Happy Memorial Day

I love this holiday because it's the "kickoff to Summer"! This is probably the first Memorial Day weekend in years that I did not celebrate at the beach. I guess that's just part of working in retail, as I told my husband as he left for the beach Friday morning without me! Oh well, it's my dream, not his. I guess "being supportive" only covers so much. Not that I'm complaining... I'm certainly willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make this business work.

The Power of Blogs

Wow! I had a very pleasant experience earlier today. I got to meet someone from the "blog world" in person! Carol (http://ourreddoor.blogspot.com) and her husband were traveling from Georgia to NC for the weekend, and having seen my blog just last week, recognized the store when they were driving by. Fortunately they were not on a tight schedule and were able to stop and visit for a little while. It really blew me away when she told me that she had seen my blog, especially since she lives in Georgia. I would expect that local people might see it and stop by, but she lives seven hours away! So that really goes to show how powerful and far-reaching this thing is. It turns out that two of Carol's three children graduated from the same college as me...Georgia Southern University...and Carol currently has a retail space in Georgia, and used to operate her own storefront. What a small world, and how wonderful to be able to connect to it this way! Thank goodness for technology! I should have taken Carol's picture to post, but I wasn't thinking of it at the time. So instead, here are pictures of my favorite "arrivals" this week.

Where are all the shoppers?

What a slow week! My husband thinks that the slow sales are because we have a 3 day holiday weekend coming up. I'd like to hear some views on that, because I just can't make the connection. Any thoughts?

Just Thinking....

As a new business, I don't have the money (or even the need most of the time) to hire anyone to help me in the shop, so most of the time I am here all by myself. Up until about six months ago, I worked in an office with lots of other people, and there are days when I miss that. But I am thankful that I get to be here in this quaint old building surrounded by all this great stuff, listening to great old music, meeting people from all over (yesterday someone from Connecticut was in the shop). Yes... this is good. A little quiet right now, but good. I have time to take more pictures.

More pictures from around the shop. No telling how long I'll have these things, so I like to take pictures of some of the stuff that I really like.

My husband keeps asking me to cover up this dress form because of the stains on it. I think it looks fine... just shows its age, like the rest of us!

Just Some More Photos......

Here are some recent additions to our inventory... the Vera Bradley Home products that several people have been asking about, windchimes, some new frangrances from Bridgewater Candle, and some monogrammed beach towels! The windchimes have been a big hit!

Some facts...

The building ... Originally built in 1887 in Franklinville, NC. It was the town's community center. I'm not sure if it served as a church, school, general meeting place, or what, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has information about the building. It was moved to it's current location (Hwy 64 in Ramseur, NC) in the early 1990s. The floors creak like crazy whenever someone walks on them, which just adds to the ambiance!
The rooster out front... made from a 55 gallon drum, he was the inspiration for the name! The first one I ever saw was last summer outside a shop at Holden Beach and it was one of those "Stop! Stop! Turn around! Turn around!" moments when you see something that you just can't live without. (Thanks to Clay & Erica for waiting so patiently while I checked it out)

Here's My Shop!

I have so many relatives, friends, and acquaintances who, because of distance cannot visit the shop in person. Also, many local friends have not yet found the time to drop by. So for all of you, and for my own personal documentation, I've decided to post some pictures. Hopefully, I'll keep them updated so everyone can see how things change from month to month. Let me know what you think!