guess myself, which we all know isn't a good thing. So $500 later, nothing was real or even close. I do plan to sell off what I can so it's not a total loss but not the money maker I had hoped for. As they say in the business, lesson learned. 

So I wanted to post here and not on my Facebook account because I may piss off even more people. There was a very detailed business plan done for the store. It was clear thrift stores do make a lot of money for the non profit it supports. Covid changed how all thrift stores handle everything and I think really improved the process. I find it interesting the older folks who get so upset that things are not going back to the old ways when they could drop off anything and the store had to take it. They are unwilling to listen to or even try to understand the new business plans are put in place to help stream line and reduce costs. Yes, even non profits have over head costs that have to be covered. One of the biggest bill most thrift stores have is getting rid of the trash. With my store we don't have the space to handle trash, nor the budget. We don't even take the boxes or bags people bring their items in because it would fill our recycle bins within a day. When I have to deal with these very angry ladies, I see someone who can't handle change and has very unhappy life. I know this is a very small % of donors who come into the store but it does put a dampen on my day for a few hours. 

Auction Weeks July 2020

It auction week and yes, I'm a big auction rat. What's fun is there are other rats in my pack who enjoy the hunt as much as I do. 

One of the positives of managing the store is looking for interesting fixtures/display pieces. It's not something the store really needs, but it does make us stand out from the other stores. Our front windows have sold a lot of us, so I feel it's important to keep up the interest. Almost everything in the store is for sale so I also have to choose things that can be flipped for a profit. It doesn't have to be a home run every time, base hits are good too.

I did take a huge risk and buy a one lot of purses, which had some well known labels.  I hope a few are real and I will make a profit.  It's not something I would risk the store money on unless I was sure. My purse person was on vacation so I wasn't able to get confirmation what I was looking at was the real thing. Fingers crossed I made a good $500 investment. 

Auction Week July 2021

It's auction week!!!! I love going to the preview in search of finding that hidden gem. This is a well shopped auction, so it's very hard to get a good deal but even with that you see things you don't see at the smaller auction houses. 

First off is the butterfly art. I saw the photo online and was wondering what media made it so iridescent.  I was thinking sea shells or special glass. When I saw it in person I was totally surprised! The whole thing is made from butterfly wings. It's not something I would be able to sell in the store, even if I wanted to but it was still very cool to see. There were a few more pieces in this collection but not as dramatic as this one. 

At the store on Saturday we sold out of so many things, shelves were bare. On one hand that is a good thing but it does force me to get the plant section pulled together sooner than I had planned. I saw this table and the creative ideas started flowing. It's about 9 feet long and handmade from exotics hardwoods with a hand forage metal design in the center. It would make a great center piece to the plant section. A generous donor offered to pay for it, so I could go full retail on it. I hoped because of the length, no other dealer would want it. I'm bidding against someone and at some point even with the donor's offer to cover the cost, I will have to stop. As cool as it is, the donor's money could go to more important things the store or shelter needs. So we will see at the end of today if the table is coming to the store!

Document Photo

I thought I would post this card again because this is the last of my samples and I really want to mail it out to a friend, so I need a photo if I decide to ever make it again. It's been a very non creative year and after losing Annie, I've done nothing at all. I did move all my crafting supplies in hopes that I would get my mojo back but it's not happening. When I taught classes for FabMo it helped keep me in the swing of things but COVID shut that down and now living so far away doing classes isn't really possible with my current schedule. 

Time to move on

Mees likes story time

I've have to admit that I'm not a city type of person. I finally had to tell my boss that I don't plan to stay here for the long haul, maybe just a year.  I originally had planned to be closer to my grandchildren but when my daughter said she doesn't plan to go back to work after her maternity leave is used up, I'm not needed here to help with child care. Yes, being close to the kids would be nice but living so close to a high crime area isn't for me. When I have to worry about just going grocery shopping or to the bank, it's not the life for me. 

My project is up and running and hopefully will start making the money they hope for so I can start looking for my replacement and make the plans to leave before I'm shot or mugged. 

Rabbit lined leather jacket

At the store I'm not allowed to sell animal fur, leather is OK but anything else is a big No No, being a no kill animal shelter that makes sense.

A donor had some very impressive clothes but she's a size 0 which is a very limited market in the thrifting world. She had two leather coats that were in super condition but one is lined with rabbit fur and the other is fur, I'm not sure from what but it's real. I took the jackets anyways and I hope to be able to consign them for the store. I'm looking into all the ways we can sell stuff at the highest margin so I can to meet the 100K goal for the store. I hope to meet that goal as soon as I can so when I pass on my job to my future replacement we know it can be done. 

Lots of the stuff still going on with the store, like installing the heating and AC unit. I thought it was taken off the schedule but the office manager forgot to cancel the appointment and workers showed up on my day off.  I'm lucky my boss is very flexible and was able to get everyone into the building. When I have Mees with me, it's very hard to get to store in between his naps and meals. On top of the that the AV (TV for the front window) was installed on the same day.  I would have normally prepped the building for the workers, making sure everything was out of way and covered, so who knows what I will be walking into today! One more week until we open!

Very Cool Door for the store.

I naturally design to what I like and don't normally following any current trends. I especially like the find things that are very uncommon and repurpose them. Auction houses are really the only place you can find cool stuff that doesn't break the bank. This door was about $200 and I don't think there is another on out there!

I'm not sure what this door was first used for but I do know it was a sliding door because it has inset wheels on the bottom that fitted into a track. It's about 3 inches thick with the metal sandwiched between oak. My first guess is that it was a door to a wine cellar. Condition is good so I don't think it was in a barn. My plan to to design a platform for it to sit on and keep it upright so it can be move where ever it's need. The back door at the store is a big metal sliding door and at some point I will need to add a security gate that still allows light and air into the building but keeps people out. I'm thinking this will work if I can design something where I can lock the wheels in place. 

Finding something like this really makes me wish I could design a house again!

Mid Century Modern

When I first started at Thrifty Kitty, one of the ideas I had for the front windows was to put a cozy chair so those who get dragged in but really don't want to shop. Since we won't ever have live animals up for adoption at the store, making a comfy room setting would be fun. Of course we plan to change up the display to keep things fresh or when I sell these chairs.

These chairs were posted on Next-door and for the last 3 weeks I've been hoping the price would drop low enough for me to buy them. It's a high tech company that ran out of funding so they are boxing up what they want to save and selling off the rest. These chairs were in the lobby and really fit the the theme of the store. I did visit the site earlier when they were trying to sell off some work tables so I already knew what was happening. I knew at some point they would have to lower the prices or give the stuff away because they have to be out of the building soon. But I didn't want to take the chance on these chairs. The black office chairs were $20 and I got to cherry pick out the better ones. Most had wear on the hand rest but at least now I have some place to sit! The moving trucks are already there and starting to load up the giant crates of equipment that will go into storage.

How Big G handles snack time

Mees is a very active one year old. Always on the move and getting into everything he can reach and it seems he likes to see what he can reach so anything on the edge of the table is fair game.

Mees is on the bigger side so he's very heavy. Lifting him and carrying him up and down the stairs is starting to get a little harder for me. 

I decided during his snack time to set it up on the floor on the oil mat under his high chair. He seems to like it and it's the only time he's not actively running around. It also means when he's done, he can just get up and go explore again. I do have to chase him down to wipe his face and hands but this system is working for both of us!