Has it been 14 days since I've written???

Oh my goodness...how time flies...there's soooo much that's been going on I'm just going to use bullet points to bring you up to date on what's been going on...

• getting The Creative Shop Hop off the ground November 8th
• huge leak situation where the potters are doing their work :(
• moving furniture/scrapping ceiling (1400 square foot expansion)
• having house parties for other great women trying to make a go of things
• working at my "job"
• being a wife and mom (this is the best responsibility!)

I NEED to say A HUGE thank you to Erick Bauer, Manager of Sherwin Williams Virginia for donating all the low voc paint for the 1400 square foot expansion of The Creative Shop! We could not have done it with out your generosity!

Another HUGE thank you to Richie Johnson from the Hometown Focus newspaper! He believes in my little store and brought me together with Erick. Having him on my side to bounce ideas off of and then get to feed off of his enthusiasm is a blessing.

Thank you to Angie Riebe again for the wonderful write up in the Mesabi Daily News yesterday. You truly capture what I'm trying to get across.

The Creative Shop Hop

Thank goodness for Jenni Smith! Without her I would've lost the steam that I need to keep going with the idea of The Creative Shop Hop. She helps to keep the ideas fresh and to the point. We each have our own list of the businesses we need to contact. So far Studio on 4th, The Little Gourmet Deli, Queen City Coffee and Books on Chestnut are on board to be participants. It's going to be a huge success with all the local downtown businesses getting involved and supporting one another. I've been working on the brochure which has been quite rewarding. I'm hoping to have the final draft completed by Friday with all the participating stores on board. Wish me luck!

Wisconsin Woodchuck Grain Elevators

David, Louie and I went to Superior, WI yesterday. At the Live Green expo David and I met a great couple Dave and Judy, they invited us to check out their life long project. What an experience Judy had other appointments so Dave was our tour guide. At first we were welcomed by 3 hawks fighting over a pigeon kill! No picture could ever do justice to the magnificance of these grain elevators built back in the 1880's. (Plus my camera batteries were dead.) Men built these structures with their own hands. The wood that Dave and Judy are salvaging is inspiring.

The reason for us to check these grain elevators out is because at the Live Green Expo Dave asked us if we would like to look at the raw material and maybe come up with some items that can be developed from them. Most of the wood is being used for floors, walls, rafters, and basically other "building" items. The smaller pieces, Dave calls his "bone yard", are the remnants. David and I were like kids in a candy store. Looking at all the history in front of us. We were able to take home some pieces to play with to come up with some products. My brain has been going a thousand miles a minute with the inspiration I found at this fantastic place. Thank you so much Dave for thinking we could design something with such amazing materials. We won't let you down!

Artists have arrived :)

Milo and Laura have moved their equipment in and are creating wonderful pottery!!! Another gal, a student of Milo's, has also joined. Then we have two sisters Gail and Patty that are bringing all of their rock cutting and polishing stuff. They create beautiful jewellry and home decor merchandise with stone. David is very excited to start learning from them. As for me? Milo asked me yesterday when will I be putting time away to sit at the wheel...that's my goal for next week.

Finding vendors/artists...

This month has just been flying by! This past weekend when I was open was great. I had a lovely woman, Tricia, come to visit and check out the store from Duluth. She's going to be bringing stuff into the main floor by November 1st. There's a mother and daughter that's going to rent space with their very creative Rag Bags. I love the denim ones they've created. Another gal stopped by to check out the building and I believe that she'll be joining us for the fun.

Just as a quick side bar I worked on creating some functional pieces from old fruit boxes...they're key hooks for at your door. The left over wood i made signs with inspirational says. I used paint I had around and magazines. From this a woman at the Expo asked if I'd be willing to talk to her Girl Scout Troop (they're 10 year old girls). I said absolutely! So I'm going to be helping this troop work towards a badge for recycling and self esteem. I'm so honored to have been asked.

LIVE GREEN EXPO IN DULUTH!

Where do I begin? The Live Green expo in Duluth was a success and that's an understatement. I am soooo proud of my husband! I feel that through this experience he and I are now on the same page about the store! It's not just mine now, but it's ours! I couldn't have asked for a better gift from this event.
We also had the privilege to meet some really fantastic people. A couple, David and Judy, they've purchased three grain elevators and are taking them apart piece by piece. The wood, nails, and wrought iron that they are getting out of them is fantastic! We are going to have lunch with them in two weeks to see the process and to look through what David calls his bone yard. The gentleman beside us, Rick made us laugh and laugh and laugh! Without him there it had the potential to be a bit boring at times. He's going to take us sailing on lake superior. I also met a fantastic woman by the name of Jane. She is a sales consultant for a new organic clothing line called KikaPaprika. I'm having a show for her at my place in three weeks. I'm ecstatic to have been locked outside with her each morning. The clothing line that she represents is made out of organic cotton and it's priced very reasonably. I'm so excited!
The booths that were there were really neat. David and I got some really great ideas for how we can remodel Green. The people walking through the expo were fantastic. Quite a few of them were interested in our booth and what we had to offer. We're excited about the amount of exposure we had and the amount of people that are going to come to our shop.
Last but not least. Shannon from channel 6 news walked up with her big camera and wanted to talk to us. David bolted so it ended up being me. I had my pigtails in and was not prepared to say the least, but the opportunity to talk to her was another gift. I chatted(rambled) for probably close to 10-15 minutes about the building/the store/living green. She seemed sincere about really enjoying what I had to say. She's going to email me when she's going to be doing the segment on The Creative Shop.
This morning when I woke up I had a text message from a friend that said he saw me on tv. I ran downstairs on to my computer to see what it was he saw. Shannon had done a segment about the expo and she used part of our interview in it! The only other person she used was Sherri the gal behind the expo and Will Steger the main guest speaker! I'm on such a high right now I can barely stand it. She said that she liked what I had to say and I guess she did.

