Snow day

Overnight, this little mountain town was blanketed in snow...again. It's after 8 am and there has been little to no traffic down Main Street. Just a glimpse of downtown Eureka Springs in its beautiful pristine state:

(What you can't see in this last pic is the six or seven deer running through the woods.)

I don't think I'll be opening the store today! ;-)

Shop resolutions, 2010

It's a new year already, and I can hardly believe it. Time just flew by last year as we were busily planning/designing/opening/running our store. And what a great ride it has been! Despite my trepidation, I've found that being a retailer is fun and rewarding, that my customers are my greatest inspiration, that getting to be creative again is a great rush, and that living above the shop in downtown Eureka Springs is simply wonderful. It's all good.

So how did we end up doing this? It was a circuitous route, believe me. A few years ago, we decided we were tired of Dallas and wanted to do something different with our lives. I had always dreamed of having a small inn or boutique hotel, so I began researching appropriate properties for sale throughout the U.S. After I had determined several that we wanted to look at, we set out on a road trip to look them over. Our first stop? Eureka Springs. I hadn't been here since I was a child, and I was enchanted all over again. What a charming and magical place it is!

We found a property that seemed perfect and made an offer that was accepted. A few months went by, the entire project was planned, designed and budgeted, and we were so excited to start. Then one hour before closing on the property, it all fell apart. Can't go into the details, but let's just say all was not what was represented. We sadly returned to Dallas.

However, we couldn't get Eureka Springs out of our minds. We kept returning week after week and looking at everything that was for sale, hoping we could somehow make our dream work. Nada. Then we saw our current building. It wasn't suitable as an inn, but we sure did like it. Right downtown, huge, great living quarters, a large basement perfect for Rob's workshop. But what would we do with it? The owners told us we should open a shop. Now, I had been in and around the retail world for decades (advertising and marketing shopping centers and urban areas) and never considered being a shop owner. But the idea slowly grew on me, we bought the building, I started reading blogs by small shop owners and noting how creative an outlet retailing can be, and after several months of gutting and rebuilding, the shop was born. And thank goodness for that.

These nine months of being open have taught me a lot, thus I can make more educated resolutions for the new year:

• Open up the basement. (Rob took half the basement for his workshop, and the rest has been just used for storage so far.) The space is rather charming, with stone walls and thick rafters, and will be a great backdrop for art and seasonal goods, as well as sale items.
• Stock more handcrafted items, especially those made in the Ozarks.
• Keep track of my amazing customers more diligently.
• Continue to find original and unique vendors and suppliers.
• Get our online sales going. (I've been putting this one off, but it's time to bite the bullet.)
• Market Eureka Springs as well as Cottage Caboodle. (PR, PR, PR. The name of the game.)
• Blog more often!

I wish all of you the happiest of new years!

Happy holidays to all

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Random rambles

We have gone to winter hours much earlier than anticipated, I must admit. After a few weeks of virtually no customers from Tuesday through Thursday, we will now be open only Fridays through Mondays until March. At least that's what we're thinking at the moment. Since this whole venture is a Grand Experiment, things could change.

Anyway, since now I only work 2 days a week and Rob works the other 2 days, that leaves me with TIME! Time to knock a few things off my giant to-do list. Today I managed to do one thing. (I made a cushion cover for a darling dog bed that Rob made.) Now only 412 projects to go! I spent the rest of my day reading design blogs. I already follow dozens and have now found dozens more. And many interesting store sites, including this one: http://www.corsetlacedmannequins.co.uk/

If you love mannequins as much as I do, check out this site immediately. I want them all. Every one.

For instance, the Union Jack and wasp-waisted beauties above can be ordered on the site. OMG.

 

Luckily, these two vintage numbers above have sold, or I'd be sorely tempted to sell a kidney to finance one. I've looked and looked for vintage mannequins for a few years now, and so far I've not found any I could afford. And  yes, I've seen tutorials on making cool decoupaged mannequins out of duct tape and baling wire, but I'm just not certain they'd look like much if I tried that approach. For now, I'll have to make do with the new ones I have in the store.

But I still want one like this:

Black Friday

You know, I've always hated the term "Black Friday." It sounds so....well, ominous. Like a horror movie. I'd prefer calling it something boring or obvious like "The Friday After Thanksgiving" or even something honest like "The Day People Get Up at 4 a.m. to Shop for Things They Could Get Any Other Day Without the Crowds and Fuss."

But I digress.

Here it is, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and our little town is filling up with people ready to do their Christmas shopping at unique little shops rather than Big Box stores or malls. Very smart.

And we're ready for them. Ready to offer some special and different and unusual and charming gifts....and spread a little joy and fun.

Happy Thanksgiving

Woo hoo

Our beautiful fall colors have certainly brought people to Eureka Springs in droves. What a wonderful week it has been!

Meanwhile, we're continuing to get in gorgeous new merchandise. A quick peek at a few things:

Opera score pillows.

Keep Calm and Carry On pillows

(the recession mantra)

Curly vine cross.

Tall glasses with cross relief.

Shoe hooks...and arm hooks.

My favorite: a bottle tree chandelier.

Hanging bottle tree.

Mirrors, mirrors, mirrors.

Bronze feather trees.

Teapot and teacup ornaments.

Color me awed

Wow. Last year was our first autumn in Eureka Springs...and I swear it wasn't as awesome as this. My husband Rob shot these in the past week. It just gets more gorgeous every day.

This last shot is the view from our balcony (the Basin Park Hotel is at the top.)

Fall is in full swing

If you're thinking about coming to Eureka Springs to see our beautiful fall color, now is the time! Beautiful orange, red and yellow foliage everywhere...and it will only get better in the next few weeks. Come visit!

Biker Bonanza

There are a jillion bikers in town this weekend, thanks to the Bikes, Blues & BBQ event in Fayetteville. And the best thing? My favorite biker / blogger / customer Denise from OKC popped in yesterday to say hello and do a little shopping. Check out her blog (Bella Dreams) for lots of fabulosity and inspiration!