‘Big’ Marmalade Progress Report

Last time we checked in on new 'big' Marmalade, the surprise perfect wood floors were being finished and the painting was about to begin! Well, the painters are finished, the floor protection has been pulled up (swoon!) and the movers came last week!! We have been busy (and dusty!)

Just to be really really clear, as there was some concern after my last post, all of the discussion about this space build out and all of my opinions and experiences have to do with the acquisition, build out, and decoration of a new-to-me space and my intents and vision for my existing retail store and it's identity. I am talking about raw space, from an interiors perspective. In no way do they reflect my feelings for or opinion of the previous resident of this space, her business, style, taste or experience! I know her, she has carried Curly Girl products for some time and ran a wonderful, lovely and elegant boutique in this space for many years. She has been nothing but lovely to me and this neighborhood, and I can only hope to fill such high expectations.

That said, things have been moving fast over there, and we are on a tight schedule to have this little place bright and shiny for April 1. I love an April Fool's Day opening…seems sort of apropos.

So, the painters did their thing, the flooring guys did their thing, I began some little projects like papering the front wall with pages from “Gone with the Wind” (before you gasp, it was an old falling-apart version and my mom just gave me a new copy!). The book is a favorite of mine and my mom's (I was named after Vivian Leigh) and I thought it would be a nice little way to have her feel close every day even though she lives far away.

You would think a 600+ page book would cut it for a small sidewall. I failed to realize that 600 pages is really only 300 pages. I was never very good at math. So the wall is only mostly GWTW.

We had the best, nicest, cutest guys move us. I am not saying we objectified them…well, we may have. But it was nice to have other people doing the heavy lifting. Once all of the stuff was in the space suddenly looked a lot smaller than it had, but it will soon be organized and actually make sense. We popped a bottle of champagne, made a toast to bigger things and started unpacking.

The days after the move were filled with lots of cleaning (do you have ANY idea how filthy technology gets!! ugh! I spent a whole afternoon cleaning computers and keyboards and phones!) and shuffling things around. Then the electrician started the job of hanging the Moroccan lanterns from our new blue ceiling! I can't wait until he is finished! They are actually quite breathtaking.

So that's the progress report! Now begins the real unpacking, pricing, inventory-ing, setting up and getting ready for an opening party! Our little town center is going to be dazzled!!

xoxo