Jewelry Purges Are Back

It has been a month since the last blog and boy has the time gone fast! I am trying to turn over a new leaf and not do all-nighters anymore. It messes me up for a couple of days afterwards and is not a healthy habit. As a result, I have been able to keep up with the estate sales newsletter but the blog has been put on hold.

Jewelry has been coming in at a fast and furious pace, faster than I can process. I decided to try jewelry purges again after not doing one since June of last year. I started on February 23 with this grouping of brilliant blue turquoise jewelry which is most popular. The three pairs of earrings, bolo tie and letter opener have all sold, the remaining items are available. The plan is to post the unsold items online by the end of the week that the purge was posted. I was able to accomplish this with this purge.

Going back to this past month, I received an unexpected surprise as a local source visited me numerous times and in the end, I traded all of my past years' Federico inventory (except for three pairs of earrings) for incredible Native American jewelry. I have my work cut out for me as amazing pieces continue to come in from other sources as well. Next month I should be able to post the higher-end pieces separately on Facebook, it is a much faster process than having to copy and paste photos and descriptions for each individual piece on a dozen Facebook groups.

I did not show him the Federico pieces I just acquired at the Gem Show, I would like the chance to offer them to customers first. Maybe he can see whatever is left over next year! I had written up all of the descriptions while I had downtime in Tucson and all that was needed were photos. I decided to start with earrings and approached the photography assembly-line style. Instead of shooting all three photos for one pair of earrings, I first shot all of the card photos, then the back photos, then the model photos. It is more tedious but much more efficient as I do not have to keep switching out the props. These are just some of the earrings that will be posted soon, I thought they looked cool in my photo gallery so I just took a screen shot and cropped it. I think I will be showcasing new pieces like this more often! I have eight pairs of earrings fully posted online so far.

I can finally say that except for the power chair, all of the estate sale items are out of the house! Kuochun ran all of Mother's kitchen and organizational items through the dishwasher and we took so many carloads of stuff back to Overture Arcadia for the sale. It has been easier on me to bring the items in at night. We have the system down - we borrow a cart from near the front door, then Kuochun walks it to the back door, then I drive around the building to meet him to do the loading and then we reverse the process to bring the cart back. I found that during the day when I would run into people while I had stuff on the cart they meant well but all of the "moving in?" comments were taking a toll.

I did officially notify the building management of our intention to do the estate sale and we are good to go. I am going to try and do as much as I can before Rachel gets here but I am not sure if I can get it all done. On the short list is to post the ads and get some preliminary photos taken of the furniture and art. Melinda came over this past Saturday to help me with the setup. We ended up moving more furniture than I anticipated but things are pretty well situated and just about everything Kuochun and I brought over is unpacked. The apartment is a one-bedroom and only 641 square feet so it will take some creativity to fit it all in and still have room for a few customers to walk around. Mother kept SO many kitchen items but they are popular so I hope they find new homes. I donated all of the medical items except for her power chair, scooter and walker. The scooter has been in the hallway the entire time and I will add the other items to the hallway as well.

I thought we had the apartment until March 31 but it turns out the last day is March 30. John will be flying in on Sunday March 23, the last day of the sale and then he and Rachel will start to drive the Mini Cooper to New York first thing on Tuesday. The hope is that many of the items in the apartment will sell so I do not have to bring them back home again. The apartment manager said we not only have to have the apartment professionally cleaned, but have the carpeting professionally cleaned as well. I had already had the professional cleaning done when everything was moved out to assisted living but it will need to be done again. I am going to take them up on their offer to use their cleaning people so I can have the apartment that last day. I originally thought I would use it to do some product photography and jewelry cleaning but I have not had time. I should be able to do that the last week of the month, after the estate sale.

