Back when I first began selling my dresses…

First things first… I relisted Trixie Tonner’s dress on Ebay this evening and you can see it if you click HERE….or click the picture at the right side bar and it will take you to the auction.

Today Rebecca and I have worked from 9:00 this morning and we are still working tonight… (it’s 11:20 and she’s still flitting around while I write this post) but we have gotten lots done today. We tackled my bedroom, and did my closet, the shoes, purses, the shelf above, and then we started on my jewelry…she dumped all my things on the bed and we sorted them out… earrings necklaces, bracelets, pins, etc. Whatever was left on the bed either got tossed or put in the yard sale pile. Then we worked on a bookshelf and swapped out a smaller one, since I got rid of so many books… next we headed to the kitchen and she got out all my recipes…( now I have to admit, I may have a problem collecting recipes… I love to clip them out and copy them and it showed!) We went through them all and weeded and threw out and I bet if I had one recipe for Boston Cream pie or cake, I had 15! I also must have a thing for biscuits because I had zillion recipes for them too. We got them all sorted out and about a million little pieces of paper and photo copied recipes thrown out. She took out all the crummy recipes in my photo albums and replaced them with recipes I knew were good. Then she started to do the computer area and I said I HAVE to do a post… She’s still walking around tweaking little areas… she’s an Energizer Bunny, I think! She wants to tackle my sewing room tomorrow I think. I’m afraid to let her in there because I know she’ll make me weed out and I’m not sure I’m ready to do that… but I need to get it over with! My house is thanking me… I can hear it saying that to me every time I walk into a room! :o)

Okay, when we were cleaning out a bookshelf I found a folder with some things in it I thought I would share with you. It’s from my past and while it’s not life shattering or anything super exciting, I thought you might enjoy it. I know you’ve heard me talk about selling my things at Farmer’s Market and I found a picture of me from a long time ago. It was even before I began selling my American Girl doll clothes. But it shows me out under my 2 umbrellas with my embroidered baby bibs, my triangle headscarves, and my little girls dresses. Our Farmer’s Market is just on a big parking lot and is usually very crowded… this was probably taken at 7:00 or so in the morning before it got busy. I’m talking to the market manager in the picture. I’ll try and find a picture if I can of when I have my American Girl doll board set up…

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Okay the next thing I found was a picture of me at Ruthie’s…a women’s dress store that used to be here in town.

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She let me have a rack in her store that held 10 dresses for ladies. It was a really nice store and my dresses were quite different than what she offered… mine were of the “country romantic variety!” I did pretty well, but then she wanted me to sell things that weren’t so much like mine were, but she wanted more silky (and I called sleazy) dresses. I was lost… I didn’t have any patterns like that and I certainly didn’t know how to do silky fabrics. Cottons were my best friend! So I finally realized I didn’t fit in there…

I next found a place in St. Charles, MO (up by St. Louis and 2 hours away from me) that took my women’s dresses… it was called (I don’t think I’ll say) and it was in the Historic District of town. I thought I had hit the jackpot… Old fashioned looking dresses, a neat oak rack that my brother built for me to hold ten dresses at a time, someone who had a little gift shop and gave me a corner of it to put my dresses in there… what could be better? Well, what could be better would be a store manager who “actually paid me” when a dress sold. I can’t tell you how many times I would call up there and ask how things were selling…and she would say, “Oh fine…” but when I’d ask her how many dresses were left on my rack, she didn’t know… (it was a one room, very small shop) so I wasn’t sure what was going on. A few times I’d call and ask about the dresses and she’d say, “There are only 4 left on the rack.” So my hubby would surprise me and say, “Let’s go to St. Charles and pay your dress shop a visit!” When I’d get up there, sure enough 6 dresses would have sold, but the owner would tell me she’d had some major expenses and wouldn’t be able to pay me. So I’d go home dejectedly… I’d call 2 weeks later and ask about the dresses, and she’d say she just put the check to me in the mail… and then I’d anxiously wait for a few days, then a week, then 2 weeks, and nothing. So I’d call again and she’d tell me she’d just mailed it that afternoon out at the mailbox in the street. I’d wait again and finally 2 weeks later it would arrive…Well, my hubby said, no more… and he took me to get my dresses. He said I didn’t need to be treated that way. So I pulled them all out of her shop.

