Why we deal in antiques…

Because we never actually wanted to keep the items in the first place, we just wanted to protect them.

There isn’t an antique dealer out there who doesn’t cringe when an antique is being abused.  There is very little like the awe on our faces when we see something unique, different, or just wonderfully made.  There is almost a reverence in us when we squat before the item that has caught our eye.

Because our spouses won’t let us keep them…

In the British version of “Cash in the Attic” the poor collector is often accused of being a hoarder.  The host shakes his head a little and looks sadly at the person in question.  Yes we hoard, at least a little, but mostly we just protect, until we can pass it on.  Remember we found these items on dusty shelves, on blankets in yards, wrapped in ancient newspapers, or even in box lots.  We have respect for the items.  O.k. we might be a little like the proverbial dragon with the gold, but we’ll give to the just prince/princess on a quest.  Happily!

Because we LIVE for the hunt…

Just one more garage sale, just one more auction, there will be something awesome around that corner! In another age, we might have been the great tribal hunters.  We’ve dilligently studied our prey.  We’ve spent years searching the different habitats.  We are good at coming back with the goods.

Because we get to do work we love, and others walk away happy for it!

I think this is the most important part.  We love finding the items. We love holding them, learning about them, discovering their history, and protecting them.  It is a matter of honor for us to leave the antiques in better hands than we found them.  Those hands are the many people who are on their own quests.  The ones who know what it is we have in our shops, possibly better than we do.  The customer who has been looking for this item forever, or the one who’s heart was just grabbed by the item.  This is the true joy and the true reason we deal in antiques..to find underloved, undervalued items and place them in the hands of those who will love, cherish and protect them.

Yeah, as my sister put it, we’re foster homes for old stuff.

And we love it.

Inventory Hades

I am antiques and collectibles dealer.  I scour garage sales, auctions, and thrift stores for underloved items and foster the little things until we can find them the proper home.  I also have a new toy store on Amazon.  So I have a varied amount of inventory for four different online stores scatter around my home most of the time!

When my family and I first discovered that this was actually going to be a business and not just a passing fancy, it became apparent we needed to find a way to store the stores!  The first bright idea was to buy clear bins.  Since we could see through them, we should be able to find what we need right? Yeah o.k. that doesn’t work unless you can afford a LOT of clear bins, and then only if you have x-ray vision to see through what’s in front of the item you are actually looking for.

O.k. Paper boxes. They are free from the real job.  They stack nicely…and now my house looks like I am perpetually in the process of moving.   However, they do work for most items, and you can put the name of each store on them so you know where to look for the item by what store sold it.

When one store ends up with more than nine boxes, your shipping department (in my case my husband) starts to complain about having to dig through all nine boxes to find the item we just sold.  Hmm…now what?

Current plan!  Go through and put a code and a number on each box.  The first AntiquiHut Box can be AH1.  Now go through each AntquiHut listing and put the code for the box the item is in on the item listing.  That way when the item sells I should be able to tell the shipping department to look in box AH1.

This is what we are currently trying.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

By the way, welcome to my blog.  I’m hoping to share a little more of how this antiques/toys business works for me..and my family.  Enjoy my mistakes, and hey,  maybe we can all come up with better ways.

All the Best,

DiscussAntiques