After weeks of neglect, we finally made it down to our antique spaces in Los Alamos on Saturday. The place actually looked really good, so that was nice. I think it was good that we let them thin out a bit and they didn’t seem overcrowded like they usually do. We just added a few new items, straightened up, and took a few things home with us.

We’ve officially decided to go back to just one space starting next month. It was fun having two, but we just weren’t making enough of a profit to justify the extra work (and merchandise) it took to maintain both. Basically, once space rent and commission were deducted, we were making the same amount that we had been making with just one space. We paid the first and last month’s rent when we signed up, so we’re paid up through the end of July. Phillip and I both asked for July 31st off from work to move stuff out and rearrange the remaining space.

 We also decided to try renting a shelf space at another antique store in the village of Arroyo Grande starting at the beginning of June. We’re renting this shelf for $65 a month:

There wasn’t much on it when I took this picture, but we’ve since filled it out quite a bit. Unfortunately, we didn’t sell a single thing all month! It’s not a ton of money to lose, but it still sucks not to sell anything. I think I’m going to give it about three months to figure out if we want to keep going with this one.

Back to our Los Alamos spaces:

Phillip’s dad was nice enough to make us these display cabinets a few weeks ago. Aren’t they awesome?

I put a little shelf for shoes and handbags next to the garment rack.

I tried out a little section with some of my handmade stuff left over from the craft fair. (So far I’ve sold one bow).

Phillip’s dad also bought us this little clear locking display case. It’s perfect for all of the jewelry we recently acquired.

 I’m going to miss the pegboard in the new space- it makes hanging pictures so much easier!

To try to boost sales a bit and hopefully clear the spaces out a little before our move, we decided to hold a 20% off everything sale. I hope it works!

 Here’s a view of the first space as it is currently. It’s going to be a challenge to consolidate back into one!

Overall, it’s been kind of a disappointing couple of months for our antique ventures and I’m hoping it’s just a rough patch that we can wait out. Phillip has been focusing much more on his Ebay auctions to try and make up for it, and we both agreed to a thrifting hiatus while we let some stock sell. We’re going to have to pack up a ton of stuff when we move out of the second space! I’m hoping to get some of the vintage clothes I have up on Etsy soon (once I have a little more free time!).

For those of you who sell vintage, how are your sales going this summer?