Selling in a booth at a market and make FIVE figures!

how to set up a booth at a market

Selling at markets are not for the faint of heart. It is HARD work! A local market called St. Louis Vintage Market Days is happening April 13-15.

With the market gearing up there are a lot of first time vendors emailing me asking for advice. I find that so so flattering because I think my booth by and large usually is sub par. I know I know, I am to hard on myself but let me explain. Up until…

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General Finishes Chalk Style Paint

Yes, the rumors are true! General Finishes is coming out with a chalk style paint!

Most of you know my feelings on chalk paint. I have tested dozens and dozens of primers, paints, and sealers and it just isn’t my cup of tea…or diet coke 😉 Anyway, General Finishes contacted me back in June and asked what I would want to see in a chalk paint and my first thought was “I wouldn’t like to see one”. LOL. Real helpful. But it was true. I use General Finishes Acrylic Paints & Glazes for the following reasons:

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How to Quit the Corporate World

This post was born out of my 1 year update from leaving the corporate world behind. That’s right, I quit the corporate world! With my FULL BLOWN Mid Life Crisis a year behind me I feel like I may be able to offer useful advice. I went from being a Systems Engineer to being a designer, painter, DIY educator among 50 other things.  I encourage you to read the back story and the 1 year update to truly get to where I am today and understand the advice.
I am…

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Quick Tips #5 Waxing Tips

I get asked ALL the time about using wax under certain conditions.  Although I am not a wax expert, I have still done extensive enough research and talked to enough wax experts to know the following rules apply.  I thought it would be helpful to share. For those of you that know me, you know that I do not use wax as a sealer, I do use it to buff sometimes though. Anyway, these are the most common questions I get, so I wanted to list my answers out for you and give…

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Kitchen Cabinet Pro Mistakes

I get questions from my out of staters all the time regarding hiring their kitchen out. Here are some tidbits you may find helpful. This is not a how-to but kind of an insiders scoop on some things to pay attention to.
I have painted a lot of kitchens. A lot. I have painted a lot of furniture too. I have painted enough of both to know there is a HUGE difference. The first time I painted a kitchen (my own) I sat at Quizzno’s telling one of my best friends…

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Quick Tips # 4 How to Pick Gray! My super power.

You didn’t know I was a super hero?? That’s so sad for you! I kid.

But I do have this strange ability to pick grays… gray paint.

Here are a couple things to consider that you need to answer…

1) Are you a blue gray person?

2) Are you a purple gray person?

3) Are you a greige person?

4) Are you a true gray person?

Everyone is going to like a different gray. It is a fact of life. So, not only do you need…

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When Disaster Strikes

I was at one of my lovely client’s homes a few weeks ago working away. While there I was removing all of the cabinets, removing the hardware and making stacks to carry out to my car later. I turned my back and somehow a few of the doors come FLYING off the counter. I 100% focused on saving the doors. Stuck my leg out, did a ninja move and got the doors safely all the way to the ground. So when I went to pick them up, these lovely gouges were underneath them….

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Using Primer On Painted Furniture

Primer Primer Primer. I have used, tested, tried, and broken up with at least a dozen primers.

Primer on your walls is more or less fine. I am talking about primer on furniture. When I was new to the paint world I used an every day latex primer. Why? Because I thought that was what you were supposed to do.

Apparently, not everything you read on the internet is true!?!?!

Actually, I thought you were supposed to do lots of things certain ways but have learned that everything depends on approximately 1…

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Chalk Paint, Milk Paint, & Other Things

This past weekend I wrote a blog post that border line broke the internet. I kid I kid.

Let me summarize:

For months…..well longer than that, but we will go with months….I have contemplated writing a post on chalk paint. I have a lot of friends that use it and didn’t want to hurt feelings so I wrote it and came back to it probably 10 times to edit it and never had the courage to publish it.

Well, most of you don’t know this, but I have an autoimmune disease. It is…

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Chalk Paint & Wax

Here it is. It has been a long time coming. Chalk Paint Pros and Cons. I get asked almost EVERY DAY if I use chalk paint and/or wax. The answer is a resounding no.  In no way is it meant to be taken as a knock on anyone that uses it and loves it but here are my personal reasons for NOT using it. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy from people that use chalk paint…it is just why we don’t use it.

**Disclaimer- I will say this now,…

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