Our official launch is going to be a holiday open house back in my hometown in a few weeks and we are tirelessly working to have everything ready by then - I just can't wait!
A little background on the whole idea. I'd say as long as 5 years ago my mom and I began dreaming of someday opening a clothing store together. We've always envisioned it to be located downtown Cedar Falls (my hometown) and thought about all the creative things we could do/offer to make our business unique. We actually met with a few local business owners to ask questions, and ultimately lay some ground work. We visited a boutique here in Des Moines that we liked and got to know the owner of it as well, who has since become somewhat of a mentor to us. And then things kind of got put on hold. No doors were really opening and so we just tabled the idea for the time being.
There were a few small windows of opportunity between then and now but nothing eye opening or clear answer to prayers, until now. The past few months God has literally opened the doors wide open for us to clearly see His vision for this business. And so we are following. A little hesitantly and a little consciously but following.
We lost the opportunity of our "perfect" rental space a few months ago but with the encouragement of a mentor we decided to proceed anyways with some unique business avenues until our space is available again. So for now we will be holding open houses showcasing clothing we have bought for the store. We will be hosting the open houses in both the Cedar Falls and Des Moines areas, we then hope to develop an online retail business later this winter/early Spring, with the ultimate goal of moving into a rental space next fall.
Lots has to happen between now and then for that to come to fruition but we are excited and hopeful. We are super busy planning for our first open house and there are so many unknowns that make us nervous and excited at the same time!
So that's what has been keeping me busy these days - lots and lots of ordering, tracking, setting up bank accounts, tagging inventory, etc etc. This is such a good thing for me and something that I absolutely love to do. It feeds that passion for business and fashion that is so exciting and makes me feel fulfilled in ways I haven't been since I left my job so for that I am incredibly thankful!
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| our first piece of inventory! |
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| lily checking out our signage |
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| first delivery of inventory |
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| unpacking inventory |
