Best Customers in the World!!

This past weekend was the Winnie Trade Days show and what a good show it was!  Although we didn't make as much money as we did last month we did ok-- but the real joy came in meeting some of the greatest customers in the world!!

I had the great pleasure of meeting many new customers as well as seeing some long-time returning ones. What fun it was to visiting with people, make new friends and 'share' the love of God with so many!!  I felt truly blessed to meet each and every one that came into my shop.

There was the lovely mom-in-law and daughter-in-law who came in with the cutest of babies (don't worry Brayden, grandma still loves you the best!).   The young ladies husband was in the military and had been deployed.  She was part of a military group that was raising money for the troops by creating a calendar of military wives dressed in vintage clothing---which just happens to be one of my specialties.  We talked and shared thoughts about vintage clothing, she checked out all the different vintage styles I had and even purchased some.  I gave her my contact info and hope we will stay in touch with each other.

Then there was the young girl (17 yrs old) who came in with her mom to look for and buy vintage clothing, not for any party or event but just because she LOVES vintage clothing!!  It just thrills my heart to see young people enjoying great things from the past.  And her mom was the best--she bought her daughter a complete outfit, dress and matching hat.  This young lady is a definite individual, one who knows who she is and not likely to fall into the 'status quo'!

And remember my little buddy Zack, the one who won the American Pickers youth contest, a $10,000 scholarship and a trip to the Smithsonian?  Well, my little buddy ain't so little anymore!!  I saw him walking down the hall and almost didn't recognize him!!  He's grown a foot and it now taller than me and has 'leaned-down' and lost his baby fat.  And even though he's a young teenager, he stopped to visit and we had a good hugging session!!  That kid definitely has a place in my heart!!

Well, that's pretty much how our weekend went.  We only had one minor issue that was our 'fly in the ointment'.  I was cleaning off one of our glass shelf units when one of the shelves collapsed and all the glassware on that shelf broke.  But I count my blessings cause I could have been hurt/cut my the flying glass however, I came away without a scratch!  Thank you Lord for your protecting hand!

So, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy, unfortunately none of our customers--it was just too busy to stop to take pictures.

My 'little' buddy Zack in a 'before' picture---he's NOT this little now!!

The top shelf is the one that collasped--pretty much everything on it broke

And of course, the most beautiful baby in the world, my Brayden!

I had to include this pic of Brayden in NOT one of his finer moments--that's not chocolate he's covered in--ughhh!

Here is he all cleaned up and happy again

He's full of McNuggets, french fries and a smoothie--not his usual diet but ok once in a while

And that's it for now, thanks for stopping by and taking a peepie-poo (sorry, didn't mean to mention 'poo' again!).  God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Winnie Trade Days this weekend!!

This weekend brings another Winnie Trade Days and I have high hopes for this show!  Last months show was the best one we've ever had and I'm hoping this one will be equally good or even better!!  We have added lots of good stuff I found at an estate sale as well as the used clothing I mentioned in a previous post.  We enlarged my son's area since his sales have more than doubled (he just grins from ear to ear when I tell anyone this!) and we even redesigned the linen section.

We are frantically trying to get everything we can priced and ready to go for this show--please pray that we have the strength and endurance to make it work!!!

I of course included a picture of my wonderful grandson, Brayden, who is now 18 months old!!  He is such a blessing to me.

I have been posting lots of good, vintage items in my etsy shop so please be sure to go to my link and check it out.  I am also still working on my 'secret' project that I really hope to get up and running before Christmas---we'll see, but it's very slow going right now!

Well, that's it for now, I'll update you on how the show goes---again, please pray we do well, but mainly that we are able to be a blessing to someone this weekend!!

God Bless All and Any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Move it here, move that there!!

The title of this post pretty much describes my weekend!!  Had a great day Saturday shopping 2-different estate sales (I'll save that story for another post) and then working at my favorite resale shop where I volunteer when I can.  The day ended with a wonderful sermon by my pastor and a good nights rest, well deserved.

