Saturday, January 10, 2015

Taylor Swift says "Shake it off!"

So, I am having an absolute blast at Vinterest Antiques now that the "kinks" are getting ironed out, booths are fully rented, and customers are giving me some peace of mind that they will actually show up! ha!  (Seriously, there were days during the construction phase that I was freaking out, scared out of my mind that people wouldn't know about us, much less come out and shop.) Tomorrow marks 1 week of being open.  Yay! And come shop with us, you did!!!

At night, I like to reflect and think about all the things we've had thrown at us since starting this venture.  In fact, just in the past 30 days, we've battled the flu x2, a series of sinus infections, a leak in the ceiling, a rusted fire exit/panic door stuck to the floor that was dead bolted shut (now fixed,) and our home's heater stop working (due to my puppy, Jake, getting under the house through a crawl space and eating the duct work.  Yes, that really happened.)

That's the short list, but I'm sure if I threw my "short list" in a pile with your "short list," I'd probably want mine back.  So, I'm very thankful that's all we've experienced thus far.

Alas! Since coming to Hixson, there hasn't been any shortage of drama, but fortunately NOT on "our side of the river."  There's been some accidental insults (I think the Lord wants me to give benefit of the doubt) with people who don't know us, and there's been funny situations where people don't realize Paul and I are the owners.  I'm not sure who they are expecting, but for some of the folks who don't read our blog or follow us on FB, it's not us.  I also don't think people expect to find us running the cash register or hauling furniture.  Or maybe it's the purple hair?!  Who knows.  It makes me smile.

[As a side note, for those NOT in the Chattanooga area, the "river" is a very big deal.  Like huge deal!  I didn't really realize how huge until a lady made it very clear to me that she "never" crosses the river for anyone or anything, but she did just to see what all the fuss was about.  You see, there is a bridge over a dam that must be crossed to get to us from Chattanooga/Knoxville.  I haven't quite pieced it all together as to why that's a big deal, so if someone would like to enlighten me, please do.  But for now, let's leave it as a huge deal and we are very thankful to those who have "crossed" the river for us!  ("Crossing the river," by the way, has given us a GREAT t-shirt idea!!  So stay tuned.)]

Anyways, I will admit,  in my exhaustion, there have been days that I've had to "check" myself and my attitude a couple of times, such as the time a lady said, "I've been doing this a lot longer than you have" when discussing renting a booth with me, and she didn't agree with some of our policies.  "Swallow. My. Pride, and grin and nod, Katherine.  Grin and nod," I have to remind myself.

As another example, Day 2 of being opened, I had a sweet Veteran go a little crazy on me due to how an American flag was displayed in our store (hung, not touching floor, nor no rips/tears) which left me a tad bit dazed and confused, and all I could think to say was, "thank you for your service."  Oh, and I heard a rumor "allegedly" started by another business owner that, while we were in the process of renting out booths, that I "snuck" into this person's antique store and snapped a "photo" of a "top secret" clipboard that had all their vendors phone numbers as to "steal" them.

We also had a totally different situation where we were told by a reliable source that another store (in a different state) was trying to get ahold of us because they wanted to plug in and sell with us and advertise, so the Mr. immediately called them as soon as we were told.  He spoke to one of the owners (excitedly, because this partnership would be HUGE and very powerful,) and the owner bashed us and called us just about everything but a white person before hanging up. Oops!  (And, I LOVE this store!!!)

This, I kid you not, is our life.  I cannot make this stuff up, but I am so thankful because it sure does make for some funny stories around the kitchen table!

"Shake it off," says Taylor Swift, so "shake it off" I will!!

That's the crazy .001% part of this venture that would make for some pretty entertaining reality TV I do believe (HGTV- call me!)

The other 99.999% part of our experience thus far has been truly joyous and has God's hands all in what we are trying to accomplish.  We are surrounded with some of the most giving, supportive vendors and customers. Every day, it is a complete joy to wake up and "go to work."

So tonight, I want to thank you for "crossing the river" and visiting with our little Vinterest Antiques family.

I hope when you come to Vinterest, you leave with a smile!










 

 

1 comment:

  1. Hi Katherine! Heard of your store through a friend... and now your blog through your website...lol! And wow... just reading... you've had a crazy time of it for sure! I'm all about following your dreams and can't wait to see what your new store will bring to the community of Hixson (my hometown)! Looks like you are off to a great start!! Congratulations!! :)

    ReplyDelete