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Not sure if this will work. My three pups

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/DlXxrIp9TUsb0WjS

I,m buying one tomorrow for a remote job I'm doing. Probably 2 gal. Any recommendations. Hope to catch something on sale for Christmas.
Is this something you would buy on cragslist?

Gene asked this question in another post,

How do you sell your chairs? Internet, Craigslist local, newspaper, work of mouth, store front, consignment stores?

This topic comes up often so I thought I'd start a new thread and hope you all will join in. IBstichen answered a smiler question in his thread. I'm glad he is aboard, I think he'll be a valuable member.

First to add on to what IB said. For me buying and selling furniture is a hobby, a labor of love. And hopefully someday when I retire a way to make a little extra cash. Could I buy and sell furniture full time? Maybe, if I wanted to work harder and for less money, but I don't think that's possible. It is a good way to make a little extra money and its a nice complement to my upholstery business.

It also gives me something to do when we get slow. We just ended a 12 month working streak. For some reason, this year, everybody wants to wait till after Christmas to upholster their furniture. That's OK, I have a shed full of vintage, retro and antique furniture waiting to be done.

I sell all my furniture locally. There are people who do what I do and sell world wide. I don't want to hassle with packing and shipping. Especially when I see, first hand, what some of these shipping companies do to new furniture. That would drive me nuts.

Our best resale customers are our upholstery customers. Many times a customer will say they are looking for a piece to fit in a certain room and I'll mention I have furniture for sale. Next time I'm going to town I'll throw a couple pieces on the van and show it to them. Sold many pieces this way. Hint: Large ottomans are very hot and easy to find at thrift stores.

When I recover a piece of furniture my wife first adds it to our web site. Haven't sold a lot from there but it has brought many costumers to our upholstery business.

Many years ago we had good luck in the classifieds. I don't see much point now days. Newspapers are a dying breed. I think Craigslist has taken over this obscure mode of advertising. Only problem with Craigslist is scamers, but their easy to spot and when your dealing with cash you wont get ripped off. Craigslist only services large cities and we live rural so we turned our efforts to St. Augustine with some success.

I've had some luck in consignment stores too. But there commission is so high its hard to make a buck.

A couple of years ago we entered a garden and antique show. It was held at an up-scale shopping center in Gainesville. We only broke even but handed out business cards and picked up some costumers there. We are now getting ready for an antique and collectables show in St Augustine. Its supposed to be a good one. $400 for 3 days it should be. Here is the chair I'm working on.



I'll also finish the chair on my "chair date" post this week and start this chair next.


Interesting thing when I pulled this chair out of the shed I noticed a sticker that said, THE SERAPH A company owned by a lady named Alex Pifer. She designs 17th & 18th century reproduction furniture. Her web site
http://www.theseraph.com/
Its important to find info like this to resell your furniture. Just finished a leather chair. On the inside back was a stamp HW. Haywood Wakefield is very collectable. Its on my web site.

Hope I didn't bore you too much. I get carried away when it comes to furniture. I'll save "where to buy good used furniture and antiques" for another post.

I wonder if he is part of the one %.

http://video.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/v/1311009681001/breathing-new-life-into-a-dying-business/

Picked up this chair last weekend at an estate sale. I'm having a hard time pinning a date to it. I know it's not an antique but its for resale and the older the better. I'm hoping its from the 1940's but that's probably wishful thinking. More likely 50's maybe even 60's. I striped it down to get a better idea of the age.


The top of the back has a unique design, but that probably doesn't date it


What makes me think its old is there was no poly foam used and the base for the seat and back was this mat type material. I think its horse hair. And a thick layer of cotton over that.



Here's the back of the mat.



The front of the arm was covered



And when I took the cover off there was finished wood underneath.



The finish is in exceptional shape but I'm sure its been redone.



The only thing that tells me it's not old are the No Sag Springs. Although they are held together with little springs rather than edge wire.



Does anyone know when this type spring was first used. Couldn't find any info on Google.

Honest opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks all

If your a treasure hunter this book by Maureen Stanton is a good one.

She tags along with a professional antique dealer and tell clues and ideas of finding hidden gems at flea markets, auctions, yard sales and antique stores.

Through out the book she inserts stories about the history of antiques and what to look for when hunting.

She tells one story of Gustav Stickley. Before he was well known he worked at the Auburn, NY state prison teaching inmates woodworking. While he was there the electric chair fell over and he was asked to design a new one. She says its beautiful and is now a collectors piece. Weird.

She tells about a family register dating back to 1780 worth $10,000 to $15,000. Her mentor picked it up for $2000. Interesting.

The book came out this year so the prices are real. I got my copy at the library.

Its a fun book and easy to read, easy enough for ME to read anyway.

Found this on e-bay's antique chat room. It made me laugh at myself.


Eye halve a spelling chequer

It came with my pea sea

It plainly marques four my revue

Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.



Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It shows me strait a weigh.