And then came Sunday.....I went to Winnie Sunday morning and didn't get home till late that afternoon.  My day was spent 'moving it here and moving that there'!!  I have decided to start selling used clothing, not vintage but great clothing I buy in bulk and resell for a very minimal price.  I still want to keep my focus on the retro/vintage items that I love so much, but this is a new adventure, one I've undertaken before but online.  I use to sell gently used clothing on ebay a few years back and did very well.  But, as with any business, there were issues that arose and so I decided to stop selling clothing.  The problem stemmed around people who weren't, shall we say, very honest or honorable, and who would buy an item, use it and then try to return it or say it had arrived in poor condition.  That's an ongoing problem with internet sales were the customer can't see what they are purchasing - but I am an honest seller and fully describe in great detail what the buyer would be getting.  None the less, those days are 'water under the bridge' and selling clothing in my shop is a different matter!

So I worked and worked my 'patootie' off and almost got the shop in shape.  My son Jonathan and I will be going there on Friday (took a day off work) and finishing it up.

Here are a few picture of the changes in progress---I'll be sure to post more pic's when it's done!!

As you can tell from the pictures, there is still LOTS to be done, but with Jonathan's help on Friday, we should be able to complete it this weekend.   And then, the show is on the following weekend, August 6th -8th.  Be sure to come check it out in person if you can!!!

God Bless All and Any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

A Change of Heart!!

You know, there's nothing like changing your mind......over and over again!!   While it's true that we made the decision to close our Winnie shop (and this is still in the making), we've had a slight change of heart and have decided to stay at least until the end of the year.   Several things have played in helping us make this decision:  firstly, the past show was AWESOME!!!  We were selling just about everything that was nailed down.....seriously!!  We sold things we've had for months and things we just brought in.  People were buying furniture, clothing, glassware and a little bit of everything!  It was soooooooo exciting however, I know not to base such an important decision such as closing the shop, on one good show----we've had many, many months of bad shows or not so good ones.  So, keeping the shop open on a permanent basis is still not likely.

Secondly, a good vendor friend gave me some good advise about staying through the holiday months, the months that are usually the best ones for good sales.  Made sense to me, therefore "Remade Life Emporium" will stay open at least until the end of the year.  Past that.....well, we'll see.

Part of the difficulty in closing my shop is the thought of leaving all our great customers!  There are so many customers who have become  like family to us.  We enjoy seeing them each month and sharing our lifes with them and theirs with us.  Here are a few pictures of some of the great people we have been honored to meet through our shop:

My special buddies Alex (in the back) Zach and me!!!

A great family who came to visit and bought a lamp

A sweet college girl and her equally sweet mom!!

What a cute young couple holding my shop mascot, Tulip

This couple was such fun to talk to...AND they bought the red chair!!

Well that's it for now.  We'll be at Winnie through December, pray we do well and make the right decision after that!!  We'll let you know as soon as we know!!

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Vintage Hats are Cool!!

I have a confession to make---I looooooovvvveeee vintage hats!!  No really, I have this fetish for just about anything vintage/retro, but I LOVE vintage hats!!  I look for them everywhere I go---garage sales, estate sales, resale shops--anywhere I might be able to find them.  And because of that, I've attained quite a collection.  I find it very hard to 'let go' of many of these hats, some are just so beautiful.  I find myself wondering about the woman who wore it.  Did she only wear it for 'special' occasions or was it a regular part of her attire?  Was it a church hat or more a party hat?  Was it worn with a party dress or to a funeral?  How did she feel when she wore her hat--did it make her feel pretty, more confident?  Silly questions, maybe, but hats are such a personal choice and are a little 'window' into what the wearers life was like.

I managed to acquire some wonderful ladies accessories recently and thought I would share the beauty of a time gone by when hats were not only an addition to your wardrobe but a statement of  life!

