Tagged: antiques
My New Antique Mall
For the past two weeks I have been packing, schlepping, unpacking and arranging merchandise at the New Fredericksburg Antique Mall. The old Fredericksburg Antique Mall and the Antique Gallery finally have merged together at one location. We are now in the old Ben Franklin building where River Run Antiques was located. But this mall is so much different from River Run. My cousin, who owns the mall, has put in super new lighting, made beautiful spaces for all the dealers and had the floors cleaned up and polished. It is now so light and bright!
Here is the new sign on the front.
Here are some pictures of Moss Cottage Vintage’s new booth!
My showcase is still waiting for electricity. It will be nice and light when I get it hooked up!
Mantiques, sewing supplies and some cool odds and ends.
Moss Cottage Vintage is only one of many shops in the Fredericksburg Antique Mall. The entire main floor and downstairs are filled with booths. This is one antique mall you do not want to miss if you are visiting old town Fredericksburg, Virginia. Our new address is 925 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. The mall will be open every day 10-5 and Sundays 12-5. And if you are familiar with the old River Run mall, come and see the wonderful transformation!!!
End Of An Era
Moss Cottage Vintage has just gone through a major change. Due to the sluggish economy these last years, I have felt that my profit margin at the Fredericksburg Antique Mall isn’t were it should be. I am doing well on Etsy, but that is because my overhead is so low.
I like having a space in the mall because I like to “play” at displaying my items. But the space I was in was just too big and too expensive to make it worth my while.
So, out with the old…
And in with the new!
I love my new space! It’s surprising how much stuff I was able to fit in there and my sales have already increased!!! If you come to the Fredericksburg Antique Mall, my booth is the third one on the left on the ground floor, right before you go into the back section. Send me a message if you are coming and I’ll try to meet you there.
Now onto some arts and crafts. Here are two cards I made recently. One for my nieces 16th birthday (she loves anything Tudor) and one for a gentlemen who loves fishing.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Moving the shop was quite a big ordeal and I’m also busy with some household renovation projects. I hope I’ll have a chance to “art” again soon.
A Little Up-cycled Project
I purchased this ugly metal match box holder a couple of weeks ago because I thought the shape was really nice. The flower cart picture on the front, not so much.
The bottom needed help too!
I decoupaged some scrapbook paper on the front and the bottom.
I attached an old piece of broken jewelry on the front to add some bling. Now it is worthy to sit on a desk and hold pens, pencils and “old lady eyes”.
It can also hang on a wall. There are many things (including a match box) that you can corral in this up-cycled holder!
It was a quick and easy re-do that saved this vintage piece from going to the junk yard! It is now available at Moss Cottage Vintage in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Ready For The Vintage Home Market
Here’s a quickie post because I am busy with The Vintage Home Market this weekend. I just wanted to show you how great the booth turned out. A great big thank you goes out to my sweet hubby Martin for helping me get it all there and arranged. So just sit back and enjoy the photos.
If you are in the Central Virginia area, please come to the show and see us. The show information is at the bottom of this post. There are lots of dealers with really cute vintage items to see and buy!
I really hope I get to see some of my dear readers at the Market!
Time For A Change
It has been 17 years since I opened Mossy Cottage. I decided to specialize in vintage linens and costume jewelry with other items to “fill in”. I have been known as the “linen lady” in Fredericksburg for years. As I watched my sales decline over the last couple years I realized that the younger women today do not care about setting a nice table with linens. Most don’t even know how to cook a meal without using prepared foods or eat out for most of their meals. And although I am a staunch user of vintage linens I decided to make a change at Mossy Cottage.
I had a huge sale on the linens and sold most of them off. Then I refilled the booth with vintage and retro kitchenware, office supplies and industrial items, sewing and crafting items, clothing accessories and flower and garden items. Happily my sales have started to improve and I even get men into my booth now!
Here are a couple pictures of the new and improved Mossy Cottage!
