Our "First" Day!! :)

I must have felt relieved to be opening today, because I actually slept past 5am!! I didn't get up until 6:30am and then realized that I had SO much to do in order to open the store this morning!! So, I jumped up and got to work quickly!!

Well, both Danni and I were late to open the store.... Oops!!! But we had a very nice morning. I showed Danni all of the "start up" stuff and we got to work quickly! We were busy-busy-busy!

And we were visited by LOTS of customers today! YAY! It was so nice to see everyone!! We had lots of people come in to check out the new space and everyone seemed to love it and several thought it was actually LARGER than the last space!! (It's not, but that was really nice to hear!)

Our custom paper order did not show up today - it went to the wrong address, so it will arrive tomorrow {sigh}.

For lunch, Tom & I tried a brand new Poway restaurant called "Mainstream Bar & Grill". It's where Le Peep used to be {sniff}. I loved Le Peep and was really sad to see them close!!!!

But I will say that Mainstream (well, the owner, Harry) did an AMAZING job on the remodel!! Wow!!! It's *REALLY* nice!

This is in the entryway - it's actually a waterfall! The center part was water running down it. And they did a really nice job with colors and décor throughout - it's very calming and fluid. Loved it.

And the owner seemed very nice.

The place is larger than Le Peep - he leased the space next to them and there is probably room for another 70 people in there? (A guess - I didn't count, but I'm thinking back to what I saw - I could be completely wrong).

We grabbed a copy of the menu (it was a rough version - he said that he is having new ones printed), but we are creating quite a pile of menus for you guys to peruse if you want to grab a bite while cropping or in between classes or whatever.

 

While walking over there, we stopped at the sushi place and collected a menu there too. Wow - they had some really good prices! And the food looked really good too!!!  *BUT* it was really hot and humid in there and we already had spent the morning without AC so I just couldn't do it.  But I'm eager to try them in the future. They had 4 tables inside and a few outside and there were several people there and some "take-out" people.

We tried to get a menu from the Italian place next to them, but they are closed on Mondays... And they have "funny" hours during the week (closed in between meals). So, we'll definitely need to get their info.

Also while walking to lunch we got to witness the new M's sign being installed... it's really nice!!

It's their modern logo.  I couldn't tell if it would light up at night or not, though. It didn't appear so - I'd be surprised if it did, but shocked that they did this and didn't have a lighted sign.

I looked inside.

The have NOTHING done... It's a complete empty shell. They have apparently moved their opening date back to the end of August.

But it should be much nicer than the current M's. (And, I'm assuming that the AC will work... although the Five Guy's place said that theirs only works periodically and they JUST moved in, so that would be a bummer if they moved and didn't now have AC!)

 

While at lunch I heard from the Landlord that our AC would not be fixed until tomorrow... Grrrr!!!

And I also later found out that the doors wouldn't be fixed today and that they didn't know WHEN they would be fixed!!!

My happy feeling about the landlord is starting to leave me... I hope that they can redeem themselves!

The space was supposed to be in "good working order" and so far, it hasn't proven to be... They even said that they JUST had the AC people out to check the unit (within a few weeks of me signing the lease). Well, it's a good thing that I made sure to include that it MUST work well... I for sure don't want to be paying the repair guy!

Anyway, today, we had some "house keeping" items to attend to, so we didn't get a lot of product checked back in.

But we got a few things done... oh man, my list of "to do's" is a MILE long!!!

But, it's nice to be back open!!

 

I'm "technically" off tomorrow but I'll be in and we'll get more stuff done.

And hopefully the AC will actually get fixed!!

More to follow... :)

 

 

Ok - Tomorrow's "THE" Day!!! -- We're going to open at 9:30am!!

Everything isn't done yet, but we're going to open tomorrow at 9:30am!!!


We'll keep opening boxes and putting out merchandise throughout the day and week, but we have been closed too long!!

A couple of things to note:

• Our AC is out but should be fixed tomorrow (7/15). I don't know what time they will be there, so it's cooler in the morning than the afternoon.
• We only have one register up so far. I'm having trouble getting the network back up, so please be patient.
• Not all of the product is out yet. We have probably 75-80% out, but there are still lots of items in boxes.
• We have only received a few new orders, so we are out of a lot of the basics, we only have a few brand new lines, we are SEVERELY low on cardstock, etc. We have several orders arriving this week and next and will be stocking up within the next few weeks.

So, some other "stuff"...

I woke up at 5am, but didn't get to the store until nearly 9am. Dave from Dave Yant Signs (www.daveyantsigns.com) arrived shortly after me.... He and I discussed what I wanted and he drew a sketch.

These are our windows "before":

 

 

This was Dave's drawing. I asked that the colors be changed, he agreed.

 

 

He mixes his own colors from primaries so he presented me with probably a dozen mixes to choose from. We both agreed that this was "The One" and we were really happy with the results.

