The last few weeks have been filled with many necessary tasks. We moved the store, to our new location, the Market Days booth, and our house. My students and I finished Justin's Maze, in time for the Emily Ann Trail of Lights. We decorated the garden club spot for Emily Ann and my high school classes are very busy. That is why I was so very happy to accept an invitation to join my dear friend at the beach for a few days. We have been going to her beach condo for many years together so when I walk in the door, I am conditioned, just like Pavlov's dog, to relax.
I slept for two days, interrupted briefly by walks on the beach. My body and my mind were just worn out. When I get in this state, it is harder to have faith, and to be kind. I feel my impatience rising but without real rest, I usually fail to appropriately control it. During these times, I am so grateful for my Love and my friends, who encourage me to take a break and forgive me when I just lose it.
Most of the time I feel so full of faith and am grateful for every opportunity I am given to love and support those around me. But when I am weak, I am so grateful for God's promise that He is strong and His admonition to rest in the Lord and the strength of His might. Perhaps when I feel weakest, that is really when I am living in faith. Because in the midst of my failure, His grace sustains me through His word and those He has put in my life who love me even when I fail.
If you are going through a hard place, rest! God is going to move mountains for you and you will need your strength. Just let go and get ready for God to be God in your life. He will. He does it for me and He says He is not a respecter of persons, so I know He will do it for you.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Faith Despite What I See
The last few months have been lean. I blame it in the election and everyone being concerned about the future. But somehow, every month, are needs are met. I would like all our debt paid off. I don't like debt! But mostly I am peaceful and I trust that God is mighty and provides for our needs. This is a change for me. I am a woman who likes to be in control, running the strategy though I have always trusted in God.
Now I am leaning, listening, and waiting. I don't want to go anywhere without God leading. To some that may sound really strange, and I understand, but this is the time for me to really expect God to move the mountain and show us where He wants us. He has done it many times before but somehow it is easier to fall back on trusting our own power.
Lee and I have had ideas, and we believe they are given to us. As we implement them, we expect favor from men as we have favor with God. Whether that happens or not, we are clinging to the God of everything, this God who has blessed us throughout our lives. If you are following us, wait and see the goodness of God in the land of the living for those who trust in Him! And remember that He is not a respecter of persons but will bless you indeed according to His riches and glory through Christ Jesus.
Now I am leaning, listening, and waiting. I don't want to go anywhere without God leading. To some that may sound really strange, and I understand, but this is the time for me to really expect God to move the mountain and show us where He wants us. He has done it many times before but somehow it is easier to fall back on trusting our own power.
Lee and I have had ideas, and we believe they are given to us. As we implement them, we expect favor from men as we have favor with God. Whether that happens or not, we are clinging to the God of everything, this God who has blessed us throughout our lives. If you are following us, wait and see the goodness of God in the land of the living for those who trust in Him! And remember that He is not a respecter of persons but will bless you indeed according to His riches and glory through Christ Jesus.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Our business still struggles. My friend reminds me that we probably won't be successful for at least three years. She is right of course. We knew nothing about the retail business or stained glass when we started. I sometimes feel my head will explode with all the new knowledge we have gained but there is still much to learn. How to make a living is the pressing problem but also what to make and buy and when. My friend says I need to learn to put things on SALE. Ha Ha.
Because the Whimsy is whimsical, I have had to learn how to buy jewelry, art, and pottery from local artists, and funky clothing that is made well and looks cute on different body types. I believe there are Whimsy threads out there but the perfect lines are yet to be discovered.
I have had fun reading the works of the local writers we carry. And have learned quite a bit about self publishing and publishing through a publisher.
Stained and unstained glass is amazing. I am inspired when I enter the building and have learned to design custom creations for our customers, and mosaics with the left over glass. Everything is colorful and color makes me feel good! Perhaps I am too carried away by color and have scattered myself to thin.
Yet, even with the financial struggles, I am having so much FUN! Every day is a new adventure, creating a piece of furniture or drawing a new stained glass design. I love helping women find something fun to add to their wardrobes and when they find Coobie bras, they are so appreciative.
My awesome husband is having fun too. Our customers love him and he is great at merchandising. And he can still work in a few golf rounds during the week. We really are living our dream. As long as it lasts, we are going to enjoy it and hopefully, after year 2 (November 5, 2012) or sooner, we will get really successful.
Plan a trip to Wimberley and come see us soon!
Because the Whimsy is whimsical, I have had to learn how to buy jewelry, art, and pottery from local artists, and funky clothing that is made well and looks cute on different body types. I believe there are Whimsy threads out there but the perfect lines are yet to be discovered.
