Fall into this weeks Feature Friday! (get it?!)

Well folks, I don't know if you've noticed, but it is no longer summer. Holy smokes, that happened fast. I feel like I was just wearing shorts and flip flops! Now I have to put socks on?! Socks?! I might have to resort to the infamous "socks and crocs." Did you cringe? Cause I cringed typing it. 

Anyway, with summer being gone in my neck of the woods, I figured I would bring a little pop of color, thoughts of sunshine, humidity, and barbecues, with this weeks: 

FEATUUUUURE FRIDAAAAAAY!  

This weeks feature is one of my best friends, Marissa! She is one of my best friends from high school! She purchased a super cool vintage Stanley Thermos from my Etsy shop. Now I know what you're thinking, 'A thermos. She must be using it for coffee, hot chocolate, soup and other hot, delicious liquids that every one drinks in the fall.' Well, you are wrong, my friends. She turned it into a beautiful vase! She was also my very first Etsy customer! Lets give her a round of applause! 

 Feel the cool summer breeze? Peeling your sunburned shoulders? Chasing down lightning bugs?  

Vintage thermos vase and mason jar candles = summer perfection.

Marissa has an awesome backyard/patio and she hosts one heck of a party! (Trust me, I know!) Hopefully I'll be able to visit soon so I can see this lovely vase in person! Thank you Marissa for supporting my dreams and purchasing from PGP! You rule!

You can all go back to putting your socks and crocs on now. Oh, thats just me? Talk about party poopers!

Smell ya later!

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from me! Turn it into something new! Send me a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe eat some bbq chicken!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop & you can like my page on FB, PGP Facebook for more updates, features, and giveaways! 

How Much is That Kitty in the Picture...

For anyone that owns a furry feline, you can feel my pain. Not only do I have a cat, but a dog that enjoys chasing the cat, but that's another post. So here I am at the computer minding my own business... 

Oh, that looks comfy, let me lay down right here. 

Ok, no computer. I'll just go photograph a few things..

Are you taking pictures of me? No? Will you pet me? 

Ok, back to the computer, let me just grab something off this shelf...

Why won't you just love me?!?!

Needles to say, he lives off of attention. Sometimes food and treats, but mainly attention. But the show must go on. Thank you for this cute kitty interruption, now back to your scheduled program: 

So in my travels, I come across a lot of neat people, places and things. (I could have just said nouns, I guess.) I don't always get to buy everything I want, but for the things I do get to call my own, there's a story and I would like to share that with you! 

This weeks story is about two little embroidered owls. I was driving home from who-knows-where and just a block from my house was an estate sale! How the heck did I miss that?  So I parked, grabbed $20 and walked over with high hopes. Books, clothes, piano, big furniture, oh shoot, there go my hopes, plummeting to a deep hole of leaving with nothing. Then, like a ray of freaking sunshine, there were these two framed owls, sitting all by their lonesome. 

(angels singing)

Oh hey, I'm awesome.

What the hoot! So am I. 

Vintage sharpie?! 

There they were, all in their 70's brown, orange and yellow glory. I asked the woman if she knew who made them and she said her husbands grandmother. She made them in 1978 and had them until she moved and he took them to their house, where I was currently fondling them (mental picture.) So if you think they are as adorable as I do, you are in luck! They are now up for sale in my Etsy shop here!

Even if you don't think they are adorable, which they totally are, you can still check out my shop. If you don't see something you love to the moon and back, or are looking for something in particular, let a sista know! I have a garage full of things, and I am constantly on the hunt. Be sure to like Poor Girl Picker on facebook too! Yes, I am stepping my social media game up! You can check that out here!

Smell ya later! 
-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from me! Turn it into something new! Send me a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe chew on some laffy taffy!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop

You Can't Rain on this Feature Friday!

Rain, Rain, go away...

...come again when I don't have a flea market.

It's Saturday! Woohoo, the weekend! That means I'm supposed to be at a the Peddler, peddlin my super awesome vintage stuff! Nope. Mother Nature has other plans. Maybe the plants and trees are really thirsty or the sun needed to sleep in. Whatever the case may be, I am here with the pups, not peddlin my stuff. Wait a second. It's Saturday. That means yesterday was Friday, which means there was supposed to be a feature, and I don't remember posting one.... OH FARTS! I done did it again! So, excuse my tardiness, but please allow me to introduce you to this weeks: 

FEATUUUUUURE FRIDAAAAAY! 

