Moving Locations

Even though we were very excited about starting our business here, location PERFECT, we are just barely making enough to cover the rent on our space, so we have found another space, smaller, but much less the amount in rent.

The problems that we ran into is that the competition in this location is fierce.  300 other booths to compete with.  The place is great place to be if your looking for indoors, off 2 major intersections, plenty of foot traffic, however, as I talked with the other booth owners, MANY, are just covering their rent also.  They too are leaving.  When I asked exactly how many checks they actually issue to the vendors each month and the question was avoided, it gave me my answer,  They were really only the ones making money on the backs of the vendors.  There will be plenty of others to take our spots, so for them it is a win-win. They do not have to make the over head if everyone else is making it for them.  Rent plus 10% of what is made.  Lesson learned.

We are still excited about our opportunities, as we keep moving forward.  May have to work a little bit harder, but that's ok.  We will keep you up to date as when we reveal our move.


You never know until you try.  And sometimes you have to keep trying.

Christmas is Around the Corner!

After time decorating the booth, we are now ready for the holiday season.  We came across some really cute ideas for handmade ornaments that were simple and fun to make. 

Our first project was fabric covered candy canes.  The fabric I took was from a pair of jeans and stripped into 1/4 inch strips and wrapped plastic candy canes that were bought from the Dollar Tree.  We made these by the dozens. Some we left just looking like candy canes and others we made heart shape with a bit of sprig of mistletoe in the center.

Materials needed: fabric strips, candy canes, & a hot glue gun.  

The booth isn't really making us any real money yet, however, it has made enough that the overhead is taken care of.  We keep looking for different ways to make us stand out of the crowds. (300 booths in this location).  Making Cinnamon Ornaments now to add to the booth.  Maybe the smell of Christmas will draw people in.

Like I've said before, You never know until you try.

In The Beginning

     For months we had been watching the “Coming Soon” signs for Wildwood Antique Mall of Lakeland until finally we saw the “Now Open” signs that we walked in.  At first we just wanted a unique place to find our treasures and then decided to find our “spot”. -The location of the mall was perfect, right off I-4 on North 98.

    The birth of C&E's Emporium started with a pile of pallets and a hmmmm...

     Eileen recruited the ever-talented Dale to help with the construction and he had our pallets made into sturdy walls in no time. The beginning of our booth and hopefully something more than a hobby will come of this. My thoughts were to clean out a couple of storage units and Eileen and I's never ending love of a good garage sale, will finally have a fruitful place to be.

 “ Just on a personal note, my thoughts of letting people know of what my friend and I were about to embark on, well, the average response of “oh how nice” and the “what's the big deal” would happen. So either people are being polite, or they really are enthused of what we are doing. Eileen and I are excited enough on our own. I feel we have enough energy and enthusiasm to around and get this off to a successful start.”

You never know until you try.