Exciting, Challenging, and Exhilarating!!!

This Blog is going to be all about my newest store, Texas Prairie Rose. All about vintage jewelry, vanity accessories and "pretties" for the Diva in all of us. I'm really excited about it and will have lots of interesting stories, finds and ideas to share with you. But first, I'd like to share with you how I got here. I have another web store, Stone Hill Collectibles. That was my first real store and it's been an exciting and overwhelming success... hard work but very rewarding. After years of selling on eBay, I approached that store just like eBay... sell everything in one place. But as time passed I learned that too much is exactly that... TOO much! I have out of print craft patterns, vintage sewing patterns, vintage buttons, cookbooks, postcards, sheet music, jewelry... and more. Terrific items, but no real focus... just a whole lot of everything.

The lesson I learned was that I needed to diversify. I needed to create separate stores, completely reorganize my vintage "collections", keep the items that made sense together and spin off the others. So, that's what I've been working on for a while now. Here's how:

Phase 1 - My Etsy store, The Prairie Rose. I moved all of my mothers lovely hand-painted Folk Art and Rosemaling out of Stone Hill Collectibles, and set up a small store where I could "specialize" in handcrafted artwork and really showcase her beautiful creations. That's been a fantastic success!!!

Phase 2 - My new store, Texas Prairie Rose, with an overall theme of Feminine "Pretties" (what's prettier than vintage jewelry?). I've moved all jewelry items out of Stone Hill Collectibles, and I'm adding other items that are perfect compliments for the jewelry... Vanity Accessories, vintage Hankies, Jewelry and Trinket Boxes... with lots more to come. I'm just getting started!

Phase 3 - In the works (OMG, "work" is an understatement). Stone Hill Collectibles will concentrate on vintage Sewing and Crafting Patterns and eventually add more vintage accessories for crafters and seamstresses. The vintage Cookbooks, postcards and old Sheet Music? Well, hubby has two online bookstores so guess where those are heading? When? Well, like my husband is always saying to me... "Soon my pet, soon...".