MY INSTAGRAM ADVENTURE

Recently I shared that after almost 40 years of selling and having fun doing it,  I closed my little home decor shop.  The reasons are too complicated to enumerate.  Suffice it to say that it was unexpected and unplanned.  Now I find myself retired with lots of stuff.  

My solution:  Start selling on Instagram.   I created my account, @shopmycollectedhome, and started posting images.  Some items are from the store and some are from my home.  (The result of a life time of collecting.)  

I do have a  dilemma with online selling.  I'm totally intimidated by shipping.  How do you online sellers do it?  The thought of finding a box for odd-sized items, packing them,  and then estimating shipping is overwhelming to me.  I'm only doing local pick up.  You can see that this decision severely limits my selling potential.

Enough of my misadventure.  You know how I always find quirky ways to do things.  I thought you might enjoy some behind-the-scenes ways I'm photographing my stuff. 

Initially I was placing items on a table in front of a blank wall.  The items could be seen clearly, but I soon realized that if I wanted people to drive to me to get their purchases, I would have to make the images worthy of a trip.  LOL.  I thought about using vignettes in my home as a back drop, but then realized that people would want to buy the items in the background that I wasn't ready to sell.  (I'm a hoarder if you haven't noticed.)

The weather was still pleasant when I created the account.  I started out using the great outdoors as a back drop.  I'd been trying to figure out how to sell my lighting.  I didn't want to just put it on a table.  My solution was to just hang the lighting in one of the trees in my back yard.

PENDANT LIGHTING IN MY TULIP MAGNOLIA

My other photo staging spot was the garden bench.  I draped a large fabric map of New York on to the bench, attached part of it to tree a branch and added a grouping of vintage mirrors.   (I cropped out the clamp.)

VINTAGE MIRRORS ON MY GARDEN BENCH

I used the bench with the map as a backdrop for these planters too.

FRENCH INSPIRED PLANTERS

The weather became too cold for me to shoot the stuff outside.  Of course I came up with more solutions.  I wanted to sell artwork but I didn't want to put holes in my walls to do that.  I have enough holes already from my refusal to measure when hanging art.  My solution:  Put the art on the rug on the floor.  Who would know that I didn't hang it?  I used my sisal rug as a neutral background.

FAUX HANGING ART

I had the same dilemma with mirrors.  I solved two problems with this solution.  I used my zebra rug as the background.  The second result was that the mirror reflected the solid white ceiling.  If you take any photos you know that mirror reflections are hard to work around.

MIRROR ON MY ZEBRA RUG

I used this same idea with some tole trays.  My buffalo checked tablecloth is the background.  I had to stand on a step ladder to get a straight shot.  Success.  I'm planning on selling some transferware dishes soon.  I'll use this same idea to create a no nails needed "plate wall". 

VINTAGE TOLE TRAYS

Now this next solution will give you a chuckle I think.  I recalled that I always used decorator paper as backdrops in the store.  Again, how to hang it without making holes in the wall.  My solution was to clamp it on to one of the french doors.  It worked perfectly.  No walls were damaged in the process and the natural light from the room is perfect.  Here's the decorator paper.  Of course I cropped the clamps out of the picture.  I have several different papers so it's easy to change the back ground.

DECORATOR PAPER CLAMPED TO MY FRENCH DOOR

This paper was the perfect back drop for these pink swirl vintage dishes.  They sold!!!!

VINTAGE PINK FIRE KING DISHES

I haven't sold these vintage Bombay Company pair of urns.  Fingers crossed.

PAIR OF VINTAGE URNS

You've seen that large woven tray on my ottoman.  It was the my solution for selling some dishes.  The sloped sides offered some support and the natural reed made the back ground pretty.

TRANSFERWARE PLATES AND TOPIARY NAPKIN RINGS

I put the goat fur runner on my dining room table to work for these Victorian fish knives and forks.

VICTORIAN FISH KNIVES AND FORKS

So far sales have been lukewarm at best.   Should I continue?    I must admit that I'm having fun staging for the photos.  I would love to hear from any of you who have experience selling on line.  You can comment here or privately by e-mail.

Or, should I just enjoy being retired and let my kids call 1-800-GOTJUNK?