11.27.06
How’d you like to spend Christmas…
on Cardboard Island?
Seriously… guys… I’m lost in a sea of cardboard and just recently found my way out!
This was only about 1/8 of what we got. The rest came about a week later on a freight truck. There was a mix-up and they thought we had a loading dock so they delivered 4 large palettes directly into the street. Since the truck had to park in front, and there is a slight slant, the driver had a hard time pushing a 1000 lb palette of GUN AMMO out of the way of my palettes of christmas goodies. So, I spent 30 minutes in his truck helping him push and pull the lead around, literally. I broke my shoe and hurt my back. Not a good day. I still gave him a tip though :)
**note to self and others wanting to open a store**
Make sure your goods are sent UPS or Fedex and be very very specific that you do not want a freight truck. IF you do get a freight truck, call weeks ahead and make darn sure that you request inside delivery and that it is paid for. I ended up having to unwrap the palettes myself… to the dismay of my neighbors and customers because 3 parking spaces were blocked. The company that sent me this stuff said they paid for inside delivery but it was not written on my shipping invoice. I was a bad bad store owner and didn’t triple check that, please learn from my mistake :)
Lesson #2 during this fiasco… if you request to have your Christmas order split in 2, make sure it is split in 2. The above picture shows the first split and the second order that came… it was 100% of the order… so I got 150% of what I ordered. Meaning this… we had to go through all the boxes and pull out what was duplicated. It took days… I had to close for 2 days due to the precarious box situation and my frustration. Christmas was late… we were surrounded by cardboard. I was unhappy… grumpy if you will :)
So… I took 600 lbs of cardboard to the recycling plant. I have pictures of this odd place in my camera at home and will share those later :) It was quite the adventure. So, that’s what I’ve been doing… swimming through cardboard and packing peanuts.
The store is finally decorated… here are a few pictures:
| This is all the Tracy Porter goodies from Midwest. Birds, butterflies, snowflakes and lots of gorgeous colors. I love this section of the store. It’s so happy and not very traditional. I’ve already sold a bunch of this and plan a re-order. You have to see it in person to appreciate it :) She did a lot of mercury glass, too. Cool stuff! |
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The other not-so-traditional color combination is red, light olive green, white, black and silver. Sparkley sprigs of tinsel, lots of birds and flocked ornaments! |
| Velvety mistletoe, a hollowed-out glass ornament with a mini diorama and a clip-on brown glass bird. |
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A red glass glitter “noel” ornament by Wendy Addison and more clip-on birdies :) |
| Invasion of the snow people! |
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And a pink vespa! I certainly have cool customers ;) |
| We got a visit from Jordan and her new puppy Apple… |
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and her cousin with his mini poodle… |
And here is the postcard we sent out:
It’s hard to read the postcard, here’s what it says:
After Thanksgiving Storewide Sale
*Friday, November 24th - 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
*Saturday, November 25th - 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
*Sunday, November 26th - 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Our 4th Annual Holiday Open House
*Saturday December 2nd - 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Merriment, goodies and a great sale to get you in the holiday spirit!
Glass Bead Making Demonstration
*Sunday December 10th - 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Come see Lampork artist Cathi Milligan work magic with glass and fire!
Special Holiday Hours
*Monday - Thursday : 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
*Friday: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
*Saturday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
*Sunday: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
We will be open Christmas Eve, December 24th: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
We will be closed December 25, December 31 and January 1st.
So, I still have a lot to share… once I catch my breath, I’ll be sharing more holiday adventures!!!! :)
Sezz said,
November 27, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Absolutely breath-taking. I haven’t heard of Wendy Addison or Tracey Porter here in the UK but I’m wondering why. I have a feeling you might need that extra order. Enjoy sending it all to new homes. Sezz
lucy said,
November 27, 2006 at 5:52 pm
How I wish you had a store in NC!! You really need to think of moving :) I just posted a message regarding your Christmas display, I’m so glad I checked back today.
I like the idea of untraditional color combinations, light olive green, red, black….hmmm, very interesting. I bought a lot of things in “grinch green” this year. One of these years I will branch out into something totally off the wall.
You did a nice job putting everything together and setting it up, despite all the effort it took! You need a calgon day!
lucy
Holly said,
November 28, 2006 at 1:17 am
It all looks absolutely beautiful, Carrie!
Know that your customers appreciate all your hard work, both those who are lucky enough to see it in person and those, like me, who are only able to view the merriment online for now. ;-)
I owe you an email … or two … or five!
Hope you had a most wonderful Thanksgiving.
We’ll chat soon!
deborah said,
November 28, 2006 at 1:50 pm
A concept: Invite all of your blogger fans to an ‘unpacking ‘ party. I’m sure we would all accept as payment the opportunity to sleep in your store!
Daisy Cottage said,
November 28, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Absolutely, positively heavenly! What a beautiful job you’ve done!
I wish your shop was near me! Gorgeous!
Kim
Michele Annette said,
November 30, 2006 at 9:53 am
Beautiful! After all of that hard work, it looks heavenly!
deb said,
December 1, 2006 at 8:06 am
I just want to squeal with delight over all the prettiness! :) Love your postcards too. So so beautiful - everything! :)
Babs said,
December 1, 2006 at 10:45 am
It’s the hap-hap-happiest time of the year! Who knew all those cardboard boxes could explode into such gorgeous-ness! You are SO amazing.
laura said,
December 19, 2006 at 9:14 pm
o my gosh! your store is BEAUTIFUL!! i will do my very best to drop in when i am in your neck of the woods later this week. just lovely! :)