Let The Deconstruction Begin

 Just a quick reminder that even though the markets are over for the season - the store will be back bigger and better next spring! - online ordering is available around the clock and I will also be available by phone during more reasonable hours (10am-4pm weekdays). And with the markets over, if you think I'm going to be taking it easy for the next few months, think again. Besides updating product information on the website and writing patterns that were brainstormed and prototyped this summer, I, along with Mom, will be reverting the motorhome to the rv it was meant to be and renovating a new-to-me shuttlebus to be the best darn mobile yarn store you could possibly imagine! This week's blog will concentrate on the beginnings of the end of Lorigamivan 1.0.

 Above are a few photos showing what the store looks like without yarn, patterns, etc. Looks a little bleak, doesn't it? And tomorrow, while Mom is in the house preparing Thanksgiving supper, I will be removing all the needles and hooks from the entryway as well as turning the shower back into a shower instead of a storage closet. If all goes well, those pictures, as well as photos of the fully reverted motorhome will be showcased in next week's blog.

In the meantime, if you're wondering where all the yarn will be before finding its new home in the bus, take a look at the photo to the right. And there are two more of these trolleys full of yarn that hadn't made it out of the motorhome yet when I took this picture yesterday. To say the warehouse is stuffed is an understatement! I am just thankful that this is supposed to be a mild winter because we are going to be spending an awful lot of time running between the new bus and the warehouse getting it ready for the new market season.

Do NOT take that last statement as an invitation to NOT order from the online store. I want to know that people were listening when I said "pet the yarn now, so you know what you're ordering this winter". If you leave me with holes to fill in the new rig, I get to fill those holes with NEW product!

So whether you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday or are feasting today, know that I am always thankful for the customers that have stuck with me through this transition from brick-and-mortar to click-and-order to mobile store. (If anyone can come up with a mobile phrase that rhymes with the other two, please leave it in the comments. I may even give you a prize if I like yours.)

written by Lori, thankful TCL owner, who is feeling blessed to have made it through the past couple of years.

When You Get SO Busy ...

 You are probably getting weary of listening to me ramble on about the progress of the pop up store renovations. Well, the good news (I guess) is that the renos are almost done. After this blog, all that is left to do is the insulation, which does nothing for the aesthetics of the retail space, but it should allow me to run the shop earlier in the spring and later into the fall, which I know you will all appreciate.

So - except for when the store is all geared up for the spring, these should be the last pictures for a while. This is everything we (meaning myself and Mom) got done this weekend, and the reason the proper blog is late this week.

Picture #1 (point of view from the cab area) shows the original layout in all its glorious RV walnut brown. Don't get me wrong. I love brown but it can be pretty dark even in the daytime. Not the best for a showroom. Also, notice the L-shaped kitchen that creates a bottleneck.

Picture #2 (Excuse this photo please. It is really hard to get a panorama shot inside an RV without it looking a little askew.) This point of view is from the house entrance (far right of photo) and let's you see how little space there was between the fridge and the sink. For those of you who have visited the pop up store already, you will recognize the sink as being the previous location for my till.

Pictures #3 (left) and #4 (right) show how just a little bit of white pegboard brightens up the place!

Picture #3 shows that by removing the L from the kitchen counter, many more customers can be in the store at one time (once restrictions are lifted). And, yes, that is a TV where the microwave used to be. It got the TV off the counter where it was in the way and who needs a microwave oven when a real oven is available?

Picture #4 shows the newly built needle/hook wall. To its right is the fridge which now has whiteboard inserts. Who knows what you might see written there when you pop in? And the yarn bins are all ready to house the squishy stuff in the spring.

        

Written by Lori, pleased TCL owner, who apologizes for the late blog this week but who likes to think that the end results of this weekend made it worth the wait.

No More Bottleneck!

 So last week you were all privy to the deconstruction happening in the pop up store. This week you get to see some of the reconstruction. It might not look like much but by the time the pop up reopens in the spring, I may be allowed to have multiple customers at one time and a 4' wide aisle will be appreciated by all.

The kitchen counter to the left is obviously missing a few things - a countertop, a sink, an oven, a drawer - but those will all be back in place soon enough.

What has been gained is visible in the drawing below (courtesy of SketchUp, an amazing FREE drawing app that has become indispensable in my world). The dotted line indicates where the offending peninsula was located. Aside from a few screw holes in the floor, you would never know it existed just a few short weeks ago.

I've done pretty much all I can do on this project and this fall/winter I will be handing the remainder of the work off to the professionals at Sunrise RV.

What, oh what, will I do with my 'free' time you ask? Exactly what I hope the rest of you are doing - working on Christmas projects and working, which for me means filling all my online orders.

written by Lori, happy TCL owner, who is satisfied with the progress so far and can't wait to show off the renovations in person to all my customers.

And So It Begins

I have had a few phone calls this week asking where the pop up store is and I've been telling most of the callers that it is in hibernation. If I know the caller well enough, I tell them it's winterized and I'm not sitting somewhere from 10am to 4pm with nowhere to pee.

In actuality, this is what it currently looks like.

In the background, you can see the stove and the sink/tap, and on the floor to the left, you see part of the countertop. I've managed to loosen most of the walls of the kitchen counter base but I have more work to do. By the time you read this, I will already be out in the rv trying to remove the entire counter from the wall just so I can get at the bottom screws that hold the two counter pieces together. Once that is done, the saw comes out and the walkway is on its way to becoming much wider both for customers (when the rv is a store) and for Mom, Myles and myself (when the three of us feel like taking off for parts unknown).

I am still waiting on LPAC to let me know when the classes are scheduled so stay tuned for that information. I'm looking forward to teaching again. Without the Creativ Festivals this September, I felt a little lost. As an introvert, I would find myself equally drained and energized by the rush from class to class. I guess until the schedule is set, I get to try to create that feeling by renovating the pop up.

written by Lori, TCL owner, who hopes to still have enough undamaged fingers to teach those classes during renovations.