The effort involved is monumental. Our D day was Wednesday and Thursday this week. My team of five worked feverishly to get the work done. Sneelock, Ryan, Ann , Patty and myself donned our work cloths and with pad in hand from last weeks brainstorming session set out to make the change. Two long nights ahead.
It's a bit of a puzzle or Rubix cube to get started. Rugs were switched, sofas and chairs got new homes...consoles and tables were moved. Some of my rooms have small and restricting doorways. Floors are uneven. Even in late spring it is a hotbox. And, even with the best plan for such an overwhelming task, it is a tiger by the tail!
A huge sectional was delivered during the day...here it sits amid disassembled tables, shuffled chairs and general disarray.
When every piece of furniture is moved, every single surface is cleared...where does all that go?! Basically every inch of free space becomes fair game. But, at the same time, a clear path must remain for the big shuffle ahead.
Picture the entire floor surface looking like this...and then magnify it 20 times!
The delivery doors remained open until midnight. It actually was just cooling off as we turned out the lights shortly after 12:00am.
Rugs were rolled, stacked, unrolled and rotated all over the store.
We left the store looking like three tornados went through as we turned out the lights and locked up. Knowing how surprised the rest of the staff would be the next morning made my heart skip a beat for sure. My followers know that Wednesday night weekly is re-merchandising night. But on these nights, unlike this night, all is left in fresh, new looks as if magic elves came in overnight. Not this time! I prepared myself to put my disclaimers on the store and invite my customers to join in the treasure hunt amidst the piles of inventory misplaced in every corner!
That leads me to the following night. I was able to con my son, Ryan, into coming back for a few hours Thursday night. (Did I mention that it was Fred's birthday?!!) In true form, he celebrated with us by hanging, lifting, moving and taking on task after task until he left us only about an hour before Ann and I wearily closed up shop around 12:30 am for the second night in a row. We wished we had some caution tape to rope off the door to the front fireplace room...I'm pretty sure it was fairly obvious caution would need to be taken when entering that room!
I'm sad that I didn't take more photos of the progress...what the heck? Who has time to break from the intensity to do that?! Im happy to say that after an hour or two here and there today and the promise of a Saturday with Ann's help, things should be back to inspiring again. I can stop putting my disclaimers on the state of things to each one who enters.
When all is said and done, it's a bit like childbirth. The pain and suffering is overshadowed by the joy of the new look and ownership of fresh design.
I promise to document a few of the new looms tomorrow. For now, it's just wonderful to be hitting the pillow before 1:30 am. * sigh*
