Creativity

I will be reminiscing about my years in the antique and collectible business later, but some of my notes revealed an event long ago, a story that should uplift those who think they are trapped.



We are working 2 stores in Manhattan and one of the partners apologetically mentions that an unwanted visitor will appear.....someones brothers uncles long lost aunts....you know the drill....



and hes down on his luck....you know the drill.....and can we help out anyway we can by giving him odd jobs ,whatever. The guy looks rough.



that's the impression.



I think i read him to be someone who has learned just recently the advantages of a complete



360 degree change of lifestyle and he is dead serious about the change. If you have been given a second chance this may be the look you have.


Anyway, theres not much for him here as he doesn't hang around very much. But he was interested in taking advantage of the biggest celebration I've ever seen, the 200th


anniversary of the United States. the bicentennial was to be celebrated across the nation with emphasis in major seaports where the most distinguished and historical tall masted sailing ships

from the world over (operation sail) were to partake in the events. The show stealer's were

3 and 4 masted majestic sailboats, the survivors of bygone years when nations ruled primarily

on the high seas. These ships even today are used in training naval cadets by their respective

countries and serving on one qualifies you for a career. The royal yacht Britannia was there and i was able to see her on her last voyage with the queen of England in Mexico in the late 80's.

So hes kind of late to merchandise decals-t-shirts and related souvenirs, mind you millions

of people will be in and around battery park and adjoining areas to see the event. if i remember

correctly street traffic was closed from 14Th,and down. He didn't have the money anyway to buy and sell. A week before the event, he comes in the store with curtains and sheets that he bought. The linen is sailboat motif and the majority are prints of the actual ships that will be present.For example, a single bed sheet had repetitious images of sailboats that provided 60 cutouts for making "official" patches. Someone lent him a sewing machine and by cutting out

and sewing to a felt backing he was amassing hundreds of patches. In 24 hours he sold everyone of them and made about $2500, that's like $6000 today's dollars. Because it wasn't so well known,
the DAR pomorza, a polish ship, he didn't have that many patches but the polish community was buying them up, he told me he could have sold another 100 or so. Entrepreneurs abound in big cities and making decals, patches and souvenirs to hawk at specific events is not new but cutting up linen that you paid $40 for and making $2500 in a day is creative. What was really creative was his goal--under normal circumstances to save that amount in that time and place would take 6 mos. to 2 years. I've seen it done but the $ was spent very quickly. this guy said he was going to start a new life somewhere and i hope he did. A friend of mine showed up in a city
with less than a dollar after a divorce and in 6 years had a major co. under his belt.