These are just a few of the many wonderful hats I've been blessed to find.  Some are very elegant, some are dressy and some, like the 'fruit' hat, are just for fun!  All these will be posted soon in my etsy shop--so if you're interested in a great accessory for your new outfit then drop on by and try one on!!  And don't worry......I've got plenty more!!!

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life
www.lovethatvintagestyle.etsy.com
www.aremadelife.etsy.com

Winnie Trade Show--Drawing to a close for us!

This coming weekend is the Winnie Trade show, one of the last ones for us.  We've made the decision to make the October show our last.  While this was a hard decision in the beginning, I know that it's the right one.  It is my firm belief that there are many blessings to come in our future and I am looking forward to see were God will lead us in this adventure we call 'life'!  

We have been working hard on pricing items for our last days of sales (see my previous post) and hope to get as much there as possible.  If you get a chance to come to the show it's this Friday, Sat. and Sunday--be sure to come by and check us out!!

In the meantime, here are a few new pictures of my wonderful grandson, Brayden, eating popcorn!!  He's just too cute for words!!! (can you tell I'm his g-maw!?!?)

                                 He likes to double-fist it when he eats popcorn--you get more that way!

                   It's hard to look cool when you're stuffing as much popcorn in your mouth as you can!!

Brayden's new look--curly hair!!  The longer it gets, the curlier it is!!!


Well, that's it for now but I'll be updating on a more regular basis.  Lots to do in the coming months so please pray for us to stay strong and to keep listening for God's leading!!

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

NOT a messy house-------really!!!!

Have you ever got into one of those moods where all you want is a clean house?  You know, you want everything in its place, no extra 'treasures in boxes' lining your hallway, everything neat and tidy?  Well, I'm here to tell you I'M IN THAT MOOD!!!!

Having a resale business can, uhmmmmm, overwhelm your otherwise normal life.  You begin by finding a few really nice items for your shop then, before you know it, those items have multiplied and are now in every spare spot in your home---at least, that's what has happened to me!!

I love going to garage sales, estate sales, resale shops, etc.---it's just so much fun looking for that elusive 'big' find, you know, the one that's going to make you rich and famous or at least make you smile.  But, as I began to look around at all my resale treasures, I realized that I could no longer live with them overtaking my life.  And so, the MOOD came over me and I began a new adventure, one that promises to give me a clean start (pardon the pun!) and a sparkly home.

I started by cleaning out all the closets that house my wonderful finds---and there are a lot of closets in my house that fit that description!  I never realized how much you can stuff into such small spaces.  I found tote after tote of items I forgot I even had!  I had four piles going--pile #1 was for items going to my shop (yes, I still plan on closing down my Winnie shop but NOT until most of this stuff is gone!), pile #2 was for donating to a local resale shop/ministry,  pile #3 was items that were just 'not so wonderful' and were being trashed and pile #4 was for items I will be placing either on ebay or in my etsy shop - www.lovethatvintagestyle.etsy.com.

It's slow going but I've made some real progress.  I've taken several loads to the resale shop and numerous bags to the trash.  The pictures I'm posting here are the rest of the stuff for the shop and internet.

Please, don't judge me I am not a hoarder, just someone trying to supplement their income and also make a difference by recycling.

So, I take my heart in my hand and share these pictures of the fruits of my labor--piles and piles of cool vintage clothing, nifty kitchen items, lots and lots of baby clothes (my grandson Brayden is growing soooo fast) and just about anything you can think of---and it will all be leaving my house soon!!

                                 This pile is lots and lots of linens and vintage wedding dresses

                                                               same pile as above

                     This is the largest pile full of clothing, vintage quilts, more vintage wedding dresses
                  and tons of baby clothes from Brayden--I think there's a sofa under there somewhere!

                     This smaller pile is lots of great vintage ladies dresses, coats and purses


As you can see, I've been busy.  I will be so happy to get my house back in order and hopefully make a little (or a lot) of money as well.

Next project:  my garage and warehouse unit----I think I'm going to need help, anyone interested!!  ;)

God Bless all and any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life