Look at this AMAZING work of art!!! Is he awesome or what?!!!

 

Lisa joined me around 10am and Tom shortly afterwards. Lisa had to leave by 2 and no one else was available, so we were really short handed today, but we still got a lot done! Lisa put out a ton of product, I checked in more ribbon and some other items, Tom took stuff to and from storage and sorted out hooks for us (we have WAY too many and not enough room so we want a reasonable selection of the various styles).

I set the music up to be a little more "overall"... We still need to get the sound system set up...

I also organized all of the "leftovers" on the floor - the racks, acrylics, boxes, etc. - and just generally tidied up!

 

 

 

Our "Mascots"

 

So something funny happened on the way back from Home Goods....

 

I returned the piece of furniture that I had originally bought for the bathroom and got a new one that I liked better. I had already seen it and decided it was the right one and went back the next day...

Well, I picked it up, put it in the cart, checked out, put in the car and drove to the store. When Tom got there, I asked him to bring the furniture in. Tom walked in with two zebras and I was completely confused and he looked confused and asked me if I bought them.... "No! Where are they from?"... They were *INSIDE* the furniture!!! I never looked... the gal at Home Goods never looked (thank goodness, I would have been horribly embarrassed!!). Well, I haven't had a chance to return them yet (don't worry - they are in the car to go back there tomorrow!!! I'm *NOT* keeping them!!) but every one of the staff has had a little amusement over this event! Including perplexed questions about the theme of the new store and the commentary from one to the other of, "Do these stripes make my butt look big??"

 

 

Ok - so, you've stayed this long, here are some more pictures of the new store...

 

The area behind the front counter...

Custom School embellishments, die cutting tools, and Silhouette products.

and the gondolas across the front plus the "What's New" area...

 

 

Both sets of doors have carts and baskets:

So, yeah - we aren't totally ready, but we feel that we are ready "enough". Please be patient with us, but we are all committed to the best experience possible!!!


Thank you so much for the understanding and outpouring of love while we have closed, waited, and reopened.

So...... See you tomorrow???

It's Time To Update The Ipod!!!!

I'm going to update the ipod this week... What music do you want us to add?

Today's Update... -- We're guessing Monday...

I didn't get out of the house as early as I have been. I still woke up at 5am, but stayed in bed until 6am and left around 9am.

I first went to M's in Carmel Mountain to pick out some baskets for under the counter and look for some picture frames for our business licenses and return policy. It took me FOREVER to choose the frames, and wouldn't you know, when I got to the store and put the licenses in the one, I turned it over to find that it doesn't HANG! Grrr!!! I'm going to work it out though.

I heard from my window painter sign guy on my way out of M's. He's been super busy but he switched his schedule around and is going to paint our windows TOMORROW!!! Can you believe it? On a Sunday?? He's just awesome!!! Dave Yant Signs!!! Great guy!!! (and *The Best* window painter in town!)

When I got to the store, it just looked SO good!! Bonnie and Danni did an AMAZING job!! They stayed until 11:30pm last night!!!! Can you believe it? Do I have just the best staff, or what?!!!

Throughout the day, Chelsea, Danni, Tom and Mary all joined me along with Danni's SIL and we knocked it out!!! We got a LOT put out!! I checked back in a bunch more paper and the reds and pinks ribbons and all of that was put out. A bunch of other product was put out and Gigi sorted our hooks (it might sound silly, but OMG, I'm SOOOOOoooo excited to have it done!!! We need to put a lot back in storage and this will allow us to keep a realistic and accurate number in the store and put the rest AWAY!!!)

But what was just so awesome is the number of customers who stopped by today!!! Hey - I said you could, and YOU DID!!! (And we just *LOVED* it!!) We also had several people walk in just thinking we were open and started shopping (which was kinda funny b/c the lights were off - but it's naturally VERY light in there - and it was so hot because the AC wasn't working).  And, regarding the AC issue, it turns out that they actually didn't believe me that it was broken!!! But they do now and the parts are ordered and they now say it will be fixed Monday.

But we did have several shop anyway!! !!! YAY!

Bonnie had brought a big fan last night. When Tom arrived (after I learned that the AC wouldn't be fixed until Monday), I had him bring another big fan and two little ones and we set them up throughout the store just to keep air moving. And because I worried that there would be a problem fixing the AC (yeah... "not my first rodeo"!!) I had brought a few spare bed sheets and as soon as the sun came over the building, I had Chelsea hang them in the windows to just keep the sun at bay as much as possible.

Tom and I took our "lunch break" at another "neighbor": Five Guys Burgers. I've never eaten at one, so I didn't know what it would be like. If you don't know either, it's burgers and fries (they do have hot dogs and grilled cheese, too). But it's a pretty "specific" menu.  It was ok. I'm not the biggest burger or fries fan, so I can't give a great opinion here. Tom really liked his burger. He is SUPER picky about fries and these were just "ok" for him.  Fyi, it's REALLY loud in there!  But, it's the old Pick Up Stix location and it has a GREAT patio area!! Very spacious!!! Several tables.

