For My Long Distance Friends

Update: I get new customers every day and will have 100 consignors by the end of the week! It is fun spending the day talking to all the interesting people who are my neighbors! Holly comes down to help me every week and Walter has given up many of his Saturdays to help bring in merchandise for the "house"! Here are some updated pictures of the shop for those of you who are too far away to come in and see for yourselves...

She's ALIVE!

No, I didn't get sucked into the blue brick building never to return again!

I have been SO busy the last couple of weeks. Collecting merchandise, setting up displays, figuring out my systems (yes, even a Drow can have a system). I have to make myself keep regular hours at the shop so I don't neglect things on the homefront. Here are some photos:

The sofa is a piece that was brought in by my first consignor. I have over a dozen consignors already!

The settee came from the auction that Holly and I went to. The Ethan Allen nesting tables are from a consignor and the jelly cupboard in the background was a treasure that Walter found at a yard sale!

I have books for summer reading and an antique beach chair. The hassock fan on the floor is a great conversation piece. It runs ALL day long.

The lamp is a Wildwood porcelain (gorgeous) that I got at auction, the little display case holds miniature items and trinkets. It has been a favorite "impulse" purchase location because I don't put anything in it that costs more than $2.

This is the "kitchen". Chris brought me the china cabinet...a roadside find! It is great for display space (which is at a premium when you have so few pieces of furniture).

Finally, the "Guy's Room". Boat parts, tools, fishing equipment, and outdoor items. I even have a hunter's camo umbrella. The dog muzzle sold yesterday to a boy who said he needed it to take his dog to the vet

I'm working really hard but am really enjoying meeting all the interesting people and exchanging stories! It's almost as good as being a greeter at Disneyland!

JUST PICTURES

One week from opening, and I still have tons to do!

Catching Up

I have been spending so much of my time at the shop since the end of June that I have been remiss in keeping my blog up to date. Here is the condensed version:

I signed the lease on the 30th of June. I was very pleased with the terms of the lease and the landlord has been good about taking care of some things I needed in the way of housekeeping issues. I got my phone connected on Monday and the modem for my internet should arrive any day. I'll really feel like I'm set when I can get online.

Red helped me choose some great colors at the paint store last week and Friday was the start of the painting blitz. W helped on Friday and then Red came to Deale again on Saturday with paintbrush in hand. It looks ever so much better now!

Getting inventory entered in the consignment software is pretty easy. It took a few hours, but with Red's help on Monday, all the items I had collected so far were described, accounted for and tagged with prices. I don't know what I would do without all the help I have been getting from my local support team! W even found a great truck so I can go to the auctions and buy things for the shop and not have to try to cram them into my little station wagon.

Red and I went to the BIG auction in Crumpton, MD today. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 80's and low humidity. Thank goodness. It is a full day in Crumpton. The auction starts every Wednesday right around 9AM. By 3:30 I was finished. However, we had only gotten half way through the outdoor section of the auction. What a production! We loaded the truck and headed home. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Deale to Crumpton and a nice drive on a beautiful day with a friend...

Wearing my SPF 70 sunscreen and my favorite sun attire...

There are always lamps!

Acres and acres of treasure!

I will spend tomorrow cleaning our "finds" and entering them into the computer. I'm really even sure what I have; so many items that I bid on were part of "lots" that included items I may not have selected were they offered separately. W calls it "bycatch"! Sometimes it's good, other times...you never know!

MORE Progress...

Today, I went to Annapolis. Walking from the parking garage to the courthouse on Church Circle reminded me of why I like this area so much... Brick sidewalks and tour guides walking around in costume give you the feeling of less hectic times.

The licensing division clerks were very helpful; entering all the information for my business license took only minutes. When we were finished, I was given a sheet of paper with instructions to go to the Department of Taxation and Assessments. I checked in there at 11:01 and checked out at 11:04. I went back to the licensing department with all my I's dotted and T's crossed; the clerk finished my processing and was patient while her supervisor looked over her shoulder to check her work. She handed me my business license with a smile of satisfaction. "You look like you may be new at this", I said. "It's my first one", she replied. "Mine too", I responded. I wished them a good day and left the courthouse walking on a cloud with license in hand. I am in business! WISH ME LUCK!

PROGRESS!