Carly came to the Peddler a few weeks ago and was interested in some vintage Pyrex test tubes I had out. She told me that she had just bought this wooden pipe rack from a thrift store and her creative juices were a flowin'. The test tubes would fit perfectly in the rack, so she bought a handful and off she went to craft her little heart out! Little did I know crafting is something that comes naturally to her! 

Carly got in touch with me recently and sent me the pictures of her test tube creation. I found out that she has an Instagram account and an Etsy shop too! So I did what every normal person does and I scoped it out. Her stuff is super cool and original. I wish that I had a crafty bone in my body, and sometimes I like to pretend it's there. But then I don't measure correctly, the hot glue gun hates me, and there are two animals -make that three (sorry Jordan,) - that shed so much that I need an army of brooms and vacuums. So my "crafts" turn into "well, at least I tried, right?"  In addition to Carly's Feature Friday, I threw in some pictures of her other crafts so you can get an idea of just how awesome they are! 

Before...

After! Gosh dangit it's so cute! 

Um, yes! Re-purposed belts turned cuffs?!

Can I get one that says "picker" & I'll just walk around with my finger in my nose?

IN LOVE.

Cool lamp, check. Mint paint, check. Awesomeness, check. 

So whatdya think? I wasn't lying! This girl can craft! She was thinking silk flowers for the tubes, and I suggested candy, cause I mean, who doesn't want a shooter of peanut butter M&M's? If you have any suggestions, please feel free! A lot of her items are made from vintage and re-purposed goods, which is exactly what I strive for with PGP and Feature Fridays. To give these items another purpose and new life so that another person can love it is what it's all about! We don't always have to have the next best or newest thing. Sometimes its already in your house, yard, garage or waiting to be found at a flea market. It just takes a little time, creativity, and elbow grease to make it yours. 

You can find Carly's Sweet Creations (appropriately named) for sale at her Etsy shop here: Carly's Sweet Creations and be sure to follow her on Instagram @Carlysweetjones. She also has some pieces up for sale with the proceeds going to charity! One of the many reasons why I love doing what I do is it gives me the opportunity to meet awesome people and spread a little vintage love! Carly is definitely one of those people, and unfortunately she doesn't live in Buffalo, but maybe the universe will have our paths cross again in the future. 

Whether it's raining or shining by you, make today great! Maybe you've been inspired to dig around your basement and give new life to an old piece. In that case, email me and let me know! And check back at the Poor Girl Picker Etsy shop, as I have been adding, and will continue to add, new things daily! 

Smell Ya Later!

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from me! Turn it into something new! Send me a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe mow down on some gummy bears!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop

Keeping it together, one crazy idea at a time.

Have you ever had an idea swirling around your mind that you just couldn't let go of? Like, literally every waking moment was spent thinking about this one idea. Well, I recently had one of these "idea viruses" and it had me all in a tizzy. 

"Quit your job and dedicate yourself to Poor Girl Picker." 

What am I, nuts?! That's crazy! Ludacris! I don't even have a savings account, how am I suppose to quit my job?!? That thought went against everything I've ever learned to be logical, but I couldn't get it out of my head. I wanted it so bad. I wanted to stop waking up at 5am. I wanted to stop relying on other people for financial security. I didn't want to tell people, "Oh I can't make it I have to work," or "let me see if I can request that day off." I wanted to dedicate as much time and energy into myself and my dreams that I was giving someone else. It was an idea virus I just couldn't get rid of.

So dang it, I did it. I quit my job! Holy crap. I quit my job. I can do this right? Right. I plunged head first into what I thought was going to be days filled with picking, selling and nothing but awesomeness. But there is a backside to running a business that I had to learn about. I had to learn about selling online, collecting tax, becoming a business owner, having bills, overhead and all that other jazz. It was stressful, overwhelming and downright scary. I second guessed myself the whole time. "Maybe I should have been a teacher after all." "Maybe an ordinary life isn't so bad?" "I mean my 9-5 wasn't that bad, was it?" I kept setting deadlines for myself and missing them. I was scared and ready to throw the towel in. 