Also, they have two CRAZY soda fountain dispensers!!! Apparently, they have been around, but I've never seen them. They are made by Ferrari and offer a bazillion options!!! It was seriously insane!! I don't know why I didn't take pictures (these pics are from the internet) but look at all of the choices for drinks!! And then, when you select one, you get several more options!!! So, for Diet Coke, you can get regular, Cherry, Lime, etc - I think there were 6 choices. And same for Lemonade. We kind of figured out the whole thing and how they could do it by the time we left and it was simply brilliant!

This is what the whole machine looks like (again, from the internet, but I think, by the cup on the left counter, it was from Five Guys so it's probably one of their stores). Slick though, eh?

And their Iced Tea is from the dispenser to the right. They offer 4 types - regular unsweetened, regular sweetened, green tea and one more that I don't remember.

BUT, when I asked if it was fresh brewed, the guy said "yes" - but it's not. (I'm really picky about Iced Tea)

Danni and Gigi walked down to a juice place (sorry - I don't remember which) but they brought back some more menus - we are getting a collection together!

We all left at 5pm. We have several more coming in tomorrow. I REALLY am hoping that we can open on Monday... We may only have one register up by then, though...

So, some upcoming dates:
Sunday, 7/14:

• Front windows are painted with a big sign.

Monday:

•  be OPEN. Not perfect, but open!! Fingers crossed! Not confirmed...
• Air Conditioning gets fixed (fingers crossed)
• Front doors are supposed to get fixed.
• MOST of the Custom Paper order arrives.

Tuesday:

• The rest of the Custom Paper order arrives.
• Tim Holtz Ink Pads, Perfect Pearls, Stickles, We-R Envelope Punch Boards, Tim Holtz Idea-ology items, Cosmo Cricket TV Dinner and Sweet Disposition (some was b/o'd), a few Glitz items, some Teresa Collins, cats eye ink pads, and a few other goodies all arrive.

I don't know when Bazzill arrives but it has been shipped.  And I think a few other orders are en route! I'm sorry, but with everything going on, I've lost track!!

Ok - more tomorrow!!

Maybe Opening Sunday or Monday...

So, today I got up at 5am again and got out of the house by 7:30am. I went to Albertson's and got some drinks for Spencer (the soda machine). It's not everything but I got the basics (according to the staff - lol!!): water, Coke and Diet Coke.

Then it was finally 8am, so Target was open. I stopped over there and bought some door mats for our two entrances... look pretty good, eh?

 

After that, I headed to the store...

I spent the first 30 minutes or so just organizing and cleaning up and putting stuff away. It feels so good getting stuff put away and cleaned up! Then, I started checking back in more product!! {sigh! It's really getting "old" at this point! lol!}

Lisa, Mandy, Bonnie, Mary, and Tom all joined me at various times. Bonnie left early so that she could come back to join Danni at 7pm to meet Danni. It was the earliest Danni could come, so Bonnie joined her so that she wasn't alone and they are pulling a night shift.

I had the windows cleaned...

So now the paper is off of the windows and now you can see our window displays... We are going to get the windows tinted darker AND get blinds b/c we have a very direct western facing façade and the sun is quite strong. But (along with the perfect reflection of the parking lot), you can see our preliminary displays...

 

We got a visit from Vicky from Stamping Details. She was hoping that we were opening tomorrow to come and visit, but she stopped in and say "hi"!

 

Anyway, I got the one register totally fixed so we have one complete register (the display and drawer were having issues).

 

We have the front of the store basically all set up now, but we are still checking in product. But it's starting to look good!!!

 

We receive our custom paper order on Monday and Tuesday and that will fill in this entire space, but it will be a nice "welcome" from our northern door.

 

And we are still trying to get more wood baskets from Home Goods. Mary is going to check the El Cajon store this weekend.

I had planned to check in ribbon last but I really want it done b/c it is an obvious area to see when the store reopens so Mary and I made the decision to start checking it back in this evening - the only box I could find was whites and creams, but we'll look for more tomorrow. It will be really pretty from our southern entrance.

Tom hung a few of the fire extinguishers, drilled some more holes for shelves in the counter and fixed a few more gondola issues.

Tom also had to drive down to the UPS hub to pick up an order that went to the old address and, for whatever reason, couldn't be redirected and extra 1.4 miles...

 

Well, late in the afternoon, I noticed that it was getting hotter and hotter.... it turns out that the AC quit!!! I was surprised, but the landlord actually came out in the afternoon and they have the AC guy coming out tomorrow, a Saturday. I'm a little upset because I've been questioning the AC since we moved in but REALLY glad that they didn't hang us out to dry for a whole weekend!!! (AC units only quit on Friday nights on super hot weekends!!!!)

