If someone had told me just over two short years ago that I'd have so much Fun getting rid of my personal possessions that I'd spent years Collecting, Loving and being Passionate about, I probably wouldn't have believed it. I also wouldn't have believed that I could go 'Pickin' for current Found Treasures of the genre I Adore, devoid of Attachments to them, purely for the Purpose of Turning them for profit.
And in a strange way it has even been better and more satisfying because now I can Rescue more without the personal saturation point of trying to squeeze it into just our Home... or I can Enjoy it for a while if I want to and then Flip it when I feel the Time has come for it to move on or upgrade.
I can also Rescue Treasures that aren't my own personal aesthetic, or I wouldn't need or want to own, but that I recognize the Value of and can Bless my Family with the proceeds of the Sale of it. Since my Parents taught me about the 'Good Stuff' there are many Treasures I don't Collect, have a Passion for or Decorate our Home with, but which I know are desireable Antiques, Collectibles or Quality Vintage Treasures worthy of putting into my Retail Space Inventory.
I am not a Doll or Toy Collector, so until I had Retail Spaces, I would see Antique or Vintage Dolls and Toys and not get excited about finding them an Adoptive Home where they would be Cherished... now I do. Now I can be a temporary Foster Mother to these Old Toys and put them up for Adoption in my Showrooms and Loft Spaces. And because Sales of them are always brisk, I realize that there was a demand for them that might not have been filled as well had I not been that extra set of Eyes now out there Sourcing them. That makes me Feel Good.
Because when I was just a Buyer of Product and not also a Seller of it... I remember lamenting that so many things I would like to buy or had been looking for, couldn't be found, or at least not easily, because nobody seemed to be carrying it in their Shops. Now I can carry or at least look out for those items that I know Kindred Spirits might also have been seeking. Those Quirky items that I've always liked and been drawn to and always Daydreamed of perhaps having a little Shop to Offer for Sale one day.
Well, one day has come and the Vision expanded much more rapidly than I could have Daydreamed it would have, and that too has been a very exciting Journey into making a long held Dream a Reality. To do what I've always Enjoyed and felt Purposed to do while also making it Profitable as well as a Recreational Pursuit I look forward to so much. How many of us Live and Love to Create, to go Junquing, to Decorate and Style, Rescue and Salvage Lost Treasures, Restore, Repurpose and Upcycle what others might not see Value in or have a Vision for!?!
To Network and Socialize with others who also Share the same Passions and Pursuits... birds of a feather finally flocking together instead of feeling like the only one who has these sentiments and Ideals. Wondering if you're the only one whose pulse races when you see Junque or Old Stuff and react as though you've hit the Motherlode or Won the Lottery!!! *Winks*
Maybe have been the only one who Dressed like you Dress, Decorate your Home like you Decorate and Style your Home, or Create what you consider Art and failed to have others Appreciate it and see it with the same Eyes as you do until you finally Connected with Kindred Spirits and like minded Souls.
Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch for Yours Truly... because even some Kindred Spirits think I'm pretty far Out There... but that's Okay, at least they are more Accepting of my Eccentricities than the masses. *LOL* Recently one of Prince R's Friends at School asked him why the Principal nor the Teachers seem to have a problem with him looking quite 'Different' and Avant Garde or haven't called Home about it to say it's not 'Acceptable' and he should perhaps try to look more Mainstream and 'Normal'? He simply replied, "Well, they've SEEN and met my Gramma!" *LMAO*
Normal is so subjective and over-rated anyway I think... Normal and Mainstream aren't adjectives that have probably ever been used to describe anyone in our extended Family anyway. *Smiles* And we're totally Okay with that. It would be too much Work for us to try to be anything other than how we are anyway... and uncomfortable. Whereas some folks feel self-conscious looking 'Different', not conforming or standing out in any way... for us it would be the total opposite. Attempting to fit in or conform is not at all comfortable or Natural for me.
I still recall my Parents once saying that under Social Pressures of their Era there was the Attempt to Americanize Mom, the New Immigrant, and Anglicize my Native American Dad... it just didn't work out... it wasn't who they were and they were quite Happy and Content with who they were and their Cultural Identities and Rich Heritage. Certainly they Integrated and Assimilated over the years in ways that were Comfortable and Beneficial to them and us as a Family, not due to Social coersion though, but by personal Choice. And they would never be the Ozzie and Harriet Couple of their Day with their Interracial Intercultural Union, they weren't meant to be, and that was Okay... they were Comfortable with it even if not everyone else seemed to be for whatever reasons.
And I realize that it is often through our upbringing and our Ancestry that we are imparted with the distinctions and Talents that we are imbued with. And that can be a Special Gift we can expose others to so that they get the Experience of it and the Essence of it in how we Share those things that are uniquely 'us'. And though I wouldn't have believed that anything I was so 'Into' and was such an intricate part of me and what makes me tick could touch others in a Special and perhaps sometimes even a profound way, I've found that it actually has. And that is really heartwarming when they reveal it and tell you.
May whatever makes you tick touch the life of someone Today! And may you always Celebrate how Beloved, Unique and Special you really are... and believe your Daydreams and anything is possible... each and every one of you!!!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian