Not An Easy Week

This week was not a good one. Sales in my Etsy store dropped off to nothing. Absolutely nothing. For days. I thought I was past these dry spells. The crickets chirping. Apparently not! While I was not wringing my hands and gnashing my teeth in worry, I was walking around miffed. Peeved. Disgruntled.

I shouldn’t let these temporal circumstances affect me so much, but I do. I was planning to go out sourcing today, but decided not to because sales are so slow and I don’t need to buy any more inventory. I don’t. But of course that’s the best part of this business. The sourcing. The rummaging around looking for wonderful things. It’s an adrenaline high. A rush.

Then at the end of this week of discontent, my beloved aunt died. I had last seen her in October when I visited my hometown in New York state. (I live in California and only get back once or twice a year.) In December I sent her a Christmas present…one of the cuddly vintage teddy bears I’d bought that fall. (The one on the left.) I don’t normally do that. I hope it made her smile in those last weeks. I shall greatly miss her.

Death puts everything in perspective. Reminds you what’s important. Stuff isn’t. As much as I like my vintage stuff, it is just stuff. And my store is just a way to make a little money. So this morning when I woke up I discovered that my discontent had all but evaporated. I guess my mind decided not to waste any more energy stressing about it. The truth is sales will pick up again. They always do. And I’ll go out sourcing again soon because that’s what I do. All will be fine.

Now if you’ve managed to read this far you’re probably thinking, “Enough talk! Let’s see some vintage stuff.”

Okay, first up is a pair of handsome Art Deco brass candlesticks. These were part of my personal collection and I decided it was time to let them go as they didn’t fit in with my others. Each weighs almost four pounds! When I look at them I think, “Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick!”

These six tiny vintage sterling silver charms were on a bracelet I’d bought last year and finally got around to dismantling. They are nicely detailed and three were made in Palestine.

I collect black and white snapshots (1920s-1950s) and from time to time I cull them. A few days ago I pulled together this fun lot of WWII-era military photos. So many handsome, young men in uniform.

I bought this lovely table runner/dresser scarf with Art-Nouveau style petit point at a yard sale last June and finally got it listed! It has a few small, light stains which someone more skilled may be able to remove.

I wonder how long it took someone to finish this piece with all these tiny stitches?!

I also recently listed this vintage pendant of Baltic butterscotch amber. I am embarrassed to admit this is part of an amber lot I bought from a nun’s estate over two years ago! And I still have more pieces from that lot. The owner last journeyed to Poland in the 1980s.

I’ll close for now. Wishing you happy hunting (of course) but also for peace in the hard seasons of life.

Karen