Vintage Market Review: Spring 2021 Pasture Sale

Come see how my spring 2021 vintage market went. While there were a few hiccups in the beginning, it turned out to be a huge success! Thanks to YOU!

To say that the 2021 Vintage Market/Pasture Sale was a success would be an understatement. While I did have to deal with a few of the outdoor “elements,” overall it turned out to be an amazing weekend. With the event fresh in my mind, I want to share a few of my thoughts about how the weekend went: from “set-up” to “tear-down!”

A Rough Start

This vintage market did start out with a few “roller coaster moments” for sure. The most difficult part of the show this year was the “set-up,” mainly because there was rain to contend with. The Pasture Sale is an outdoor event that is local to me. Almost all of the vendors are local and we all must set up for the show on Thursday – with set up ending at 7:00pm. Rain or shine, the show opens at 8:00 am on Friday, so set up has to be completed Thursday, no matter what mother nature decides to do! It had been raining for several days leading up to the sale and I was praying that the weather would clear up. It did …. eventually!

The night before set up, we were getting warnings for heavy rain and storms that were going to be rolling through. The warnings were so severe that the school that my kids attend delayed classes until 10:00 am on Thursday morning (set-up day). Mind you, I have a huge outdoor booth (20 feet by 40 feet) and it usually takes me a good 10-12 hours to set up. So, between the school delay and the rain itself, I was very worried that I wouldn’t get it all done in time.

Luckily, I only live a short drive away from the sale, so my husband was able to get the tents up early in the morning in between the rain bands. I met him there and then he went back home to help the kids with their late school arrival. I hung out there in the field just waiting for the rain to pass. My dad showed up to help out and together we waited the rain out together in his car! Luckily, around 10:00am the clouds moved on and the sun began to shine. I was so excited to check the radar and see that the weather had passed and I was able to get busy!

Mark met us back at the field as the rain was ending and together we unloaded the trailer and boxes. Around 12:00, my husband came home to get the second load with the trailer (I had so much stuff) and then as soon as we unloaded that I got busy putting the booth together! We did have to deal with a few wind gusts, but I was just happy there was no rain!

Having A Plan

I always try to go into the ‘set-up’ day with a plan. I spend several weeks preparing the booth ‘in my mind’ and I try to use that plan to make things run smoothly. I have a ‘map’ (drawn out on notebook paper) for the layout for all the big pieces which helps when we are unloading all of them from the trailer. I also box all of the small items (as best I can) into groupings. I label each box and I have a map of where all the smalls will go as well. This helps me to stay organized and helps to keep things rolling along. Inevitably, things don’t ever go exactly as I plan out in my head but going into the day with a plan sure does help! My main goal is just having everything ‘shop-able’ for the customers who are coming to the vintage market and I try to create a space that will make shopping easy and fun!

Once things were all in their place, my friend Rob came down and added in a few finishing touches. He is a brilliant stylist and together we finished out the booth by making some last minute changes. The very final thing was adding in some live stems and florals to help give my booth a little extra finishing touch. These touches were literally like the icing on the cake! Once we were done with that, it was time to head home, get some rest, and prepare for the first day of shopping!

Let The Shopping Begin

While I love collecting and staging all of the pieces, I really do enjoy the shopping days as well. I like watching the customers shop. It is interesting to me to observe someone carefully choosing a treasure to take home. Often times, a customer will share with me WHY they are taking home a piece and I love hearing all about their WHY! Through these old pieces that I am selling, I have built real relationships and friendships! It is funny – what brings people together! These personal interactions really make the show so much fun for me.

*NOTE: Interestingly, on the shopping days is also when I get to visit with the other vendors as well. I am usually so focused on setting up the day before that I don’t usually get the chance to chat with the other vendors until the show is underway. I love visiting with old vendor friends and meeting new ones. It really is like one big happy family! It is safe to say that the people that I meet (both the customers and the vendors) really make the event worth it.

Constant Twirling

I have found that it is important to fluff my displays throughout the show to help keep the shoppers interested. My friend Rob and I were constantly twirling the main displays around the whole time. As things sold, we brought other things up to the front of the booth to help draw the customers in. Also, as space would open up, we would bring items that were down low up to ‘eye level.’ I feel that those two things helped to boost my sales throughout the weekend. I have to say, it was fun to slowly watch the booth space empty out.

Tearing It All Down

This year, we were able to tear down the entire vintage market booth in under 90 minutes. That is a record for me. I believe this was the possible not only because I had awesome help this year, but because you guys really did buy a lot of stuff and I didn’t have that much left to pack up! I sure am blessed!

Review

I often get asked, “What would you do differently.” The honest answer is … nothing. I usually do try to analyze what was left at the end of the show and I try to determine if those things are worth bringing again. But I ultimately feel like that depends on the crowd that attends and that isn’t anything that I can control. There are however, a few things that I have learned over the years that I have found that have helped me.

• Invest in some good tents – I use two of these connected together.
• Invest in a good trailer.
• Don’t bring too many small items. (I got overwhelmed one year because I had too many little things.)
• Don’t sell really good display pieces. I found it is too hard to replace them.
• Add fresh greens/florals if possible.

*NOTE: After a little thought, I can say without doubt, that my best sellers at this show were my primitive tables and the old watering cans. The items that I felt didn’t sell well this year were the very colorful vintage planters and the glasswear.

Thanks So Much

It is safe to say this was one of the best vintage markets that I have ever had. I am positive that this is only because I have the support of so many people, both near and far. I want to thank everyone who came out to support me and my fellow vendors. I also want to thank those of you who sent me the sweetest messages over the last few days. So many of you said you were praying for good weather and man, those prayers were answered! I am already looking forward to the next sale! I hope to see you all in October!

*If you enjoyed reading this, you may enjoy reading the review of my Fall 2020 vintage market. You can see all of the displays and read all about it here.

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