Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Living the Dream..with a touch of nightmare ;-)

Oooo, I am excited!!! Our new shop (shop #2, not replacement shop!!) is painted, papered and carpeted. With only a little bit of messy stuff left to do, we started putting stands into position (important for getting the spatials sorted) and then I couldn't resist a bit of stocking up. Just a few button tubes, but it felt goood.
For a mere 42sqm, it's turning out to be a nice size, I think.
 Two very long lines of bunting in bright fabrics that unfortunately you can't hardly see in this photo. I make batches of 8 and 10 flag strings with close together, single layer pinked flags sewn to a pretty striped ribbon, and these will festoon the walls. But because these ones are seen from both sides, I laid the fabrics wrong sides together, pressed them which gives them a little more cling to one another, and cut through all layers with my trusty pinking rotary cutter. Then I worked with them that way. So, no bagging in, no vliesofix to bond them and they seem fine. A triumph of under engineering!
 Gutermann threads. Lots of them. I love the way the colours flow up and down the columns of a thread stand. Some of these threads will never sell, some will be replaced over and again.
 YARN!!!!!! Another happy thing. Here in NZ it is finally turning to autumn and it is nippy. People are drifting into our Marion St shop looking for yarn. All of our yarn must be made in NZ 'from sheep to shop," with no sneaking it off to China to have it spun and dyed as is so often the case. I'm working on getting in all of the ranges that qualify, the most expensive of which we are going to have to save up for. Possum, silk, merino...mmm...

 More gratuitous thread shots. Because I can! :)


 Some buttons. I've already doubled the count since I took this photo and it still looks meagre. But those little discs are the road to financial ruin, let me tell you! But they are as irresistible to this shop owner as they are to the customers, so I keep buying them in!
Ahem, and buttons are not the only thing I find irresistible! These fabrics just arrived, from Riley Blake's Geekly Chic range, they are such fun!
So, that account for where I've been most of the time recently, and it will go on for a bit longer too. Hopefully we can open on Friday - no eftpos because I forgot to sort it out sooner, but MrC has programmed the till and, well, we'll get there eventually! :)

24 comments:

  1. It looks great! Good luck with the grand opening!

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    1. Thank you Barb :) It will be a not very grand opening for week or so, but I think after we're bedded in, a partay may be in order! :)

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  2. ooh - how exciting! Well done for growing your own business. Wish you lots of luck and crafty dollars in the till.

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    1. Many thanks Asparagus Pea :) We hope it at least pays its own way!

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  3. This is just thrilling! Another exciting adventure for you! Thanks for sharing the joy with us.

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  4. Thank you Nessa! It certainly is. Every time we go in there I just want to pinch myself I am so amazed. It exists because of hard work, diligence and determination, but it still feels like a blessing bestowed on me in some way :)

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  5. Looks amazing, and I can totally understand you button addiction!

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  6. I love the look of a fully stocked Gutermann thread stand, so pretty, so many colours to choose from, I suspect I will be in front of that stand regularly with fabric swatch in hand, there is something super satisfying (to me anyway) about finding the perfect thread, whether it be colour match or contrast, it makes me smile...ohh and BUTTONS!

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    1. Me too! I can do it standing on my head, and it's always fun to get it roght first pop for a customer. Such a show off hehehe

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  7. No K mart clothes allowed in such a pretty store!

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    1. Hehe, I've not been in there for about 20 years now, so no chance of that ;-)

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  8. Oooh, so much prettiness!!! :-D

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  9. Ooooh I love the freshness of a new shop and one filled with such fabulous things. I love the back feature wall, just looks so fitting. While I love dropping into the Marion St store it is a must do to visit the new shop :-) How exciting.

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    1. Oh goodie! See you soon! It is looking sooo pretty and fresh and full of lovely things after a big push today :)

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  10. Dear Mrs. C.,
    Whee, it's getting colorful and full of squeal-worthy goodies! Very best to you as you finish up the prep work!

    Hugs,

    Natalie

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    1. Thank you Natalie! No way are we ready to open tomorrow, no eftpos, not fully stocked, but there is so much curiosity, whaddya do! :)

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  11. Exciting!! I'm with you on the wondrous rainbow of threads....they look amazing! Glad to see its coming together and interesting tip on cutting/ sewing your bunting too...

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    1. Thanks Winnie! And now the zippers are out, looking just as pretty beside them. The bunting is splitting - still looks lovely but it definitely looks like two flags not one over time. I reckon a quick sew around near the edge on each one would have done the trick. But really, 25m of it? Not on this occasion! hehehe

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  12. Exciting!! I will have a cardigan that needs looking at those buttons of yours, and if there's wool to fondle.. can't wait! :)

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  13. Oh oh oh oh - nearly time nearly time. Very excited. I'll be swinging by next week (with kids so watch out lol).

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    1. EEp! I hve some things that little girls would love as much as big girls do, so be warned! hehehe.

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  14. Wow - your second shop - how grand is that! You know I actually drooled when I saw the pics of the gutermann! Had to wipe my chin with a tissue.

    It was wise words you left on my blog about pattern makers trying to fit the larger sized women. I hadn't thought of that - o wise one!

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