Happy February!! Our first main stream "holiday" of the new year! Happy February! Love is in the air, it’s that time when we give thanks to the ones in our lives that we love, those that have changed us and in some ways helped define who we are. It’s Valentines day! Pro Tip here: Make sure you don’t just use this one day a year to show appreciation for your significant other, make everyday valentines day! Never stop letting that special someone know how much they are appreciated.. that my friends is the special secret sauce… the one that guarantees a successful life and a happy one with the one you chose to follow this path with.
OK, you know I had to do my one lecture per blog so now that is out of the way I really want to focus this one on “What it takes to run an antique store”
The Antique Store Life aka The Salvage Life This has become an eye opener two months in to this life here at Salvage Goods! All I can say is the behind the scene stuff is a controlled, hectic event! We LOVE to see things walk out the door… our customers rehoming our goods is such a great experience, the smiles and the true appreciation in the treasures they find within our walls.
We love each and every piece we put in the store.. each piece is researched and documented.. we learn the history, we clean it, give it love and do any repairs that might need to bring it back to a formal glory.
What it takes to put that item on the shelf might be an interesting story for some of you… we are always on the search, sometimes dropping everything in a spur of the moment scramble out the door… we have driven great lengths (even all the way to Iowa, no lie!) to find the right piece to put into the store… We have dumpster dived on the coldest, snowiest days, fingers that stopped moving from cold… we have climbed over mounds and heaps, we have stayed up late, forgoing sleep to win online auctions, we have helped with cleanouts that take days and days of manhours… that is just the tip, it is at times a 24/7 adventure… there are no warehouses or distributors to call to say we need X more widgets this week… there are no wholesalers…
There is another segment that our items come from, and that is YOU! We have the BEST customers and support… and we love you and we love and care for your items… sometimes donated but often times a monetary deal is struck that satisfies both parties… whatever the case we are humbled by your gratitude.
The "OTHER" Side
This leads us to one of our chief complaints.. THRIFT STORES!!! We wrote about this before but worth the mention.. Most, not all but MOST of the chain thrift stores operate under the guise of non-profit but do nothing by way of giving back.. a popular one around here says they give back by hiring.. ok… they need the help, they would have to hire regardless… they get their items for free, pay no taxes as per the non-profit thing and are now starting to charge prices comparable to shops such as ours who does pay for their items, do pay taxes and do actually give back (see our other blogs for upcoming community events planned)
So one more selfless promotion.. if you do have anything vintage you want to give away, we would be happy to accept OR even pay you for it to make it worth your while… We will give your items a spotlight and they go to people that will cherish them for ages to come… share this with anyone you think.. You have our gratitude..
Back to our Regular Programming We had an impromptu visit by a bunch of preschoolers the other day; we got to do a tour and lesson with them and they were so enthralled, even at that age. It really spurred a real conversation of expanding our curriculum and offering it to schools and children care centers, teach them young to have a true appreciation for history, not just the big events but the stuff their great grandmothers and great grandfathers made and took pride in.. what was involved and how they did it with the technology and tools they had at the time. So many ideas working with children, working with the police… to help bring awareness for history, helping where we can, those ideas are constantly being fleshed out… Keep following this blog and us for the excitement to come!