The last 14 months have been what I call Full On... It started in Fall of 2022, with my amazing mom going into heart failure. The four of us kids did palliative care, to honour her wish to die at home. I know we made her proud..... all of this is happening as we are having an epic Christmas season at the store. Next up, a flood Christmas Day! Renovating the shop --- because we now had to!--- over the Christmas holiday. The New Year, my sister and I worked our butts off to get my mom's house cleared and ready to sell for Spring... it sold in 4 days! In typical Kristiane fashion, I decided to add more to the full plate and flew to France 3 weeks latter on a buying trip..... filled a 40' container. I could go on... but I think you get the picture... it was a busy year.
The last Journal entry I made was 2020.... wow have things changed. The store has grown leaps and bounds. I have beyond neglected my website.... as Instagram has taken over as a sales force all on its own. Its a challenge for all of us in the antique and one of a kind market, post it to instagram and its sold... our websites have become simply a notice board. Last night I thought over how I want to utilize my website in the new year..... Im still processing. I am a Brick and Mortar retailer, in a world, where we do so much online, I sell a product that people want to touch and feel. Keeping the product up to date on the site, honestly, became pointless in the last 3 years.... it was selling from an instagram post almost immediately. One of the things I'm considering, is doing a once a week drop onto the site, perhaps every Friday.
The container from France arrived safely and we hosted the French Antiques sale at my neighbours beautiful farm in the Cowichan Valley (my home) in early September. We sold half the contents of that container in 1 day!!! over 600 people came.... and the line up at the till was long..... I wish my mom could have seen it. Over the Christmas break I will be sitting down to plan our next buying trip back to France... and another container. Lots of great feedback, and I heard you all loud and clear ... you want more smalls!! Every small item was scooped the day of the barn sale. The furniture has done very well too... we are now down to about 15 pieces from the original 94.
As I figure out some of the growing pains of the shop, I feel so incredibly grateful that I get to do what I love to do for a living... meet amazing people everyday in the shop...and be surrounded by beautiful things.
In this ever evolving fast paced world we live in ( it's sometimes just a lot of noise), my goal is that Surroundings remains a refuge.
Love where you live,
Kristiane