Antique mall booths have long been used as a way to generate income from selling vintage products.

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Sellers set up at an antique mall or vintage collective for a number of reasons. Listing online sales can be too time-consuming.

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They may want to complement their existing vintage e-commerce or market-based business. Or they may have limited onsite storage to house their inventory. Or they benefit from a built-in customer base without the stress of opening their own store.

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For Breanna Battista, owner of Blue Buttercup Vintage and renter of seven antique mall and arts market booths, boothing is a lifestyle choice that affords her a solution for all of the above as she maintains a part-time job in retail and cares for her five children.

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While Breanna lists some products on Instagram and participates in vintage markets in the Toronto-Hamilton area, her consistent month-over-month sales come from her antique mall booths.

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Breanna opened her first booth in 2016 after hosting a vintage tea party–themed bridal shower for a friend.

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She’d originally considered a rental business as a way to make income on the vintage teacups and decor she’d sourced for the occasion, but her friend Laura, proprietor of sayaLOVEvintage, encouraged her to try a booth at one of the Arts Market locations in Toronto.

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She was hooked after her first booth, and opened up six more in recent years.

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“I was looking back on photos the other day and [my first booth] was so empty,” says Breanna. “That's not my style anymore. It's so crazy how things change so quickly.”

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Catering to different customers

Breanna sells a mix of vintage decor and vintage clothing in most of her booths. With each booth generating a different type of customer depending on its location, Breanna is mastering the art of inventory management.

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She finds her Instagram customer and her customer at in-person markets to be similar, whereas customers who shop at the Freelton Antique Mall in Hamilton, Ont. favour more antiques, so that’s what she brings in.

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At the Hamilton Antique Mall, she operates booths on three different floors, because customers don’t always shop the whole mall.

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“It’s interesting to see how people gravitate to a certain floor and then fix their style based on shopping that level,” she says. “Some people just do the first floor and then leave. But then you have a lot of boho and ’80s, especially on floor three, and then in the basement there is a lot of clothes.”

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Antique booth rental tips

After setting up and merchandising seven booths, Breanna has a lot of advice to share. She gives us some of her best booth design, merchandising and maintenance advice in a FREE downloadable seven-page tip sheet called Booth Rentals: A Guide for Sellers. Download it now!

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Looking for antique malls, vintage collectives and permanent flea markets in Canada? Check our antique mall directory.

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