UPDATE: As of September 23rd, 2022 my booth at Merchant Square is closed. It was a wonderful learning experience and so much fun!

For the next phase of my Big, Simple Life Shop, check here.

Read on for the original post.

In February 2021, I took a leap of faith and started curating a booth at Merchant Square in Chandler, Arizona! I mentioned the possibility to my friends and cohorts and everyone responded with a resounding “Go for it!” 

The two best ways to keep up with my shop:

Follow my Big, Simple Life Shop on Instagram

Follow my booth Pinterest board

Summer 2022

A year-and-a-half later! August 2022 I added the console table and shifted things around a bit. This was the last update before I closed up shop.

My favorite offerings:

• • • textiles including tablecloths, pillows, kantha scarves/table runners made in India and kantha quilts
    • loose leaf tea, tea pots and tea accouterments
    • journals
    • books old and new
    • colorful artwork
    • handmade greeting cards
    • stickers
    • metal garden accessories
    • home decor

Where It Started

Here are pictures from my grand opening on February 5th 2021!

My post from February 2nd as told to my Insiders ladies on Facebook.

Today I “moved in” to my booth at our local vintage/antique mall! My hubby installed shelves and I unpacked everything I’ve been accumulating and was pleased when it didn’t look skimpy. It’s definitely colorful, and that was the main goal. This process has been surreal and even up to the night before, I questioned whether I should do it. It’s a risk. It’s been a lot of long days and my body is sore. It’s really a weird feeling to IN the store where I’ve shopped dozens of times and see MY stuff. And now I get to see if anyone likes it enough to buy 🙂

THIS is the epitome of “putting yourself out there” and honestly–one of the main reasons I went through with it was to be an example, because I really believe in the idea of “the world needs who I was created to be” and the same is true for YOU!

So please…do me the honor of thinking about how YOU can offer your gifts, talents and maybe even physical STUFF to the world. And when you feel like giving up…don’t. We never know what tomorrow holds. NOW is the time to go for it. So many women have inspired me, I hope I can inspire you. And if you’re in Chandler, AZ, go visit my booth or let me know and I’ll meet you there!

{back to the original post}

At a time when I’m limited as to the amount of emails, appointments and obligations in my life and needing to stay available and flexible for my Realtor hubby and our three kids, I DO still need a hobby, a passion project and a creative outlet and I think this is perfect. I can shop and price on my own timeline and go to the space when it works for our family (weeknights and weekends I would guess).

In contemplating this idea, I’ve been reminiscing. I’ve always loved antiques and vintage and as a teenager, my brother even said my bedroom looked like an old lady’s I’ve always appreciated family heirlooms and anything with age, patina and a story. One of the reasons I knew Drew was The One was because his family went antiquing every Black Friday and I joyfully joined in and have kept the tradition going for the 19 years since, even taking my friends antiquing to my favorite places many times. Drew worked at an Asian antique store for a few years and those pieces are still my favorites in our home!

The first time I visited Merchant Square was on my way home from a women’s retreat and my hubby texted to say, “Take your time coming home, do something fun” and walking in…I felt like I had come home. 

Here’s the blurb from their website:

Merchant Square Antique Marketplace is known for its captivating selection of Antiques, Furniture, and charming accessories; offering quality, selection, style, and great prices.

We’ve got a whole lot of everything and have been called many different things from Arizona antiques mall, to AZ Swap Meet, to an Arizona Flea Market, and the best AZ antiques.

We pride ourselves on providing exceptional customer service, with a friendly and efficient team of management personnel, floor staff, and cashiers. It is our goal to make sure everyone that shops at Merchant Square has a wonderful shopping experience.

58,000+ sq. ft. of Antiques, Collectibles and Home Decor. 200+ Merchants (that’s me!) in 130 Booths and 104 Glass Showcases. Furniture, lighting, jewelry, vintage & new boutique clothing, antique toys, glassware, and much more. Come check out our our new 18,000 sq. ft. outdoor Garden area too!

Merchant Square really is one of my favorite places to go and I’ve taken friends and family there and even celebrated  my 42nd birthday there with lunch at American Way Market Cafe and shopping!

At a time in life when I need something that fits in with our family rhythm and my energy and time, and a way to be “out there” and helping people…it feels like an easy yes.

This is the booth as I saw it when I went to see the space this week before the current merchant moves out. I even bought the arbor from them so I don’t have to worry about much build out. How fun will it be to make this my own??

I’ll be using this page to post updates, inventory, event info and more so stay tuned! I hope to see you in my merchant square soon! 

Directions: Merchant Square is located in Chandler, AZ on Arizona Ave. between Warner and Ray on the east side of the road. Visit the Google Maps location here. Address: 1509 N Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ 85225

My booth is 6A. You enter, go all the way to the right and go up a few booths and I’m on the left. Look for the white arbor! It’s near the door to Picker’s Alley.

Vendor tips Pinterest board