Perhaps I'm just tired...too many emails to answer...too many photos to take, who knows? But I've been thinking...how did we get to where we are now?
Here is a bit of my story. Wondering if you have any stories of your own to share?
Here is a bit of my story. Wondering if you have any stories of your own to share?
Timeline1995 - Start selling vintage & antique items (I won't bore you with how I got there). There was (still is) a magazine called the Antique Trader Weekly. A classified advertising magazine of sorts. This was long before eBay really started getting rolling. You would post an ad in the 'Trader,' and on Monday mornings you'd get calls from people who wanted to purchase your items, sight unseen. Can you imagine? Yep, those were the good old days...Except for the 5:00 a.m phone calls.
1997 - Discover a small company called eBay. They have a little booth set up here at one of our local antique shows. I purchase my first digital camera for a whopping $700 (a clunky Sony Mavica), and off I am selling on eBay. Those were the days when there were more buyers than sellers, so it was really profitable. You could buy a Raggedy Ann doll at a yard sale for $1, and it would be snatched up on eBay for $40.
1998 - Purchase this new book called "Shabby Chic" by some lady called Rachel Ashwell, and am totally blown away by "chippy" & weathered items. Start selling this look on eBay and it's totally insane. Ebay bidding wars are the daily norm. Things like tole chandeliers are selling in the thousands of dollars...rose oil paintings are a hot commodity, and sell in excess of $500. Beaded chandeliers? $1,500 and up!
At some point, I use the name "Paris Hotel" because I'm selling a lot of French and "hotel-related items."
2002- Home Companion contacts me to photograph my home for their magazine. I'm elated. A friend suggests I start a website to sell my wares. Find a web designer and "Paris Hotel Boutique" is born.
2007 - My web designer tells me about blogging. What the heck is that? I sign up. Do a little post here and there, but don't know what it really is.
Fast Forward - Here I am. 2010. Running my web shop and blogging regularly, but now we've added Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. Which brings me to my point...
How do we juggle our lives? Number one is family, of course. Then for me it's managing my website which is my full-time job. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter are all secondary. In fact, I really don't like Twitter much at all. And what are all of these "share buttons"? Digg, Buzz Up!??
I love to blog and enjoy reading other people's blogs. But, how to we have the time to reciprocate with comments on so many great blogs out there? Is there time in your day to really read the posts and not just glance at the pretty pictures? What happened to just curling up with a good book? Are we all at our computers day and night getting lost in cyberspace?
I'd love to hear your thoughts about how the internet has affected your life. Has it opened up a whole new world, a new business perhaps? Made new friends and contacts? Is it taking time away from other things you'd like to do, or does it inspire you to do more?
1997 - Discover a small company called eBay. They have a little booth set up here at one of our local antique shows. I purchase my first digital camera for a whopping $700 (a clunky Sony Mavica), and off I am selling on eBay. Those were the days when there were more buyers than sellers, so it was really profitable. You could buy a Raggedy Ann doll at a yard sale for $1, and it would be snatched up on eBay for $40.
1998 - Purchase this new book called "Shabby Chic" by some lady called Rachel Ashwell, and am totally blown away by "chippy" & weathered items. Start selling this look on eBay and it's totally insane. Ebay bidding wars are the daily norm. Things like tole chandeliers are selling in the thousands of dollars...rose oil paintings are a hot commodity, and sell in excess of $500. Beaded chandeliers? $1,500 and up!
At some point, I use the name "Paris Hotel" because I'm selling a lot of French and "hotel-related items."
2002- Home Companion contacts me to photograph my home for their magazine. I'm elated. A friend suggests I start a website to sell my wares. Find a web designer and "Paris Hotel Boutique" is born.
2007 - My web designer tells me about blogging. What the heck is that? I sign up. Do a little post here and there, but don't know what it really is.
Fast Forward - Here I am. 2010. Running my web shop and blogging regularly, but now we've added Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. Which brings me to my point...
How do we juggle our lives? Number one is family, of course. Then for me it's managing my website which is my full-time job. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter are all secondary. In fact, I really don't like Twitter much at all. And what are all of these "share buttons"? Digg, Buzz Up!??
I love to blog and enjoy reading other people's blogs. But, how to we have the time to reciprocate with comments on so many great blogs out there? Is there time in your day to really read the posts and not just glance at the pretty pictures? What happened to just curling up with a good book? Are we all at our computers day and night getting lost in cyberspace?
I'd love to hear your thoughts about how the internet has affected your life. Has it opened up a whole new world, a new business perhaps? Made new friends and contacts? Is it taking time away from other things you'd like to do, or does it inspire you to do more?
