Thursday, January 10, 2013

WHAT IS HOB NOBBERS?

What is Hob Nobbers?
 Here's a quick recap for my newest readers in 2013: We are three ladies who love vintage and antique treasures and have turned our passions into a business via twice yearly occasional sales... then I blog about it (along with my other interests). We each have different styles and tastes which helps us offer a wonderful mix of treasures from farmhouse country, to romantic pretties, to primitives and more! Below are photos of some of our occasional sales...

Karen, Renee, and I ( Sandy )

this was one of my favorite pieces... along with the green bread box

younger people seem to like the retro style

this antique wicker  corner chair was snapped up by the first person in the door


linens,linens, and more linens ...these and racks of vintage tablecloths are one of our most popular items





 Our events are like parties where we open a beautiful historical home ( where we live in the West wing and act as Resident Directors) filled with treasures we've collected. Our customers are lined up 45 minutes before we open in order to get the first "pick" of the treasures.
here's one of our Memorial Day sales...and the line keeps going...


our alter egos


 We offer free gourmet coffee while you shop and friendly helpers walk around offering assistance where needed. We have a "holding room" where we hold the shoppers' items while they shop for more.  Our husbands help carry out bigger items to our customer's vehicles.We have so much FUN that most of the time you will hear us laughing with hilarity! We get excited when someone picks up a treasure they've been looking for forever and WE FOUND IT FOR THEM!  SWEET!

 But maybe the best part of all is that our prices are  reasonable. You don't think twice before snapping something up for yourself or as a gift for another vintage lover. Our customers include antique dealers who purchase for their shops. We believe that we don't have to be the last people to make money on something. So we look for the best deals in order to pass them on to our customers!

We also give a portion of our proceeds to a ministry that my daughter and her husband started in China. They help vulnerable women to make a living by knitting scarves. I'll be posting about that also in the near future.

Since it's pretty slow "picking" during the winter, we often use that time to  work on projects. I'll be showing some items we're working on that will be for sale at our next event in the spring.

I'm considering now doing some  online sales.  Just to test it out, I put a beautiful 1920's wicker set on Craigslist.  It sold quickly. I'm just hesitant getting into the "packing and mailing thing" but we'll see. If you have any advice about online selling I'd appreciate it!

4 piece 1920's wicker set SOLD
 We have SO MANY items that it's worth a cross country trip! And you get into the mansion for FREE!


 A great big  JOYFUL WELCOME  to my newest followers:

Laura from I'm So Vintage
Kim from Snug Harbor
Stacey from Poofing The Pillows
Cindy from Old Time Pickers
Latoya from A Peaceful Crib
Esther from Shabby Cottage Collectibles
Pam from Winkel's Crazy Ideas

28 comments:

  1. MY EYES ARE MOSTLY DRAWN TO THE LINENS! Lovely!

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    1. Karen is known as our "linen lady" and her linens are amazing! We have a whole room full of them! A special post on these coming soon!

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  2. That would be amazing to be able to sell from such a location. I only sell online, but I would enjoy doing something similar as you if I had the location. Selling online is pretty comfortable...so far. Orders come in and I send them off with no problems. And thank you for the warm welcome!
    Farmhouse hugs,
    Cindy

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    1. We feel really blessed to have this space to sell our treasures "party style". Many people from out of town wander the grounds and stop in not knowing about the sale ahead of time. Then they buy things to take home...
      Thanks for your input on selling online :)

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  3. LOVE that retro set - I'd love a set like that. I also really like the wicker set, which would look cool at my lake house.

    Lots of cool looking stuff you have there.

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    1. I have a hard time not keeping everything for myself!

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  4. Thanks for the warm welcome. I love what you do and where you live. I sell strictly online. The packing and shipping can be a bear, but I try to limit my items to things I can lift by myself. Stay warm.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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    1. OK good idea to sell the smaller stuff online. Will try that first.

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  5. Oh, and I forgot to mention how cute the three of you look in your aprons. :)

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    1. Thanks! Aprons are kind of our "signature uniform".

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  6. What you do sounds like so much fun. A lot of work and planning, obviously, but still fun. I would love to come and peek at those linens.

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    1. It IS a lot of work especially because each of us has SO MUCH STUFF! But we have LOTS of help with our families, we bring snacks to share, and have fun! Food, family, fun...can't get any better than THAT!

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  7. oh my goodness!! we are so much alike ladies :) love your alter egos...and the linens....we're swooning ~ a trip...we'll have to see if we can't schedule that in for 2013! Good luck with that online selling...we're going to try making the jump this year as well...for SMALL stuff, then we'll see how it goes ~ lol!!

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    1. Karen is our "linen lady" who finds the most beautiful linens in addition to bringing boxes of them down from her attic. She's been a collector since she was young. Then she gets them looking like new, hangs them on vintage wooden hangers, and attaches a name to them with scrabble letters.

      Would love to hear how your online sales go. I'll probably start with small items also! ;)

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    1. We DO have a lot of FUN! We feel blessed to be doing what we love!

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  9. I am so glad you stopped by my selling series so I could find you! What a great adventure you are on with twice yearly sales....Oh ya, linen! Love it! I am your newest follower, I am not missing another post. I love that you have everything at your sale, mid century is sooo hot right now!

    Carol
    PS: did you know when you reply on a comment, the person you replied to never sees it unless they come back and look at the post ...I know it is confusing!

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    1. Well, here I am replying to you and you won't be reading it. lol Guess I better start e-mailing my replies.
      Thanks for the follow. I'm now heading off to send you an e-mail. ; )

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  10. Oh what a great concept, really exciting! Thank you so much for updating us new readers. Wish l could pop in and do some sereous shopping when you have your next sale!! Hope your weekend is a very good one, blessings Pam

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    1. Thanks, Pam! We have fun doing it and also make money! What could be better than THAT?

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  11. great post mom! we had a blast helping at your last sale!

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  12. I think what you are doing is so wonderful! Doing something like that would very much be in line with living my own dream life! You should come to Florida during this season, this is when the sales here are really rockin'!

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    1. Would LOVE to go to Florida! We vacation in Panama City Beach every Spring. My sister lives in Naples so we get down there as often as we can also! Love Florida!

      Actually it was this workshop that my friend and I put together that showed me that vintage sales were in line with my dream life so I DID it and I LOVE it! Another part of my dream life was motivating others to discover what I've learned about living your dreams and now I'm doing THAT also!

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    2. That's wonderful! Just after reading these few recent posts on your blog and beginning the work for the workshop I'm already thinking about how I could do something similar to what you are doing. I own a rental home which is currently not rented - meanwhile I have a ton of vintage stuff (and I mean a TON!)all stored away in 2 garages, a big bonus room and 2 attics. I could do what you are doing almost immediately, I have the inventory - IF my job wasn't in the way, it's consuming every ounce of my life at the moment! Hoping to figure things out at the workshop! :)

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  13. Wow! You DO have lots of stuff! You could absolutely have occasional sales! You've got everything you need and more! You could start out with one sales event and add more later. We take one day to set up and hold the sale for a day and a half. I pick up my treasures mostly from Spring to Fall. During the winter I make tags. It all seems to work out well! I also was working full time when I began this but needed some kind of creative outlet. Having a creative outlet that you enjoy helps a lot! ;)

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  14. Great post, sounds like you have a BLAST! I sure wish I lived closer!!!

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  15. Ohhh I would love to make a trip there ! Sounds so wonderful! Love the aprons on all of you!!

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