I thought I would show you the hang tags I used on my ladies dresses. I liked the old fashioned side of my dresses and tried to make them seem special and very different. I was always playing around with new hang tags for them… Here’s two I used to use…

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I was just getting ready to make some business cards when my ladies dresses took a major sideline… This was the design I was leaning toward:

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This was one of my gift certificates I redeemed from someone. It was that old fashioned looking style too… I still like that today!

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Now everyone’s in bed and I need to be too, so I guess that’s going to be it from me for now….just a little bit more about me that maybe you didn’t know…

If Rebecca ever gives me a break from cleaning and weeding I just might make it back to my sewing room… The way I’m looking at this, is when I’m all done, I’ll have a really streamlined and efficient house… I’ll be able to find my socks easier, I won’t have to hunt for a certain recipe anymore, I can see where all the blankets are, and all my books are in plain sight! I’m hoping the house practically cleans itself! The way I see it, less cleaning and searching for things SURELY means more time to sew!! IT’S A REALLY GOOD THING!

Thanks for being patient when it’s not all about dolly stuff!

See you tomorrow,
Blessings,Jeanne

19 thoughts on “Back when I first began selling my dresses…”

    1. Hi Christine,
      Rebecca is totally an organizer and has been all of her life… She used to sort her crayons out by color and you should see her sock drawer!!! I think I’ll have to keep her.
      She does clean houses for 2 people… and another lady is considering her. They are very fortunate to get her….
      Blessings, Jeanne

  1. Good morning, Jeanne. It’s about 7:30 and (I hope) you’re still asleep after working so hard yesterday. That was fun seeing your creativity from years gone by. I really enjoyed it. A couple of weeks ago I found pictures from my cross stitch booths at market. I can’t believe it’s been about 20 years already. I think I did a trade show five times and my booth was different every year. I was always searching for the perfect setup.
    So, are you finished going through everything in your house? And, are you still feeling good about it, or are you afraid you might regret something that you got rid of? I am always afraid of that.
    Anyway, hope you can get some sewing done today.

    1. Good morning Cindy,
      I was up when I read your comments… You’ll have to do a post on your past sewing too! I’d love to see your pictures. I sold at Farmer’s Market for 10 years and I might have 3 pictures. It’s kind of sad…
      I’m still searching for the perfect set up in my sewing room, so maybe if we tackle it together, she can help me figure it out… she’s a very no-frills kind of girl who is very practical minded… she doesn’t like fru-fru so what she has, has to work for her.
      I’m feeling great about everything so far…and I’m sure what I’m tossing, recipes, old magazines, books I don’t need any more, old shoes, etc… won’t be missed… the things I’m donating to Goodwill hopefully will find a new home in someone else’s house!

      I’m hoping to get some sewing done… I’m going to actually skip the Food Pantry today so I can hopefully get this last room of mine finished and be all done… It’s a real mess though. I’ve put things in there that we found along the way that would be better suited in there, so I have stuff sitting in there to be put away…
      Thanks Cindy,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  2. What a great job you ladies are doing with your home! It WILL be marvelous when you’re all finished. I hope the sewing room cleaning is not too painful.

    And, thanks for sharing about your selling adventures in the past with your dresses. You are such an industrious person. It’s really an honor to read about a part of your life we didn’t know as much about. Thank you.

    Take care.

    1. HI Becky,
      I’m hoping Rebecca’s not too rough on me in my sewing room too… I want it streamlined and nice but I also don’t want to be TOO streamlined and let go of something I really need! :o/

      It was fun to find that folder of those past days gone by… I remember those pictures being taken just like it was yesterday! I’ve come a long way…
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. Rebecca could start her own business as a professional organizer! I’ve seen the shows on HGTV many year’s ago.

    I used to sew for a shop downtown that sold wrap-around skirts with either hand-painted or appliqued motifs on them. It was production sewing, and I decided for what I was being paid, it wasn’t enough! You have come a long way from having your items in other people’s shops!

    Hoping your whole house is soon organized and that you’ll be able to sew to your heart’s content!

    1. HI Karen,
      Rebecca already does clean houses for 2 ladies… she likes organizing and is excellent at it. I hope she’s easy on me in my sewing room!
      I used to be a collar setter at a sportswear place here in town. I think I was supposed to set 11 collars an hour… I only made their quota maybe 5 times… it wasn’t for me… I only lasted there 4 months….not creative enough for me..

