Life’s a stage when you are in retail! On moving day, I woke up early. As you might imagine I was just a little bit excited to get started. Me and my son began loading the trailer around 9am. Because we had pre-planned the booth load in, loading the trailer was a piece of cake. We loaded everything in about 30 minutes. Before taking off we ate breakfast and I packed myself a light lunch. We were on the road by 10:15. The Antique Center is located in the neighboring town, about 30 minutes away.
Once we arrived we off loaded the large items and rolled them to my space which if I haven’t mentioned is a great location. The big items were placed in their pre-determined spots and the boxes, bins and tubs were stacked around the booth. My son hung the wall decor and adjusted an item here and there. This took about an hour. He was then off to work and to return the trailer.
I believe that one of the keys to being a successful retailer is merchandising your space so that shoppers can get a good overview of what you have to offer. Then you need the hook, the one eye catching item that will draw them in a little closer. I decided to stage my space to show off the items as well as give people ideas on how they can use the item in their own home. It may take a little more time and a bit of creativity but I think it will help my space stand out. And in an Antique Mall type setting where there are rows and rows of booths all selling vintage something or another you have to find a way to stand out in the crowd. Staging is my answer…
I began unpacking the bins and boxes and placing items around the booth. Working from left to right on each little stage set until it was just right. Then, I would move on to the next vignette of items. All the way around the space until it was 95% complete. This took me until almost 3pm. At which time I began attaching the tags to the items. I am happy I had taken the time to write out most of the tags the night before. Each tag consists of an item#, description, booth # and selling price. Tagging all of the 100+ items in the booth took me until 5pm. I was not finished but I needed safety pins for tagging the pillows. I will finish up on my next visit.
The space still needs texture…woven baskets, wire crates, soft linens, cozy quilts, warm lighting and that one unique item that takes people by surprise. I feel a treasure hunt coming on.
Here are a few pics of my attempt at staging my space…Life’s a stage!
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