My Mother

She enjoyed art when I was a kid. She still does today. She instilled a love of art in me that has changed through the decades, but it's still there.

Now my art comes in more practical and useful forms and often is somewhat of a byproduct of other endeavors of mine.

The author's original "digital art" created from a photo taken by the author.

Making Time For Art

Time is at a bit of a premium for a lot of us; though not as much for some during this coronavirus shutdown. For some, time is at a surplus. It may be a great time to create some art or do some other activity that gives you fulfillment and helps you improve yourself.

I am fortunate to be very busy with work from home. I guess I use my my lack of free time as an excuse to not sit down more often with a set of colored pencils, or a paintbrush or some other medium and work on a creation of art.

Thankfully, my life is not completely devoid of artistic endeavors. At work I sometimes fiddle around with Microsoft paint to edit images; again for very practical purposes. I also enjoy some amateur photography on occasion.

But this post is about art that appeared in my life in a fairly unique and roundabout way.

You see, I enjoy doing a little thrifting at my local thrift stores and and then reselling profitable items on ebay.

I haven't been doing much reselling since February when I could tell the coronavirus thing was going to hit hard. I'd rather just stay home and not take any chances for now.

The Process

But when I find a pre-owned item worth listing on ebay, I clean it up the best I can, set up some lamps, put up a white backdrop (usually a large white posterboard) and get to taking some photos. Very fancy studio I've got as you can tell. Really not very professional but it gets the job done and I am able to take some decent photos for my listings.

I enjoy finding quality items that are durable, popular and have a demand for them on the market.

I find it particularly satisfying to find vintage items like leatherbound bibles, leather shoes, tools and electronics. There are plenty of other things that I find too, or course. I discover things I never knew even existed. It's really an education in and of itself and I enjoy working with tangible real-world items in a world that is becoming more and more digital and virtual. I also enjoy the trying to turn a profit for my efforts.

My regular day job involves sitting at a computer most of the day. I do get to attend quite a few meetings too and even used to do that in person when it was allowed. So, the digital side of the ebay process is somewhat familiar. I take photos and edit them digitally, create a listing, adding descriptive text and regularly interact with the ebay interface to list my items and manage my store.

At the same time it is a refreshing reprieve to go out and search for items, clean them, photograph them, store them and eventually package them and send them off in the mail. It really lets me scratch the entrepreneurial itch in a way that is very satisfying on many levels.

But, what does all of this have to do with art?

Don't "draw" any pre-mature conclusions! Hang with me, let me explain.

I'm not going to claim that this is any kind of amazing feat or that I am particularly talented. I am only writing about this because it is something I enjoy.

When I scroll through the photo albums on my cell phone, which is the very professional camera I use to take my photos, I see quite a few decent photos that could be considered art by some.

I often think, well that would make a decent painting or drawing. But again, with time being at a premium and probably by the simple fact that I am not really in the habit of doing it, I don't end up making that drawing or working on that painting.

But, what I do sometimes, which is quite satisfying and relaxing, is to try to improve the artistic appeal of the images by editing them on my phone.

I use the different filters and tools to edit photos and I also like to use an app called Paper Artist. This app will convert your photo into different styles of paintings and drawings in just a few moments.

The Goods and the Art

Here is some of my work. Here's where the vintage leather shoes come in.

This is a pair of Vintage Allen Edmonds Polo Sharkskin Saddle Brown Burgandy Oxford Shoes in Men's Size 9.5. Very nice!

I learned by watching reseller videos on YouTube that this brand of shoes could often be found for a decent price and re-sold for a decent profit. I looked at shoes often times for several months and never found a pair I could sell. Then one day, to my surprise, I found these shoes at a local thrift store for around $7.00.

As I always do, I looked up the sold listings on ebay to see what similar shoes, or the exact same shoes if I could find them, were selling for. Based on what I was seeing, these were definitely a buy. Different pairs were selling on a regular basis anywhere from $30 - $150 dollars. I'd take my chances at $7.

As I cleaned them up a little and took the photos, I began to understand why these shoes were desirable, the leather, the soles, the workmanship was high quality.

When I took the photos I began to feel that the shoes themselves were a work of art.

I am happy to report that I sold the shoes within a short period of time. I think it was a week or two.

And they sold for $59 plus $15 for shipping and handling. Not bad. A great experience all around. My buyer was happy when he received the shoes in the mail a few days later.

Here is another example. I found this Vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster 5-Speed Handheld Burst of Power Heavy Duty Mixer at a garage sale for $1.50. It was originally $3 and I got it for half off.

Again, as I prepared the ebay listing I got the sense of why something like this was desirable. It's one of those things that brings back memories or nostalgia for a slightly different era.

It took a couple of weeks to sell this item as well.

It sold for $15 plus $12.95 shipping and handling. Not as profitable as the shoes, but a profit nonetheless.

How did my "oil painting" turn out?

The last item I will share on this long post is a Stanley Handyman Hand Drill with HY-LO Drive, No. HI220, Made in the U.S.A with one bit, Vintage Tool.

Yeah, these are the titles for my listings and when described in a post on Hive they are very cumbersome and a mouthful, but for ebay purposes, they are rich in keywords that are needed to help buyers locate your items.

I got this item at the same garage sale as the mixer. I can't remember how much it cost me but I am thinking it was $3. It sold on ebay in a couple of weeks for $16 plus $12 shipping and handling.

Stanley Handyman Hand Drill with HY-LO Drive, No. HI220, Made in the U.S.A with one bit, Vintage Tool - A fairly effective ebay listing title.

As you can see I almost always charge shipping on my items. This makes it easy for me to manage the price of my items.

A close-up of the gear on the Stanley Handyman.

As a beginner, I often sold items with free shipping, but in several scenarios I only broke even or even lost a little money because I lowered the price too far and didn't take my cost of shipping and packing materials into consideration.

In conclusion, I really enjoy the whole process of reselling from beginning to end, it usually profitable and helps me express my artistic side, even if only a little.

And now you know what My Mother, Hive, ebay, Photography, Art and Vintage Leather Shoes Have in Common!

Hope you found this interesting, useful or maybe entertaining. If so, please like and subscribe. 🙂

We'll see you in the hive!

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!