it’s nearly 2am EST. earlier today i drank a tall boy RedBull. that stuff, it changes my life! what is it anyway? so wired.
anyway. this is my announcement: my shop closed and i turn in the keys tomorrow.
even though it’s closing, the shop was a great effort with many victories along the way (including being published in magazines 3 times, yay!).
the place was so nice, i worked my ass off on it. not only did i start the shop; i recruited about 20 of the country’s finest artisans; outfitted the place with new displays and merchandised everything; not to mention designed an entire collection that sold out. that’s right, sold out.
but, it was an incredible amount of work (also a big investment to start), and i just couldn’t get ahead of the break even point in this market. month after month the economy got worse and worse.
it was an awesome concept, just horribly bad timing. so, we decided to cut the overhead and stick to online business and trunk shows. it was a heartbreaking decision, but this ain’t show friends, it’s show business.
so for the last 3 weeks i’ve been an ant, moving. moving. moving.
and tomorrow i hand over the keys and will go on “vacation”, the first one in several years. not going anywhere. just not doing anything beyond exercise and rest.
so why is this important enough to post on ST?
frankly, it’s not and i’m ok with that.
Sorry to hear about the shop closing, kitty, but really happy that you’ll be continuing with your designs. Will you be continuing to represent those other artisans or will you only be dealing with your own work?
I’m sorry to hear about the shop. There are a couple of specialty boutiques near me that I have patronized on occasion for unique cute outfits or accessories. Sadly, they are both closing up as well. I do not long for the day when everybody shops at Macy’s and looks the same.
Ms.Kittycat,
You have the drive and spirit that drives this country.You should be commended for your ability to combine creativity,design,marketing and hard work.The entrepreneur drive and risk is for the few and strong and you did it.The retail space seemed to be a victim of a economy that was trimming back on luxury items.But you are doing the right thing with your approach you are doing now.
I have been small business retail store (owner operator) with my wife for 12yrs.It’s a tough road,I have the battle scars to prove it.Until you walk in a small business owners shoes most people have no idea the constant challenges involved, but I’m in and could never go back to working for someone else.
I get more compliments on the scarf you made than anything else in my wardrobe. Don’t stop creating, no matter what. You are good at it. Better than good.
i know what you mean about battle scars; this is business #2 for me. the first was executive recruiting that i had for about 8 years. it started to suffer in 2007 from the slide in the economy. thank God i closed it, i cannot imagine trying to charge a recruiting fee in this employment market! everybody i know from the recruiting business is out of the business.
but the shop was very special, it was like following a dream. and i do think the timing was awful, but sometimes there are no predictors. i will keep going, just in a way that makes sense.
funny, just this morning a friend of mine who owns a shop asked me if i would take some hours at her place and i could have a corner of her store. i said, heck yes! so, i firmly believe there is always something good around the bend. just have to have eyes wide open to see it.
but i’m still on vacation. and forever addicted to RedBull!
Was this a bricks and mortar you were closing? If so, I have a whole lot of stories of poeple similar - my neighbours owned the largest reatail art gallery in my city - running for 5+ years, they folded the space in December and farmed out their artists to other small temp galleries inthe city. Crafts/fine arts are hurting all over. Thye hope to re-invest/re-open in 2010-2011 - as long as you keep your contacts opportunities may come up again.
The arts are fickle - my step daughter is going through hell as a recent FA photography grad - anybody who operates a retail operation is always going to face challenges.
Enjoy the break, Re-energize - there are always options for innovators.
I am sorry to hear this. I know you really through yourself at this project. As you know, I followed your wearmoa blog to see what was new.
I am glad that you will be continuing in your friend’s shop. Perhaps you will be able to maintain some of your clientele and give it a reboot in better times (you’ve got to have HOPE)!
You are one of my heroes and have far more guts than I do.
And, by the way, I won’t even drink a Red Bull. YIKES!
jim, yes it was the bircks and mortar that closed. turned in the keys today. we put alot in, of course, but it was a great test case. i learned a ton, and it was a big shift away from the recruiting business.
the website business will ramp up this year, and i’m going to ramp up the wholesale handspun yarn accounts. i can still do a strong amount of business regardless of the shop (and actually i won’t mind cutting way back on hours and making more money). so eliminating the overhead was a no brainer, even though it was emotional and sucked to do so.
You thought about hooking up with stitches maybe as a workshop? as part or all of wearmoma? You could do well, even if only for stitches east - that is usually late fall.
You have a nice line- if you “marketed” a design process or technique you could probably do pretty well in the current market (based on my observation of my wife’s fiber passion).
As a fellow small business owner I feel your pain. As small business owners, now is the time to think outside the box (sorry for the cliche) to do what we can to survive and potentially even thrive in this economy. Sounds like things are already falling into place for you. Keep at it!
if anything the last year allowed me to fully examine the market, better understand my demographic, and experiment with alot of different things.
the strategy moving forward is a really good one with better distribution, greater exposure, “sure bet” categories that i know make money, with far less overhead. i’m pumped about it.
Sorry to hear about your Brick & Mortar store, but I’m glad to hear that your business as a whole is still going strong and that your model has adapted to suit the changing realities we all face.
I’m sure that you will do very well as you seem to know your target audience, and produce/stock the sort of things for which people are still willing to pay a premium.
