My Instagram Sale Tonight!

You might have surmised that there has been quite a bit of heel-dragging when it's come to re-opening the Etsy shop I run with my Mom and Grandma.  We enjoyed most parts of running a vintage shop the last time around - especially the shopping!!  Listing items is a little less fun, making money a little more fun, connecting with follow collectors is the most fun, and miscalculating shipping and actually loosing money is probably the least fun - oh wait, that's tied with trying to track down a parcel stolen in Italy (I found it!)...
 
Moving the Etsy shop inventory from my Mom's basement to my guesthouse was a fabulous idea but a daunting task.  Happily, I can finally say that we did it!!  We unpacked EVERYTHING - even the 10 additional boxes I found in the basement after we'd (prematurely, it seems) celebrated the completion of the task.  I still have plans to gussy up the guesthouse, build a pretty desk, and do more to make it a functional space, but at least the formerly empty shelves are stocked (actually, packed!!), and we're ready to go.  We're making use of the long weekend to officially re-open the shop with some listings on Etsy, but we thought an Instagram sale would help light a fire under our bums.

Instagram is like the wild wild west of vintage selling.  Flash sales, no listing fees, and a first-come-first-served policy.  I have bought a couple of things - Pyrex, of course - on Instagram and thought it might be fun to host a sale.  In the future, I'd like to do theme sales: like just vintage linens, or bakelite, maybe mid-century pottery, or Pyrex and other vintage bake ware - maybe even a Finnish sale (I have a lot of Iiitala and Arabia stockpiled).  This first sale is a sampling, hinged on a timely theme: Holiday Entertaining.  On the eve of the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, it seemed fitting!

HOW IT WORKS:

The sale starts 7pm tonight on Instagram - just take a peek at my feed (you can click here).  Listings will pop up starting at 7pm (I think it might last a couple of hours) and the first person to leave their PayPal email address + zip code or postal code in the comments wins!  After I have every item that's earmarked for the sale listed, I'll answer questions and provide shipping quotes - but be forewarned, some people will snag an item regardless of shipping so if you wait for a quote you might lose out.  I'll include the package weight and size and where it's being shipping from, so people can figure out there own shipping quote estimate if they'd like.  Because I'm close to the Canadian/U.S. border, I can ship from within both countries so no international shipping rates for this sale!!  After an item is claimed, I'll send an invoice through PayPal and once it's paid I'll delete the listing.  Unsold items will be moved to the Etsy shop this weekend, where some will be priced a bit higher to cover Etsy listing fees and sales commissions. 

I'm excited, but a bit nervous!  Etsy feels familiar, safe and easy - this Instagram sale seems like it could be a real flurry of activity or a total flop.  No matter how the sale goes, I'll be happy to have the shop up and running soon.  My Mom and I have fabulous plans for adding more handmade gems - even some artwork!  I'll be sure to share on Instagram and here when the shop opens officially, but look for it soon.  I'll be using my hashtag #mindenetsy to share photos of fresh finds, newly listed items, sale items, and instagram-exclusive items.

Wish me luck...and I hope to see you there.

I'm on Instagram!

I know I'm (fashionably?) late to the party, but I've just joined Instagram (http://instagram.com/danslelakehouse)!  I'm excited about using it for sharing sneak peeks and previews of projects, plus I'm moving my treasure hunting report there.  I've got an open account, so anyone is free to take a look.

I've been averse to social media, but lately I've realized that it will be a great way to connect more with you.  I'm already on Pinterest (townhouse_tanya) and will take to Twitter next week, but I'm on the fence about Facebook.  A lot of changes are on the horizon, actually: I'm considering a migration from blogger to wordpress (yikes!), with a new blog name (Dans le Lakehouse), new url, and new blog design.  I'm feeling a little overwhelmed . . . Instagram, though, has proven to be fun and blissfully easy (although, for some reason, hashtags annoy me).  These are some things I thought were worth sharing:

I'm enjoying my new insulated lunchbag set from Island Picnic, so I couldn't help but photograph the very lakehouse-appropriate design (and organic cotton fabric!).  The little sandwhich and snack bags are washable and are meant to replace plastic ones, which is a clever idea.  Island Picnic is run by a mother-daughter duo who sew all of their green products, which is why they piqued my interest: I love family businesses.
 

Did you know mason jars come in vintage-inspired turquoise?  Who among you knew this and kept it from me?  I'm not really mason-jar obsessed, but I impulse-bought a case of these Ball American Heritage Edition jars from Canadian Tire to store dribs and drabs of snacks and baking supplies.  Our new kitchen is small, so I'm trying to maximize cupboard space by getting rid of over-sized packaging.  Leah and Janis, of Island Picnic, advocate storing things in glass, not plastic, and I'm happy to oblige when glass looks as cute as this.  Plus these are made in the USA.

As if cookies ever last long enough to be decanted.

Sadly, it's no picnic here, weather-wise.  A few weeks ago we still had mountains of snow (I had deck stairs at one point, right?):

But then some snow melted, the banks receded and I could see dead grass (hurray!).  We rejoiced and stopped wearing jackets, and then BOOM, we were hit with more.  So disappointing! 



In happier news, something gorgeous (from Modernica) has landed in the dining room.  I need to unearth the dining table from beneath a sea of sewing supplies and moving boxes, and then show you the whole kit and caboodle.  Seriously, it's breathtaking.

This is fun; I'm going to like Instagram.  For those who celebrate, Happy Easter weekend!!  What kind of filter makes a ham look tastiest? #timeforstretchypants.  Argh, I can't do it, it just bugs me.  

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