Open for Business.....Sort of

In the retail world, there are soft openings, hard openings, and then there's ours.  If one were being kind, they would refer to it as a soft opening.  I, on the other hand, have taken to referring to it as a marshmallow fluff opening.  Fluff, however, seems to be working. 

Lyn and Paul graciously offered to lend us tables, baskets, and a branch so we could open our doors and give everyone a hint of what we're hoping to bring to Castine's Main Street.  A few weeks ago when I was concepting the space, I had considered using a tree branch for the pajama display, but rejected it in favor of an antique armoire.  When Lyn walked me out to her garage and showed me the branches, I knew it had to be fate.  The branch is now a permanent fixture.  It appears to hover in space, casting dramatic shadows on the wall, supporting lovely pajamas, nightshirts, and gowns by Needham Lane and Yala.  One young woman said it looks like an art installation.

Dan and I have now named it the lucky branch as our first sale in the shop was a pair of Needham Lane pajamas plucked from it.  With that first sale, on what we had always intended to be our opening date of July 1, it was official.  We were open for business.  It may not have been how we envisioned it, but in the years to come it will certainly make for some good stories.  Maybe by then we'll be able to laugh about our missing moving truck.  Then again....maybe not.