19 June 2007

I See the Sea ...


Yesterday Liz and I went to an auction in Exmouth and before setting off for home we stopped along the seafront for 5 minutes. And what a glorious 5 minutes it was. I love that specific ozone-y smell (sometimes you can be disappointed and not smell it at all), but we weren't disappointed. It hit me as soon as I opened the van door. There was a lovely breeze coming in off the sea, the sun was shining and it gave us both such a boost after a day in a stuffy saleroom. That and the Thornton's ice cream we'd just eaten!! I caught Liz before she had time to realise she was being photographed!


I was so tired last night, after the long day yesterday and an even longer day at the Shepton Giant Flea on Sunday, that I collapsed on the bed for an hour and woke up 11 hours later!!!

Shepton was brilliant. I didn't need to do my customary raindance (although I think it did rain briefly) and had my best Giant Flea sales ever. And yes ... a good chunk of the sales was cross stitch kits, with a few cones of thread. One lovely lady bought 4 kits and came back an hour later to buy a further 5 (when her husband wasn't looking!!). I like customers like that! I was so pleased that Jennifer from Acorn & Will came to say hello. It was super to meet you Jennifer, and thank you so much for your purchase. The "Shepton Stalwarts" Niki and Clare came to see me and did a little bit of shopping ... as they do! Thank you both!

My friend Eleanor "borrowed" a corner of my pitch to see how her jewellery would sell. Her first sale was to a lady who has a shop in Dorset. She bought several pieces "to see how they go", so hopefully that will be the start of a new relationship! I didn't take my camera, otherwise I'd have shown you what she makes. Maybe next time ... Eleanor was delighted with her sales and as I've booked a double pitch for the August Bank Holiday Giant Flea (the regulars on the next pitch will be away) she'll be bringing even more. And I shall load up the car with mountains of cross stitch kits and embroidery thread!

As far as my own sales are concerned, I've finally realised there is absolutely no point in loading up the car with bulky kitchenalia for either the Shepton 3-day Fair or the Flea. There are too many outside pitches selling it to make it worth my while, and it takes up far too much valulable space. The last 3 Fairs/Fleas have been my best in the 2 years I've been doing them, and my pitches have evolved into being 90% textile-related. I'll continue in that way for the time being - until my customers want something different - flexibility being the key!! The kitchenalia sells so well at Dairy House that it really is a waste of time and energy packing it up to take it somewhere where no-one wants it! It's taken me a while to realise this (sad, but true), but then I suppose it is only since March that I've had a really good display of kitchenalia at Dairy House, thus making it more interesting. And now Liz and I have more or less finished painting over those dark blue walls, we might do even better!!

Here's a photo of the Old Town Hall leaflet to give you an idea of the type of building we have in the centre of Somerton, and some views of the interior of the antiques centre showing various dealers' units. These leaflets were done before Liz and I moved in so nothing of ours is showing. After telling you last week about the lovely food on offer in the tearoom, the lady running it is leaving for personal reasons which is an awful shame. However, someone new is taking over from the second week in July - just in time for the annual Somerton Festival.


If you are interested to see what Somerton has to offer, have a look at the Somerton Community website which gives an insight into the town. Click on the Summer Arts Festival to see what will be happening between 13 and 21 July. I'm off to book my ticket for the Treorchy Male Voice Choir who will be singing in the Church on 14 July. I love listening to Welsh MVCs (a childhood thing) and every year a different Choir comes to the Festival. Last year's was amazing. I'm sure the Treorchy will be, too.

Update: I forgot to tell you I finally came home to roost on Friday night. We bought walkie-talkies thinking they'd give both Mum and me peace of mind, but she can't manage holding down the button and talking at the same time, so we won't be using them! She seems to be fine going up and down stairs now, so no problem. The w-ts will be perfect for taking to Shepton so that anyone who kindly mans my pitch while I run round searching for a bargain will be able to make contact when there's no mobile phone network coverage! We caught Mum in the garden yesterday hoe-ing - so she's definitely on the mend and I'm finally catching up with some sorting!

12 comments:

Clare and Mike said...

Hi Sue,

It was great to see you on Sunday - albeit briefly - and I am pleased to hear you had a good day - and relieved you didn't resort to a raindance!

Hopefully Mike and I will come down to Somerton during the Summer to spend some time with you and Pauley - and perhaps pay a return visit to the pub where we had the lovely meal!

Clare x

Darla said...

Lovely picture of the sea. I'm a fan of the ocean/beach smell myself.

You asked about pinochle on my blog. It's a card game, usually played with two sets of partners. It takes some strategy and can be a lot of fun.

Darla

OhSoVintage said...

Glad to hear you had such a good day at Shepton. I still haven't made it there but must make the effort which I've just said on Niki's blog. The beach at Exmouth looks lovely, no wonder you felt tempted to stop there.

Chrissie said...

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :-) No offers yet but I'll let you know:-) If only! You have a great blog and I know your store must be brilliant. One day I'll pop over and take a look :-)

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Sue,
What a beautiful beach - where was everybody?! Always a tonic to smell the sea air, isn't it?

Good to see you Sunday - so glad that you had a good day - you had some lovely things.
Hope things continue to sell well for you at the Antiques centres....
Niki x

Cape Cod Washashore said...

Glad to hear your Mum is on the mend! How nice that she was out in the garden!

Ahhh the sea! I was there yesterday myself and I know PRECISELY the smell you are referring to! =)

Ragged Roses said...

So glad your mum's on the mend. Glad you got time to enjoy the sea and an ice cream, there's nothing like it!
Kim x

Victoria May Plum said...

Great to hear about the market, and I'm so pleased that you had a good day. I wish that we could have come to see you.

I love the sea air, isn't it wonderful?

Victoria x

Shammickite said...

I just left a comment and it flew away never to be seen again. Dammit. And it was such a good comment too, I know you would have enjoyed it! Oh well...... maybe it'll come back.

Martin Stickland said...

Can we have our plug back then? tee hee

Thanks for popping by!

Looks like you have fun times there!

AC said...

Hi Sue ,
You seem to be having a very busy time:-)
I'm glad the kits are selling. I have linked to you in my post today...hope that's ok. You will be able to see how I have been putting those threads to use:-)
Glad to hear that your mum seems to be feeling a bit better.
Take care,
Alison x

Livvy and Me said...

Hi Sue,

I can't believe I'm so behind in my blog visits that you have already been to another show! It was lovely to meet you, and your stall looked great, thank you for helping me find the embroidery linen I needed! Jennifer