Behind the Rainbow

As of this weekend (July 17 & 18) we have officially been open for business two months. It has not been without its ups and downs I’ll admit. There have been days when business was so good that our optimism soared. And others that passed without a single customer coming through the door.  When that happens, the mood tends to shift into unwelcome channels of “what if?”

Even after so short a time, we all are beginning to realize that you can’t let yourself get caught in these loops for good or ill. A great deal goes into opening even a tiny shop such as ours, and I can’t pretend that we are anywhere near caught up or where I would like to see the business be. The fact is though, that we can’t let ourselves get caught in the immediate ups and downs. I think the best approach is to take the longview, to constantly be looking at how and where we can improve, and how we can make more people aware of where we are and what we have to offer.

I reopened my Etsy Shop this week after over a year and a half hiatus— Vacation Mode, it’s called.  Now, in a new state and with a new shop name, I very much plan to continue to offer the same great service, and an even larger selection of fun merchandise. I don’t have much listed just yet. That’s another time consumer, and my main problem has been and remains, not having enough of that, or the space to get properly organized. But I’m making progress despite the limitations. I’ve begun to unpack a good deal of vintage merchandise that traveled with me from Florida, and has remained in boxes for this past year or more. There will be more vintage in the brick and mortar shop, and on the Etsy Shop soon. For those who want to take a look at the Etsy Shop, here’s a Link to Over the Rainbow TX Etsy Shop

I [Gwen] take care of the website and online activity, as well as most of the Social Media, though Gabriel is beginning to help with some of that. I still want and intend to get an online version of our shop going, but I’m not there yet. So, for now we’ll work on expanding the Etsy Shop and expanding our store stock.

We’re admittedly a little quirky, but also open to what our customers would like to see in a Local Store. If anyone has suggestions, we would welcome them. We watch what sells, and  who buys it, and take requests we’ve had very seriously. So, if you’d like to see some particular goodie, just let us know.

Later this week I’ll be adding a rack of gently used and vintage clothing. I don’t have a lot at present, but some great jeans (think vintage Mom Jeans) and tops, and a few really cute odd and ends we, or our helpers in Florida, have curated. Again, if there is a demand, we will do more in this same vein.  I have some vintage jewelry I’ll be adding steadily over the next several weeks as well.

We have lots of plans yet, and we will continue to talk about these, and about our philosophies concerning community, local living and healing the planet we live on. And hopefully, we can continue to keep it interesting enough that we do get plenty of  local as well as tourist trade. We love seeing our regulars already. Fort Davis is an awesome place to live and work, and we believe that it can be even more so. However, in order for that to happen, folks have to shift their mindsets a bit. #Live Local, #Shop Local and #Shop Small. We believe that small businesses are what will keep both the economy and the planet on the road to healing and growth.