The landlord still needs to fix the doors... that guy was supposed to come yesterday, apparently. At least the AC going out gave me a chance to ask the landlord again what was going on with that! He assured me that they are on it!

 

Most everyone left throughout the afternoon. Mary and I left around 6pm. Like I said, Bonnie came back at 7pm and the plan was that Danni would join her and they would get more put out....

 

We really did get a lot done, but it's just not enough. So, maybe we will formally reopen on Sunday or Monday or maybe Tuesday. But again, stop in and see us and if you need something!!! We have a lot of stuff out!!! All of the basics: adhesive, cardstock, craft punches, most of the tools, plus lots of other items...

 

WE CAN'T WAIT EITHER!!!

Not reopening on Friday....

Well, I tried.... I tried like crazy!!! So did the staff!!! I had hoped to open by tomorrow, but we just aren't ready "enough"... We still have TONS of product to check back in (we zeroed out our inventory and are checking it all back in so that our inventory counts are accurate).

However today, we had TONS of help!! I got in at 9. Mandy, Lisa, Chelsea, Bonnie and Tom all joined me by noon. Late in the day, Crazy Rachel also came to visit!!! She helped a bit and found a bunch of stuff that she wanted so she became our FIRST CUSTOMER in our new location!!! YAY!!! And it was so great to see her!!

Lisa reorganized the backroom area. It's STUFFED with things, but she got it organized and made as much space as possible. We are hesitant to send a bunch of stuff back to storage just to find that we need it... so we shoved a bunch of stuff back there until we know...

Chelsea ran the electrical to the "OPEN" sign so that we can operate it on a switch (THANK YOU for being our one employee not afraid of heights!!).

Tom painted, secured racks to walls, drilled holes in the counter for shelves, drove stuff to and from storage, etc.

Everyone else put out product, sorted, organized, and cleaned. Bonnie was the closing staff and got SOOooo much out!!! She was just a machine!!

I, of course, reentered a TON more product!

I also worked on setting up more computers. Craig from Timber Point Construction came and finalized our CAT5 cabling to the front for wired internet. So, I added the switch to allow it to split for all of the registers and ran all of the cabling around. Plus, started putting together all of the pieces to make the registers: Battery Backup, CPU, Monitor, Printer, Display Pole, Credit Card Swiper, keyboard, mouse, cash drawer.... there is a lot that goes into a register!!

I also got the hallway to the bathroom cleared out and cleaned up and moved the microwave there. That's where the refrigerator and coffee bar will ultimately go.

Then I cleaned out the bathroom of excess items. We needed space so we were storing a bunch of stuff in there. Tom put the new piece of furniture that I bought last night in there. I like it a lot better! I got most of the excess items out of there and swept. We still need to deep clean it, but it just feels so much better to have that room cleared out again!

And we received an order of Best Creations today - 3 new paper lines - Paris, Christmas, and Music... Plus a few glitter sheets (we have more coming!).


So.... more tomorrow... I know that Mandy, Bonnie, and Lisa are planning to be there. I think Chelsea is going to be there. Plus Tom and I.

I need to set up the rest of the registers/computers and check in more product (The rest of it?? - gosh that would be nice!) A *TON* of stuff needs to be put out. And then we'll be mostly ready!!!


We are still waiting for the landlord to fix the doors - they don't really work right. And we still have paper on the windows. I've been contacting window cleaners to try to find someone to clean them before we get them painted. I forgot to set that up so I'm scrambling a little bit about that...


So, maybe we'll reopen Saturday or Sunday?

But, if you need something, if we have it unpacked, we can sell it to you, so don't hesitate to come in if you are in the area!!

I have to tell you though, it's been so great to see the girls again!!! We are all getting caught up on what has been going on with each other. It's been so fun!

Oh - and if you are wondering about Danni and Tori...

Tori is out of town until August, but WILL be back!!! She thinks she will return about August 2nd or so. And she is working on a new class using Crate Paper's 'The Pier' line, which we will be getting!

Danni's husband has been busy with his work and they have two young children who don't go back to school for about a month. So she can only come in when he is not working. So she is still around, will definitely be back, and will also still be teaching!


OH!!!! And we got *EXCITING* news today!!!! Guess who is going to start teaching again and she is starting at our store... Can you guess??? Post your guess here and be entered to win a $10 gift card to the store!!! Let's say that you need to post by the end of 7/15 pacific... K?


We're getting closer!!! Thanks for reading!!!

Only a few more days...

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday... I was just WAYYYY too tired to formulate a coherent sentence!!
 

YESTERDAY

Yesterday, Mandy and I got to the store at 10am. We were the only ones there yesterday so, although we were giving it our all, we didn't get as far as we did on Monday when we had 5 more sets of hands like yesterday :( We would have had one more, and Tom did join us for a while, but he had to be back at home to wait for Sears to install our new dishwasher.

