 |
| 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!
for talking us up and your purchases. You can visit their blogs by clicking on their linked names.
The big hit with the kiddos was the vintage Rocket Ride! We acquired this fun vintage gem on a road trip through Indiana on our way to Michigan. There was this cool architectural salvage place on the rougher side of Indianapolis that we decided to check out called Doc's Architectural Salvage. We spotted this wonderful ride in a dark corner of the salvage warehouse and about screamed with excitement that it looked so close to our own rocket logo. We certainly were not in the market for a rocket ride, but when we discovered it was in working condition, we knew we had to buy it. After tracking down Doc himself and negotiating a cash deal, it became one of our first big purchases as a business! It needs some TLC on the paint and fiberglass, but the kids don't seem to mind. Although those of us from the older set remember these gems outside many of the local grocery stores, you don't see them as much any more. 