I came across some really cute "Lucky" themed graphic tees but when I tried photographing them on my mannequin I found they were shorter than the oversized tops I have been dealing with and quickly realized I needed something on the bottom. Because the mannequin stands on a metal pole in its center, pants are out. I consulted Google and found a big-name store using tennis skirts. An actual tennis skirt will not work because they have shorts underneath so I tried searching for miniskirts on Amazon. I came across a good candidate and ordered black and Lurex black but as tiny as my mannequin is, they were way too small for her. I decided to steer away from plain black and try the faux leather but in the end the "bodycon" skirts were not the right look. I found a long pull-on denim skirt which is great. Black denim would have been ideal but the blue denim is fine. I was able to use the skirt to photograph the concho belt as shown below. I have a lot more belts so this will help me get them posted. The skirt is a size 4 but I still needed to use a chip clip to tighten up the waist in the back!

Back to the graphic tees - I ordered two additional styles as well - cactus-themed and a cow skull on a jewelry cluster. Black mineral wash is the go-to but I ordered a couple of additional colors too. This style is currently online, I have not been able to post the others yet but I do have photos ready. I normally am not into clothing with words on it but I really liked the quality of these graphic tees and turquoise jewelry looks great with them.

Earlier in February I gathered up some extra ring holders and the jewelry I already had priced to ship home for the jewelry caravan. I was able to price more jewelry, mostly rings. In addition, I received a new shipment of rings I ordered from Nina Designs, who has been in business since 1983 and I have seen at many trade shows over the years. We used to buy findings from them when we made jewelry. Their pieces have always been great quality, unique and beautiful and I was happy to be able to connect with them again. The rings are all sterling silver and a couple of styles have bronze accents. Sizing ranges from 7-9 but I placed each ring on the mandrel individually because I found that they did vary. They were introduced to the jewelry caravan for the first time this past weekend and they sold well! I knew the customers would love them and when they sell out, I can get more.

I was able to post 28 new items online over the past month, a combination of the Federico earrings, Native American pieces and the graphic tee. It is taking a bit longer to post now because Vendoo gave us the opportunity to list on two more platforms - Grailed and Vinted. My items fit their profiles so I set them up and started including both platforms on new listings. This brings the total platforms I participate on up to ten! They are both in Beta mode so I am finding the process to be a little buggy but once they get the bugs worked out posting will be quicker. I am not sure if anything will sell because my online pieces are higher end but I figure the more online exposure, the better.

I sold six items on Poshmark, eight items on Etsy and nine items on eBay this past month and this is not including the Facebook group sales. It was mostly jewelry with a few clothing items in the mix. I sold heart-themed tops before Valentine's Day which made sense. I told a T-shirt directly from my website and I am always extremely honored when this happens because the customer is trusting me to come through for them.

I ordered a 20" wood sign through Etsy from an artist from Turkey of the C'est La Brie's logo. It was reasonably priced and will make a great backdrop for live sales. My plan is to convert the now unused upstairs bedroom to a combination guest room/live sale space. One wall has the original features of three vertical open sections, each with a planter box and shelving below it. I am going to outfit the planters with faux plants and I will be able to stage jewelry on the shelves, then put a small table in front of it all and this is what the customers will see during the sale. I am hoping I will be able to prop up the sign in front of the center section. If anyone comes to visit, I can give them my room so they have the en suite with attached bathroom and I can stay in this bedroom.

I have just started the process to get some design help and finish the job I was left holding the bag on two years ago. My first homework assignment was to take "before" photos and have a Zoom meeting with the owner of the company. The before photos took a long time because I wanted to make sure everything looked perfect. I got as far as the first floor but the second floor will need to be a future project anyway. To start, I am excited about the possibility of having a combination workspace/dining area with enough storage to have everything I need in one place. There is a small niche across the way which I think would make a perfect shipping station and could double as a buffet if needed. There is a matching niche around the corner in the kitchen and I think a good feature would be to install a coffee bar. Kuochun could keep his coffee materials and I could keep my supplements and blenders there for making morning protein shakes. The plan is to work on the design while we are still here and have the construction done in the two months before we come back next November. To start, I was tasked with filling out a questionnaire which I thought would take about an hour. Four hours later I came close to the end but was asked to provide some inspiration photos which I was not prepared for. I actually did post a few on my Houzz account but it was getting very late so I called it a night. Next week I will go over my responses and make sure it all makes sense. I was not planning to pick up this project again just yet but the new designer I contacted last year made me an offer I could not refuse!

