A weekend to test our mettle. (def: a: vigor and strength of spirit or temperament b: staying quality : stamina)

Yes, it was a weekend where we would test the organization. Could we pull off two shows on the same weekend. Our 4th annual Antiques at Elm Bank, in Wellesley MA and our weekly SoWa Antiques Market. Of course we'll do it and even if we don't, maybe we can fake it to look like we did. Well, I'm here to say, we didn't have to fake it. We started on Wednesday with a couple of helpers to measure and mark the fields and gardens of the Elm Bank reservation, the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. We continued on Thursday to supervise the tent company as they erected the many tents for the almost 100 dealers who would exhibit on the weekend, and we directed the showcase company as they delivered into place the 17 showcases that would house wonderful collections. Porters would come in Thursday afternoon to assist some of the dealers inside the two buildings on the grounds. On Friday there would be a short training session for the staff who would register and direct the remaining dealers would arrive to move in. Every year, I must bring in new employees to lend a helping hand. Thanks to Craig's List, I'm always able to find people who are looking for this type of work. There's not a long inerview process, so it really boils down to the few words of introduction in the return email. "Hi, I'm available" just doesn't cut it. I always have to cancel the ad within 24 hours because of the deluge of responses....one advantage of high unemployment though I'd much rather have full employment. I'm happy to say that both shows went off without a hitch thanks to a great staff, especially Charna and Dennis. Charna wore two hats helping in Wellesley, Friday and Saturday then to SoWa for the load in early Sunday morning then back to Wellesley for the day and into the evening for the load-out....a long 15 hour day, what a trooper she is. She definitely gives this small organization a professional shine. This business is so much fun, especially when you have great people making you look good.

Tourists and the circus

When I was planning the market, I though a lot about how to be sure we reached out to the many tourists who take over our fair city each summer. We all know that Bostonians love to get out of town on those hot summer days but in our place come the tourists. But how do you reach them. One way would be to put up a road block on Newbury Street or in Fanuiel Hall Marketplace, nah, that would never fly. How about we make sure that when they ask the concierge in their hotel for things to do that they recommend us as a fun place to shop. And if they don't ask the concierge, why don't we take part in one of those rack card programs that you see when you stay in a hotel or in the car rental agencies. Stop by the concierge desk at South Station and ask Kevin what he reccomends in the city on a Sunday, you guessed it....The SoWa Antiques Market. Last Sunday, dealer Robin Berg reported that early in the morning a couple from California came by her booth and immediately bought the five circus posters she had in her booth. She shipped them out this week. We'll miss those colorful posters that we saw every time Robin set up, but they found a new home and it makes us feel good that our marketing to the tourists is working, so who can complain.

Getting ready...

Friday is a day of preparation for the Sunday Market. Although we work on the market every day during the week, we wrap everything up on Friday. The reports are emailed to the market manager, Charna, so she knows who is coming and how many tables they ordered, etc. Dealers wonder why we are so organized when they show up on Sunday morning. The simple answer is the new MS Access database program that has been designed to keep track of all of the records. It's been three years in production and for the past several weeks we've been using it and, wow, what a difference in my life. It definitely saves hours every week and keeps us organized. It makes me wonder how anyone did this before computers....hey, that was me 30 years ago but the memory just doesn't work like it used to....maybe that's a good thing. Hope to see you Sunday.

Sunday was a great day!

July 12, as predicted, turned out to be a great day. Everthing seemed to line up perfectly. Finally we had the weather we've been looking for since we opened in May. The Boston Globe article on Donna's booth chat didn't hurt and maybe even the tall ships in Boston helped. ...who knows. All I do know is that the crowds came and came and didn't stop until closing. As a promoter I always analayze, some would say over analyze, why things work and why they don't. I'd like to believe that all the groundwork at getting the word out about this great new market is taking hold. The most important part is that people enjoy the market and return multiple times. The dealers tell us they love the friendly upbeat people who come by even if they do not buy, of course they love them more when they do buy, and they're doing plenty of that. The dealers also tell us that it seems that the third visit is the charm, in other words, sometime it takes three days of setting up before the full potential of the market is felt. We're looking forward to more days like last Sunday....onward!

A good market day ahead!

I've got a good feeling about the upcoming market July 12. They are actually predicting that the temperature will hit 80 degrees and that it will be a dry day. That in and of itself is exciting. We've had some pretty miserable weather since opening in May so it will be a pleasure to have some seasonably normal weather. We've got a full house of dealers with about 8 new dealers with some interesting fresh merchandise. People tell me that's what they like about the market, they see a lot of repeaters but also the new dealers who set up on a weekly basis. Keeps things fresh and lively. SoWa has become two markets, the pickers come by early and the retail customers come in droves after brunch. I hope to see you then.

Great press coming our way!

I asked my son Josh's girlfriend Becky to write a press release for the market featuring the booth chat on jewelry on July 12. She knocked out a great to the point release...just the facts m'am. When you send out a press release, you never know who, if anyone, will pick it up. I sent it out one night to my list and, wow, the next morning I got an email by one of the editors of the Boston Globe saying she'd like to feature us and asked if we could send photos. You bet, you'll have them within hours. Look for it in the "G" magazine in the Boston Globe July 11. I'll bet we'll have a great day on Sunday....and I bet I'll be asking Becky to write more releases. View the release....and here's the story in the Globe

Wind screens installed

After several windy days when we learned that the wind loves to sometimes whip through the windows, we think we've come up with a way to keep the wind away from the dealers on the perimeters near the windows. After measuring the 14 windows on the sides and heading to Home Depot to see what might work, we purchased painters canvas and a grommet machine. Two days of hard labor to build the screens by my staff and a great crew of workers from GTI properties to install the eye hooks in the brick and we were ready to try them out. They worked well the first day up on June 28 (you can see them in the photo with John Krasinski below). Now bring on the wind.

Next Booth Chat - July 12

The next booth chat will take place on July 12th at 1:00pm. The title is: "Jewelry-How historical events have impacted the design and wearing for women and men." The presenter is Donna Soodalter-Toman. To learn more

Closed July 5th for the holiday weekend

We'll see you on July 12th