Exciting New: Now Live!

Guys, I just bought a lot of yarn.  Like...a lot.  As in, an entire store's worth of yarn.

THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS!  I'm now the proud owner of the Itsy-Bitsy Yarn Store in Whitehorse, Yukon!

That is totally the face of a serious and experienced shop owner, right there.  

I officially took over the business this morning, and opened the doors to chaos and confusion as the former owner ran out the door to catch her flight about 3 seconds after we signed all the final documents, and I was left with a float all over the coffee table, paperwork all over the couch, yarn strewn everywhere, a crowd of tourists pushing to get in, and no debit/credit machine to be found.  It was a glorious!

Luckily I've been actually working in the store all week so I wasn't completely in the dark, and everyone were so patient and understanding.  I even charmed a slightly grumpy lady from Chicago, who left the shop smiling despite the hassle of not being able to accept credit cards.  GO ME!

How did this happen, you ask?  Well, back in February, I was facing my government job running out in June and trying to decide if I should apply for more jobs I'm capable and very competent for but not necessarily qualified for or retraining.  (As it turns out, there's just not a demand for less-experienced geos who aren't willing to relocate.)  Then an email from the LYS owners landed in my email.  And there might've been some hyperventilating after reading that they were looking for a buyer, because YES OMG YES.  A VERY immediate response, a whole whack of meetings, and months and months of business plan writing and some last minute panicking yielded this!

Guys, it's been SO HARD to keep this under wraps, and it's entirely the reason behind all of the 'ZOMG SO BUSY' comments here and there.  Holding down a full-time and very mentally exhausting job while also trying to plan for purchasing a business is HARD holy cow.  I've nearly spilled the beans so many times, but it's been a bit tenuous and uncertain and I didn't want to jinx it!

Don't worry, this won't become a store blog.  I'll be posting just as irregularly as usual about all the stuff I make (and I've really got to get some rock posts up here - the title is starting to become false-advertising), they just might host better lit pictures within the shop, and possibly some comments about being a store owner.  

I will be starting up a separate store blog though (still hammering out what I want it to be), but I'll let you know when that goes live in case you want to follow along. 

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I'm so excited about this adventure.  I've wanted something like this since I was a kid, but never thought it could become a reality! It's only starting to sink in that it's real, and while the panic I sort of expected is present, I feel so much at home at the store and like it's exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Granted, that doesn't mean I'm not feeling a little crazy right now!

Look what Sophie, the former owner left me!  (She's the one for whom I made the little going-away gift.) She said she got it when they first opened up in their original 138 sq foot location (can't really get more itsy-bitsy than that) as a blessing for the shop, and she decided to pass it on to me to keep up the blessing. That little banner is hanging up on the tiny storage closet behind a screen, and it's going to stay there for as long as I'm in that space! Isn't it lovely?

Anyways, I'm not sure how to end this. My heart is so full right now, and I feel so thankful to have this opportunity. I'm looking forward to the hard work it's going to take to keep this adorable little shop going, and I can't wait to give back to the community like Sophie and her husband did before me.

Wish me luck, folks! I'm going to need it.