Studio 658 Grand Opening

Our grand opening was a great success. I am absolutely exhausted and totally elated. As busy as I have been, now it feels like the real work is starting. I have so many plans for the studio. I want to use it as a retail store for Mama (with limited hours - kind of a starter retail store) and I'm also planning to put together a schedule of DIY classes in candlemaking, soapmaking, scrubmaking, etc. Since we moved in, Mary and I haven't had a moment to sit down and meet about all of our plans, so we still have a lot to figure out. I had planned to take a few days off once I reached this mile marker, but there is too much to do. Onward and upward!

Busy Crazy Happy

And not necessarily in that order.

First of all, on August 1st, I moved into a new store in historic Roswell called Gifted! They don't have a website, but the address and info is on my site under stores.



I still need to make more goodies to stock my booth, but I didn't have time to get everything made before the soft opening on August 1st. The grand opening is September 1st, so I have a little time.

I also sent some products to a new store that is opening in Leonia, NJ called The Craft Lounge. The owners are friends of a friend, and were interested in carrying my stuff, which is always great. Hopefully the Jersey girls dig Mama!

And (drumroll please) on August 3rd, Mama made the monumental move out of my house and into our new studio!! Ladies, and Gentlemen, Studio 658:





There will be more pics once I get a little more set up. The renovation took a little longer than expected, but the place looks fantastic. And it gave me time to get completely packed and organized, so the move was relatively breezy. And now I'm gearing up for a crazy August. My studio mate Mary and I are planning a grand opening for August 22nd and 23rd. So not only do I have to make EVERYTHING in my product line to have fresh product to stock up the studio, I also have a commercial shoot (my other job), and a long weekend trip to see my family in Ohio happening between now and then. Which means I'm going to be working 24/7.

I have to be honest - I don't relish these overbooked weeks-upon-months. I tend to muddle through them all frustrated and cranky. I'm always better when I'm busy, but right now it's more like a 'wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-in-an-oh-hell-i-forgot-to-do-that' panic. So I am more than surprised to find that my general attitude has been great! Probably because I'm so excited about all of the new developments.

I tend to work so fast and furiously trying to keep up, that I forget to savor the good moments. So as I dove in to my new kitchen to make the first batch of lotion, I remembered to stop and enjoy what was happening. It was the best 30 seconds of my year;)

Hope to see you at our Grand Opening!