A couple of weeks ago a neighbor told me she was going to have an estate sale and that another neighbor was going to put some of his items with hers. This got me to thinking that I would try having an Artisan Tag Sale. So we put our heads together and we each put an ad in our favorite source, covering several areas at one time. I then had to get to work putting my tag sale together. I had several knitted farmers market bags and washcloths in stock but decided to make a few more just in case they were a hit. I then got to work making the journals and note pads that are so much fun to put together. With this done I now had to dig into my craft closet to see what I could part with. After clearing out supplies three years ago for a move, I was surprised to see I had an overabundance of things I would probably not use in my lifetime. After sorting, packaging and pricing I had a good selection of knitting materials, craft and scrap booking supplies. I threw in a few household items that had been bound for the consignment store and I was ready for the big weekend.
We opened bright and early Friday morning and people were already there waiting to see what we had. As we live across the street from each other, it made it quite easy for them to catch both sales at the same time. I have to tell you it was the most enjoyable sale of this type I have ever had. I met some of the most interesting people, that had wonderful stories to tell about their knitting, crocheting or crafting projects. I got tips on what type of yarn to use, where to buy the best knitting needles, websites to check out and invitations to craft parties at one woman's house. Most were senior crafters but they were tuned into the newest techniques and styles. I learned so much from these women that love what they do.
I also learned that there were many different responses to my greeting of "Good Morning/Afternoon. How are you today"? Here are a few of their replies: Wonderful........It's a beautiful day to be out and about.....Glad to be alive and breathing......I have a sore foot. I injured it last night......I have bad ankles, will probably need surgery. And my favorite.....It's another dismal day in an otherwise miserable existence. This man made me laugh so hard when he said this and I don't know why. I think it was because it was such a beautiful day that I just couldn't imagine this type of reply. When I told him it couldn't be that bad he said, no I guess it isn't.
The KU T-shirt I was wearing also prompted many a conversation about the game that night and living in Kansas. I found that our area is filled with not only KU fans but people that came from Kansas and the Johnson County area. In fact, in my neighborhood alone there are several that either graduated from KU or were raised in the Johnson County area. One of my neighbors that I see almost every day walking his dog, graduated from KU in 1971 and lived in Olathe most of his life. I always say that you are attracted to people or a place that mirror your feelings and attitude. It's no wonder I have always felt comfortable living in this area of Arizona.
Saturday we opened bright and early again. The traffic was a little slower to get started that morning, but what I found were more couples and younger people that day. The older couples interested me the most. The men, of course, weren't interested in what I had to sell, but they would encourage their wife's to look and even to buy if they found something they wanted. They were patient and respectful of their spouses. In fact, several couples would split up as they exited their cars and if the man came to my place first most of them would send their wife over to see my merchandise. They seemed like such happy couples and it warmed my heart to see that there was still this old fashion type of love in the world. My favorite couple was the two that didn't buy a thing but told me joke after joke and had me laughing so hard. They even came back two more times to tell me one more "clean joke". I loved them.
Now I didn't spend all my time making notes about people, their comments or personalities and I did sell a lot of my items.
I will close by saying that I am going to do some research on tag sales to see how I can improve for the next one. You should try it sometime......being an artisan you would probably have fun. And yes, we are all artisans in one way or another. Find your talent and have fun with it.
PS. I do have some stock left over it you are interested. I have posted pictures and prices in the Stitches and Scraps section of my blog.
I love the idea of a tag sale, where the items range from kitchie trinkets to timeless antiques to homemade wares, sometimes including food. These sales are usually organized with pretty displays and groupings of like objects. Different than a garage sale and more like a yard sale or estate sale, though often yard and estate sales include only used items and not the homemade goods.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the Midwest there WAS a distinction between the different kinds of sales, and after living on the East and West coasts and in the Southwest, I've noted that the left states seem to combine sale types more readily than our eastern friends and neighbors. For the western states, I think that may have to do with better weather year round ("It's a sunny day, let's throw everything outside and see what sells."), and back east, there's a long-standing way of doing it, a way that kids grow up with and repeat as adults.
The interesting thing about these sales is the human interactions, and it was fun to read about your experiences. I especially liked hearing how you connected with other artisans, sharing ideas, stories, tips, and advice. This element of a sale is part of the reason I think American Pickers is such a popular show. Mike and Frank are out there connecting. Sure, the show's about stuff (what does their intro say? "...telling the history of America one piece at a time."), but it's also about people. Mike especially likes to know the human connection to the pieces he buys.
For you, it sounds like the sale was a success on a few levels, including giving you a fun couple of days to meet and greet and swap stories and wares. And it sounds like, in sharing your art, you also shared a bit of your history. Cool. Very cool.
Thx for the write-up...it was fun to read.
I think you "hit the nail on the head" when you mentioned the different type of yard, garage or tag sales you see across the country. When I was a young wife and mother I would watch The Martha Stewart Show in the afternoons. She would often mention tag sales and flea markets. I was well aware of what flea markets were, but the tag sales always intrigued me. I always thought these were East coast sales for vintage goods or very expensive items. Well here we are 30 years later and I am discovering that a tag sale is also know as a garage sale or yard sale. In fact I recently found a book written by Martha Stewart in 2002 called "Good Things from Tag Sales and Flea Markets" on my book shelf. She tells what to look for at these sales, how to restore an item and how to use it once you have purchased it. As we all know an item can be flipped or used in another way than what it was orginially made for.
ReplyDeleteI too, am a fan of American Pickers and agree that some of the success of this show is because of the human connection Mike and Frank have with the people they deal with and the articles that they buy. I would love to ride along with them on one of their picks.....but would not like to crawl around some of those buildings they go into.
Back to your comment. I am so glad that you got where I was coming from or going, with my post. It's hard to express how connecting with people and their stories can make you enjoy your day even more. Sharing a story with others keeps the history of a person, place or thing alive. What better way to do that than to put it into words.
Thx for your heartfelt comment.