We have been going to the senior center for workouts 4-5 days per week. We had to miss a couple of days due to government holidays and they are closed on weekends.  For now I am still on the treadmill for an hour, using the Rolling function to go up and down mountains. There are five treadmills and the two on the right are closer to the Game Show Network TV but only will allow 30 minutes at a time. I have to then climb up and down two mountains. The center treadmill is closer to the HGTV TV and I can do the 60 minute workout all at once. Kuochun is still doing 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the NuStep. I used to do the NuStep but I prefer the TV selections near the treadmills.

Luckily one day when we were waiting to turn in our door pass at the front desk at the senior center after our workout, the young lady was speaking with someone. I could tell they called to make a tax return appointment and she said February and March were already booked, the next available date was April 3 and they were booking until April 14. I asked if I could make an appointment for Mother and I am also on for April 3. She gave me a checklist of what to bring and an intake form which will make the process speedier. Now fingers crossed that they will still prepare her return. This is a wonderful service for the seniors to have their taxes done for no charge and it is sponsored by AARP. I have not received any of Mother's 1099 forms so I need to track them down.

We have been trying to figure out the best way to get a duplicate title for the Mini Cooper because we were never able to find the original. I am not sure that Mother ever had it because according to the state, they had never been notified of the loan payoff. She had the loan for about two weeks, I think because she wanted to purchase the car but needed cash to be transferred from her investment account. Part of what the state is asking for is a certified copy of Mother's will. Kuochun and I went to the courthouse in Mesa (to avoid downtown Phoenix) to see about getting it certified and we ended up being directed to the law library, where I was given a 50-page packet to go through. Of course Kuochun wanted to get something to eat and when he Googled "restaurants near me" he found Charlie's Backyard BBQ. It was highly rated at 4.7 but I was a little skeptical because the food did not look great in the photos. I did not have anything to worry about though! I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with a side of mac & cheese and it was phenomenal. I am not a condiment person so I did not even try the BBQ sauce but it did not need it. The photo even shows how the meat was just glistening. The mac & cheese was smoked which gave it an elevated flavor. Kuochun ordered a combination platter with brisket and hot links. I tried both but the pulled pork was the winner for me. We will definitely be going back!

March 2 was the annual Indian Fair + Market at the Heard Museum in downtown Phoenix. Kuochun came along with me. I had brought up the idea of taking a Waymo self-driving car over there and I sure wish we did. The church parking lot which had offered $10 parking the last two years was not doing parking this year. After a half hour of driving around, we finally ended up in an office building parking garage. We did not have to pay but the flow through the garage and understanding where we were allowed to park were confusing. By the time we got into the show, it was a good 45 minutes later than I had hoped for. I made a beeline for a particular booth because their jewelry is limited quantity and goes fast but unfortunately the earrings I wanted were already gone. I love admiring all of the artists' work but I have bought pieces the past couple of years and did not really feel in "need" of anything. I only bought one piece - a butterfly necklace with handmade wampun beads by Mary Louise Tafoya. I had been wanting something with wampun and this was perfect. We were able to see the newly remodeled museum shop and it is absolutely outstanding. So gorgeous with wide plank natural wood floors, huge hand carved doors and floor to ceiling display cabinets. I spotted quite a few of my pieces so I hope some of them sold during the weekend.

We stopped to look at some Hopi dancers and Kuochun was trying to take a short video when we were rudely interrupted by two women yelling at us to get out of the way because they could not see. They parked themselves in folding chairs across the sidewalk so they were ridiculous to think that they were going to have a completely unobstructed view at all times. Kuochun and I did not even see them because there were lots of people walking through the area. I turned around and snapped that "he was just trying to take a video!" but they had no response. They ruined the moment so we ended up leaving. I think Kuochun was kind of bored anyway, he said after a while the artists looked the same. There are quite a few who do work in the traditional style but I prefer the more unique pieces. It looks like I will be taking a Waymo over there on my own next year.

That is all the news for now, next week will be the final push to prepare Mother's estate sale and things are getting busier with our estate sales but the plan is to at least try and post 2-3 new items online every day in order to keep the store refreshed.