BUT, we did get several things accomplished.  Of course, there was still a LOT more to do....

I entered back in more product into the system. Mandy put out craft punches and tools. She also put out a BUNCH more Wellspring gift items.

I took some breaks and checked in some new product! We haven't received much yet, but we did get a bunch of washi, some cute mustache things, and some basics. I also checked in some new 7 Gypsie's and some Wellspring reorder. I still have to check in the brand new Sweet Stamp Shop order.

Mandy and I spent the last maybe 45 minutes or an hour just cleaning up... we took out all of the trash, broke down boxes and took those out, plus we took out recycle, and just straightened. Having less "stuff" around made things look SO much better! Less clutter is better.

These were boxes that we emptied and broke down last night:

TODAY

Today, I got in at 8:15am. One of our reps came around 9am or so and helped until about 4pm. He put out scrapbooks, refills, greeting cards, SRM Tubes and things, and generally helped out. Mandy joined me at 10am and got a BUNCH of things put out like sprays, embossing powder, beads, Mudd Puddles, embossing paste, and items like that. Plus, lots of paper and embellishments.

I checked in BOXES AND BOXES of product!! (My feet and back are *KILLING* me!) And I had the back counter wired for electric and internet. Yup... another expense {sigh}.

The mail brought our first CLASS SAMPLE for the new location!!! I didn't have time to open it but it's an Elizabeth Crafts Design class with Jenny Griffiths. More to follow!

Mary joined us later in the afternoon and helped sort product into their areas. I left around 6pm and Mary stayed to greet Danni and Bonnie who are there this evening to continue the progress.

After leaving, I returned the piece of furniture that I bought for the bathroom. Once I put it in the bathroom, I wasn't in love with it and I found one that I liked more. So, I picked that up this evening and will put it in there tomorrow and see what I think. I also visited the clock I was looking at and decided I didn't like it enough, so I'll continue my search for that.

NEW PRODUCT

So... new stuff.....

Well, I mentioned that I checked in some mustache items, etc. And some new 7 Gypsies and Wellspring reorder. And I still have The Sweet Stamp Shop order to enter.

Today we got a bunch of Tonic scissors that I still need to enter.

But what else is coming???

Shipped today:

• A bunch of Tim Holtz - two different orders actually - one of his Idea-Ology items and one of his ink pads and a couple of other items. These will probably not be here until the middle of next week.
• Best Creations - their glitter papers plus some of their new lines. (More will be shipped later.) These will arrive tomorrow.
• SRM - a reorder. These will arrive tomorrow.
• Paper - some Cosmo Cricket and some Teresa Collins shipped today.

Other orders en route:

• Yesterday, I ordered Bazzill cardstock. The Bazzill order will fill in our cardstock supply, plus will bring in those 4 new paper lines I showed you a few days ago. Of course, I just found out that those 4 lines aren't going to be available until the end of the month.
• I received notice yesterday that our GIANT custom high school paper order will arrive Monday (a small portion of it will arrive on Tuesday). BTW, it also has several "So Cal Shop Hop" papers... :)
• This morning, I placed a Scrapbook order. YAY! 

OVERALL

We have about 50% or so of the product-entered.

There are several things that we have decided we will do last.

• One is the ribbon-by-the-yard. We aren't going to unroll and recount every spool!  I did a backup and export of our inventory counts before wiping our inventory levels, so we'll look up the count and enter that and call it done. But that will be time consuming.
• Also, we have lots of NFL and MLB officially licensed embellishments. As a matter of fact, we believe that we are the ONLY store who has these items for sale! But we have so much of it, that we are going to wait to enter that until last.
• Additionally, rolled stickers, items with TONS of pieces, etc... yeah - those will also wait!! Lol!

ETA

Well, I had hoped to open on Friday. A "soft" opening - when stuff is "mostly" in place but not totally and no fanfare, but open. Well, that might push a day. Or maybe until Monday...

What do you guys think? If we are mostly ready, is that enough? I hate to do that, but our phone rings off of the hook every day with people asking for stuff. And we get so many emails, too. And that doesn't even count our Facebook comments...

I hate to open "half-assed"... (It's always "whole-assed or none" in my book!) but we have been planning on this weekend for such a long time...

So, I guess I'm saying that our reopening date is not set at this point.... It will (hopefully) be some day between Friday and Monday.... We'll see....

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

We accomplished SOOOOOOOO much today!!!

Mandy, Danni, Bonnie and Chelsea all joined Tom and I to work on the store today....

We were *ALLLLL* so impressed by how much we got done today!!

I got a BUNCH more product reentered... Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fall, New, Wellspring, Bo Bunny Dots, cardstock, shimmers, metallics, Copics, custom embellies, Silhouette, some scrapbooks and refills, magazines, and some others were put out. Sooooo much more tomorrow! Lots of items are checked back in, but just need to be put out.