THE EXPO IS HERE!!!

Today is a BIG day! I can't believe that the Live Green Expo is here already. It's very early this morning (4 am) and I'm trying to get a jump on the day. I've been focusing on a fantastic weekend meeting tons of great people that love the idea of The Creative Shop. They can't wait until next weekend to check it out plus my new loyal customers are buying everything I have available in my booth. Wish me luck.

Thank you Gail!

I just met with a very wonderful lady named Gail! She's a woman that does amazing things with rock and when she started to talk about it David's ears perked right up. It was cute and I feel that he realized how much more involved with the store he's going to become. She will be at the Harvest Moon festival in Ely this weekend coming up. I'll be giving her some business cards to promote the store and all that is going on with the building. I'm looking forward to having her here!

Meeting an amazing artist!!!

Thank you Shelley for letting me know about your EXTREMELY talented Mother, Debra! I walked into her studio and started to laugh because I've known her for years! There are few people that can do such a variety of craft and to be so concious of the environment. I'm so proud to be able to represent Debra at the Live Green Expo in Duluth next weekend. (How fast it's coming...) Check out her website at http://www.finnishethniccreations.com/.

EXPANDING...

I am so excited about the new development of The Creative Shop. I met a fantastic artist/potter named Milo who knows anyone within a 60 mile radius that is involved in the art world. He and his wife are very motivating and enthusiastic of my shop and the building. Check out their blogs @
http://birthmark1.deviantart.com
http://milospottery.blogspot.com, and
http://renaissanceman1.deviantart.com
On September 1st they will be moving their pottery supplies into the building to start creating! They will be bringing such great energy into the space that I'm inspired. There will be other artists coming in as well to utilize the space that is available. I feel that my dreams are starting to materialize.

Getting ready for the LIVE GREEN EXPO in Duluth!

What an exiting little adventure I'm on right now! My wonderful friend Tara mentioned the Live Green Expo in Duluth and I was of course I'll go. Then after lunch she saw a flier and mentioned to reserve your booth today. I went home checked out the website saw that money had to be paid by July 19th for your booth. I called anyway. Spoke with a wonderful chap by the name of Marty he assisted me to choose the best booth still available. My booth is #240 three booths in and right between the two entrances!!! I'm so inspired to be participating in something I have an enormous amount of passion for. Plus The Creative Shop is going to be exposed to more than ten thousand people all looking for a GREENER way of life. Which is what my shop is all about! A destination where you can purchase items that have been given a new life to creations made from the hands of local artists. Anyone who can make it should check out the expo. It's being held at the DECC on September 6th and 7th. The website is www.livegreenduluth.com.

Three weekends and counting...

I'm shocked by the wonderful response I recieved for my little shop! The people that entered it were so positive and excited about what I have to offer. There were people coming after reading about the shop in the Business Monday from the Mesabi Daily News.

[THANK YOU Angie for the fantastic write up! You captured me perfectly and all I did was ramble.]

I also did advertising with the Mesabi Daily News and had people come in from that! Wonderful to hear that I made the right choice! Cutsomers were actually looking for my ad so that they wouldn't miss the opening.

The SLIDER sale...

If you don't know me

personally

you would never have known that

The Creative Shop

had opened.

I had to pick a date to

work towards. It

originally was Mother's Day

two weeks before I

actually opened. Then

when I did open there

was no advertising done

because I was unsure of

how ready the store would be.

The responses from my friends

and family were very reasuring

and it felt great! The store is

unlike anything else in the area

so there was good feedback.

I will be advertising in the Mesabi Daily News along with putting up fliers and word of mouth. My main focus will be for the Land of the Loon and also The Great Virginia Get-Together July 4th weekend. There's tons of traffic around town during those weekends and I'm quite hopeful. The Creative Shop is going to be a destination for people once they realize what it has to offer and where it can be found. Because the building has been a dry cleaner for it's entire existence I still get people coming

in looking to drop off their clothes or shoes for repair. You can still drop

off your shoes for Tom Greiner to repair in the alley at the back of the building.

The BEFORE!

Where to begin is all I can say. Lots of thanks goes out to David, my husband with the patience of a saint. He listens intently as I continually change my mind on colors, fabrics, layout and anything else I can think of. "It'll look great whatever you do" he says. David was also fantastic at keeping me grounded when I would get stressed because my goals were unrealistic. He supported me no matter what my mood.

Tony is also a great asset to the store. He has fabulous ideas and has all the know how to make it happen. David and I wouldn't have gotten as far as we did without him.

We also had a painting party to get things moving in a forward direction. There was a random snow storm that day, but our friends showed up none the less. The painting fun ended with a great party including a magic show, dogs playing and kids running around playing catch.

{You had to be there :)}

Progress on the Store

After dreaming of having my own building for over 2.5 years it was purchased February 1st, 2008. Ted and Darlene Greiner are the greatest people in the world to be working with us. David and I are so excited on our new adventure.

2 short days after the signing we had our beautiful baby boy, Louie. The greatest gift! He was born on Super Bowl Sunday, a special day since David and I met on Super Bowl Sunday 3 years prior.