Today I want to share some of the vignettes my sister and I have staged most recently in our booth spaces at the South Charleston Antique Mall. The photo below is a highly visible area in our mall's first floor, adjacent to the stairway leading to the mezzanine, second & third floors of our mall.
Sister M and I had been limping along in our booth spaces since the first of the year really, mostly due to my being out of pocket with home improvement projects. Below is how that same space looked in April.
We'd made a few changes, but mostly just filling gaps where items had sold, nothing significant in overall space appearances. In an attempt to get back into the swing of styling our spaces with more intent, we prepared to flip two of our booths and style a couple of summer scenes. With summer travel comes shoppers, so we try to have things looking attractive for those who see our mall's interstate billboards and stop in.
Due to the high visibility, we decided that space near the stairway would be our summer-themed space. The view below was our updated look, as seen while going upstairs.
I didn't even have the price tags on the two vintage metal chairs and they were sold! The customer was waffling a bit, but as soon as she sat in the rocker of the pair, her mind was made up.
There went that vignette!
Meanwhile, all the pieces displaced from that corner space were moved into what we call our main space (it was our original space rented). This is the updated view of that main booth space now (below), as seen from across the walking aisle from a neighboring booth.
A few closer shots of various groupings within shows a lot more detail. The view from directly behind the central showcase/counter gives way to what's seen in the photo below.
A pair of side tables and lamps, positioned directly across from each other on opposite sides of the booth, can readily be seen once you approach the central showcase. It's hard to explain, but when we move and style things, it's not always easy to know if placement will work prior to the move, but it's definitely a yes or no once we move things.
Another area with a slight change was where we keep our casual vintage linens. We created a little laundry area below.
Just in front of this vignette is a vintage washstand we've had for awhile. We switched out the vignette on the washstand and added lots of vintage jadeite and a great acrylic iced tea set in a tulip motif. This set was from the 1960s, made by HJ Stotter of New York, and sets like this were sold in high-end retail shops in the '60s and '70s. Both the hammered aluminum tray and cotton tablecloth on the rocker also sport tulip motifs.
We always try to make at least one Americana vignette as we approach summer. We grouped items that nod to Armed Forces Day (May 20 this year), as there's a parade that goes by our mall each year which brings foot traffic to the mall on that day.
Another M.A.S.H.-looking vignette was made visible on an aisle as customers pass by (below).
So, back to that summer scene that sold before we left the building....we regrouped, returning within three days. Within that time, another anchor piece in that highly visible space had sold. It's the green garden shelving unit pictured below, which was in the corner, behind the metal chairs.
We shuffled things quite a bit to get the latest arrangement. You can see how it appears from the stairwell, below.
The vignette on the rug became a picnic scene. The stacked stool & chair in the corner replaced the green garden shelving unit. Recognize a few of the items below? They can be seen in my last tablescape post, here.
We brought in vintage ladders to nest and use for our garden smalls (pictured below), which were displaced when the garden shelf sold. The ladders are now where the stacked stool & chairs had been just three days prior. A few vintage linens strategically placed help soften the hard edges.
No sooner than this was styled, the customer who bought the shelving unit decided she needed the green camp stool in our picnic vignette. Plan C was quick and dirty. We simply pulled one of our stepladders in as a table to hold a few of our smalls in that vignette.
With that, we called it a day and a week - a good week! We think we're off to a great kick-start to being summer-ready.
Are you summer ready? Are you planning any vintage or antique shopping during your planned travels this summer? Here's hoping your summer is off to a great kick-start this Memorial weekend.
If ever you are traveling through West Virginia, be sure to plan a stop at the South Charleston Antique Mall, 617 D Street, South Charleston, WV. It's an easy exit and re-entry on I-64, Exit 56. Our mall is open 7 days a week, 363 days a year (closed Easter and Christmas). Business hours are M-Sat 10am - 6pm; Sundays Noon - 5pm. If you ever are planning to stop, I'd love for you to contact me ahead of time - I may very well be free to come and meet you, too!
More of our antique booth display posts can be found on the top menu bar under 'Panoply Antiquing', or by scrolling the labels (Panoply Booth Displays) or typing the keywords into the search box, both on my blog's sidebar. As always, your visit is appreciated and comments welcome!
Due to the high visibility, we decided that space near the stairway would be our summer-themed space. The view below was our updated look, as seen while going upstairs.
Meanwhile, all the pieces displaced from that corner space were moved into what we call our main space (it was our original space rented). This is the updated view of that main booth space now (below), as seen from across the walking aisle from a neighboring booth.
My sister brought in the fabulous architectural salvage pictured below. It is an antique, cast iron capital column surround in four pieces. Imagine the structure it originally encased! Wouldn't it be fantastic as a garden surround for container plantings? I can see it at the center of a parterre, end of a long drive or walkway, or other prominent position, on a pedestal, with a grandiose arrangement flowing from it!
Are you summer ready? Are you planning any vintage or antique shopping during your planned travels this summer? Here's hoping your summer is off to a great kick-start this Memorial weekend.
If ever you are traveling through West Virginia, be sure to plan a stop at the South Charleston Antique Mall, 617 D Street, South Charleston, WV. It's an easy exit and re-entry on I-64, Exit 56. Our mall is open 7 days a week, 363 days a year (closed Easter and Christmas). Business hours are M-Sat 10am - 6pm; Sundays Noon - 5pm. If you ever are planning to stop, I'd love for you to contact me ahead of time - I may very well be free to come and meet you, too!
More of our antique booth display posts can be found on the top menu bar under 'Panoply Antiquing', or by scrolling the labels (Panoply Booth Displays) or typing the keywords into the search box, both on my blog's sidebar. As always, your visit is appreciated and comments welcome!
Rita C. at Panoply
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