Monday, September 5, 2011

I Survived My First, and Maybe Last Tag Sale

Sorry if I’ve been a little MIA.  I spent last week trying to finish up projects for the Tag Sale, with mixed results.  After a very busy day Friday I was up ‘til 1:30 a.m. (I guess that’s Saturday) finishing tagging items.

I got up at 6:00, gulped down a couple of cups of coffee and my husband and I packed up the van, drove to Falls Church, and unloaded everything.  Luckily my friend Tracy came to help me with the sale, because with only 4 ½ hours of sleep I was having some cognitive difficulties (and those of you who are saying I can’t blame my cognitive difficulties on lack of sleep, I know what you’re thinking!). 


Since it was a holiday weekend, I was a bit worried about how many people would show up at the sale. Plus there were some ominous clouds gathering overhead.  You’ll notice in the photo I didn’t have a canopy like the others in the sale, this being my first one and all.  I had meant to bring some tarps, but I was too sleepy to remember.  As the clouds got darker I got more worried.  “Gee,” I wondered, “What will I do if it rains?” Then I yawned.  Luckily Tracy doesn’t have cognitive difficulties, and she ran to the nearby hardware store to buy some plastic drop cloths.  Then she slowly explained to me the plan to quickly cover my stuff if we felt a raindrop.  I think she repeated it a couple of times and waved her hand in front of my face to make sure I was awake and paying attention.  Luckily the first raindrop woke me up and we sprang into action, because it started pouring.  I should have taken a photo, but after all that exertion I was tired again.  Thankfully because of Tracy’s quick thinking, my things survived the storm just fine.  The sun came back out, off came the drop cloths, and things picked up a bit. 


I went with a pink and black merchandising theme to tie into the Mr. P's Emporium logo.


The child's tea set shown on the demilune chest was the first item to sell


I sold the nightstand in the foreground and the little chest I featured here



I had a photo of Mr. P out with a blurb about a portion of the proceeds going to
Homeward Trails, and a friend thought it was a memorial -- he's alive and well! 


We even had pink and black polka dot cups for the pink lemonade
we were giving out -- they matched the tag ribbons.

So I made it through my first Tag Sale.  I think I just about broke even after factoring in the cost of the van and supplies, but I learned a lot and Mr. P’s Emporium got some exposure.  I may try it again sometime on a weekend that isn’t a holiday and has a better weather forecast.  In the meantime I’ll just continue selling on Etsy and Craigslist … after I get caught up on my sleep.

Hope you all are having a great Labor Day weekend!

1 comment:

  1. Ha! I think I finally figured out how to post a comment! Glad you were able to do the tag sale and sad I was not able to attend. Next time! Let me know if you need an extra pair of hands! Best of luck.

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