Okay, when I said "tomorrow," I really meant "the day after tomorrow."

But of course you knew that, right?

Anyway, here is the new booth space in all its glory.  The day I expanded into the extra space, I meant to take my camera and do lots of "before", "after", and "process" shots, but I totally forgot it!  Sometimes it's pathetic that I'm such a lousy blogger.

Anyway, here's the "after" shot.  I'll try to talk you through the changes.

 

If you can see that tape line running through the middle of the booth, that used to be where the wall of my booth was.  Mine was the nearer space and the one I moved into was the farther space.  I love the way dropping the wall opened the space up so much.  That whole end of the mall feels different without it!  (Plus, it removed a hidey hole for would be shoplifters.  That's always a good thing.)

The booth ends at the big raccoon sitting on the cot.  Moving my white wall over and down where it is now made more of the peg board available and usable, since the wall isn't being used primarily as a border any more.

I love having those two card tables in the middle as an island.  I never had room before and it gives me a lot of space for smalls.  Some small items get lost on a shelf, but are more distinct and obvious on a table.

Finally, you actually have to imagine the picture without the green and white file cabinets or the cot, since they've sold already.

And here are some bonus shots.  First, my religion wall, which is right across from my booth.  There's a little bit too much on it at the moment, but I kind of dumped a lot of stuff that I needed to get out of my stockpile in there.  It's been selling pretty briskly, so it should be thinned out some in a few weeks.  I'm planning on bringing in some nails and a hammer and hanging the crucifixes on the wall.  That would provide more display and uncrowd the shelves a little.

And finally, my book and media space, which needs some work.  I've got some plans for a revamp over the spring/summer, but it's going to be a work in progress for a while.  On the other side of the back wall is my big booth, so I want to find a way to connect the two spaces and get some flow going.  I think I want to move some bookshelves from home to use for display.  They are not as long as the walls, so it will open a gap between the booths.  The extra shelves on the sets at home will make up for the loss of size from the wall.  However, before I can do that, I need to come up with something to do with the walls.  I won't really need them at that point, so I'm thinking I'll sell them, even though it will take a while to get them sold.

And, there you have it, Eddie's Attic, v. 3.0!

Big Doings!

So, one day last month, I'm pulling up to the back of the mall to unload to do my weekly restock and re-foof at the booth.  Regular visit are necessary to keep the space looking fresh and clean.  Even after a slow week, there's still a lot of trash to clean out.  Sometimes, the restock is less extensive than others, but the weekly stop is a must.  Just moving things around can give the space a new look.

Anyway, the manager is stepping out for a smoke and she tells me that the guy who has the booth in between my spaces is moving to a new spot in the mall, and he suggested that they check with me about the space.  Now, I've been kidding this guy for months that I was going to squeeze him out and found an empire at our end of the mall.  I'd call it "Ed Mart."

Since there are usually a lot of open spaces at the beginning of the year, the mall has been running a special where you can get a second slot for half price.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to get it, because I did one of those deals last year, but I decided to go for it.

So, since the first of the month, I've now been the vendor for three contiguous spaces in one end of the mall, plus a wall space across the aisle.  Getting it all ready and keeping up with it has taken a lot of time, so the blog has suffered while I've tried to adjust, but it's coming into control now.  I think.

What's really nice is that I now have what amounts to a double space at the end of an aisle.  I control both corners.  I'm still figuring out the time it takes to keep this one up and working out how much to bring in each week is more challenging now.  I'm having to break a year's worth of habits, which really is a good thing.  You don't want to be too comfortable.

Sales have jumped, but it remains to be seen if they've boosted enough to cover the new rent, plus give me the take home I want.  Still, I do think that this is the only way to keep growing the booth.  It's enabling me to carry some larger items, which attract new buyers.

I'll post some photos tomorrow and more news as this develops!