Back to [Old] School

Panoply's all set for the back-to-school scene....circa 1960 and prior. ;)  Sister M & I spent most the day Friday re-staging our booth space to reflect the [old] school classroom scene, circa 50 years or more ago:

We've had the long bench for a while, but fitted it with this set of six (yes, 6!) of the most fabulous little chippy, white slat-seat chairs, just waiting for their next life, classroom or otherwise.  If you look closer, the table has a few of those old, familiar items from yesterday's classroom - the retractable George F. Cram map of the United States (in vivid color!), the teacher's ruler for the chalkboard (remember those, to draw straight lines with?), that huge school bell (which we hoped we might be chosen to ring, alongside of our favorite teacher?), a vintage crayon tin, and a couple of personal chalkboards.

And how about that clipboard stenciled with the old-school eye chart?  Remember being called in line to have your vision screened by the school nurse?

And while we were planning to go back to school, shopkeepers everywhere were planning for the boost in sales they hoped they'd be having.  So, we set up a little shop scene consistent with the times:

We put together all the old-school office supplies:  the Paymaster check-writing machine, the manual  CASH journal, clipboard, hole punch & receipt holder, and corrugated board/metal box file.  There's also a vintage metal receipt holder (not visible, behind the file box, under the table).  The fabulous EMPLOYEES ONLY sign is an authentic one, not a reproduction.

An old chicken coop forms the base of this vignette, giving the appearance of a little jail cell.  The antique, framed lithograph lends itself to what selling on credit leads to (the worried entrepreneur on the left), so perhaps the chicken coop appearing to look like a jail cell could be telling of  the feeling of a buyer who uses credit to make purchases. :)

We broke down at least three other vignettes to make room for new items, and boxed many of smalls, preparing to purge soon, either via a flea market or yard sale venue.  All I can say is that some folks are in for some treats when they shop what we've purged.  One summer item sister M decided she didn't want to take back home and store was the old bike we had staged for summer, so I suggested she set it up just outside the store while we were working.  Here's what she did:

See the FREE sign?  And no, it's not on the red RAV4!  Within an hour or so, one gal shopping the store stopped, as if in disbelief, so sister M quickly went out to let her know it was for real, courtesy of Panoply. She came back after work to pick up the bike, moss on the seat and all.  :)

We staged some other vignettes, but I'll save those for another post.  We still have some tweaking we want to do to our other displays, so stay tuned to see how we're feathering the nest for Fall.  Until then, watch out for the school buses and all those young 'uns trying to cross the road!

Linking with:
Common Ground Be Inspired #151
Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesdays #130
Timewashed Blissful Whites Wednesday