A Bit of a Bump in the Road
What I am about to tell you is very sad and frustrating for me. I will be closing the shop; at least, the physical location, that is. I have played all my cards to try to keep it open but life definitely has been insisting I close. I am going to keep this announcement brief because I currently have COVID and my brain is foggy, my energy is rock bottom, and honestly, just typing this out makes me so mad!
Just to let you all know, I am not doing very well health wise. My doctor is narrowing down a diagnosis but things are pointing to endometriosis plus either chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. And since the economy currently stinks, the shop has been selling roughly 1/5th of what it had in my first year. There was a brief couple of months in the early summer where I was consistently getting healthier and feeling much more energy and was excited to renew my lease. I had huge plans of starting with a September auction to clear out seasonal clearance and make a big push towards getting classes scheduled as well as being open for more days… but, alas, the bottom of my health-basket collapsed and now all my energy and plans splattered on the ground below. Currently I am caught in a cycle of:
1. Not being healthy enough to be open consistently.
2. Shop sales struggling.
3. Stress of paying bills.
4. Getting laid out by stress-induced flare ups.
5. Repeat.
You’ll find me adding that sad cycle to the laundry list of grief, depression, frustration, and weariness from political dissent. I often fantasize about escaping abroad to find healthcare that won’t bankrupt me and a socialist system that I can equally contribute to and benefit from. Either that or I hope for a bolt of lightning finding me to end it all…but I digress.
Now that the decision has been made, I am announcing what happens next:
9/26-9/28- Due to my current state of recovering from COVID I will remain closed for this weekend.
Tuesday, 9/30 I will be meeting with Lagom North for a liquidation auction.
I will separate and tag items in the online auction and provide links once it is up and running. The auction will run between 2-2½ weeks. I will be open as often as I can to give people an opportunity to shop what is not included in the auction.
My lease going month-to-month until the end of 2025 unless someone wishes to sign a new lease with the building during that time.
More auctions will take place as I clear out inventory that I have accumulated. After I close the doors to the physical shop, I intend to focus on recovering my health AND getting my online store more robust and optimized. The darling artists who wish to have inventory in my online store are welcome to participate as well as vendors with small, easy to ship vintage and collectibles. If my health allows it, I hope to do the occasional pop up to sell my own pieces.
It is all overwhelming at the moment, and like I said before, I am still struggling with COVID and losing my steam fast with this post. Please excuse the lack of finesse as I stop here and look forward to more updates!
Thanks,
Abby
