Selling In An Antiques Mall Booth... Top Hot Selling Items

Just for fun I sat down with the owner and manager of the Orange Tree Antiques Mall in Winter Park Florida where I've had a booth for 9 years and asked the burning question....

 Whats the Hottest Selling items!

Keep in mind this is a list of top selling items in Florida, trends may vary throughout the country and this is not necessarily what is selling in my shabby chic booth, but there is a lot of cross over

I picked the brains of


Sherrie Hershone the owner of Orange Tree Antiques with 30 years of experience in the antiques business
And
Lynn Coporoso the Manager who also has 30 years of experience and owned a successful antiques mall in New Jersey for 16 years


Here's what they came up with In no particular order

Kitchen Collectables

Everything Mom or Grandma had is now collectable;  Red handled tools, canister sets, Pyrex, jadeite, cookie cutters (Big for the holidays), and cast iron skillets.  Also vintage blenders, mix masters, milk shake makers, toasters, can openers etc.  Mid-Century is very hot in kitchen collectables.

Textiles

Women love to buy clean, pressed linens; doilies, runners, tablecloths and napkins, hand embroidered towels, pillow cases, and hankies.  Aprons have almost made a comeback.  Women are wearing them in the kitchen again-back to the 50's.

Furniture

Mid-Century modern is HOT!  In Florida we see many customers moving down from the north and selling their dark mahogany furniture.  They want a lighter look, so they buy wicker, light wood, or go with a "Shabby Chic" look. 

Holiday Items

The biggest holiday collectables are Halloween and Christmas, but they also buy for Valentines Day, Easter, St. Patricks Day, and all of the patriotic holidays.  

Seasonal items

In the spring and summer customers are looking for items to decorate their homes. Gardening decorations including statuary, bird baths, concrete, and iron outdoor furniture.  They also buy vintage garden tools and picnic baskets.

Jewelry

Always a hot seller, it can be costume, gold, or silver. It has become very popular for young people to buy vintage jewelry for their proms or wedding.  Keep in mind that just because a piece of jewelry is not signed does not mean that it is not a good quality.  If you purchase gold or sterling jewelry a stamped mark does not guarantee it's quality, you have to know who you are buying from and their reputation.

Vintage Clothes and accessories

Vintage clothing from the 1950's through the 1980s' is HOT, HOT, HOT!  Our future collectors, those in their 20's through mid 30's, are buying clothes, handbags, shoes, and even sunglasses.

Toys and dolls

Vintage dolls especially French and German with original wigs and clothing are sought by many collectors.  In order to have value, dolls have to be in excellent condition with their original clothes.  Cast iron toys from the 20's and tin toys in good condition, no rust, and with all of  their parts are highly collectable.

Vintage books

With the advent of Nook and Kindle readers, people are buying fewer books for reading pleasure.  However, vintage books are highly collectable.  This includes books on history, religion, decorating, cooking, and etiquette.

Mens Collectables

Shavers, cameras, military badges, ribbons, and fraternal order memorabilia.  Vintage sports equipment, tools, and scientific items are also very collectable.

Musical instruments and vinyl record

Records in their original jackets are very sought after

High end glass and porcelains

European porcelains including, Sevres, Limoges, Herend, Rosental, Lenox, Staffordshire, Royal Worcester, Quimper, Minton, Meissen, Majolica, Longwy, Flow blue, Royal Doulton, and KPM.  High end glass includes Baccarat, American Billiant cut glass, Galle, Tiffany, Lalique, Loetz, Sterben, Pairpoint, Wavecrest, and Webb.   Be aware of reproductions and buy from a reputable dealer.

Antique Asian Items

Many immigrant and tourist Chinese and Japanese are looking for their past history.  Again, be aware of reproductions!

A special thank you to Sherry@Back to Vintage for the use of her photo's 

Join me Monday for  Items that were hot and now they're not

I would love to know the hot sellers in your neck of the woods!

Happy Selling!

Carol

How To Make A Lace Lampshade

 I'm flattered you wanted to know how I made the lace shades on the Faux Italian chandelier.   Thank you for all of your kind comments 

I have to thank you too for your great ideas on what to do with my lace privacy screen.....Oh, I hate to admit it but, blonde girl here, never thought of taking out one or two panels LOL! You guys are geniuses!

OK, making the Lace lampshade

I got the idea to use lace after I saw a shade using this method covered with ribbon.  I don't know where I saw it, if it was yours I would love to link it up....One idea spawns another!