      My house will soon be “magazine” ready soon… (just kidding…)
      Blessings, Jeanne

  4. Good Morning Jeanne,
    Awesome blog… Loved the history behind your business.. in a sense you are still making romantic dress only your clients are much smaller now. I second Christine’s thoughts!
    Have a wonderful day.
    Ingrid

    1. HI Ingrid,
      What a nice way to put what I do now… little romantic dresses for my dolls… I love that!
      Thanks so much,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. I want to come to the yard sale! Bad me.
    I remember when my grandmother died, there was a huge garbage bag filled with recipes she had saved. (collecting is definitely in the genes.) She was a great cook. My cousins actually went through the whole bag and looked at each one keeping those they liked. Guess I had better live a long time so my grand kids can go through my recipes. Remember daughter tosses. 🙂

    1. HI Joy,
      Well, I must have a thing for recipes like you…I inherited the recipe cards from my mother in law and her old cook books too… I kept her handwritten recipes and even saw several of them yesterday! It’s fun thinking back on what she used to make and how she cooked for her 9 kids.
      Thanks Joy,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  6. I agree with KarenD – Rebecca should start up an organizing business! 🙂 Sometimes, it just seems like such an ‘overwhelming’ project, that it’s easy to procrastinate with it…. I remember one TV show where they had 3 areas to sort – Sell, Keep, and a ‘Decide what to do” pile…. Problem is… unless I used the yard, I don’t have a place for ‘piles’, even! LOL!!

    1. HI Karen,
      Rebecca already cleans 2 ladies homes and a 3rd lady is thinking about her. Summer school starts in June so she’ll be busy all too soon… I have to take advantage of her free time while I can.
      The trick is to just do one room at a time… then get rid of that stuff before you tackle another room… Maybe that will help…
      Blessings, Jeanne

  7. My goodness, I’m late again! I actually read your blog in the wee hours of the morning, but thought I would get back to it soon, and look—now it’s 9:41 already! But you know what? The sun is SHINING—yes, the SUN! It’s been a dreary week so far, but today is really nice and I hope to get outside to work!

    Oh, St. Charles—the historical district! I love to go there, but haven’t been for a year or so, but gee, that’s terrible how that woman treated you. You looked so cute in those flowered dresses!

    That daughter of yours—-you should clone her and get a business going! When does she find time to clean two houses, and schoolwork, and beading? Ian barely keep up with one, but then I don’t get paid for doing it either!

    1. HI Linda,
      It’s a bit cloudy here today, but NO rain, so it’s a good day! Oh, just as I am writing you, the sun had decided to make it sunny! Now it’s a BEAUTIFUL day outside!

      I love going to St. Charles but haven’t been in years…is it close to you?

      Yes, Rebecca is quite the go getter, isn’t she. She can accomplish more than 5 people if she has to… She is just organized and has her day plotted out so she gets lots done… maybe I should take lessons from her! :o)

      Thanks Linda,
      Enjoy your yard work… are you out of your boot yet?
      Blessings, Jeanne

      1. Still in the boot, but I am cheating a bit! I took it off to work in the yard, since it doesn’t help anything when doing things like that. I go to the dr. tomorrow, so keep you fingers crossed.

        St. Charles, is quite a ways from me, maybe 45 minutes or so. It’s pretty far north, and I am way south!! I’m only an hour away from Cape. I especially like to go to St. Charles during the Christmas season.

  8. Wow, you and Rebecca have certainly been busy. I’ve read your posts the past few days, but didn’t have time to comment. I’ve been tackling spring cleaning around here also, some has been in the house and some in the yard. Things can really accumulate after awhile and it does feel good to clean them out. About four years ago I cleaned out all the homeschooling things, only keeping one storage tub of my daughter’s work and my absolute favorite teaching items. We also sorted and organized her childhood clothing and toys only keeping the favorites on one storage shelf unit in the basement.
    I like your labels that you came up with for your clothes, too bad the arrangement didn’t work out. We have a store in town that take gently used and homemade items, but the cut the lady who runs it gets is really high.
    I agree, if it is easier to find things, you’ll have more time to sew. Can’t wait to see whose up next, I think it might be Kirsten or Felicity again. *hint, hint* You could make Kirsten a Midsummer dress since that will be coming up soon.

    1. HI Laura
      Yes, we have been busy… she’s giving me the day off though to catch up on things I need to do.
      Oh, I remember when we purged all the homeschooling stuff… it took up SO much space! Those few funny cards and drawings I mentioned earlier were done while my kids were in a Christian school before we started homeschooling.
      I’m going to let everyone know tomorrow who’s up next…
      Thanks so much Laura,
      Blessings, Jeanne

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