DWELL ANTIQUES & HOME

I've been keeping busy 

preparing for the new shop

DWELL

Antiques and Home

and

maintaining the quality and quantity of inventory

at

PATINA

Antiques and Home

and

neglected to sit down and share the journey

with you my

friends!

The delightful daily process of

 hunting, examining and choosing

 beautiful and soul nourishing treasures

 could 

consume all my waking hours!

THE JOURNEY

toward creating a shop

is more than

 licensing, legal documents,

 leases, list making,

 signage, 

contracts, 

operating agreements, corporate docs and construction.

It's more than

stress,

financial statements

and

restless nights.

It's even more than choosing 

the flavor of inventory

style

and

personality of your shop.

It's about 

making life decisions

and long term commitments

and

choosing

to

lock into a lifestyle

that,

once chosen,

is

there to be lived with

day in and day out.

Like marriage or child bearing,

these decisions

change your life,

for a 

long, long, long time.

There are no vacations from retail.

No

 "unsigning"

 of long term leases,

no

divorce from obligations

no way to 

opt out.

WHEW!!!!!

I've lived for 35 years in a retail lifestyle.

Owning a small business is an everyday challenge.

The shopkeeper's holidays are geared around 

what customers desire

and

the hours they prefer to shop.

Price competition from the big guys is unbelievably fierce.

Consumers cannot always afford to make a choice to own

 a one of a kind, 

handmade or antique item,

 when a mass-produced lookalike is readily available at a fraction of the price.

(Who could blame them?)

That said,

I would not dream of any other approach to life.

I have chosen who I am comfortable being.

I have chosen to be content with a small portion of the retail pie.

To present a tiny portion of the population 

with a

  small and select range of wares 

which I hope will

 enhance their live and nourish their spirit.

Limiting?

Challenging?

Thought provoking?

Time consuming?

(Questionable logic?)

Yep!

Worth it?

As the saying goes,

"PRICELESS"!

If you know me, 

you know that my life revolves around my belief system.

Being a blessing to

God

family

all others

then,

working hard to do my best 

to be self sustaining

and

to have something left over to give away.

I'm sharing with you because many ask.

. . . . YES . . . .

The new shop is coming along,

slowly

but no doubt in perfect 

time.

Prayers !