I cut strips from a bolt of lace then with my hot glue gun adhered the lace in a wavy pattern like this

Here's my public service message....Get a "Low Temp" glue gun, they are amazing and your fingers will thank you.  No more burned fingers and spewing bad words....

Now, keep glueing it down in a wave pattern going in a random direction until your shade is covered.  It looks like a hot mess when you start, but when you stand back it looks great.

Here I used burlap, satin ribbon, linen, and a vintage patterned ribbon.  Any width will work.  I always went up and down in a wave pattern, I never twisted the fabric to it's back side or flipped it over but, there is no rules, you could give it a try

I bet this would look good on a handbag or pillow..I know you will come up with a ton of ideas!

I finished the bottom ruffle with fabric from a vintage crinoline

  So there you have it a hot mess of a shade that in the end looks totally shabby and romantic

Happy Creating

Carol

Making A Faux Italian Chandelier With Porcelain Flowers

Have you seen those Italian chandeliers with porcelain flowers?  I thought HUMMMM....I wonder if I could make one?

I always keep my eyes open for nick nacks with BROKEN flowers (I don't want anyone to think I am chipping away at good pieces).  I picked this one up for $1.00, some flowers where chipped, but there was still good flowers left

HERE is the very first post I ever did showing how to chip these flowers off

Now, I took a thrift store light and sprayed it with Heirloom white paint by Rust-Oleum.  Then did a light sanding

I used E-6000 glue to put the roses on, then wrapped painters tape around the rose and let the glue dry for 24 hours

AH!  Success.... it worked!  They are on nice and tight!

I covered the white light shafts with paper I got by copying fabric, the tutorial for copying fabric is HERE.  I used double sided tape to adhere the paper

I couldn't resist hanging some pink crystals.  HERE is my inexpensive source for crystals

Geez, I really had trouble photographing this chandelier, I tried inside, outside, bright sun, cloudy......I gave up!  No awards for photography here!

But, you get the idea!

This could also be done with polymer clay roses

The Tutorial on making clay roses is HERE

I am going to put this in my booth at Orange Tree and I think I will charge $85-$95.  If it doesn't sell right away, that's OK, I think it will be pretty hanging around

Let me know if you are interested in how I made the shades


Happy Creating!

Carol

How To Make A Flower Pin

The flower pins I made for the Fancy Flea were a huge success

I have used this basic flower on, bags, hats, pillows, and brides bouquets, but I had never made them into pins

The full flower tutorial is HERE

I start out by making tons of petals 

Then had fun putting them together.   I added lace, feathers, tulle, and vintage jewels

They look so cute on sun dresses, summer shirts, and hats

I finished them off by hot glueing felt and a pin on the back

I priced the pins at $10 and sold them all in 7 hours

Here they are ready to go to the flea, I pictured them with the flowered bridal and bridesmaids bouquets I made.....OK, who's suffering from flower overload?

Yep, my lace dress form was stripped naked by the end of the Flea

I just made some for my antiques booth, I'll see how they sell since it's a completely different venue than the Fancy Flea

One little flower.....So many uses!

Happy Creating!

Carol

Lace Folding Screen

I'm loving this lace folding screen, now what am I going to do with it?

I didn't get a before picture because I didn't think the "After" would be "Blog worthy", but I thought it turned out so pretty that I wanted to share it with you

It was originally a brown metal folding screen with canvas inserts, I removed the canvas and spray painted it with heirloom white

Then it sat in my garage as I contemplated what fabric I should use for the inserts........Ding Dong.......My neighbor comes to the door.  "I just took these lace curtains down in my bedroom and I was wondering if you would like them".........."I've had them for years every since we moved in the house, I guess that would make them vintage" ....What..I'm one lucky girl!

All I did was put a hem in the bottom, the top was already finished for curtains rods

I made a flower from lace and then pinned it on so it could be easily removed  

Ok, I love it.... it looks great, but now what am I going to do with it?  When I bought the screen it was in 4 pieces and I did not realize how big it was.  It's tooooo big to fit in my booth at Orange Tree and I have no room for it in my little house.  The only thing I can think of is to try Craigslist, I have sold a few things on Craigslist in the past.  My experience with Craigslist is that I have to practically do a "Curb alert" (That's where you put a post on Craigslist when you are putting something on your curb) to get rid of something.  So, short of getting a bigger booth do you have any ideas, whats your experience been with Craigslist?

Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you...I really do!    

Happy Creating!

Carol