The Thrill of the Hunt

I get the question, "Where do you find your tea cups?" every time someone finds out about my business  or makes a purchase.  The answer is simple enough: Antique Malls, Flea Markets, Yard Sales, Estate Sales, Thrift Stores, Ebay, Etsy, and the list goes on.  But there is nothing simple about it.  Since I opened Wicks and Willow, the hunt for tea cups has been just as time consuming as the actual process of turning them into candles.  But, I have to say... it's my favorite part of it all.

The thrill of the hunt is what's exciting; knowing that I could find that one-of-a-kind tea cup, or a shelf full of my favorite cups (Blue Willow) is what keeps me wandering down each and every aisle.   Sometimes I leave a store with one tea cup and saucer, sometimes none, and sometimes, my shopping cart looks like this.  And that, my friend, is a successful tea shopping trip!

When I shop at antique malls especially, I have to walk into every booth, look at every shelf, and haggle for every price.  There's no such thing as a quick look around the store.  There are days I walk out disappointed, and other that I leave with an extra pep in my step because I found exactly what I was looking for.  I get especially excited when I see these blue and white treasures stacked up on the shelves.

My most recent tea cup shopping trip was in the Auburn/Opelika area.  One of the stores that sells my candles is The Villager in Downtown Auburn, right next to Toomer's Corner.   Since I was already in town dropping off some tea cups candles for them, I decided to spend the day there and hit up some local stores.

In fact, I make it a habit that every time I travel, I look up antique malls, flea markets, or thrift stores they have in the area.  My friend Katie has been telling me that she thinks of me every time she goes to Angel's Antique and Flea Mall in Opelika, which is just about 10 minutes outside of Auburn.  Little did I know what a treasure-filled place this would be!

It was by far, the biggest antique mall I have shopped in for tea cups.  My shopping cart was full before I even made it through half the store.  I actually left my buggy up front with the cashier so she could start wrapping each cup and saucer in paper (sorry, folks behind me in line!), and I grabbed another buggy and started on the second half of the store.  I get a lot of weird looks when I have a buggy full of tea cups.  People ask me if I'm hosting a tea party.  If I collect tea cups.  Or they just outright ask me, "What are you doing to do with all those?"  I just think of it as the perfect conversation starter to tell them about my business and hand them a business card.  Maybe those weird looks will one day turn into a sale (or two)!

There are five other stores right now that sell or will soon sell my candles, in addition to The Villager in Auburn; two in Montgomery, two in Prattville, and one in Wetumpka that I'll be in soon!  It's exciting to think that someone can walk into a store, and buy something I made by hand in my own home.  Overall, I am really enjoying the process of owning my own business.  I love the creative process, the marketing process, and the "people" part of it.  My husband takes care of the money side of it... that's what I'm the worst at.  I'm not good with numbers.  So far, I have shipped orders as far away as Budapest, Australia, and New York.  However, I most enjoy delivering my candles in person, and getting to see the reaction of my customers.  It's not my full-time job, but I probably spend just as much time on Wicks and Willow as I do at my real job, WSFA 12 News.  

This is me at work today; I just had to share!  It's mine and my husband's one year anniversary, and he surprised me with flowers. I am one lucky gal!