Somethings gotta give...

Well, here it is almost a full 3 months since my last posting. I had thought that I would be able to maintain the blog with regular updates, manage design projects and open a store all at the same time. Who was I kidding? And what was I thinking? The time has virtually ( excuse the pun) flown by. There have been several occasions when I would start an entry but everytime something would come up and I just couldn't finish my thoughts.

So here we are 3 months later and finally some time to update the blog. I'm absolutely thrilled to have Moving Designz Home & Cottage open since July10/07. Originally we had hoped for July 2 but as anyone who's done any renovating or construction knows or has experienced, scheduling does not always go as planned. 8 days late is actually pretty amazing in the big scheme of things.

The renovations went along smoothly thanks to our general contractors, Bayside Builders. My design vision was carried out like clockwork with very little problems other than a slight delay getting in the space. Kudos to Mike Fraser (Fraser), Peter Brown, Lou Gallant and Bayside's terrific team of carpenters, tradespersons and all of the suppliers who were involved. My hat is off to all of you, job well done, thanks team.

I do have a lot to be grateful for including our newest staff members. Sheri Buote who worked by my side diligently through long hours setting up the store, unpacking merchandise, cleaning, assisting with design projects and helping with the entire process during the last few weeks leading up to opening the store. Our other new face is Stacey McKenna. She has also been extremely helpful and with her years of experience and talent certainly adds another dimension to our entire team. I feel very fortunate to have them both with Moving Designz Home & Cottage.

I'm also feeling pretty grateful and appreciative for the support I've received from family, my children, friends, clients and last but certainly not least Barry Hirtle. Barry has been my rock through the long days and is my number one fan. He has worked hard getting us ready, providing a helping hand, man labour and outfitting our store with an amazing sound system, equipment and the latest Sharp 42" LCD television. He also made all the arrangements for our security and telephone systems. Thank You, all of you.

The television becomes part of the equation later this fall when we begin to host bi-monthly design clubs, seminars and special guest speakers.

For those of you who have not come in yet, please come in and say Hello. For those of you that have been in, thank you for the many, many kind and positive comments.

It has actually been quite a bit of fun. I would compare it to having a mini Christmas everyday without the turkey dinner. Opening stacks and stacks of boxes to reveal purchases of merchandise you almost forget you bought. In fact, when the couriers and transport companies arrive it's all quite exciting. The only negative is getting rid of all that packing material. We used to have nice long fingernails but have given up on any manicures for the time being :)

I've posted a few pictures on the Moving Designz website of the interior of the store and have also kept a log of pictures taken throughout the process. We are recieving new merchandise on a weekly basis so our inventory will be constantly changing. I will post a few more over the next several weeks as we continue to settle into and develop the space.

I'm looking forward to posting more blogs with articles and tips on design. Stacey, who has a knack for writing will be doing some of the postings with her ideas, as well.

Thanks again to everybody who's helped to realize my dream.