Then I remembered how I felt when I was sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day. I remembered why I got an education and am in so much damn debt. I remembered that life isn't meant to be easy. We are all given certain strengths and opportunities and the choices we make will in turn make us. So I am not throwing the towel in. I read a quote once that has stayed with me through hard times, and keeps me focused on my dream. 

“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” - Joseph Campbell

One of those aformentioned deadlines was to get my Etsy shop up and running by the 15th.  HA, OKAY.  It has taken me a while to get everything together, but its finally there! (It only took 11 more days than planned!) I didn't realize how time consuming it would be. "Oh Etsy? You just take photos and post them then, viola! you make money." There's way more to it than that and it will be a learning process for me. I'm still not positive how to market myself, I'm still not happy with the photos and there are hundreds of more items to research and list, but hey - it's a small step and I am a-two-steppin! 

So check it out here! You don't even have to buy anything! Just stop over and take a look. I only posted 20 items but I will be adding more daily. Let me know if you have any suggestions, comments or ideas for photographing. I have tons of clothes that I will be posting in the next week or so. I'll also be at Larkin Market this Thursday with some new stuff so come check it out! 

Smell ya later!

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from us! Turn it into something new! Send us a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe drink some ginger ale!

***Check out my Etsy page to see what kinds of cool things I have in store for ya! PGP Etsy Shop

The Venue Menu: Buffalo Edition

Cool New Buffalo Flea Market Venues, 

(Covered in Hot Sauce.) 

For the past few years, Buffalo has been growing as a city. There are numerous articles about how cool we are (literally and awesomely), how hot our residents and sauces are, how dedicated our fans are to the Bills and Sabres, and how people are really making new stuff happen. Being here for almost two years myself, I have definitely seen the growth. There is something to do every night. (Even in the winter!) There are so many concerts, festivals, markets, pop-up shops, free yoga, drumming in Delaware Park, kayaking, ice fishing, sight seeing, I mean I could list for hours all there is to do. A lot of neighborhoods and abandoned buildings that were originally given up on are also seeing new life. Events are being held, small businesses are moving to abandoned storefronts on the west side, and people are renovating houses that need a little TLC. Buffalo is expanding rapidly with creative minds and progressive people. 

One of those originally-given-up-on places is Larkin Square. It has been renovated in the past few years and it is spectacular. They were able to create an environment and space that is safe, fun and accessible. (They = the Zemsky family.)  Larkin Square is located downtown right off Seneca Street. There is TONS of free parking (yes, FREE,) events during the week, and awesome lounge chairs, hula hoops and beer! Tuesday night is Food Truck Tuesday, Wednesdays are live music from local musicians and Thursday is the Larkin Market. I was lucky enough to be selected as a vendor for the Larkin Market and I couldn't be happier! 

There are tons of vendors ranging from artists, leather goods, locally made Fudge, coffee, jewelry, clothes and vintage! Its such a cool market in a really up and coming neighborhood.  Keeping an inventory for three flea markets hasn't been a challenge either. I mean, who doesn't like to pick?! I have been out and about filling Peggy with tons of neat stuff to bring with me. Check out my stand and the banner I made! 

Book case? Check. Clothing Rack? Check. Handmade sign? Check.

Turquoise fo lyfe. 

Those flowers are not for sale. 

I will not be at Larkin this Thursday, but I will be on Thursday the 28th. Jordan is usually down there too with his awesome juice keg. (Yes, cold press juice on tap!) 

Another really cool venue is Silo City. It is a complex made up of three abandoned grain silos. The land was bought by a local guy (can't remember his name) and he lets people rent it out for different things. There are music festivals, art shows, historical guided tours, kayaking or stand up paddle boarding the canal, and even weddings! Scott, who runs the Peddler, also organizes the Silo City Flea. It is a flea market on specific Sundays in the summer. I wish they were every Sunday, but one can only dream. Being around the huge buildings all day is really eye opening. They have been there for 50+ years,  are close to or higher than 100ft tall, and they were once utilized to ship and store grain. I almost feel like the spirits of the workers are there peering down from the windows... ok, no more ghost talk. For my viewers who are not local to western ny, maybe these pictures will make you feel like you were there. If not, you should visit so you can actually be here. 

