Waves of Creation

The clocks have changed, the sun is shining, and the flag is out at Brickley’s….I think Spring has finally arrived!! (ok, well not officially, but it will be here in a few weeks). Once the daffodils start blooming, I always feel revitalized.  The new ideas start coming, and I get excited about things ahead.

One thing that I’m really excited about is that our first anniversary is almost here! Yep, tax day, April 15, will be one year.  I can’t believe we have been open that long already. Boy has it been one heck of a ride. 

We have lots of things planned for our anniversary, starting of course with a week long sale.  Keep an eye out for the big yellow Anniversary Sale sign to appear in the window.

The other big event is a Customer Appreciation Party.  If you are part of our mailing list, you will be receiving a very special invitation in the next couple of weeks.  It may hold the KEY to wonderful prizes donated by our artisans.  If you are not on our mailing list, but would like to receive an invitation to the party, just stop in the store or drop us an email and we will get one out to you.

We are looking forward to the longer, warmer days of spring and to seeing all of our customers again as they thaw out from the cold winter.  Next time you are strolling down Main Street, or headed to Brickley’s for a double scoop, pop in and say hi!  We’d love to see you.

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I can't believe we have been open over 8 months already.  We have been through a tourist season, a meltdown of the national financial system, and our first Christmas season.  Overall, I think we faired very well.  We have gone from our original 15 artisans that opened the doors with us, to 54 talented people who believe in what we are trying to do here.  We went from wondering how we were going to fill the shelves to wondering where we can find more space.  We've gone from being "the new kid on the block" to having repeat customers who tell us how much they love the store.  Yes, overall, a very good start.

Now to look to the future.  What can we do to keep things fresh, keep our customers coming back, and have them spreading the word?  The ideas have been swirling, and I think 2009 will be a good year.  We know that the "winter in New England" will be slow, but we have some ideas to work on that.  We're already planning some classes-jewelry, bath and body, pottery.  The shopping area will start to be populated soon too so that all those folks who received gifts from the store can come back to add to their collections without having to live in RI.  Contests and specials, we're thinking about a few of those too.  Yep, we have some ideas on that too.

I guess the most important thing is that we are all committed to keeping things strong, even in a weak economy.  We are here to stay, if any of us have anything to say about it. 

Tags: retail | small business | artisans

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Even after more than 20 years, I still find Rhode Island a curious little place.  Though I have now spent more of my life here than in Jersey (hey, no Jersey jokes) where I am originally from, I still consider myself a transplant, and get a bit of a chuckle out of certain Rhody-isms.  Like the bread and milk thing.  I realize it comes from leftover fears of the blizzard of ’78, but bread and milk?  I guess I never understood what you should do with all that bread and milk.  Wouldn’t chips and beer be much more fun, if stuck in the dark and cold for days?  Or maybe even hotdogs-heck the grill still works even if the power is out, right?

Why do I bring this up?  I guess because the Rhody-isms affect businesses and all aspects of our lives here.  As I look out the store window, wondering why no-one is out, where the hundreds of Ladies from Ladies’ Night are these days,  wondering when things will start bustling again, I realize its just another Rhody thing, or maybe a South County thing-you know, like not going past the towers unless you really, really have to. 

It seems that once the first snowflake falls, we hunker down in our homes, and swear not to leave until the buds are back on the trees.  We make no extra trips.  We don’t stroll down Main Street just to browse. We dread driving on the pot-holed roads. We hibernate until winter is over.  We wait for Brickley’s to open as the signal that spring has arrived and we can once again venture out.

So, here I sit patiently, waiting for Brickley’s to hang their open flag, signaling the start of a “new season”, inviting everyone to break out of their winter hibernation, venture out, stroll Downtown, and take the time to see all that is new here.  You might be pleasantly surprised. 

There's plenty going on here to break the hum-drum of winter.  How about getting together with friends to be creative and learn a new skill?  Or signing up for one of our private shopping nights?  We’re working on a schedule of classes to give you something fun to do on a cold winter’s day!  Jewelry making, jewelry repair, pottery making, soap making, ???  -- we’ve got lots of ideas and we’re working on the logistics now, so tell your friends, and  check back in a week or two so that you can be the first to sign up.  If you’d like us to e-mail the schedule to you, just pop us a message and we’d be happy to do that.

Don't wait for that flag at Brickleys.  Come on down.  After all, you won't even have to pass the towers.

Tags: Wakefield | south county | winter | classes | artisan | shopping | party

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