DIY wedding and party items.
Vintage office supplies and industrial items.
Retro kitchenware and kitsch.
Vintage sewing and crafting items.
Vintage purses, gloves and some small linens.
Kitschy planters and garden items.
I’m excited about this change after 17 years and really enjoy my new merchandise (and hunting for it)! But one thing that will not change is my own love of vintage linens!
When One Door Closes…
We’ve all heard the saying, “When one door closes, another opens.” This has been so true for my shop Mossy Cottage.
As business expanded at my William Street location I was able to get a second smaller space upstairs. I called this space Mossy Cottage Too and it had more retro and industrial merchandise. For the last couple years, however, sales upstairs have not been so great, mostly because only about 1/4 of the people who come into the mall actually go upstairs.
To boost sales I started an Etsy shop several years ago but really didn’t put much effort into it. Earlier this year I decided to work harder at my Etsy shop and run it like the real business it is. Well, once I started to put some time and effort into it, my Etsy shop finally took off. I love that I can list items and run the shop in my pajamas from home.
That being said, I decided to give up my Mossy Cottage Too space upstairs at the mall, and concentrate on my larger downstairs space and my Etsy shop.
Here are some blurry quick pictures of my new business plan. Please notice that if I had one more item to squeeze into my booth downstairs I literally would have needed a shoe horn!
Out with the old.
The end of an era. Or at least a couple of years!
Pretty hand-made dress from the 1950’s.
Showcase full of yumminess!
Pretty linens.
Fun retro merchandise.
Baby and sewing items.
Shabby Chic china and glass jars.
More glassware and purses.
Hanging linens and wicker items.
Lace, lace and more lace!
So there is a quick tour of Mossy Cottage as it is now. I love having the retro mixed with the shabby chic mixed with the industrial. It all can coexist nicely.
I feel a sense of peace having just one booth again. Having an active Etsy shop helps with the sales, but doesn’t require another rent nor schlepping anything upstairs (which gives my knees a sense of peace)! If you would like to visit my Etsy shop here is the link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MossyCottage
Happy Birthday to Me!
We all celebrate birthdays in our own way with our own little traditions. I have never been one to love having parties in my honor, and NEVER surprise parties. It’s just not my thing. Well yesterday was my birthday and I had a wonderful day, in my own way.
After I dropped Adam off at school I went to my parents house for a cup of coffee. Oh wait, it was two cups of coffee. Wee! That fired me up to go….
to work!!! I had some merchandise to put in my booths so I worked for about 1 1/2 hours. Whew! I love my job and I love being the captain of my own ship even more. My reward for working so hard (haha) was a trip to…..
Goodwill. I actually had some donations to drop off but it is against my nature to be this close without actually going in, right? So I spend some time leisurely browsing and found these treasures.
A bright pink tinsel Christmas tree, a hand painted tole trashcan and a vintage metal drinking glasses carrier. If any of you know me well enough, nothing in this group would surprise you. So after purchasing these goodies I treated myself to a trip to….
Michaels. I mean what’s a birthday without stopping at a craft store? So I spent a bunch of time looking at all the crafty goodness and ended up with these…..
I know, I showed tremendous restraint but these are two things I’ve really wanted for a while. The colored pencils are actually watercolor pencils and can be used wet or dry. As the name says, they turn into water colors when you get the paper wet. The little canvases are 3″ x 3″ and are just waiting to get the mixed media treatment. You don’t even know how happy this little purchase makes me! But by now I was getting a little peckish so I went to…
Wegmans. They have an amazing prepared food section but I avoided that and got two of my favorites.
A spicy Asiago cheese flat-bread and some Greek olive and feta salad from the olive bar. You would be hard pressed to find a better $2.73 meal anywhere else! And if the food wasn’t good enough, I chose a better location than Wegmans food court to eat it in. I decided on a beautiful Spring day I needed to be by the….
