Asking for prayers and good wishes at the beginning of a new venture

[George N. M.]

I used to ask Martha if I bought her 200 pounds of steel wool would she spin and knit me an anvil.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

I'll bet you're glad she has a good enough sense of humor to not spin and knit underwear and slip it on while you sleep.

We've been out of sheep for years now, I'd have to ask if Deb knows of anybody processing wool. Just because there were 10 years ago doesn't mean anything now. We did buy an old washing machine at a yard sale to process wool without gunking up ours.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

Overdue update: Lisa opened the store on April 11, so it's had three full weeks open, concluding with yesterday's Local Yarn Store Day. So far, things have gone extremely well, right up to a couple of our friends stepping forward to cover the store after she tested positive for COVID two days ago. Gross sales in those three weeks were equivalent to her rent for the next year. So, off to a good start. Thank you all for your good wishes.

[SLAG]

Congratulations!

SLAG.

[Frosty]

Congratulations Lisa!

Drats, I sent a happy dancing Snoopy GIF a couple hours ago and it didn't post. It wasn't too large I checked and doesn't show in my history. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[JHCC]

That’s funny; I saw it when you first posted it, but I don’t see it now. 

[ThomasPowers]

So now you can spend time in the smithy bowl-ing for dollars?    Congrats!!!!!

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

That’s awesome! I’m glad you had help while y’all were in quarantine!

[Frosty]

It's gone again, I guess it violates something and a mod is removing it. Be nice if I knew why, maybe I could do it a different way or stop trying. It messes with my mind I forget things too frequently and if posts, pics, etc. are being removed without notice it's more confusing than ever. Frustration is hard enough for me to deal with but if it creeps into anger I tend to do things I regret, like take it out on someone who doesn't deserve it.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[anvil]

Congrats! keep it going!

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

8 hours ago, Frosty said:

It's gone again

I saw it also but think GIF's are frowned upon, especially animated ones. Probably has something to do with excess bandwidth usage. I do love Snoopy dancing though.

[Glenn]

The mods have contacted me and the animated gif was removed because it as a stop sign as you read the forum demanding that you watch or at least look at the gif.  This interrupts the flow of reading.  The larger the gif, the larger the stop sign, and the greater the demand to stop.  

This is also true for colored text.  Dark gray, used by moderators, is close to the black color used for the forum text is so there is a small difference in colors, but enough so you can read right on pass the color change.  The blue color text is reserved for explanations, if needed.  Otherwise you can read the forum at full speed with little or no interruptions.

This does not address the issue of the copyright for Snoopy, the copyright by the person doing the animation, etc.

[JHCC]

Another long-overdue update, and a follow-up request:

Two years later, the store is doing very well, in just about every respect. We've developed a solid customer base and a good reputation both locally and online (good Google reviews are gold), and (according to our accountant, anyway) we've made a profit in both years we've been open. All is going well.

AND NOW, we're right on the edge of a MAJOR step forward. After an abortive exploration of purchasing a building downtown (which turned out to be hideously overpriced and in horrible shape -- I mean, "9x12 steel I-beam rusted completely away directly underneath the front door" horrible -- we are very, very close to moving into a lovely space in an even better part of downtown. The rent is going to be significantly higher, but between the increases in store space and foot traffic, we could easily double and probably triple sales within a year or two. We're still in negotiations with the bank and the SBDC about short-term funding for the move, so any good thoughts and/or prayers would be much appreciated.

[George N. M.]

Congratulations, John.  I hope all goes well.  The only thing that I can advise you is to read any lease or contract VERY carefully and if there is anything that seems off or subject to confusion consult your attorney.  Also, as a tenant make sure that you document the condition of the premises VERY carefully with the land lord at the beginning and document everything that is wrong, down to and including mail hole from pictures in the plaster.  I suggest that after inspection you and the land lord make a list of all the deficiencies and both sign it.

George

[Frosty]

Congratulations John, stepping UP in the world! I'll say a word with higher because you asked and tip a splash of single malt to seal the deal.

I don't have anything significant to add to Georges professional advise but maybe ask to look under it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

We’re still waiting on a decision from the SBDC about financing (the underwriters at the bank are good with it), but in the meantime, we had a celebrity visitor today: singer/songwriter/composer/multi-instrumentalist/multiple-Grammy-award-winner/MacArthur-“genius-award”-winner/famed-crocheter Rhiannon Giddens!

I’ll keep you all posted when there’s any news. 

[George N. M.]

John, which is which?

G

[gewoon ik]

Great to hear the store is doing good.

Also on the picture, don't know any of those ladies.

[JHCC]

Lisa (my wife) on the left, Rhiannon (as described) on the right. 

[George N. M.]

That had been my guess but I wasn't sure.  Thx.

G

[Frosty]

Come get crochety with the stars, eh John? That's very cool, congrats.

Frosty The Lucky.

[JHCC]

UPDATE: Lisa has signed the lease on the new space, and we’re trying to figure out how to get from here to there financially. The Small Business Administration has changed its regulations, and it’s proving challenging to get the money in hand for the initial rent payments, moving expenses, and increased inventory. Very frustrating, but still moving forward (however slowly). 

We’ve started a GoFundMe for people to help offset those expenses, which hopefully will help us get things moving faster. I won’t post the link here, but if anyone wants to contribute, DM me so I can send you the link. 

[JHCC]

UPDATE: Today, Lisa took possession of the new space and had her last day of in-store sales in the old space. The GoFundMe has been very successful, raising just under $11K in working capital as of the time of writing.

Here are some photos of what we're moving into:

Looking north to the front of the store:

Looking south to the back of the store:

Looking southwest towards the staircase to the second floor:

Light well through the second floor to the skylight above:

The Lady herself:

On 5/23/2024 at 9:12 PM, Frosty said:

tip a splash of single malt to seal the deal.

It looks like the previous tenants left their liquor behind, so I'll be celebrating with a glass or two of bourbon on them.

[George N. M.]

Now comes the fun part, moving all the stock and fixtures from the old place to the new one.  I hope that you are not going to try to do it all by yourselves.  How long are you giving yourselves before you open for business?  There is something of an industrial vibe to the space.  So, your ironwork should fit in well.  If she is going to stock things like hand woven scarves and shawls nice penannular brooches would be a nice accompaniment.

GNM

[JHCC]

We'll be hiring movers for anything that's heavy or bulky. The good news is that the new store is literally two blocks down the street from the old one, so the only real issue is volume rather than distance.

Most of the display is heavy steel wire grids that attach to the wall with easy-to-mount brackets. They were easy to put up in the old space and will be easy to take down, move, and reinstall in the new space.