I’ve been on the hunt for bookcases for a while now. I have ten tubs of antique books sitting in a damp garage near the beach, and I think it would be good to get them into the house. I sold all my beautiful bookcases when I was getting divorced. I knew the new smaller… Continue reading Whatever is Meant to Be
Category: antique
Alameda Point, at Last
A few towns from mine, there is a monthly gathering of vendors selling items that are twenty years old or older. It’s called the Alameda Point Antique Fair. I had never been until today. The irony is that I had an antique shop for six and a half years. And my customers would sing the… Continue reading Alameda Point, at Last
Antiques Dealer School
When my youngest was three, I ventured out in to the real world and rented a space in a handmade and vintage store. I did pretty well, but there were problems including accounting and theft. In my affluent town, shoppers unpinned the price tags and switched them around. I quit the craft store and invested… Continue reading Antiques Dealer School
The Longest Day of my Life
Today is the anniversary of the longest day of my life. Eight years ago, the movers showed up at 7:00 a.m. I had expected them at 8:00. They had a medium-sized truck. There was no way everything would fit. I had the Suburban and the Subaru, but they were already packed to the gills. The… Continue reading The Longest Day of my Life
Another Thrifty Day at the Thrift Store
I admit it. The Saver’s Thrift Store in Dublin calls me and every other over-55 senior in the tri-valley on Tuesdays. Why? The 30% senior discount off of everything. That’s why. My massage and chiropractor appointment messed up exercise class for me, so afterward, I swung through CVS to get Sis’s meds that they’d sent… Continue reading Another Thrifty Day at the Thrift Store
Secrets to a Successful Shop
It’s true — people shop online more and more each year. So how does a brick and mortar shop make it in today’s world? I was downtown in my town of 40,000 people (in a commuter corridor of the Bay Area) the other day, and parked on the main street in front of a little… Continue reading Secrets to a Successful Shop
The Woes of Being a Shopkeeper
The woman who works for me, eleven years my junior and twice as strong, told me that when her hot tub broke, she told a man at her community pool that she needed a rocket scientist to figure out what was wrong with it. “I’m a rocket scientist,” the guy said. A good pick-up line?… Continue reading The Woes of Being a Shopkeeper