I have had fun reading the works of the local writers we carry. And have learned quite a bit about self publishing and publishing through a publisher.
Stained and unstained glass is amazing. I am inspired when I enter the building and have learned to design custom creations for our customers, and mosaics with the left over glass. Everything is colorful and color makes me feel good! Perhaps I am too carried away by color and have scattered myself to thin.
Yet, even with the financial struggles, I am having so much FUN! Every day is a new adventure, creating a piece of furniture or drawing a new stained glass design. I love helping women find something fun to add to their wardrobes and when they find Coobie bras, they are so appreciative.
My awesome husband is having fun too. Our customers love him and he is great at merchandising. And he can still work in a few golf rounds during the week. We really are living our dream. As long as it lasts, we are going to enjoy it and hopefully, after year 2 (November 5, 2012) or sooner, we will get really successful.
Plan a trip to Wimberley and come see us soon!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Whimsy Girls and the Chair
Today the Whimsy Girls met. We ate cookies and cake and talked about the crazy chair I am making for Arts from the Heart. Their auction is coming up soon and I want to contribute. When public school funding got cut in Wimberley, this group took action and started volunteering with great art programs in the school. They could have sat around grumping about how everything was going to hell in a handbag but instead, they solved a problem, better than it was before.
Their auction goal is to take an ordinary chair and make it extraordinary. This is the kind of challenge that gets me excited and, apparently, the Whimsy Girls feel the same way. Once the topic was broached, every one was brainstorming and contributing great ideas. Of course I can't discuss them here because this is a top secret project. :) But once it is ready to donate, I will post it for all of you to inspect!
Every week I look forward to our Whimsy Girl's Social, Thursdays from 3-5, at the back of the Whimsy store (Every girl is welcome). These women are amazing and diverse. They come from all walks of life and careers. Most are retired but some are entrepreneurs. They all are very vested in helping me succeed, which makes me extremely blessed. When we gather, there is no agenda. We just check on one another and solve our personal world issues and encourage one another to keep rowing our boats through storms and sunshine.
Whimsy Girls remind me how important my girlfriends are to my well being. It is a mutual admiration society but it is much more. We also give really great feedback to each other, we network for one another, and when things hit the fan, we are there for each other. Living in Wimberley is great, but it is a little piece of heaven because the Whimsy Girls come every Thursday!
Their auction goal is to take an ordinary chair and make it extraordinary. This is the kind of challenge that gets me excited and, apparently, the Whimsy Girls feel the same way. Once the topic was broached, every one was brainstorming and contributing great ideas. Of course I can't discuss them here because this is a top secret project. :) But once it is ready to donate, I will post it for all of you to inspect!
Every week I look forward to our Whimsy Girl's Social, Thursdays from 3-5, at the back of the Whimsy store (Every girl is welcome). These women are amazing and diverse. They come from all walks of life and careers. Most are retired but some are entrepreneurs. They all are very vested in helping me succeed, which makes me extremely blessed. When we gather, there is no agenda. We just check on one another and solve our personal world issues and encourage one another to keep rowing our boats through storms and sunshine.
Whimsy Girls remind me how important my girlfriends are to my well being. It is a mutual admiration society but it is much more. We also give really great feedback to each other, we network for one another, and when things hit the fan, we are there for each other. Living in Wimberley is great, but it is a little piece of heaven because the Whimsy Girls come every Thursday!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Opportunity in Hiding
I said I was an inconsistent blogger and, if you are a follower, you know that is true. Being in the retail business in the middle of a recession/depression has been interesting and challenging and.... surprisingly, FUN! No, we have not turned the corner to profitable, but we have not gone broke yet either so, life is good.
Last June we had decided to close. After spending lots of energy telling potential patrons how to find us, "look under the staircase at the lumberyard, the long white stone building past the park on Old Kyle Rd, off the square", we finally realized we were not going to get enough traffic to stay in business. :)
But just when we were about to throw in the towel, we were approached by the owner of the stained glass store, a fixture for 32 years in Wimberley, about taking over her space. At that meeting, my visionary husband enquired about the stained glass business but the owner just wanted to close it. Well, we did not think we could take on the "much" higher rent so late in our struggle to make our Whimsy work so we decided to turn her down. But before we could do this, she came back to us and made an offer to let us continue the stained glass business and combine it with our Whimsy. We agreed and moved in last August. Our new store
The building had become pretty run down, three inches of dust covered everything, piles of years old stuff was stacked everywhere and raccoons had been nesting in the attic for awhile, so the aroma was pretty awful. But, with the help of friends, we scoured the building and evicted the varmints and moved in. I painted the outside yellow and the posts turquoise to ensure no one would miss us!
