Whilst selling on-line is still creative and fun, there are elements that you miss out on from selling in person. So for me, booking a stall at a Vintage Fair fills me with absolute excitement!
Packing your car up to the brim the night before (unless your lucky enough to have a van) and then setting off at the crack of dawn, with a certain fast food breakfast and a fully charged Sat Nav, is where the fun begins.
The rush of the unloading, and arranging your stall is exhilarating as the bustle of creativity fills the room, and having a nosey peek around the room confirms or denies that your stall fits in.
Just before the public enter, as little twinges take turns in your tummy, there's just time for a quick cup of 'flask' tea and a stand back from the table for last minutes tweaks and a nod of approval.
Photo's of LoLoVintage at the latest Vintage Fair attendance; Loughborough Town Hall, in Leicestershire, organised by The Vintage Fair (click here for facebook page)
Its the first time you've sat down all morning, giving you a chance to give a few smiles/ have a quick natter with the sellers around you - 'is it your first stall?', 'shall we exchange cards?'. Your trying not to glance at how many people are walking through the door but you can't help it!
This leads you to the first person who stops at your stall for a look, you try to catch their eye in a friendly but non-pushy way and as they walk on to the next stall you can't help but feel a slight niggle of disappointment and self doubt; 'did I price too high?', 'Maybe no-one will like my stuff.'
But it's all worth it for that first sale - there's nothing like it; you can now unleash the big grin that was lingering as the sale looked promising, standing to take the tea set, bunting, or photo frame from the lovely buyer, wrapping it in tissue paper, and slipping it into a brown paper bag with a business postcard stapled to the side. Your rummaging in your nan's good luck tin for their change and finally trying to show your gratitude without jumping up and down squealing like a little girl at a JLS concert. And even though it's only one sale of approximately £8, you can finally relax and enjoy the day as this lovely person has confirmed that your on the right track, and that there's still 3 hours and 55 minutes until the last 'fair goer' walks out the door.
And so the journey of the day brings a lot more to offer;
* Crazy busy times and quite lulls
* Times to take it in turns to spend some of your earnings
* A few minutes to get chatting with the stall next door to exchange tips and stories so that you leave the day with 100 new ideas to think about
* A few more flasks of tea and a cupcake from the fair's tea room
*And yes we've all done it - every now and then entering the tin to 'see how much we've taken so far'.
At 5pm, when the late stragglers are making their way out and your stall is hopefully a lot more sparse than at 1pm, it's time to pack your car up again and head home with your big grin, a few buys to arrange when you get home, and your money tin feeling heavier than this morning (fingers crossed)
Not a lot beats it for me :)
Photography by Susan Guy Photography (click here for more)