As soon as a mist ache is maid

It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the error rite

Its rare lea ever wrong.



Eye have run this poem threw it

I am shore your pleased two no

Its letter perfect awl the weigh

My chequer tolled me sew.

Who was your greatest influence in your life?

When I was growing up my best friends parents owned a successful office supply business. In the ten years I hung out with my friend I watched this hard working couple grow a business from a small store front with one employe  to a large warehouse with 5 or more employes. They owned a nice house on the bay. Drove nice cars and could afford to go any where they wanted, though they seldom did. Neither had a collage degree but managed to do vary well for them self's. They always encouraged their sons to do better than themselves.

Over the years I've thought of them often and when I started my own business I thought if they could do it so can I. I'm not as successful yet but I'm working on it.

A furniture store asked me to check on a complaint their having from a customer. Turns out they are a good customer of mine also.

Among several problems with the leather sofa is the cushions keep sliding out. The bottom of the cushion is a slick black fabric. The customer told me they were supposed to have Velcro on the bottom. When I talked to the furniture store owner and he was very surprised there was none. I told him Velcro is usually sewn on before the piece is assembled. I told him I could glue some on but we both agreed this probably would fail. The seat front is built up about 1" higher than the deck so I don't think this is the problem

Does any one have any other ideas.

Sold my two retro office chairs this weekend. Yahoo!

I ordered a case of Bea staples from my supplier. The staples have an unusually large amount of glue holding them together. This glue was building up on the driver bar to the point that it would cause the gun to malfunction.

The fix was easy. Simply remove the the large screw on the top of the plunger chamber and remove the plunger. Take fine sand paper, 150 grit or less, and sand the drive bar smooth. Remove all build up till the bar is nice and shinny again. While I had it apart I wiped it down with a rag and added a few drops of oil.

I put it back together and now its as good as new.   

Would you look at that... I'm a YaBB God. I thought I heard angels singing. With this comes a lot of power and responsibility. Although I haven't got that water to wine thing down yet. And I still can't spell worth a damn. DEMONS BE GONE!!!  That felt good.

I don't know if I should laugh or cry. And next month is my one year anniversary.  The GS says I've spent 9 days and 15 hrs on here. Am I one sorry SOB or what.

In honor of international talk like a pirate day...

Q: Why are pirates called 'pirates'?

A: Because they Aarrrrrr!


What be a pirates favorite letter?

No, not Arrrh.

P - It's like an R but it be missing a leg.


"On a battle at sea with a pirate ship, the Naval Captain asks for his red shirt. After winning it, he was asked, "Sir, what was the red shirt for", he answered", it was to give you guys courage in case I was injured and you would not see my blood". Gratified, the soldiers admired him. On the next day, ten pirate ships attacked, the Captain yelled, "Give me my brown pants!"

And just to keep it upholstery related...

Where does a pirate sit?
In his favorite chaarrrr

A pirate walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "Hey, Pirate! Do you know you have a steering wheel sticking out of your fly?"

The pirate answers, "Aargh! It's drivin' me nuts!"



The Pirate

A seaman meets a pirate in a bar. The two men take turns boasting of their adventures on the high seas.

The seaman notes that the pirate has a peg-leg, hook, and an eyepatch. He asks, "So, how did you end up with the peg-leg?"

The pirate replies, "We were in a storm at sea, and I was swept overboard into a school of sharks. Just as my men were pulling me out a shark bit my leg off."

"Wow!" said the seaman. "What about your hook"?

"Well," replied the pirate, "while my men and I were plundering in the middle east, I was caught stealing from a merchant. I was arrested and my hand was cut off."

"Incredible!" remarked the seaman. "How did you get the eyepatch?"

"A sea gull dropping fell into my eye," replied the pirate.

"You lost your eye to a sea gull dropping?" the sailor asked incredulously.

"Well," said the pirate, "it was my first day with the hook..."

Help please. I can't find what size bobbin to get for a Juki 563.

Quote from wife after looking at pilling on COM fabric, "I think I'm going to stop selling fabric, its too scary, the crap their making lately".

Meet me at the beach. Surfs up.

It's aggravating when the tip on my glue bottle gets clogged. I try to dig it out but it just buggers up the whole tip.
I found if you soak the tip in water over night, the next morning it cleans up just as easy as you please.

Last week I delivered a small sofa with one wide cushion in the seat. Customer called this morning saying when she gets up from siting in it, she sees wrinkles.

I told her I would come and wrap it with Dacron. I also told her this is typical for a cushion this size and its difficult to give enough "push" to the foam to keep the wrinkles out and still make the cushion look good. Usually I tell them this when I pick it up, but this time I forgot.

One other option could be to make two cushions out of the one. Should this be a freebee?
Any other ideas? I'll see her Friday. Thanks.

Here's some good advice on how to create a business card by Desiree Farnum

http://www.gainesvillebizreport.com/how-to-create-an-effective-business-card/

How about a card with your info on the front and a picture of your work on the back?