A good Re-Vamp of the Showrooms always boosts the balance sheets almost immediately, so all the hard work is always worth it and yields instant benefits! Remember how I was going to go back in the Morning and take pixs for you of Showroom #114's overhaul? Well, when I left my Shift at 9:00pm on Thursday after working on it and being there all Day and Night, I went back in the Morning to capture the results of my Labor for Blog Fodder... and the Mink Cape plus several other larger pieces of Inventory had already SOLD!!! *Cha-Ching!* So... you'll just have to Imagine how it must have looked before it was 'Picked' now! *LOL*
So... since it had been emptied out considerably I HAD to go Pickin' and fill it back up didn't I? *Winks* Can't have an empty Showroom after all... and you already know how I Live for the Thrill of the Hunt! *Smiles* As long as Profit is rolling in I'm Guilt Free about doing what I Love to do and Finding an Ultimate Score is SUCH A RUSH!!! And I'm Guessing that if you're Observant you already see what Ultimate Score I'm talkin' bout? *Winks*
Ta-Da... Fresh from the Farm so to speak in this Image, they're still dusty and dry from obvious Years of being Stored away somewhere... and let me tell you the back-end Story of how the Purchase of the entire Set of Six of these Old Lovelies came about... it's the Stuff Pickin' Legends are made of I tell ya!!!
I spied the Set of Six and thought they were Individually Priced at Nineteen Bucks each, which was still a Steal with the Belgian Velvet Upholstery and Walnut, Cross Cut Oak and Detailed Inlay and Carving construction... but I only needed and wanted one for myself for the Studio Cottage Creation Station of mismatched Old Chairs I'm Sourcing for it... so I Agonized over which was in the best shape to take Home with me?
One had Arms and the other Five didn't... I didn't need Arms so I finally chose one without Arms and dragged it up to pay for it... "Where are the other Five?" the Cashier asks. Uh oh, dammit, they'll only Sell them as a Set for Nineteen bucks each I thought... and I don't wanna spend that much and don't really NEED that many. *Le Sigh* I tell her I only expected to buy one and thought they were being Sold as Separates since each had a Price Tag on it? I'm Hoping I'm Appealing to her... to Sell me the Coveted One I desperately WANT and NEED!?!
My Heart was literally pounding in my Throat lest I not be able to get MY Chair and have to leave it behind as The One That Got Away!!!??? *Insert Wringing of hands!*
"No, you HAVE to take all Six, we can't break up the Set." she says... and then adds, "But that Price is for ALL of them." Huh?! I thought I hadn't heard her right... basically you're Selling these for less than Three and a Half Bucks a Chair??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Yes, but you have to take them ALL... TODAY." I couldn't get my Nineteen Bucks {No Tax} out of my Pocket fast enuf... I'd worry about how the heck I'll pile all of these into the Jeep afterwards. *LOL*
And Trust me... that Jeep ain't my Truck so it was quite the Ordeal to get all Six of these crammed in there, it was Dark before I succeeded and had to Immediately dump the Five I wasn't Keepin' off at my Showroom before the Mall closed so I wouldn't have to load and unload more than once! *Smiles* I SOOOOO Miss my Truck! My Truck absolutely Spoiled me for 'Pickin' and was so easy to load and even overload...
When you have a Truck and are an Avid Picker you can do like this! This is an actual load one of my Friends at Work 'Scored' and was bringing in... can't wait to see it all in the Showroom! Yes, this is Living The Dream and The Life of a Picker! Ain't it Sweet!?! *Contented Sigh* So... a 2014 Resolution is to replace my Truck that was wrecked in The Man's Catastrophic 2013 Accident with another Work Truck... The Jeep is Great for the Family, but it's not cutting it for my 'Picks'.
So... back to my Old Chair Legendary Story... I spent the rest of that Night Oiling them and getting them ready for Presentation and Sale. The Princess had tried them all out Goldilocks Style and confirmed that each was Comfy and Throne-like for any Princess or Prince, King or Queen.
And I still got to KEEP the Coveted Old Chair I will use in my Studio Creation Station, so there was no downside to this Purchase whatsoever... making Profit AND getting my Chair virtually FREE... well, actually at just over Three Bucks a Chair that makes them ALL virtually FREE in my Mind! *Winks* Where could you even get a flimsy ugly mass produced Modern Chair for under Four Bucks... exactly! *Smiles*
Here's some Close-Ups of MINE... I J'Adore Vintage Belgian Velvet and Detailed Inlay... and all the Inlay and Velvet was in Pristine Condition on all the Chairs. Vintage Belgian Velvet can't even be had at under Four Bucks a Yard for Heaven's Sakes!
Now, to be sure, after probably Decades or perhaps even a Century of Use and maybe even just as much Neglect and being Stored Away, since these were in pretty Rough Uncared For Condition... some of the Carving Details on each Chair have 'Issues'... but I don't feel it detracts from the overall Beauty of each of them and the Usefulness.
I personally Enjoy the Character of Wear, Patina and Age on my pieces, how about you?
I know I'm totally in Love with MINE and I Hope some of my Customers will give the others, Individually or as a Set, a New Home too. I've Priced them Individually so that if you don't need 'em all, you can have as many as Needed or Desired. Mismatching Chairs and Tables is so On-Trend right now that typically I've Sold my Vintage and Antique Dinettes as Separates better than as a Set anyway.
This time I did most of the Work myself, because it was a gargantuan Project to take everything out of the Showroom, Clean, re-arrange, re-style, re-foof and move things from one Showroom to another and bring the New Inventory in too... so I Spared the G-Kid Force being used as Slave Labor. *Winks* Princess T was actually miffed that Gramma didn't ask for more of her Help tho' because she LOVES to Work in the Showrooms and go Pickin' with me.
And of coarse she re-arranged and re-styled some of my Vignettes too, because that's what she does... she's even more OCD than Yours Truly! *LOL*
My Vintage Dress Form Model had looked Stunning in her Mink Cape and New Lace Gown... but I was totally Jazzed to Sell the Mink so quickly after Displaying it in the other Showroom. Funny how the Location of anything in Inventory is so crucial to when it Sells. If something hasn't Sold in a minute, all I usually have to do is relocate it and Present it differently and it flies out the door!
And though I still have some tweaking to do, I'm Satisfied with the results of the Re-Vamp and that the balance sheets were boosted so Quickly after my efforts.
Gives me a handy Excuse to go Pickin' more in the New Year doesn't it? *Winks*
And I didn't Neglect Showroom #133... it too got a Re-Vamp and New Inventory...
And since everything is now Done for a minute at Work I can Relax a bit and just Enjoy some Recreational and Down-Time at the start of this Fresh New Year too. But you know I'd rather be Busy and have a Project Going On... and my List is endless when it comes to the Grandoise Vision I have for our Home and my Showrooms... so I've only just Begun! *Winks*
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... and a Happy New Year... may it be a Prosperous one for us all... Dawn... The Bohemian