You kept us busy during our 1st year as 'Jones' in 2018, setting up adn running the website, social presence, to picking stock all over Canada, the US & Europe. Attending estate sales, Netflix shows prop sales, to simple yard sales. Delivering orders & shipping items around the world, to the Caribbean to the States, Canada, the UK & Scandinavia.
Our favorite part had to be appearing in some great events and meeting up with fellow vintage collectors. With a busy year ahead we look back at two stand out events attended and how we found success.
Summer started with the @CollectiveAffair's annual 'Brunch Affair' @thepipeshop in the center of Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. A food festival with a difference, brunch food specifically, featuring local greats such as Cabrito Tapas, Johnny Can’t Surf, and The Very Good Butchers. Two live stages provided the perfect soundtrack to the summer for every music loving visitor, breakfast savvy & mimosa enthusiast on the North Shore! All of this set in the lovely Pipework’s ship yards building, overlooking beautiful vistas of downtown Vancouver.
Although not the obvious event for our vintage home-wares, we did well being the only vendor of our type present, offering something different for the brunch munching patrons to dig through and enjoy is worth considering! This event was mainly for exposure and to build social following, but the very healthy sales was definately a bonus. It certaily pays off thinking outside of the box and not appering in an oversaturated popular event always . Consider the event, find out who's already signed up,if you can reach out to a vendor who as perviously attended a market do some research...it was a great learning curve for canadian market.
From the fall to the winter, we worked tirelessly to plan our very own event in Vancouver, with the 1st 'Jones Holiday Market' joining the already busy list of market events. Originally from Wales I decided to support the Welsh Society here in YVR, by hosting at the Cambrian Hall on Main [where the society have lived for the last 80 years].
Come the day of the event, the hustle and bustle of Jones & 16 guest vendors, an ‘Après Ski’ themed bar, giant 'Naughty or Nice list' and holiday movies echoing "keep the change you filthy animal"... filtered through into the street outside, much to the delight of visitors coming in from the cold.
If you are considering hosting an event for the first time, let me tell you it’s a lot of work, but rewarding seeing it come alive & how you planned it!
From finding a venue & negotiating the event, site planning, finding insurance, curating the right vendors during the competative holiday season, planning promotion on social, flyering, pasting posters around town [breath]..... Getting people through the door, running your own booth, ensuring vendors have what they need, showing movies, making playlists.....smiling ha-ha! It's a lot, but I loved it! Running on pure excitement and adrenaline for 15 hours is my kind of day. If you have what it takes I recommend it
Designing our booth was a fun job, we tried to create a classic Xmas scene with stock, inspired by the amazing festive window displays I saw in London as a child. We decorated a table for Xmas dinner, with vintage amber glassware, wine & champagne buckets, pulled crackers and candles. A Christmas tree stood next to the table decorated with vintage pennants, blown glass decoration & a vintage folded ruler star atop the tree. Surrounding the base of the tree \we had opened boxes and gift baskets full of vintage items.
What we found sold well were items that we presented as Xmas gifts, not necessarily obvious gifts, but when packaged & presented with some ribbon and decoration it made it easier for the visitors to see them as potential gifts, I think that's the key to any event.
We got some great coverage for the event, featuring in Iloveeastvan.com, D604, The Georgia Straight in the new markets to watch, and 'Vancouver is Awesome’s best of holiday markets.
Year #1 done we are very happy!
Look out for our biggest event appearance and must visit event this winter in The Old Farmhouse Vintage Market in the Tradex in Abbotsford. If you haven’t been out there it's a big event on the calendar for vintage home goods & decor and collectables and just in time for gift ideas and presents for Christmas 2019. Check it out & follow the curator Leah for all updates HERE!