Monday, March 12, 2012

Spring Cleaning Modern Style!

Heavenly Days Set
Sputnik Needing TLC

It's the time of year after months of cooler weather that has kept us inside more, that mid-westerners look around their crowded spaces and say, "This s#@! has got to go!" For those of you who love to see the inspiration in a project, only to get too overwhelmed by the multitude of projects you have taken on, you will take joy in knowing that although we want you to think we are a perfect company that has perfect organization, we too often take on too much.

So what do people do in the mid-west when it's time to clean out and get inspired? Have a Yard Sale! (Or in our case, have a Parking Lot sale!) Yes, our warehouse space was busting at the seams with well intended projects to do, and just not enough time or space to do all of them. So we rolled up our sleeves this week, uncovered the project piles, and picked our best ones to keep, and then priced and organized the rest for a HUGE Saturday Sale in our warehouse parking lot.

Great Pole Lamp Needing New Plug
Needless to say, we were amazed at how many things we had that we were ready to let someone else take on and call their own projects! From Sputnik and pole lamps, to Lane side tables, dish sets, and even a sectional sofa, we had a little bit of everything in the modern vintage category to give our customers a fun shopping experience. 

We were determined to keep it all as simple as possible, and to not get too caught up in perfection. This of course is the beauty of a yard sale. No one really is paying attention to your inept merchandising. In fact, I was barked at by my business partner as we were setting up at 0-dark hours in the morning on Saturday to stop my neurotic "fluffing" of items and to just get it all out before the eager yard sale early birds were upon us!
Milo Baumann Style Chair

And they came! At 6:30am as the birds chirped and the sun rose over the South City skyline, they came ready to be first at the sale, and to get the best of our cast off treasures. Like the island of mis-fit toys, our mis-fit modern treasures were scooped up by eager buyers from all over the STL area hunting for great deals and projects they could call their own. The Yard Sale Weather Gods shined upon us with great spring weather and sunshine, making the day seem all the more promising. 

As we watched the eager faces of our customers as they found things which inspired them, and were able to share some of our nicer treasures in our finished warehouse space, we had more and more fun. Meeting other people who get as geeked as we do about the hunt for cool vintage modern finds, and hearing their stories of conquests for their vintage modern treasure hunts so fat that day, made all of the work seem more like a party of friends. We met some of our neighbors who always wondered what we did at our warehouse, as well as countless other people who love searching for their own perfect vintage modern finds too. From re-sellers to bloggers to everyday bargain hunters, we had them all. Everyone seemed to be in a buzz of fun. If it were happy hour time, the only thing missing would be cocktails and appetizers! (Hummm…now that would be a fun sale!)
Pr Of DM Lamps Needing TLC

All in all, it was a great day and we were able to say goodbye to many things that others can now enjoy for themselves, as we start with a freshened attitude and cleaner, more uncluttered space to take on the projects we decided to keep.

So next time your work space seems a bit too much to think straight and you want to make a few extra dollars getting organized again, have a Yard Sale!

Old School Lawn Chairs!


Thank you to all of our customers who were patient with us as we calculated their sales and tried to function on little sleep that day. You were all great fun!

Special Thanks also Chris from Mr. Modtomic and Nick from Mid-Century Midwest
for talking us up and your purchases. You can visit their blogs by clicking on their linked names.

To visit our complete web site store visit us at http://www.rocketcentuy.com

2 comments:

  1. Thanks to Mr. Mod, I and now a follower of yours...funny how that happens! I just wish I lived a bit closer as Tampa is a bit of a haul to just stop by. I hope I'm paying attention if and when you guys do this again as I may have to plan a road trip aroung the date. Yes, we do love productive road trips! You have some really nice stuff and I'm a rehab junky!!

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    1. Thank you so much for checking in with us. Yes, Mr. Modtomic is a lot of fun and it's great to hear about his adventures in Vintage Mod treasure hunting. As dealers we love to meet other collectors who get that the hunt is fun, but it is also work. You have to love the stuff to get up at 0-Dark Hours to be first in line at some of these sales, not to mention long drawn out days at auctions. Part of the fun is the camaraderie and story swapping.
      Let us know the next time you're in the area. We're open by appointment in the warehouse even though the web store is always open. :) Have a great day!

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