I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it sat. An old wooden beverage cart about two and a half feet tall, two feet wide, and about three feet long. It was so old the varnish was worn off. There were a few small dents, but it was basically in good shape. And it only cost $15 at the thrift shop. Such a bargain!
I have been a vendor at a craft fair in Reno in October with my friends DJ and Merlene for the last few years. We mostly paint holiday and autumn ornaments and decorations. Every year I’ve brought along a refurbished chair to sell. When I saw that cart in the thrift shop, I saw dollar signs. I was going to fix it, and sell it, and make quite the profit! I had no clue as to what I was going to do to the cart, but the potential was enormous!
‘Enormous’ turned out to be the key word. I live in a small house. I carried the cart up our front steps and rolled it into the living room. My husband Jeff eyed it suspiciously. “It was such a bargain!” I enthused. “What are you going to do with it?” he asked. “Paint it and sell it!” I exclaimed. “Good luck” he said.
Now, getting those chairs were not my fault, even though they were a better bargain than the cart. While visiting my niece Teresa in Seattle last summer she served us breakfast on a card table in the family room because her kitchen was being remodeled. We needed one more chair for her husband to sit down. I made the mistake of admiring the chair Teresa brought in. “Nice chair!” I said. It was wooden with a lyre design on the back and a needlepoint seat cover. “Thanks,” Teresa said. “Do you want them?”
My little bargain antennae beeped in my head as I heard myself say “No thank you. I don’t need any more chairs to paint or refinish. I already have three other chairs and a beverage cart to paint”.
“I’m getting a new set and if you don’t want them I’m taking them to a thrift shop” Teresa threatened. Argh! Teresa’s chairs were free, there were four of them and they cried out to be rescued. I’m too compassionate.
The coffee table also was not my fault. My walking buddy Joy and I passed a yard ‘give away’ one afternoon. Seriously – The lady was giving away everything in the yard. She had to move that day and whatever didn’t fit in the moving van had to go. Joy found lots of things she could use so we walked back and got my Honda van. Joy said “Vivian, here’s a table you could paint!” I demurred. I knew darn well I didn’t have room for more furniture in my basement. “It’s free!” Joy said. The lady said “Take it! Please.” Did I mention that I am too compassionate?
It was a nice table, but it had a lot of varnish on it and I just didn’t want to take the time to sand it all down. Time is money in the craft business, don’t you know. I put it on the front porch to take to the thrift shop. Jeff saw it and asked why it was there. “But it was such a bargain!” he said. I told him I was not going to sand it down. So he sanded it for me. Now I had to paint it.
I had wonderful ideas of what to do with the cart. I could paint faux inlaid Italian wood on the tray area like a wine cart. Or I could paint it multicolored like a circus cart. Or I could paint it with a garden them like a potting cart. Then Jeff pointed out something rather important. Who did I think was going to buy this cart? I flipped through current catalogs and home decorating ideas to see what was in style. I decided on simple shabby chic and hoped someone with a really big house would need a beverage cart.
“When I returned, my crafting partner Merlene was grinning from ear to ear pointing to the “SOLD” sign on the beverage cart. I did the happy dance. Woo hoo!!! It’s not going home with me!”
The day came to drive to Reno. I loaded the painted cart, coffee table, and two chairs, and lots of Christmas ornaments and decorations into our van. A sense of accomplishment at having succeeded in making something beautiful again was followed by a sense of dread. If the furniture didn’t sell, what was I going to do with it all? I most certainly did not want to bring it all back home again. The closer to Reno we got, the more anxious I became. I slashed the price down to a third of what I felt my work was worth and prayed someone would want it.
At the craft fair, a man came over to check on the price of the cart. He couldn’t believe it was priced so low. “What’s wrong with it?” he asked. “Nothing” I said. “I’ve had my fun with it and now it’s time to let it go.” I explained. He showed it to his wife. “Beautiful. Great price, but where would we put it?” she said. They bought a small tree ornament instead.
I wandered off to peruse the rest of the fair. When I returned, my crafting partner Merlene was grinning from ear to ear pointing to the “SOLD” sign on the beverage cart. I did the happy dance. Woo hoo!!! It’s not going home with me! And the couple that bought it really loved it. Luck was with me that weekend. I sold the table and a chair too.
I like doing crafty stuff. It’s satisfying to use my hands to create something useful and beautiful. But this year, I have to remember that sometimes a bargain is just not a bargain.
Category: Community Focus
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