This Little Vase Went to the Market

A few weeks ago we decided to expand this little online business of ours to our first market offline. Now, I have been to plenty of markets to buy goodies, but I had never actually been a seller before. Needless to say, I was super excited, but also a tiny bit scared. What if we wouldn't sell anything? What if people don't actually like my beautiful vintage goodies?

The weeks before the fair we went through all the inventory we have, sorting what we wanted to take, deciding on the perfect mix between Fat Lava pottery and other Mid Century items, making price lists, and packing everything carefully. In addition to that there were a million of little things that needed to be arranged, like arranging carrier bags, getting chairs to sit on, assemble enough change, etc., etc.

We decided to go to a special collector's fair near our home town, as we figured we would have a better chance of selling mid century items here than on a general antique fair.

I tried very hard to make my stand as pretty as possible, grouping certain items together, based on era and color. And I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the result!

So how was the experience? Did we sell some beautiful vintage goodies? Of course we did! We had two very good days on Friday (build-up & early bird day) and Saturday, but Sunday was pretty slow for us. We sold more glass than Fat Lava, especially Dutch glass was popular (but that makes sense, as it was a Dutch market).

Some things we learned:

• If your fair has a build-up day, use it. We actually sold the most to early visitors and fellow dealers on this day. And I also scored one very nice bargain myself.
• In addition to that, come early in the morning to the fair. It'll give you some time to re-arrange stuff, and the people looking for the best stuff will be there early as well.
• Don't forget to arrange change, it sucks if you have to ask fellow dealers for it.
• Bring business cards with the address of your online venue.
• Smile!

• Try to make a chat to everyone that stops for your stand, and give people your business card. You brought them with a purpose , and even if people didn't buy something, if they are interested, they might purchase something later.

• Talk to your fellow dealers. It's nice to have a chat, and most of the dealers are willing to share valuable tips & tricks.
• If possible, bring someone to help you. Lugging all these boxes to the stand is heavy work, and you'll need that restroom break at some point during the day.

We'll definitely do this again, as it was a great experience. I still have many, many things to learn, so if you have any more tips, let me know! For now, if you want to check out my goodies, go have a look at www.vaseomania.etsy.com.

Mid Century Modern Times

Ever since I heard that some of the West-Germany pottery factories were involved in making clocks, I've been hoping to find one. During my 8+ years of collecting I had never been so lucky, although I saw on the internet forums that there were plenty of fellow collectors who managed to find lovely examples.

That was until a few weekends ago when I biked to one of the neighboring villages to visit a  fair. There were a lot of clothes  and some antiques on sale, but I couldn't see anything remotely resembling a piece of West-German ceramics. I was already starting to wonder why I biked the whole way down here (it was quite a windy day). And then I saw it! Tucked away behind some spice jars and oven dishes stood this beautiful slate gray seventies clock! Could it be that I was super lucky and this was not just a seventies clock, but a GERMAN seventies clock as well?

Kienzle Boutique clock, body made by Carstens Tönnieshof

The first thing I noticed after the vendor passed it to me was the name Kienzle Boutique, confirming that it must indeed be a German clock! Kienzle is one of the oldest clock and watch making factories in Germany, they started manufacturing in 1822, and are still in existence today. The Boutique line was launched in the seventies, and targeted young, hip buyers that loved design. This line included metal, plastic, and ceramic items. Most items in this boutique line were colorful, and typically seventies in design and décor.

  

So far, so good. But when looking for vintage items, there is always the question of condition. You sometimes encounter the most amazing pieces, and it is such a turn-off when you spot that large chip or crack three seconds later, after the initial shock of finding the item cooled down a bit. (I'm ashamed to admit that there have been occasions when I was SO happy about I find that I became blind for damages to items, and didn't notice them until unpacking the item at home.) But in this case the face of the clock is in perfect vintage condition! Obviously I couldn't leave it, so I purchased the item and happily took it home. For now it is happily ticking away the time in my kitchen.

There still was a bit of research left to do (my favorite part), as I would love to know who actually made the clock. I had read that both Herbolzheim Keramik - a company that also made kitchen ware and wall plates - and Carstens Tönnieshof  made ceramic bodies for Kienzle. Based on that info and comparable examples I figured this one was probably made by Carstens, but I wasn't sure. Luckily the lovely folks on the pottery and glassforum were able to confirm for me that this item is indeed made by Carstens Tönnieshof voor Kienzle.

So there you have it! My first West-Germany pottery wall clock. I love the Mid Century Modern look of this clock, with its simple square shape, nice clean lines and well placed red and blue color accents. The thick metal hanging chain gives it that characteristic seventies feel. Carstens and Kienzle have produced a great piece of art in this collaboration!

Serious Business

It was such a nice surprise this afternoon coming home to my beautiful, freshly printed business cards from the wonderful folks at moo.com! My husband has very kindly designed them for me with the versatile and easy tools available at Moo, and they came out wonderful. I love the clean design, and they are printed on pretty, thick, creamy paper

We've put a lot of hours and enthusiasm in the blog and Vase-o-mania shop during the last few weeks, so it is really cool that things starting to look slightly more professional, and thus more real.

I can't wait to be handing these out, it'll be a pleasure to do so. We've been treasure hunting for plenty more Fat Lava pieces and vintage gems to put in the store over the coming weeks, so make sure to check it out!