Big Announcement Day!

Happy Tuesday everyone! In my last post, I promised you I'd have a big announcement last week, but I'm a little late! Friday through Monday completely got away from me with having fun and all the things I had to do...and I didn't get the post written. So, here we go.

After many, many dreams, plans, ideas, and brainstorming sessions {in my head and with others}, I've decided that now is the time to open the boutique I've always wanted.

When people have asked me what I want to have in my boutique, I could never narrow down the answer. Stationery, party decorations, craft supplies, home decor, antiques, unique finds, classes...you name it, I've probably thought about it at some time or another. I couldn't make it all work in my head though...how the heck do you explain to people that you sell a little bit of everything?

Gather is that concept. When I was trying to figure out the name of the boutique, I ended up searching for the meanings of words in the dictionary. I wanted just the right thing. Here's some dictionary definitions when I looked up the word "gather":

1. to bring together into one group, collection or place
2. to bring together and assemble from various places, sources or people; collect gradually
3. to pick up piece by piece

The products that will be for sale at Gather will be exactly that...a collection. A conglomeration of things I've found, collected or created myself. A little something for everyone.

I'm in the early planning stages at this point, but I do hope to open my doors this spring. As you saw in my pictures from the first week of Project Life, Mike & I and our family have been busily working away in the boutique to make it a beautiful blank canvas to display everything I'll be selling. It's been a lot of wallpaper removal and painting so far, and I'm looking forward to having some new flooring put in soon, and then I can focus on the fun stuff - filling the store with all sorts of fun things.

So what will I be selling?

• Home decor
• Gift items
• Party decorations & supplies
• Wedding stationery & decor
• Craft supplies & tools
• Stationery

I also have space planned out for a classroom/work room area. I'm sure at first it will mostly be a work room {for example, I've already talked with a few friends about having a monthly Project Life work session to keep us all motivated}. I do plan to eventually teach scrapbooking and card making classes {and possibly some other craft projects}, but my primary focus right now is filling the space with product.

As I said before, much of the product will either be things I've made or things I've found and loved as I've shopped for myself or with this store in mind. But, I've also run across a couple of other artists who make beautiful creations I plan to feature in the boutique, and I'll be on the lookout for more as the need arises for new products.

Finally, with all these changes, I figured it was time to work on a couple of other goals I've been floating around for the last year or so. I'm working with a web designer to develop a website that will feature inventory from the store, link to my Etsy boutique, and also offer what I hope will be a ton of inspiration for party and wedding planning. My blog will eventually move over there. This is all in the very early stages, but I think it is the ideal solution to link vogtstories, Vogt Design Co. and Gather.

My other big change is that I'll be stepping back from completely customized wedding stationery. While I love creating one of a kind stationery suites for the brides I work with, it's become terribly time consuming and a lot of work. It's also becoming more difficult to do this kind of work when clients are spread out across the country, and not sitting across from me sharing their visions about their wedding days. So, instead, I'll be creating a few stationery suites based on current trends I see in the wedding industry and offering the pieces individually so brides {and grooms!} can build their ideal stationery suite from what I have to offer. Designing multiple suites is a HUGE undertaking for me, but it's something I'm excited to do, and share both in my Etsy boutique and at Gather. I'll add designs as I have time, and once things get a little more settled at Gather, I may still be able to take on the occasional custom order.

Whew...there you have it! Lots of changes to my business that I'm extremely excited about! Remember my post about 112 in 2012? #14 {in no particular order} was to grow my business. I told you that some of the things I was putting on my list were things I already knew would be happening...and making progress on Gather was definitely one of those things. I wrote last year that I wasn't sure I would be keeping my "real" job, and when I started brainstorming what I wanted to do when I grew up, this boutique was it. My job wasn't eliminated, but I knew Gather needed to be a priority in 2012, no matter how much work it took and how little sleep I would get.

Look for updates about Gather in future posts...I'll keep you in the loop about what's going on with my little dream!

Thanks to everyone who has known about this project for all their support and encouragement. I don't know if I could have ever taken the leap without you. Especially my sweet husband, Mike, who has been cheering me on since our first date almost 4 years ago!

Have a great day, everyone!