I feel remiss in my duties to keep everyone up to date on my "adventure"! Boo is home from school and I have been working very hard to keep my ducklings in line and move them forward.

Since my last post, my Pennsylvania-based scouts have determined that another party has designs on the little house on Muddy Creek Road and claims to have negotiated a lease; apparently, to open a consignment shop! It is a small world after all...

I have located another space. This one is in a "strip" of other commercial businesses including a burger joint, a dentists' office and a coffee/gift shop. It is also closer to home (if that was, indeed, possible). It has possibilities of future expansion and has good karma (more on that later). I gave the agent a deposit on the property yesterday and am in the process of negotiating a lease. They tell me I can start painting any day now! Red is coming down tomorrow to help me with layout plans and colors. She's the BEST!

I have also FINALLY decided on a software package and have dropped my computer off at the "techie shop" (local) to have it reformatted and given a memory boost. The people at Verizon and Comcast are sparring over my account (I wish) and the electricity supplier wants my firs-born as a deposit. Never mind I have been paying my bill on time for decades! This is a business.

On a more uplifting note, I went to an auction on Saturday. Noon til 6:30 then 7 til 9:30. I had an amazing time. It was intriguing to see the interest in each item and the personalities of the people who shall become my peers in this adventure. I came home with some ordinary things and some that were not so. One of the items I purchased in a $1.00 box turned out to be quite collectible. Thanks to the gentleman who knew his stuff and told me after I got it! I had information that I was able to share with others as well, and felt it was time well spent!

In all, it has been a very productive week. I hope to have a signed lease in a few days and keys to my own store. I have a separate blog to promote the shop and give customers information regarding consignments and store policies. I hope that all my cheerleaders will take a look and let me know what they see and suggestions for changes! After all, it takes a village (or, in this case, a team).

My Hometown

One of the biggest advantages to being (hopefully, temporarily) unemployed is having the ability to fully experience my community. Deale, for those of you who have not been here, is really more a village than a town. Nearly all the businesses are locally owned and there are only few franchises such as 7-Eleven and Subway. We have our own public library, a post office, several banks and some nice cafe’s and restaurants; no fancy cuisine, but good basic food. Charter fishing and the boating industry in general, are the reason that a lot of people come to Deale. On the weekends, the parade of charter boats files down the creek navigating the narrow channel to the Chesapeake Bay. The water is not deep and more than once, we have passed a boater “grounded” in the shallows just a few feet from the channel markers. We have water all around us and it is bustling with activity at this time of year.

This aerial photo shows Deale bordered by creeks and the Chesapeake Bay. Farmland and fields cover the inland hillsides.

I have been riding my bike several times a week. Today I rode up the hill, away from Deale, and explored the winding roads that are lined with farms and simple frame houses. A good 10 mile ride by the time I got home, and I was ready to take a little break!

Our backyard is an “oasis” as a friend of mine commented recently. Bordered by very large trees, our neighbor has a great old barnwood shed with a rusty roof that creates a backdrop for the view out back. The shed, so it seems, is the home of another community of sorts. Woodchucks. Plural. We have had a woodchuck visit our yard every year around this time. I had been fearful that our garage floor would collapse from the tunnels underneath and I convinced my long-suffering partner to try to help me eradicate the creature. Well, we’ve been here 16 years and so has Chuckie. Well maybe Chuckie or Chuckie Jr.. How long is the lifespan of a woodchuck? Today, I was introduced to Chuckie’s family. I hope it was the WHOLE family but, probably not. I watched from inside as two smaller chuckies came out from the hole by the compost pile to enjoy a meal of the mulberries that fall from the tree behind the garage and a third smaller chuck was peering out of the tunnel under the garage! I’m sure they have probably been enjoying the vacant splendor of our backyard all these years while we’ve been at work! Later, as I was explaining all of this to hubby, we looked out to discover that a fifth family member had joined the party. Mulberry dessert at the house behind the shed! I tried to get a picture of the whole family, but the kids were a little shy...

Lest you think I have just been spending my time idly watching woodchucks and going on cross-country bike rides, I applied for my LLC yesterday and am working through the maze of software demo programs to find the right program to use at Second Wind Consignments. I’ve talked with bankers, insurance agents, bookkeepers and attorneys. No, I haven’t committed to a location. I’m sure it will happen when the time is right. Maybe I haven’t found the perfect one yet! Maybe tomorrow....