Adaptive reuse Favorite Thing

This is, according to the folks selling it, a tulle stand. Not that I knew tulle needed a stand, but what do I know?

All I know is that this would make a great display piece for a garment on a hanger, in a shop that’s shabby-chic-ish. And at less than $40 for half a dozen, sounds like a not-so-shabby price. And a LOT more interesting than a standard old boring hook stand.

The party/craft supply website, Save-on-Crafts, selling this has lots of exciting things to use in your shop. Monstera leaves anyone?

Negativity in Retail: You Become what you Make your Customers Think

Gloom and doom. It’s what sells. It’s what people love to gnaw over around the water cooler and p*ss and moan about. How expensive was that gas you bought on the way to the consignment shop? Have you heard about Resale Shop A closing, and Charity B is taking away health insurance from their thrift-store workers, and Who knows if I’ll have a job tomorrow and who can’t sell her house and on and on. (Keep reading, we’ll get to the piggy banks soon.)

No wonder that your customers, the few who manage to

Manikins…umm, ladykins… another favorite thing!

These manikins, or artist’s models, make terrific props in a jewelry showcase. Artsupply.com seems to have the most reasonable prices, but check locally to avoid shipping (both the monetary and the ecological costs!) and to support your local merchants, of course. (As my mother said, Pretty is as pretty does: If you want support from your marketplace, you have to offer it.)

Anyway, these manikins or ladykins are posable, and would look terrific holding a string of beads, offering up on a “platter” those diamond earrings, holding a small sign and more. If you leave them plain as-is, they’re moderne/ architectural-looking. Splash some rich colors of paints on them and they look straight from an artist’s Parisian atelier for you eclectic shops. Heck, you can even dress them in bits and pieces of old crochet work or chiffon scarves and feathers for whimsey (wouldn’t this “flying” manikin make a TERRIFIC “Budget Angel” mascot? S/he is from Jerry’s Artarama.)

Is it Tuesday? Time for tapas!

Okay, so I was wrong. ONE restaurant that I go to DOES have an email list that they use. Usually, they’re nice little email missives, but nothing special (except of course that there are so few restaurants who USE email….). This issue, though, had me smiling, and I bet that whenever I realize it’s Tuesday again, I’ll associate Tuesday with Sangria Tapas… pretty clever of them, no?

The email I received is below. You might want to

Don’t tell me what I missed

So there I was, happily going through a coordinated group of separates in a consignment shop. Look at all the pretty colors: sky blue and moss and a wonderful warm grey. I picked out the grey for the pants and swirly skirt and the blue for a shell and overjacket and was thrilled to find four great pieces to buy, and they were brand new and all for only $100 total. Got to the counter, reached for my wallet. . . and the sales staff said “Aren’t these great? We had them in all colors, including a great pink.” PINK? I LOVE pink, where are they? “Oh no, those are all sold. This is all we have left.”

Suddenly the sky blue made me blue* and I was no longer tickled pink* with my choices. So I didn’t buy them.

What in heaven’s name is the purpose of telling shoppers what they MISSED? Think it’s going to please them? Think again.

* Colors have been changed to protect the innocent. . . and to make a little teeny pun. Caution. . . Bzzzz. . . Kate’s busy brain in use.

This snippet of info/ opinion originally appeared at TGtbT.com where there’s lotsa great free stuff to help resalers improve their shops.

Happy Earth Day

The Fashioner of Things
had no original intentions
Mountains and rivers
are spirit, condensed. Wang Wen-wei

I’ve been meaning to tell you, Issue 1

There are some things I’ve been meaning to sit down and talk to you about; things that someone else said just right. So we’ll let them tell you. And here’s the first:

Designer labels no-no’s.

Her Dad bitched; my mom did. Same EXACT scenario; same gut feelings instilled in the daughters! I declare this blogger’s message 100% on the money…so to speak ;-). (And the rest of Fashion For Real Women blog will be mighty useful to those of you with real women for customers, too!)

What, this old bag?

Seems resalers and consignment shopkeepers can’t make up their minds about how their customers will be carrying out their purchases. Every year, after NARTS Conference, lots of shops get on the “let’s-have-recyclable-bags” bandwagon (and I must say, the recycled-tote guy has a GREAT product. Every bag I have brought home from Conference has gotten at LEAST 12 months’ worth of use in my household!) Then the enthusiasm fades.

Did they not get the recycled tote bags they ordered? Weren’t they thrilled

Promoting the heck out of your shop

So you want to have a promotional event in your consignment or resale store. You have visions of hordes of people pouring into your place, having a good time and throwing money into your till.

You see brand-new customers coming in for the first time and loving your merchandise and values. You envision rewarding your regulars with a treat and added value. And you daydream about all those people who have heard about your store finally coming in and realizing how terrific your place is!

“Gee guys, let’s put on a show! We’ll use my folks’ garage and we’ll put up posters inviting everyone!”

Planning a promotion, while it can be as much fun as

What do you think this means?

Body language…endlessly fascinating. It can tell us what someone else is thinking, even if THEY don’t know what they’re thinking. (As you can imagine, that’s a great help in your consignment shop, as well as the rest of your life!) Here’s an example which I found in my own photos. What was I thinking?

When asked by the photographer to “show off your WWKD* bracelets”, here’s how half-a-dozen resalers showed off their pink rubber armlets at a NARTS Conference.

Notice that all put their hands out palm down, as if they were showing off their engagement rings… except for me, third from left. This photo’s sat in my computer now for almost two years, and I still can’t figure out just WHY I held out my hand palm UP.

Was I