 Getting it all up in and on Peggster. 

Peggy is a beast. 

Don't mind if I do... 

Don't worry ma, this was taken through the window. 

Said window.

Is it trespassing if you paid to be there? 

Lovin the light. 

Cats love Silo City too!

Wide open spaces. 

Sell! Sell! SELL!

Its a really cool venue and we have another flea market on September 7th, so you should come buy some cool stuff, explore an abandoned silo and take a walk down to the canal to see a barge go by. 

Wherever you may live, I hope you are enjoying the rest of summer, and all the seasons for that matter. I know Buffalo isn't the only city to have cool stuff going on, so: get out, explore, and experience what your town has to offer! 

See ya at Silo! 

-Stephanie 

*Want to be featured? Buy something from us! Turn it into something new! Send us a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe have cranberry goat cheese.

Now Featuring this Friday: HOLLYWOOD HANK

Now Featuring this Friday:
The Adventures of HOLLYWOOD HANK 

If you are lucky, at some point in your life you will meet someone that has been around the block. Not just any block though. THE block. The same block that you are starting to circle. When you do, you should take advantage of it and learn everything you can from them. I just so happened to meet Hank a few weeks ago when he bought some doll heads from me at the Silo City Flea. He was going to make a sculpture with them. (Which is exactly what I imagined someone would do.) So I gave his friend, Frank, the low-down on my blog and he said he would be sure to send me a picture when he was done. 

I ran in to Frank again at The Peddler last Saturday and I had some more doll heads out. He let Hank know and he was interested in them so I made a trip up to his store. It turns out Hank has been around the block a few times. I had no idea what I was in for. (drum roll) 

"When you get here you're gonna wanna park then walk in the double doors, go left, up the stairs, make a right and a right, then a left and my office will be on the right." "Okay, I'm sure I'll find it." Fortunately, Hanks wife met me at the front doors and walked me left, up, right, right and left to his office. The whole entire time my jaw was dropped,  my eyes were darting from floor to ceiling and I was stumbling. "Holy shit, I think I just found heaven." 

Stairway to the second floor of Heaven.

Come and get me in 7 hours. 

So there I was, standing with a cardboard box full of plastic doll heads, talking to a man who amassed enough cool stuff to fill a 20,000 square foot warehouse with things I thought I could only dream about. After our "haggle" Hank gave me a tour of the place. Let me tell you something, IT WAS AWESOME. As if the walk up to his office wasn't cool enough, I got to see his work space, his sculptures (which are awesome and placed all over the warehouse,) his "cabin" and all the other neat stuff that was hidden in every nook and cranny. I really was overwhelmed. I wasn't even registering what I was seeing anymore. My mind was on cool crap overload. I mean, I just rented a one car garage. This man has 20,000 square feet! 

I had planned another meeting on the other side of town just 45 minutes after meeting with Hank, and I was already running late. So I unfortunately had to leave with out seeing everything. I left with the promise of coming back, and let me tell you something, that's a promise I am definitely going to keep. Cause I don't know if you heard but that place was AWESOME. 

Oh, right, Hank is also known as Hollywood Hank. He isn't just a collector either. This warehouse is his shop. Just about everything is for sale. He has one of a kind sculptures in there too. That's why he is the week, and summers, first: 

FEATUUUUUUURE FRIDAAAAAY 

Pimpin.

That's one way to use a bunch of vintage doll heads! Pimp em out to Santa. (If you didn't notice the top of the sculpture is Santa.) Hank, awesome. His warehouse, awesome. The 45 minutes I spent there, awesome. If you haven't gotten it by now, it was AWESOME. You can rest assured that my butt will be back there soon enough. Until then, I'll leave you with some pictures of his jaw dropping, heart palpitating, butt clenching warehouse! 

Well excuse me, Marilyn! 

Lemme get that!

That too. 

You can keep those. 

