New Office Space On A Dime

This past week since I was staying with Mother after her return from the rehab center, I took some time to organize my stash of sterling silver jewelry. I came across this round tin filled with rings and knew they had to go to the top of my priority list. I have not been able to put out any new rings for sale yet this year. It is interesting because customers not only need to like a ring but it has to fit them as well but rings are my best sellers.

The goal will be to get these rings polished, priced and displayed in a ring tray so they may be presented at our Evanston sale next week. The sale will be held in a beautiful 4,300 square foot Prairie style home built in 1913 so vintage and antique will be the jewelry theme for the caravan. I am planning to have a case of antique to vintage sterling silver jewelry including these rings, a case of interesting vintage costume jewelry including designer signed pieces and a case of vintage Native American jewelry in Evanston.

We also have a big sale in an 8,400 square foot home in Northbrook next week. The home is fancy but the furnishings are mostly casual so I will focus on newer costume jewelry both designer and unsigned as well as Tucson Gem Show finds there.

I brought lots of jewelry back over to Mother's house when I went to stay with her and said this jewelry is not coming home again until it is polished and priced! Polishing does take time because it also has to thoroughly dry before it can be tagged and stored, at least overnight. I was able to go through this process for a couple of days but then Tuesday morning we experienced an internet mishap. I had mentioned to Mother that her desk / printer space in the second bedroom was looking pretty cramped. Overnight she decided to remove the printer cart but disconnected the computer and internet connection. Kuochun and I tried for the entire morning Tuesday to get the internet back up and running but even with the assistance of AT&T technical support, we had no luck. We had to wait until Thursday morning for a technician to come to the home and take a look. Because I needed to keep working, I had to bring my computer and label printer back to my house. Tuesday and Wednesday night I worked at home until the wee hours of the morning and came back to Mother's in the middle of the night. Of course Vivi wanted a walk when I came back. Normally I would be kind of scared to be out between 3:00-4:00 AM but we did well with no mishaps. The technicians came on Thursday, replaced the outdoor cable and then all was up and running again. More than ever, the internet keeps a home running. The computer, TV and thermostat all rely on it.

When I brought my computer back home I decided to try something that had been on my mind for a long time. We had the second computer in the dining room along with my photography light box and I was also packing and shipping jewelry sales from there. The light box took up most of the table, there was not much room to pack items and the area really did not look nice.

I decided to make a few tweaks so the dining room functions a bit more like an office. I have a Heywood-Wakefield dining room set which is petite in size. I removed the leaf from the dining table and reoriented the table to be situated parallel to the traffic pattern from the breezeway to the kitchen. I then removed the three extra dining chairs. The table is now the perfect desk size.

In addition, I purchased a Ruggable rug in 8-foot round. It was the best size to choose from as the custom rug was about 8-foot square. I was not seeing an oblong shape in the space. When I totally redecorated the house several years ago, I had invested in custom cut and bound carpeting for each room. They looked amazing but are not practical with dogs. Also, a light aqua color carpet was recommended for the dining room and one side always curled up and looked dirty due to the traffic pattern. The Ruggable rugs are washable so if Margot or Vivi has an accident or throws up on it, the rug can be run through the washing machine and dryer and supposedly it looks as good as new.

There were a few choices I could have gone with but I decided on the one above. I thought it was a good match for the room as well as my Marmoleum floor in the kitchen which has a pattern in the same colors. Kuochun kindly helped me move out the old rug and put the new one in place. I am getting used to it. I do like the round shape but the pattern is way more bold and lighter than I expected. I am not at all afraid of bold patterns or color but the tones in my dining room are more subtle. I did invest in the upgraded pad and I am glad I did because the rug is not very thick. This makes sense since it needs to fit in a washer and dryer. It is also not quite as soft as I expected but maybe it will be easier to vacuum. I found a 15% off coupon but I felt it was still expensive for the quality. Rachel bought Mother an outdoor doormat from Ruggable (which she uses inside, don't ask!) and the quality of the doormat is amazing. There is not much I can do with the cords other than purchase another cord keeper box from Amazon. I have one in the bedroom in white which holds a power strip and all of the various cords. I will get one in black for the dining room. A new mouse pad is also in order. I bought one on Etsy for my desk in Scottsdale, I will check the seller's selections to see if she has a good match here and while I am at it get one for the bedroom as well. I am planning to send my china set to Scottsdale, I think we would have a much greater chance of using it there, plus it is a classic mid-century modern design which will fit in perfectly.

I have been cramped in my second bedroom for many years, I love the furniture and decor in there but the desk is small and my left leg presses up against the drawers all the time, making it uncomfortable. I found working in Mother's dining room, even at the end of the table there was so much more legroom and it felt so much more open and airy. The room will not go to waste, Kuochun works in there. Having a change of venue feels great and I can hardly hear Kuochun's TV from the dining room which helps me concentrate more.

Even though I do have new pieces to post, I have decided to take a break from posting weekly jewelry lots until after the Independence Day holiday. I have tons of estate sale paperwork to do and now that I have a system down for getting the other jewelry ready to sell I would like to spend any free time working on that. The less I can do here, the less I need to bring to Scottsdale to work on over the winter.

I pinch-hit for Adam and went to a meeting in Evanston on Friday. The home is absolutely gorgeous and the clients have to be the nicest I have ever met. We will look forward to hosting a sale for them the weekend of July 7 and the plan is to have an expanded jewelry caravan on hand.

I have also set an official date for the launch of the vintage Native American jewelry collection on EstateSales.net. The sale will begin Thursday September 8 and probably run through Sunday October 2. The hope is then to be able to have a fall pop-up sale at home base October 6-9. First, I need to make a plan to move the extra furniture from the garage to Scottsdale. I have been hesitating due to the high gas prices, I am sure it will cost much more than before to transport items cross country.

I just filled up my van last week, it has a special engine which was designed for use with premium gas. It was $6.79 per gallon at the local Shell station for a total of about $90.00 for a fill-up. Next time I will go to Costco for gas and save a few cents while taking advantage of my membership. I have had some videos about Costco products come across my feed and there are a few items I would like to try including their protein bars and dark chocolate toasted coconut cashews. The latest product people have been raving about are the mini cakes. I have heard about snickerdoodle and raspberry flavors. The man who recommended the raspberry is called "The Deal Guy" and he is a very friendly Canadian. I enjoy watching his videos. He said he could not wait to try these cakes and ate one as soon as he got in his car. I love snickerdoodles, during my baking heyday when I was a kid snickerdoodles were always my go-to cookie to bake because the ingredients were always on hand. The Duffins at B's Sweet Bites definitely taste like a snickerdoodle donut / muffin combo. They will be hard to beat!

As usual, there is much to do so until next time!