Tom reassembled racks and fixtures, broke down boxes, and took stuff to and from storage. He took a break from the store stuff to get our cars washed... wow, we needed it!

An important part of our progress today was that our front counter was set in place today!! Craig from Timber Point Construction has been just completely AWESOME!!! He put in the electric in the floor to the front counter. Then the flooring guys installed the floor after him. And today, Craig and his team returned and drilled the hole to drop the counter onto the outlet so that we can use it. This was REALLY IMPORTANT progress because we couldn't set up a front register until the counter was set! And all of the rest of the counters align with it, the new anti-fatigue mats couldn't be ordered until we knew the exact size. Anyway, Craig does general contracting and specializes in a couple of areas. (I need to ask him to remind me what they are). He's probably going to do our promo, so stay tuned!! But he has been just SUPER sweet and accommodating and really just awesome. I *HIGHLY* recommend him!

The mail also brought us a couple of goodies today!! They brought us new product from The Sweet Stamp Shop!! YAY!! I haven't opened it yet but it will be all brand new!! And, have I mentioned that our VERY OWN Danni is now on the Sweet Stamp Shop Design Team!!! CONGRATS DANNI!!!

For lots of Sweet inspiration, check out Danni's blog:
http://www.madeinapt14.blogspot.com/

We also will now be the exclusive store for Nicole's classes!!! Nicole, the owner of The Sweet Stamp Shop, has chosen CSS to be her one and only store where she will teach!!! We are *SOOOO* honored!!

The mail also brought us another exciting item... our new business cards!!

They are a little more "lime" than I had wanted, but the girls REALLY liked them!!

 

Additionally, I have been making lists of things that we need, so after my super long day, I went to Office Depot and Home Goods to see what they had to offer....

I didn't find what I wanted at OD, so I wandered over to HG. I have a "love/hate" relationship with that store!!! I *LOVE* everything that they have and I *HATE* how much money I spend when I'm there!! Lol!!

 

These are a few of the goodies I got...

 

You can't really see them, but I got these glass hurricanes for the counter area for a new promotion we will be offering to our customers... Stay tuned!!! We think you will really like it!

 

These were just a few of the glass items that I had to choose from! It was KILLING me trying to figure out which one(s) to buy!!

Also, I've been looking for a new clock. The layout of the store requires that the clock be in the middle of the side wall so that it can be seen from almost everywhere. So, I want a really big one, and a little rustic.

I had wanted a dark wood (black?) edge with a rustic colored interior.... I found this one... (opposite of my color scheme).  I'm not 100% convinced, but I'm flirting with buying it..

Then, on my drive home tonight, it occurred to me that the City of Poway had never sent me new business license!!!  I applied probably 4 weeks ago with a planned open date of this weekend. Even though we were already a Poway business, we needed to completely reapply with a "new" business fee (ouch$!) and get a brand new license. I knew that, so I applied early (or so I thought). So, I'm really surprised that it isn't ready yet! I contacted them this evening (I didn't get home until after 7pm, so I had to send an email) to inquire about its status... Anyway, this might delay our opening a bit {sigh}. I'll try to call tomorrow to find out more. Fingers crossed!

While at Home Goods I found a few other goodies.... I'm DESPERATE to find them a home in our new store!! OMD they were so awesome!!

Isn't this amazing??

 

and this...

I'm thinking about putting it above the coffee bar... (oh - I also have only painted the drawer of the coffee bar and am considering reversing my plan and doing a dark stain on the piece - btw, it will NOT be done by our reopening!! Keurig still has not even called me back about getting a commercial unit! Grrr!)

And then, I'm reconsidering the furniture in the bathroom... A couple of runner-up's...

   

 

Ohhhh... lots and lots to do!!!

We are working as hard and fast as we can!!!

I would have never imagined that after 15 years that we would have an opportunity to "start fresh" but we are SOOOOOO excited to be able to do this!

:)

What did we get accomplished today???

...Well, a little more than yesterday!!!

I had REALLY bad insomnia last night (maybe I have a little on my mind??), so I was up from 12:15am until past 3:30am.... so I didn't get in until about 10am...

But, I did step up the volume of product checked in by about 70%. YAY!

And both Bonnie and Chelsea came in, plus Tom, so there were extra hands.

We walked around and assigned each rack its product/theme (well, mostly) and put sticky's on everything so we know where most stuff is going...

Most of the items that I had checked in yesterday were arranged to their respective racks.


We got a LOT of stuff in the backroom reorganized and figured out how we'll arrange our clearance section and the space for "The Father" :) (We *MUST* rehang the "Dad's Office" placard!)

And I placed the supplemental order for custom high school paper for Poway and Maranatha (I can't believe that I missed ordering Poway!! Sheesh!)