This year has been a roller coaster of learning a new trade, figuring out how to keep people from passing us by (Oh, that's just stained glass), and figuring out what our customers want to buy. We are still working on the last part but each month things are looking up. I still desperately need to work on our website, advertising, stained glass standard projects, processes, etc., etc, etc. Yet, we have met some extraordinary people and have learned so much. As we approach one year in our new location and two years in business, we are hopeful. What a difference a year makes.
Last June we had decided to close. After spending lots of energy telling potential patrons how to find us, "look under the staircase at the lumberyard, the long white stone building past the park on Old Kyle Rd, off the square", we finally realized we were not going to get enough traffic to stay in business. :)
But just when we were about to throw in the towel, we were approached by the owner of the stained glass store, a fixture for 32 years in Wimberley, about taking over her space. At that meeting, my visionary husband enquired about the stained glass business but the owner just wanted to close it. Well, we did not think we could take on the "much" higher rent so late in our struggle to make our Whimsy work so we decided to turn her down. But before we could do this, she came back to us and made an offer to let us continue the stained glass business and combine it with our Whimsy. We agreed and moved in last August. Our new store
The building had become pretty run down, three inches of dust covered everything, piles of years old stuff was stacked everywhere and raccoons had been nesting in the attic for awhile, so the aroma was pretty awful. But, with the help of friends, we scoured the building and evicted the varmints and moved in. I painted the outside yellow and the posts turquoise to ensure no one would miss us!
This year has been a roller coaster of learning a new trade, figuring out how to keep people from passing us by (Oh, that's just stained glass), and figuring out what our customers want to buy. We are still working on the last part but each month things are looking up. I still desperately need to work on our website, advertising, stained glass standard projects, processes, etc., etc, etc. Yet, we have met some extraordinary people and have learned so much. As we approach one year in our new location and two years in business, we are hopeful. What a difference a year makes.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
So much to tell
If you are a follower, Thank you! I am not a very consistent blogger. But wonderful things have been happening since last I wrote. We opened the store in Nov. 2010 and learned so much in the next couple of months about inventory, merchandising, and our guests who came to the store. We started the Whimsy Girl Socials in December. This was a completely selfish move on my part. I wanted to make friends and with the store and life, it was really hard to get to know other women in town. But the socials changed that. I now have a group of women who come every week to encourage me and each other and new women join us on a regular basis. Those friends have brought their many talents to bear on our business too. Marketing and merchandising expertise was a huge gap they filled. They also became our best promoters, telling everyone in town about The Whimsy.
Our store has been a site for God to show Himself awesome on our behalf too. Last February we sold one of our booths at Wimberley Market Days just in time to have to be in San Antonio for a month with Lee's Mom and Dad while she recovered from open heart surgery. We would not have been able to pay the bills if that deal had not closed, right in the nick of time.
Even with our great friends and blessings, in July we had decided not to renew our lease and close the store. Our location got very little tourist traffic and we just were not making enough to know we could survive. But then a Whimsy Girl, Mary Anderson, convinced the owner of Wimberley Stained Glass to talk to us. She had remarried and wanted to close her business and lease us the space. We wanted this great location but the cost was too high, too late in the game for us. But then Lee asked about taking over the stained glass business. At first hesitant, Joyce decided we were the right ones to pass on this amazing business to. Again, we know God moved on our behalf and gave us favor. Wow! what a year.
Our store has been a site for God to show Himself awesome on our behalf too. Last February we sold one of our booths at Wimberley Market Days just in time to have to be in San Antonio for a month with Lee's Mom and Dad while she recovered from open heart surgery. We would not have been able to pay the bills if that deal had not closed, right in the nick of time.
Even with our great friends and blessings, in July we had decided not to renew our lease and close the store. Our location got very little tourist traffic and we just were not making enough to know we could survive. But then a Whimsy Girl, Mary Anderson, convinced the owner of Wimberley Stained Glass to talk to us. She had remarried and wanted to close her business and lease us the space. We wanted this great location but the cost was too high, too late in the game for us. But then Lee asked about taking over the stained glass business. At first hesitant, Joyce decided we were the right ones to pass on this amazing business to. Again, we know God moved on our behalf and gave us favor. Wow! what a year.
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