Rappahannock River. It was truly lovely sitting on my blanket watching the scenery and enjoying my delicious lunch. Alas, I had to move on to one last destination before it would be time to pick Adam up from school. I know this will get a moan out of most of you, however, I enjoy going to……
the gym. I went and heaved rocks around for an hour and then had to go pick Adam up from school. I forgot to take pictures of the evening, but my parents came to Bowling Green and took us all out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. We had a wonderful time and capped off the evening with big slices of cake (yes, of course it was chocolate) and tea. So you see, I had a wonderful birthday spent my way!!!
P.S. I want to thank every one of you who took the time to wish me a happy birthday. Because my friends and family are really what made the day so great!!!
Treasure Hunting
Well this week really flew by. Why, I don’t know. But here it is Saturday evening and I don’t have any arts or crafts to show you. So, instead I will show you some treasures I hunted today. Mossy Cottage has been getting a little thin on inventory so I started to remedy that today. The weather was excellent for treasure hunting, but I did have to hold a hot cup of chai tea early this morning or my hands would have frozen off. There were many treasures to be had, and all the people I dealt with were treasures themselves. I love talking and joking with people I buy from! Well enough chit chat, let’s get on with the goodies!
Here we have a white wicker child’s hamper. It has a cute quilted plastic lid. There is a white wicker trash can with an applique pillow case, a pink sewing box, some pink VA beach salt and pepper shakers and a Golden Book about kittens (go figure).
Look at these awesome shakers from the 1950’s. The picture is too bright for you to see the wonderful pink plastic under all that glitter! And the one on the right says, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
And here are some of the graphics I randomly opened to in the Golden Book. So cute!!! (I wish Holly would sleep in her own bed)
Here are some really nice old children’s books. The illustrations in them are fantastic! I know these are antiques because they were even before my time!!!!
Next we have a hand painted tray from the 1950’s. There are also three nice old mirror plateaus with metal roses bordering each. Unfortunately I didn’t clean them before I photographed them, but they really did clean up nicely.
Here is a group of what I consider “mantiques” The shoe form is hollowed out and will make a great business card holder. The green metal tin will get decorated somehow. The black case in the red tool holder is a Milton Bradley game called “Pass the Pig”. It has two little plastic pigs, a score pad and a little pencil in the case. It is from 1974 and there are no instructions. I’ll have to google how to play the game. The faucet handles are pretty cool too. I’ve seen people make statement jewelry out of them.
This is actually two white 1950’s dresses with tulle. Obviously the one in the back is hidden.
There are a few other things I got but some are already in the laundry and others just didn’t fit into a grouping. All in all I am very satisfied with today’s treasures, both the things I bought and the people I met. God blessed me mightily today!
Behind the Scenes
People love to attend flea markets, antiques shows, craft shows, art shows, etc.. But what many people miss as attendees of these shows only, is the glamour of what goes on behind the scenes. I am posting this quickie little blog to show you the glamorous day I had today setting up for this weekends Fredericksburg Big Flea. Before anything can be set up, it must be schlepped into the hall.
Here is Martin working so hard bringing me my goodies. Thank you sweetie!
Oooh, that looks like a lot of stuff!
First the “bones” need to be put in place.
And there’s Donna from Snow Creek Farm. Looking good girl!
The linens are hung and put in order.
Things are starting to come together.
Some cutsie stuff.
Some girly stuff.
An awesome hat!
Pretty glasses on a shiny tray.
And some retro fun!!! I’m sorry these pictures are so awful but my dad just gave me his old camera, which is still way better than mine, and I am not used to it yet.
As you can see though, it is pretty “rough” behind the scenes. Oh and did I mention cold? You cannot see from these pictures, however, all the huge loading doors on both sides of the hall were wide open, so we basically worked for 4 hours today in the freezing cold.
All that I had to do today was worth it so I can present a wonderful booth to my family, friends and friends to be. I hope to see you here this weekend!!!
glitteronmyface 
