Welcome to our new weekly newsletter…
Watch for it every Thursday or every OTHER Thursday!
Volume I Issue 4
Hi! Welcome BACK to our new “Lynn’s Consignments” newsletter. This is Issue 4! As this newsletter evolves, it may become an every other week kind of thing. Or maybe I will just write it when I feel like it. There are no RULES! Praise the Lord there is one benefit to owning your own business!!!!
Thank you to everyone who wrote in with such amazing suggestions for our title.
Please place your vote by following this link. VOTE
https://forms.gle/qb8DxAQjbV7BRzNX9
Whoever comes up with the winning moniker will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to the store…..
For those of you who don’t know, my grandmother was Cheryl Leaf of Cheryl Leaf Antiques & Gifts…a Bellingham, WA Antiques & Gifts store that she owned & operated for over 52 years. She was AMAZING!
In each of these first few newsletters, I will be sharing fun tidbits about my grandmother because she is a big reason I opened this crazy fun store! She is also the one who taught me so much about business and antiques, but most importantly lessons about life!
After we closed my grandmother’s store in 2002, I decided to move back to California (where I had gone to college…. USC Trojans baby!) and I chose Palm Desert as a great place to raise my kids.
We lived in Palm Desert from 2002 until we moved to Ventura in 2018 on Valentines day (almost exactly 2 years ago today!) to open the store. I still have a lot of great estate sale contacts and great friends that live in the desert. After not being able to source very successfully for my eBay business in the Ventura area, I have decided to make a trip once a month to the desert. Business & Pleasure!
As you are reading this I am having the time of my life in Palm Desert because it it Road Trip time!
This February sourcing trip is super fun because one of my best friends from High School, Tina Burke Brown, is going to be down from Seattle. She and her husband Jerry used to own a vacation home in Indian Ridge Palm Desert, but sold it recently. Bummer!
We used to spend a lot of time together hanging out at my eBay office…and we both miss those days! So will try and recreate it on this trip. Here is a picture of Tina, my mom, her sister-in-law Polly (who is married to her brother Billy) and Aaron my UPS driver at my eBay office in Palm Desert. BTW, Tina’s brother is Billy Burke (the actor) who played the dad in the Twilight Series!
In my Instagram post from 2015 I talk about those awesome foo dogs! Well, I just picked up some amazing Alabaster stone Foo Dogs here in Palm Springs….Check them out in the back of my SUV. Not sure what I am going to price them but they are…..AAAAAAAAAWESOME!
OK, but back to that photo of Tina and me from 2015…Let’s compare it to how we looked back in 1981 in high school. There are quite a few of my high school best friends in this photo. Can you guess which one is me? Which one is Tina? I will give you a hint…I was born with strawberry blonde red hair 🙂 and got a perm just for fun. LOL.
OK, but back to the store because that is ultimately why were are here….. Right? Check out this amazing faux leather brown chaise lounge that just came in….$395.
Time for an eBay score! I bought this vintage Cigarette box at a local estate sale here in Ventura. I paid $15 which wasn’t cheap, but it was done by a famous mid century designer Bjorn Wiindblad. Gotta love eBay!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/312824560366
But back to my trip to the Desert (Palm Desert), I will also be hanging out with my awesome friends Mo, Kel and Candy (all of us friends because our boys played baseball together)! We always have fun when we get together, usually thrifting and then happy hour. Here is a recent picture of all of us on one of our annual trips up to Bellingham to visit my mama.
I woke up the morning of my road trip to a text from both my son, Houston, and my daughter, Indiana! I LOVE it when that happens 🙂 Very rare occurrence unless they need money!
So, lets first discuss the text from the Goose aka Houston. It was just a photo from the front door of his house in OKC showing snow…LOL! Finally! I text him back and said “Your first snow since you were a kindergartener!”
Then I looked closer at the photo. There was my dad’s Mercedes across the street from his house (I circled it for you). I miss my dad….ugh!
Long story short, my dad passed away recently and he left my son (Houston) his pride and joy….his Mercedes. It is a “sick” beautiful green sedan that originally belonged to Bill Gates. And now it is buried in snow in Oklahoma City. LOL!
Sorry for that tangent…but that is just who I am and how I write. Oh, well! But back to the story at hand…the last time that Houston was in snow.
Then, I realized that there was another important snow storm that Houston was a part of…..this is from my eBay ezine dated March 12, 2009 Volume V, Issue 6……I wrote this over 10 years ago…..
“Last Wednesday night was our Queen’s Court call, and I was dying to spill the beans about my dad’s 75th. Mo, however, wouldn’t let me–smart girl. On Thursday morning, Houston, Indy and I were scheduled to fly to Bellingham to surprise my dad. Well, we got to the airport in the morning and due to snow in Bellingham, we were delayed until 4 pm that day.
We finally arrived in Bellingham at 7:30 pm and it was freezing. My mom picked us up and quickly drove us to my sister’s house and when we arrived we put Houston and Indy in a huge box that I had shipped up for the surprise.