And we put a few other items out and talked about some other "ideas" we have.... SOOO exciting!!! We won't be able to get everything done by this Friday, so we will be a "work in progress" for a little while, but we will get everything set and done and "pretty" by our GRAND reopening.... (which you will NOT want to miss!!! BTW, you can sign up to get each blog post update at the right here). Our GR will be in August sometime. We'll let you know. But we will have our soft opening this weekend (fingers crossed).


Tomorrow, the front counter gets installed tomorrow and will have electric and we can get the front register set up.

SO MUCH TO DO AND SO LITTLE TIME!!

We're working on it though!!!

Chelsea, Danni, and Bonnie will all be working tomorrow (plus me) so we should make great progress! :)

We've started unpacking.... Oh my!!! We have a lot of work ahead of us!!

I was at the store for a little more than 6 hours today.

Tom joined me and he worked on securing fixtures to the walls, putting spare items up in our attic, and organizing some things in the back room.

I decided to wipe out our POS system inventory amounts and reenter everything so that we have a VERY accurate inventory (and, sadly, to see how much has actually been stolen over the years - it is amazing how much theft we have!!). The staff agreed that it would be a great thing to do and that we would never have an opportunity like this again. I did that a few days ago and started fresh this morning.

So, for about 6 hours, I checked in product.... lots and lots of product. BUT, I haven't even made a dent in the piles of boxes! Since I've had the POS system at my house for the last month, I found a few features that we have never used and I found a SUPER easy way to check product in! But, while it felt like I checked in a ton of items, it was only $13,276.02 worth!! I couldn't believe it!!  At that pace, I should be done in about three weeks! LOL! (Of course, I would like to open on Friday, so lets hope that I pick up the pace a bit!).

I did take two breaks to put some product out...

We will have a great wall JUST of custom school paper! But, before we closed in May, we sold out of a bunch of styles. That's why I placed that GIANT order yesterday! We have practically NOTHING left! No Poway, only 1 Mt Carmel, 1 Del Norte, 1 Scripps Ranch, etc...

Anyway, this is where the custom school paper will be:

ALL of those empty spaces will be filled when the order comes in!! And, actually, we will probably have to put a few more trays at the bottom (we have some stacking ones) to accommodate all of the styles and schools. We will have more than 20 local high schools in stock!!

 

Oh no! I just realized that we were totally sold out of Poway and Maranatha and I did my reorder based on what we had in stock!!!  Ok - I guess I'm placing another order this evening!!! Sheesh!!! Can you tell I have a lot going on??!!!

If you want to see a list of the schools that we ordered, it's in this post:
http://coolscrapbookstuff.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-orders-are-being-placed.html

 

And I'll reorder Poway and Maranatha right now. Any other requests??

 

 

Anyway, another popular product that we carry is actually a "gift" item. These Wellspring Flip Notes are SUPER popular!!! We sell them for LESS than the manufacturer's website by 30%!! We found this great rack for them:

YUP! We carry a LOT of them!!! And these are not all of the styles!!! These items make a GREAT hostess gift, stocking stuffer, Mother's Day present, etc!! And you guys LOVE them!! They are a notepad encased in metal, so they don't get dinged up in your purse. It is held closed by the pen and has a spring so that when you remove the pen, it automatically opens. And both the pen and the pad are replaceable.

 

At least one employee is going to come in tomorrow. And at least 2 on Monday. So, with more hands working on it, we should be able to make much more progress this week.

FINGERS CROSSED!!!
 

Storage is unloaded, let the madness begin!!!

We had our friends from LA staying with us for the weekend so we had 2 extra sets of hands. WOW! Such hard workers!!! So, between Tom and I, Brian and Kate, Chelsea and another friend, we were able to unload both storage units in only two days. AMAZING!!! (I had the truck reserved for 3 days!).

 

Gosh, though, could we have picked a warmer weekend???

 

Brian and Kate left this morning, so Tom and I went into the store after that.

It was pretty daunting when we started! 

 

We assembled wall units and reorganized gondolas.

 

Several of the fixtures got banged up or broken during the move. So Tom started repairs and reconditioning, while I organized boxes into groups and worked on putting together the backroom.

 

We definitely got a lot done, but have so much more to do!!!

 

Tomorrow will be a short day as I made an appointment in the afternoon since the Red Sox are on so I won't have Tom's full attention (Lol!).

 

Wednesday, we will be back to a full day and I hope to get at least one register back up and running.

 

During our "down" time, we are having our computers serviced and upgraded. We got one back already and hope to get another one this week. (The third will be another week). Then, we can finish getting the electrical wired and the computer network installed. Once that is done, the counters can be finally installed and we can hang the slat wall behind them and start finalizing the location of every other fixture.

 

We still have a few items in storage. This is a wall of just paper trays that are still at the storage unit.

