"What Sells and What Doesn't: Antique and Craft Show's in California

It is always so interesting to see what sells in different parts of the country

When Carol from The Polka Dot Closet asked me to contribute to her What Sells and What Doesn't series, I was thrilled to share some of the hot sellers and not-so-hot sellers in my neck of the woods.

I'm Betsy and you can find me blogging about my yard sale finds, repurposing projects, and jewelry creations over at My Salvaged Treasures.  I also have an Etsy shop where I sell my repurposed jewelry and other treasures.  I've been selling at antique shows and craft fairs for about 17-18 years now, and continue to enjoy all of it....except setting up for the street shows in the wee hours of the morning.  I hope you enjoy looking at some of the items that continue to be good sellers for me.

Rusty and chippy metal stuff is hot.  Also anything with numbers, letters, and Frenchy graphics.

Old galvanized buckets and small painted furniture are always good sellers.  I even sold the collapsible wire display shelf that morning.  Lamps are starting to slow down.

Manual typewriters and vintage cameras are still going strong...working or not.  

Tarnished silver plate serving trays, salt & pepper shakers, candle sticks, and trophy cups are hot.  No need to polish anything, the tarnished and mismatched look is what sells the best.  My flattened and stamped silver plate flatware (in the tray on the bottom) is my "bread and butter." 

Repurposed jewelry (made from vintage buttons, typewriter keys, hardware, and
 salvaged costume jewelry) is still going strong.  I only have room for one table at the smaller indoor shows, but at the larger shows it can account for more than half of my sales.

Trash to treasure, or just about anything repurposed is still hot and hopefully will be for a long time.  I made this from the side of a vintage iron crib, drapery hooks, and the back side of some old Bingo cards.  This one sold the first morning I had it on display.

Some things wear out their welcome after two or three shows, and I get tired of looking at
them and hauling them around.  When a simple price reduction doesn't do the trick, I switch to plan B.

This coffee table that I hand painted wasn't generating a lot of interest as a table, so I unscrewed the legs, attached heavy duty hooks on the back and sold it as a wall hanging.  A little tweak here and there can make a huge difference.  Sometimes it's as simple as moving something from one area of my booth to another, or sometimes I'll end up remaking a piece
of jewelry that's been hanging around too long.

Some other things that are still hot for me:  painted picture frames without glass, architectural salvage, mannequins, hardware, keys, large shells and coral, chalkboards, burlap anything, religious items, quilts, lace, small painted furniture, buttons, costume jewelry, and rusty anything.  Painted furniture is selling like crazy, especially in all the latest chalk paint colors. I don't sell large furniture because I don't have space to store it or the ability to haul it to the shows, but other booths are loaded with it and I always see it being carried away.  Large storage lockers are also selling like crazy and getting really expensive.

What's not-so-hot these days:  High end china and glassware, windows (unless they're ornate), brass, large framed art, mirrors, dark unpainted furniture, expensive pottery, and fine jewelry.

I always say that the only thing consistent in this business is inconsistency, but I love it!

Hi...It's me, Carol!  Oh My Gosh Betsy Thank you from all of us, Great, Great, info!!!!  Please visit Betsy's blog she has tons of easy to follow tutorials, repurposing projects, jewelry creations and garage sale finds.  Trust me, Betsy's blog "My Salvaged Treasures" is Fabulous......She never disappoints!!!

Tune in next Thursday for another guest blogger sharing....

Happy Creating!

Carol