Car Boot Sale in Malo, WA

The Maloret & Son Kettle River Tea Store had a table at the Malo Community Market and Yard Sale this weekend. We sent the “& Son” to a friend’s house, packed up the tables, the tea, the cups and saucers and were ready to go. It was rainy in the morning, so we brought poles and an awning to set up shelter if needed. We’ve never set up this awning, so were hoping that it would clear up and stop raining. We enjoyed setting up and being outside for the day. It was windy, rainy off and on, chilly at times. At the end of the day, we had chapped and rosy cheeks. We found out this week that we need to find a new location for our store, so while we were at the market, we chatted with several people about different possibilities. It’s nice to chat about our store with community members and have helpful customers and friends. We got a few ideas for possibilities for a new location and will be working on that next week. The Malo market and yard sale is a long -standing tradition in the community. Local residents plan on bringing household items for family and friends to sell. The Forget-me-Not animal shelter was there with a table, raising funds for its shelter program. Inside the grange, plants, crafts and chili dogs were on offer. One of the vendors made a donation of household goods for Kate to take to Connections shelter (Kate’s the director of the county’s domestic violence, sexual assault and shelter program). As it rained off and on through the day, we decided to pop the door to the trunk on our Hyundai Santa Fe, drape a blanket and display the baskets of tea in the ‘boot!’ This kept the teas from getting wet, as people don’t seem to want teabags that are already brewed. When customers approached, they could see the teacups and plates and other craft items we had available, and we sent folks to the back of our car nearby to check out the teas. The high noon was popular today, as was the herbal peach tea. We felt like we were at Paddy’s Market in Liverpool-with the boot open, the goods on offer. We enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones today. One antique dealer stopped by to check out the china. She left with a platter British Empire Made china from Canada. It was good to see it go to a good home. She is opening an antique stall in Snohomish. Our tables were set up next to the ‘Sign Lady’s Signs’ a local business that makes banners and signs, and they also drives an ice cream truck at the State Park during summer. While Kate was walking around chatting and shopping for bargains, Pete spotted a blue, white and orange floral teapot and coffee pot. He called over “how much?” The ladies named their price, Pete said, “I’ll take ‘em.” They are from the Heritage pattern, Royal Sealy Japan. One of the ladies had these for over 30 years she said, and was ready to let them go. Check out the pictures, if you’re interested in adding to them to your tea or coffee pot collection, let us know. All in all, we had a great day. It was fun meeting the other vendors, and we really appreciate our customers.