My sister called my dad and said in a panic: “The sink you fixed is leaking can you come right over or should I call Uncle Rusty?” My dad was NOT happy. He had just sat down to watch his favorite basketball team (Gonzaga) play a game. He stormed into my sister’s house with a wrench and flashlight in hand. Kristin stopped him and said don’t you want to open this early Birthday present? No way. He was ANGRY.
So, after realizing that the sink was NOT leaking, he came in to the living room and saw Indiana sticking out of the box. I have never seen anyone in such SHOCK. It was awesome.
Check out the photo with my dad still holding on tightly to his wrench!
I think he was in such shock because we had bought him a plane ticket to come and visit us as his birthday present. He was scheduled to fly in to see us in just six days. We had a very fun time in Bellingham and the best was yet to come.
Check out my family on the beach in the snow. What crazy weather! Houston said it was his best vacation ever. And you can see he is holding an axe handle that he uses to hit rocks into the ocean. No bat, no problem. Just give him a piece of wood.
There were still more surprises for my dad, and if anyone deserves to be treated well, it is him. My dad’s wife, Sue, and her daughters had planned a surprise birthday party for Saturday night. But before the party on Saturday afternoon, we hauled that big box over to my dad’s house, set it up on the porch and my brother Lee (who had just flown in from LA) got inside. We rang the doorbell and all of us started giggling. My dad comes out and says “Whatever is in that box, I don’t want it.” And then Lee popped out.
The party later that day was awesome! He was truly surprised and about 75 people showed up to help him celebrate.”
Sooooo that was the most recent snowstorm that my son had been involved with. LOL
Back to the present day and the text I got from Indiana on the morning I left for the desert.
“Just wanted to let y’all know, I did stand up for the first time tonight! Clayton, Cat and I went to a place in LA and each did a 5 min set. Super fun.”
OMG! How cool is that? She is a theatre major at Pepperdine and a member of the PIT (Pepperdine Improv Troupe) but she had never done stand up before. I am duly impressed!
OK, time for another eBay score because…well just because. They are soooo much fun and this is why I have been selling on eBay for over 20 years! It is like gambling, but you never lose. Seriously! If any of you would ever like a tour of my back eBay room where we house the 14,000 items that are currently listed…just ask?
This amazing Mid Century Modern Ice Bucket sold for a best offer of $100 Australian (which is about $70 US).
Our next Annie Sloan basics only paint class is almost SOLD OUT. We have ONE seat left for the class which will be held on Saturday, February 8th from 10:30 to 12:30 ish. Cost is $69. We found that it was almost impossible to get you out for an evening paint class so we have now moved it to the day. Way more fun! Spaces are limited so sign up here now.
If you have any questions please call the store at 805-628-3289…
This is the Basic Course offering an Introduction to the Annie Sloan Method of Chalk Painting….Furniture, Lamp Shades, Fabric and just about anything!
You will create 3 Sample Boards with different finishes to take with you and all the confidence and knowledge you need to go home and tackle any project!!!
Can’t wait to see you and help you learn about the…..
BEST PAINT IN THE WORLD!!!
CARLOS’ Corner…..OK, so yes I am obsessed with my new kitty, Carlos. He is AWESOME! and so darling. I will update you on his progress in every newsletter and Emma thinks it should be called Carlos’ Corner…any other ideas?
The shelter estimates his birthday as October 13, 2019. That makes him about 16 weeks old. I LOVE THIS kitty!
Here is a recent photo of him after he “helped” me finish writing a chapter of my Antiques from A to Z eBook. We were both worn out!
I am super happy to announce that I just finished writing a chapter of Antiques from A to Z! I am almost done with this eBook that has taken 3 years and currently stands at about 800 pages. For those of you not familiar with my writing career, I have written for McGraw Hill, Wiley and Scholastic. I have also written quite a few eBooks to teach people about eBay and what sells…like antiques J
For those of you who have NOT purchased the eBook, here is a bit more about it.
In an ezine from 2015, I told the story about how I spotted a Russian Enamel Spoon in a case at an estate sale. I didn’t even need it to be taken out of the case for me to know. Thanks to my grandma, I have an “eagle” eye for antiques, just like she did.
It was marked $125 and they thought it was cloisonné. It was a type of Russian enamel cloisonné and I bargained them down to $100 and bought it. I figured I could probably sell it for about $500. My hunch paid off and one week later, after a bidding war, it ended up selling for over $500. Nice profit for a seven day turn around don’t you think?
Here is that spoon.
Thanks to my grandmother for all of the wonderful things she taught me over the years…not only life lessons but all about antiques and their value. We would sit around her round oak table with a stack of reference books between us and attempt to price new stock. It would take hours (there was no Google, Terapeak or Worthpoint back then). We would often just give up and count to three and both say a price at the same time. More often than not, we would name the same price and bust up laughing!
Here is a photo of my grandma on the front porch of her antique and gift store at 2828 Northwest Avenue.