This whole wall will be mine someday. 

Tomorrow I'll be set up at the Peddler at the corner of W. Ferry and Elmwood. Come on down and see what cool new stuff I got! You should also buy something and re-purpose it so that you too can be featured here! It will be the highlight of your life! (or day.) 

Catch ya on the flip side!

-Stephanie 

(the word "Awesome" was used seven times in the writing of this blog. Eight if you count that one.)

*Want to be featured? Buy something from us! Turn it into something new! Send us a before, during and after picture! Its as easy as that folks!

**Know someone that has a barn, attic, basement, chicken coop, secret room, garage, or any other space filled with stuff that needs to be picked over? Get atcha girl!! PoorGirlPicker@gmail.com and we can talk about what you got, what I want, and maybe have a gluten free pizza.

Time Warp to August....

Well hello my long lost friends! 

I've been trying to think of a way to apologize for not posting in so long, but I keep coming up blank. The honest answer is: I am too busy, but that's the boring answer. So instead, I will give you a quick update with all that has happened and is happening over here at Poor Girl Picker!

After last season ended I found myself buying at the same pace but slowing on the selling. So I filled my basement with a bunch of goodies and continued to work full time at the cafe. I tried my hand at organizing a mini pop up shop but we only had two. It went really well and I will probably revisit it this fall/winter because who doesn't love a little discount shopping around the holidays? Once the frigid winter passed, I picked up a part time gig photographing vintage things for an ebay seller. I was able to trade in my Ford Focus for a Volvo station wagon and it has helped me tremendously! Jordan and his cat also moved in with me and we (really I,) had this genius idea to get a dog. So we did. By golly it was a circus. Well, I am no ring leader so I had to slow down a bit and focus. 

The Peddler was going to start up and come July I would be having another flea market on Thursdays at Larkin Square. There was also the chance to go out to Antique World and Silo City Flea on Sundays. If I wanted to I could make this a full time job! But I wasn't ready. How do I pay bills? How do I keep an inventory? It was all too much so I stuck it out through June and July and it turned out to be too overwhelming. Have you ever felt like you are running in circles but you are actually doing a million and three things? I felt insane and ready to burst at the seams. It was time for me to plunge head first into Poor Girl Picker and more importantly, me. I was investing a lot of time into other people and their dreams, so why not put that dedication and work into my dreams? If I was going to do this right I had a few things on my To Do list. First, quit my job. Second, find a garage. Third, be confident. The first was a breeze. The second was a bit tougher but I was patient and was able to find a garage space only a few blocks away. One U-Haul truck and a full days worth of hauling, and my basement is almost empty! Its much easier to load and unload when you don't have to go up and down any steps. 

Being in control of my daily activities has thrown me a few curve balls.  Going from always having an employer and rules to being my own boss was kind of weird. What do you mean I don't have to punch in? I can eat whenever I want? I can use my phone at all times of the day? These were problems I hadn't dealt with before. I'll admit, there were a few days all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and eat Nutella. I mean, who doesn't? But the reality of it is, I need to make wise choices. I am the one responsible for PGP's growth or failure. Since I wasn't really planning on failure, I left the Nutella alone. (Okay, maybe one scoop.)

So to make a long, winded, caffeinated story short: I am Poor Girl Picker. One of my best friends, Colleen, created my logo for me. (see below!) She is super talented and open minded so when I told her my idea she was all over it. I am currently photographing and getting my Etsy store ready, so stay tuned for that!! I have a few Featured Fridays lined up, I'm currently working on my Etsy store, and there are flea markets galore to end this season. I plan on having a featured itemand possibly stories of my picks. I have encountered some really awesome people along the journey, and you should all get to know them too! 

Check out some pictures from the Poor Girl Picker archives below! 

My logo, inspired by the Wheat Penny!

Peggy all packed up after a day at the Peddler!

Working on a new sign to hang in my tent!

New jewelry displays!

My garage space! Its way more full now. 

Silo City Flea!

Big Chick!

Ellie Pup!

Thanks for hanging around and supporting me! Your feedback means a lot to me too, so don't be afraid to comment! 

Enjoy the humidity!

-Stephanie