I love it, when I get a detailed fun story from an Etsy buyer!
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy, available here
I have no clue how these relate to my past memories, but I just love these fortune teller cards from the old day penny napkin dispensers and have a hoard of them! I am hoping this Etsy buyers connection to them will help mine.
Here's their story:
Hi ! I just received my fortune cards and you wanted to know my plans with them , which I am happy to share ....they are a Christmas gift for my sister . Many years ago when we were little girls ( which is longer ago than I care to admit ) we were in Atlantic City with our parents . At that time the Steel Pier over the ocean had entertainment , and one of the stalls was a fortune telling lady with a cage full of trained parakeets . When you paid your fee , she would take a bird out of the cage , and it would walk over to a pile of folded little pieces of paper . The bird would "select "one fortune with it's beak and drop it into your hand ! Of course my sister and I were fascinated , and we had a pet bird at home ,who we tried to train to do this , but our own parakeet was much more interested in shredding the paper than delivering the fortune . So these fortune cards brought back a fun and happy memory , thank you !
How's that for a story from a kind stranger!? I love it!
What a grand childhood memory! It must have been so fun and funny to try and teach their parakeet to do the same thing! especially now in hindsight.
I wonder where the fortune telling lady and parakeets are today. The last time I saw anything remotely close to something like that was at Venice Beach a couple of summers ago when we splurged and saw a "freak show" on the boardwalk! I need to do that more often because it felt like I didn't have a care in the world.
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy, available here
Anyways, I'll just concentrate on the "joy" part and all will be well!
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy, available here
I don't think this hoard of fortune teller paper has anything to do with my past because now that I've had some time to think on it. It has a more interesting juxtaposition with my future.
In my late teens, I visited Japan and was fascinated with their shops. There was always someone at the door to happily greet you with "irashai" bow or a quiet nod and when you bought something each shop gave you a "thank you" gift called "omiyage," best described as a souvenir, memento or token of appreciation and remembrance.
I kept many of my omiyage from my Japan trip well past college and still might have some in my hoard. I was given many key fobs, like a bell woven inside a straw ball or a painted shell attached to macrame type item to hang from my rear view mirror and every each region had it's specialties and good luck charms.
One shop I received a "kawaii" cute label and in another a turquoise towel, so I sewed the label on to the wash cloth and used it for many years later.
For me, sometimes the "gift" was more intriguing than what I bought because I was often sent out to buy something to give when we went on visits, which is another custom enjoyable custom of Japan as long as it doesn't escalate.
Long story trying to get shorter.... so when I opened up my shop I wanted to do the same and thought about giving "fortune teller" related ephemera since my future is so unknown once I figure out my hoarding ways and leave them behind or learn to use it to my advantage or whatever happens happens.
It's ever evolving, but looks something like this:
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy, available here with a different version available at each shop
As I get a package ready to ship, I try to imagine the kind person taking a piece of my hoard and the new life it's going to have with them and it's a reminder to me to continue dehoarding because it's very difficult to imagine my life without hoard because that's all I've known.
Lately I've gotten a few disheartening emails about my omiyage, but I am thankful for those that love it and wonder why I have such a difficult time focusing on the many who have thanked me for it, like the one that recently wrote that she this was the first time in a long time that she smiled when she opened her package!
A full set comes like a deck of cards without jokers! Here is a stack of 13 in each suit.
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy, available here
Saying Goodbye: I have many complete sets and use them as gift tags, since the idea was given by another Etsy buyer in a story, here. Also I plan to use them in art projects. As a matter of fact, I still have more to sort into complete stacks! As a recovering hoarder, I feel comfortable saying goodbye to these because I have enough set aside for myself in abundance.
If you are interested in the history of these, they originally were in cafe diners around the country in napkin dispensers and even were a main feature in a Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner! Read the post with many photos about it, here. I think I included a Utube link also.
What I Learned:
1. One needs to have some thick skin in business and it's very difficult for me to "not take things personally." I am starting to see how my 5 year goals better fit my needs.
2. It's okay for me to allow myself to feel discouraged as long as I don't dwell in it and it's good for me to feel it pass as easily as it found me.
3. It's much easier for me to take away something positive from negative things if I'm not judgmental about it.
4. Although last two postings were doozey heavy drainers for me, the complications and complexities of it has brought me some clearer insight and I am thankful for the refresh-fulness of this one.
photo via JunkDrawerLoveEtsy, available here with a different version available at each shop
Thank you Etsy buyer from JunkDrawerLoveEtsy for sending your story. I have seemed to find it at a time I really need the change and reminder of the kindness of strangers.
Thank you Etsy for the most positive outlet for myself and my hoard as I learn the ins and outs of business, which by the way, if anyone "out there" needs a short course and quick way to write up a creative business plan, the Etsy blog has one that I could understand easily, finished in an hour and opened my eyes to many doors of possibilities! Read it here, How To Write a Creative Business Plan in Under an Hour by Caroline Cummings.
For instance, now I have clearer ideas about my target market and it made me think about my financial projections and I learned about niches and business jargon. A whole lot for an hours worth of time. Yep, I timed it and it took me 45 minutes to write and I spent 15 minutes understanding unfamiliar business vocabulary, as in milestones and value propositions.
Thank you US, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Greece, Singapore, Taiwan and the many others who have visited since last Friday. Many thanks for joining me in my HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!
Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab, The Destiny of Things, VintageToGoEtsy and now JunkDrawerLoveEtsy! There are about 105 items listed on JunkDrawerLoveEtsy and will resume new listings in a few days and will continue to relist 1-2 items at the other shops! Thanks for looking! Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too!
And thank you Ivy for using the invite to open your new Etsy shop, Love Lotus Vintage! Visit her newly opened shop, Love Lotus Vintage for some 80s to 90s romantic wear! She'd like to clear out her closet and have less stuff for her big move!
If anyone else would like an invite to open their own Etsy shop and get 40 free listings, let me know how I can help you!
Related Stories: Other stories from my Fortune Teller ephemera
1. Ask Swami Fortune Teller Cards and the Twilight Zone: The Destiny of Things, Story #115, read it here
3. Miracle Fish Fortune Teller Surprise Balls: The Destiny of Things, Story XCII, here
5. UPDATE on A Little Girl and her Miracle Fish: The Destiny of Things, Story #112, Part 2, here
"Sometimes the SMALLEST things take up the MOST room in my heart." ---Winnie the Pooh
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