My New Vintage Shop Booth Space

Get antique booth display inspiration in this before and after new vintage booth space. Tips for how to set up your antique booth, vintage booth display ideas, how to design a vintage booth space and more antique booth staging ideas.

It’s been 10 years since we closed our beloved store; 10 years since I’ve sold vintage finds! I’ve spent the last 10 years building this little blog, to be able to inspire more people to get creative with their old things. And it’s given me the flexibility to care-give for several family members while still making $ to support my family. I still love hunting for, finding and re-creating all the old things…but my house is FULL. And I miss cycling through things; enjoying them for a bit and then sending them on to another. So today I’m sharing My New Vintage Shop Booth Space, as I jump back in the vintage selling biz!

My New Vintage Shop Booth Space

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How Do You Choose an Antique or Vintage Shop Booth Space?

If you’re thinking about starting to sell, choosing where to sell is a big decision. You want the shop to be fairly close to where you live, because you’ll be going there a lot. I knew I wanted to be back in the small town where my former store was; it’s my happy place where I know a lot of dealers and customers. And I get to drive through the country to get there, which always makes me happy:)

Our former store was an occasional store-only open the first Thursday-Sunday of the month. It’s a retail concept that the town was known for, and there are still several stores there that operate that way. But as a somewhat “retired” dealer, a store that is open every day is less stress on me; I can pop in and add inventory and re-style things whenever I want. No stress to re-stage a whole booth for the once a month weekend. My body is 10 years older, and easier and less stress sounded appealing to me;)

All my life I’ve shopped at the “big barn” that’s filled with all types of merchandise from antiques to thrifted finds to handmade items, gifts and cards. Locals can stop in for a quick visit when they’re running errands anytime. The Buffalo Nickel is open 7 days a week, 10-6. Dealers add new, seasonal merchandise weekly, which keeps shoppers coming back regularly. This was the shop to get me back in the biz. (Located in Buffalo, MN, an hour west of Mpls.)

Vintage Booth Set Up Tips

There was a waiting list to get into this shop. But when the owner let me know there was an available space upstairs, I went and took a look. The space is 10 feet long by 7 feet wide and near the back exit door, so I could bring items up the exterior stairs. I love the tall ceilings in the barn. It seemed like a good place for me, since I won’t be having large items very often. Medium sized pieces are my favorite with small items tucked in.

Normally when you move into a dealer booth, it’s your job to make it your own. (But check with the ownership) I got possession of it a week and a half earlier than I expected, so I got to work. I pulled out a million little nails, vacuumed, and cleaned the built in windows. I didn’t mind the texture of the old roof tin at the end, but know you can’t really nail anything into it for display. I had an old store shelf that I placed at the end, covering most of the tin.

Both walls had textured wallpaper that was just white. To me, white is blah. I wanted color, so anything I placed in front of the walls would pop. I painted one wall a sage green and the other a pretty deep aqua. This would give me different backdrop possibilities that would work for any season. I also gave the trim around the windows a fresh coat of white.

Vintage Booth Preparations

Now to work on the stuff that makes money! I pulled out items from my stash places with a variety of textures and sizes-metal and wood, pieces that I needed to paint and refresh, others that just needed a scrub. I focused on a Spring gardening theme, which is always fun this time of year.

I also hit the thrift store for seasonal Spring smalls to pull the look together. A trip to Michaels for Spring foliage helped to pull the display ideas together, too.

My former biz partner gave the o.k. to use our store’s name and logo for our tags. Hopefully some customers will recognize the name with fond memories:) With a little bit of tech, I printed off tags, which reminded me of our great 5 1/2 years in our store.

Antique Booth Display Inspiration for Spring

Different than at our store, I wanted everything to have tags on it when I brought it into this store. We always used to do it last, when everything was set up beautifully (and we were totally exhausted). I have to say, set up and staging went much more quickly with the tags already on…and if any customers wanted something as I was styling, they could see the price.

I had about 8 “anchor” pieces that were the foundation for everything else smaller to sit on or in. The big store shelf at the back is a not-for-sale item, that I can always fill with small/breakable items. If something else sells, the workers can place items there instead of on the floor. Everything else in the booth is for sale. I normally hate NFS signs in a store. Don’t fill a store with your personal collections; if it’s in a store, it should be for sale!

A long scaffolding bench runs along the aqua wall. Low benches or tables give you more display space and gets items up higher (eye height). You can place items underneath and on top, which multiplies space for merchandise.

Have a mixture of textures represented: metal, wood, painted wood, glass, pottery, woven baskets. And finish off the look with seasonal foliage to inspire. After I had everything in place, I added shredded paper and eggs, flowering floral branches, faux grass, ferns. I also hang seasonal fabric with little nails, which softens all the edges and adds a nice color and design backdrop.

A variety of price points will hopefully make all shoppers happy. I also like to have “parts” for the creative types to craft, while also having “all done” floral arrangements for shoppers to pop in their homes.

Pretty price tags are attached so shoppers can easily see them, and not have to hunt for the price. Less will get broken if shoppers don’t have to lift something up and look at the bottom for a price.

If you’ve read my blog for a while, I’m sure you’ll recognize items you’ve seen before in my house, on the porch, etc. I’m sharing the love and cycling things through!

Yes, it felt good to be back in the game! I love planning out the themes and layout of the booth and styling everything pretty for the season. Hopefully the shoppers will enjoy my space, and it will be fruitful! It’s Spring, and I’m on the hunt for more good junk to inspire!

For those of you who’ve shopped my store years ago, I hope you can visit me again at The Buffalo Nickel, in Buffalo MN. Upstairs by the emergency exit door. Open everyday, 10-6.

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