Hmmm. You know the shop like the back of your hand but- wait, things look different now. That's right!
We are changing things up! Coming out of quarantine has created new challenges for us and is opening up new ways of doing things. They say in small business, you can make change faster and impact your neighborhood more immediately. Well, we agree!
It has been a very different year. Our usual busy times have been, well, not so. And without the plethora of merchandise we typically carry, we are becoming more laser-focused in what we bring in. We are also scared to bring things in. Will we continue being open with a new normal way of doing things or will one of us at the shop get sick and we will need to close down for 2 weeks? Who knows?!? Needless to say, we are being careful, conscientious, and analytical in how we are bringing in new merchandise.
As we talk to our designers, we are hearing the same story. All their Spring orders from large and small shops were cancelled. No one was open, so no one could sell anything, so no one had money to bring in new product. We get it. Since we're small, we've always worked in a different way. We curate our selection and bring items in when appropriate (seasonally, by demand, and depending on our cash flow). Yes, no one talks about this, but we cannot bring new merchandise in if we still have last season's pieces. So basically, shops missed a whole season during quarantine. So did our designers! What could they do with the inventory they created to ship to all these shops that cancelled their orders? That depends. But many designers we worked with pivoted just like us to selling online so they could continue making current products that evolve each season. When getting ready to reopen, we realized we were a shop with limited products as we were only able to bring in a few collections due to a slow Spring season. How to fix that...
Well, after summer festivals were declared cancelled, we realized we have a unique opportunity to showcase those designers that often sell at makers festivals, music festivals, and art festivals that we love to go to! These designers would be losing additional months of revenue as we all reopen around them. That's when it clicked. We needed to bring in their work to give them a platform to be in front of people and show their beautiful collections for people to hold, feel, and try on. And we needed fresh + new inventory that we loved! A partnership in a new way to help one another.
We have all been cooped up but we are ready to (safely) venture into the world again. All of you have told us how you love being in the shop. We do too! It's a space for inspiration, fun, learning, and good vibes! Oh, and shopping too! We are thrilled for you to be back in the shop again but this time with a face mask and a squirt of hand sanitizer, of course. :)