I didn't want to be tripping over excess items while trying to get organized, so we didn't bring all of everything if it would fit into the car later...

Oh so much to do!!

And, during all of this, we are prepping for the Shop Hop, trying to order new product, working on our new online shopping site, and updating everyone on Facebook and the new blog....

I was so tired when we got home, that I immediately lied down on the couch and dozed while Tom took the dog for a walk.

BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!!

But I'm SOOoooooo excited to open at the new location!!

:)

 

Our first day of unloading storage...

So, it was over 90 degrees yesterday {sigh}. We were all covered in sunscreen and drinking TONS of water!!! Phil, at our storage place, checked in on us several times to be sure we had enough water, and even brought us a big pitcher of ice water late in the day - just to be certain. He's awesome!!! If you need a storage unit, go to Storage West in Poway and ask for Phil. Give him my name (Gena Barney) and you'll get at least $25 off. You can email me if you have questions.

 

We made three trips with the big 16' Penske rental truck, plus a pickup truck, and our little Honda Fit full of delicate items and computer equipment.

 

 

This is just one of the GIANT piles of boxes we have...

 

We were surprised that moving the counter was as "easy" as it was... we have it down to a science now!

 

Only 19 more of these to go...

 

Another 90+ degree day today, but we're meeting at 10am to get started again!

 

Everything is a total mess and I just want to be DONE with the storage part and start putting things where they belong!

 

We are hoping to have everything that we KNOW we want in the new store, out of storage today.

Then I can start assembling and organizing and ORDERING NEW PRODUCT!

We're making a list and will have to hire a handy man for a day, plus an electrician and have the Geek Squad out to put our network together (usually I do it, but I just don't have the energy!!)

But, so far, things are on schedule! :)

 

~Gena :)

A few more photos...

A little more of a sneak peak!!! Didn't the floor come out AMAZING??

Carpet Country in Poway | (858) 748-2997 | Omar
Tell him I sent you. He'll take GREAT care of you!!!

 

And we have 12½' ceilings throughout!!! (Our old space had 12' ceilings in the main area).

It's makes it so open and bright!

And pretty baseboards!!

Today we start unloading storage....

 

Of course, it will be SCORCHING hot!!

Wish us luck!!!

 

 

Look at what we have!!!

Well, we have about 6' of it, so far:

They should be done by Thursday.

 

 

This is only maybe half of the boxes!

 

 

This will be the baseboard:

(Well, this was the sample. Obviously, ours will be finished and pretty :) )

We also had this done....

 

Wow, it was expensive! But this will power the front counter register without an ugly power pole from the ceiling, like we had to have in the old location.

 

 

And the bathroom ceiling that used to look like this:

Now looks like this:

We had a new light and vent installed in the bathroom.

The old one was missing the cover, had an old incandescent bulb, and was SO loud and gross!! This is bright and while it definitely makes noise, it's MUCH quieter!

 

The bathroom is green - it came that way. The girls really like the color and shade of the green. It's not painted that color - that's the color of the wall material, so I guess I'll have to be happy with it. I would have preferred something lighter. Oh well! It's still coming out cute!

 

There are so many little things that go into opening a new store!! I can't wait for you all to see it!

 

 

Our New Neighborhood...

Our neighbors have always been important to us!! At our old location, being near Michael's and Jo-Ann's was a plus.... You guys LOVED being able to shop at all three of us with just one stop!!

Well, as you probably know, Michael's is moving soon. They are actually moving RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from us!! We tried to move over there but M's blocked us...

But we REALLY think you will like our new neighbors!

• O'Reilly's Auto Parts - now your hubby will have a place to hang out and shop while you are in CSS! 
• Cappuccino Cottage - for your exotic coffees and pastries and things. We do plan to install a coffee bar at the store, it will be for basic coffees, iced teas, hot chocolates, etc.
• Cully's Restaurant - open for breakfast and lunch and a long time Poway staple
• Body Beautiful - need your car washed or detailed? Drop it off with BB and come over to shop with us while it's being done!
• Boxing/MMA/Karate - come on over and shop with us while your kid/spouse finishes their lesson!!!
• Los Memos - like Mexican fast food? I've been eating there a lot while setting up the new store and haven't run into an issue yet!
• Charlie's Barber Shop - does hubby need a haircut? Charlie's window says that boys and men are only $7!!

And these are just a few of our new immediate neighbors!!

We REALLY think you will like our new 'hood!!

Recapping....

As you probably know, we closed our doors at 12305 Poway Road on Monday, May 27th at 8pm.

We secured our new location shortly after that...

We hope to open on Saturday, July 13th at 13268 Poway Road (just west of Community on the north side of the street, next to O'Reilly's Auto Parts).

Our new hours to start will be:
Monday through Saturday 9:30am to 7pm
Sunday 10am to 6pm

You can read more about our move on our Facebook page.