It is hard to explain all of the amazing things my grandmother taught me but I will be passing along many of those lessons about antiques in our new eBook. “Antiques from A to Z” by Cheryl Leaf and Lynn Dralle. I am very excited about this eBook and have already written quite a bit of it! It amazes me when I see something (like that Russian spoon) and innately know that it is good…thanks to her 🙂 I want you to be able to do the same thing!
Pre-order now. http://tinyurl.com/AntiquesAZ
I was very lucky to grow up hanging around her and working in her shop. She was such a pioneer and started teaching classes on antiques back in the 1960’s and I came across her notes a few years ago. I had been hoarding these notes and knew that someday I would use them to write a book on antiques. Check out the shoe box that they were in with “Antique Book” written on one side.
What I find so fascinating about my grandmother and her notes is that she was super organized and gathered her information not only from antique magazines like “Hobbies” & “The Antique Trader”, but also from exhibiting at 18 antique shows a year in addition to reference books and from personally visiting every important museum in the world. Well, practically!
Here is a picture of me when I was six years old and we were in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. That is my mom behind me. Don’t I look thrilled to be there? I was also there with my dad, my brother, my grandma and grandpa. Not sure who took the picture but I would guess either my dad or my grandpa (Elmer Leaf).
I am super excited to announce that “Antiques from A to Z” is still available for pre-order http://tinyurl.com/AntiquesAZ.
I have finished sorting all of her detailed class notes by letter of the alphabet and I have at least one subject if not 10 for each and every letter of the alphabet except for x, y and z 🙂 I have completed 8 volumes through the letter “O” and the eBook is about 800 pages so far. Yikes! But, I promise it is a fun and interesting read. The last 3 volumes will be finished by May of this year.
In Antiques from A to Z by Cheryl Leaf and Lynn Dralle I am going to share my grandmother’s writing and then my take on that subject in today’s eBay world with tips and tricks for sourcing and selling those higher end items. I will be showcasing some amazing scores! What is really awesome is that I will be able to share about rare pieces that weren’t necessarily signed and hopefully teach you how to have that same “eagle” eye and be able to turn $100 into $531 in just a week.
Pre-order now http://tinyurl.com/AntiquesAZ
Now, let’s check out some of the new fun furnishings that came into the store recently.
This awesome antique cash register came in at $295. It will go down 20% on February 9th if it is still in stock. If you see something you like, please come in ASAP because you know…things don’t last at Lynn’s.
Don’t forget that most of our gift items can now be purchased on our website! Super FUN and please keep checking back as we add more and more items. We will even be adding unique one of a kind items from the store that can be shipped or picked up in person. Super EXCITING time as we continue to grow our business both here and all over the world! Here is a link to our website. https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/
Now let’s take a look at more fun stuff in the store…..We just got an amazing shipment of Drawer Pulls/Knobs in and all that you see in this photo sell for only $6.95 each. What?????
These will be up on our website soon. Watch for it!
AND in HUGE news! Baggu came out with their new SPRING line two days ago. My favorites are the Lobster and the Cheetah…come in and check out the new Baggus before they sell out!
OK! Now for more fun items in the store. Y’all (that Y’all comes from visiting Houston in Oklahoma City this past October where he is doing his Masters Ed teaching this year–I LOVE saying Y’all) This is an amazing double rocker that is down to like $177. That is like FREE!
OH My Goodness! The good news just never ends at Lynn’s……I am super duper excited to announce that we will be holding an outdoor POP up in the LOT market every 3rd Saturday of each month.
The first Pop Up will take place on Saturday, February 15th!
WE NEED VENDORS…
More details to follow, but we have room for about 20 vendors. Please contact us in the store, by phone or email (popupinthelot@gmail.com) if you are interested in exhibiting.
OK, one last photo share of the store before I end this third newsletter. I am on a ROLL…4 for 4! And this is from exactly 2 years ago when we were moving my eBay business into the back of the store. Can you believe how many boxes we had to unpack? OMG! Those were crazy days 🙂
This photo shows the back eBay room about two years ago through the roll up doors…can you believe how empty it is? We have come a long way BABY! Thank you VENTURA for helping us make my dream a reality! WE LOVE YOU!
Again…..A Happy New Year and a Happy New Decade from the Lynn’s Consignments team to you and your family! We hope to see you soon!
Pictured…Ktea, Sandy, Indiana, me, Val, Adolio, Peggy and Mor Mor!
Thanks for reading my ezines! I appreciate it….as always!
eBay with Heart & Design with Heart……Lynn
P.S. All of the professional photos I use on Instagram, Facebook and in these newsletters were taken by my friend Denise’s daughter, Jaclyn Sabo. She is amazing! And I will be hiring her again for photos during our 2nd year anniversary party on Sunday, March 1st. Hope to see you there. To learn more about Jaclyn….https://www.jaclynszabo.com/
P.P.S. If you have a friend who wants to sign up for this newsletter.
https://lynnsconsignments.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=1358893710d6b499048e37be1&id=0fa31ceabb
https://tinyurl.com/lynnssignup
P.P.P.S For those of you who don’t live close to Ventura…don’t forget you can shop our store online!
https://lynnsconsignment.ricoconsign.com/