well.

inventory is being ordered. i am quite excited. so far i have ordered from people in California, New Jersey and Japan! ooh gotta hate the exchange rate. i'm going to get some super textiles designed by a gal in Scotland too.

i think i'm going to name the store Rare Device and be done with it. i still like Nook but it's a bit cute. not that i won't have cute things but i want to appeal to guys to come in too, i'm going to have some design books and magazines and go in that direction and not in a girl shop direction, just because i think guys are underserved in the area, while there are a trillion girl boutiques. also there are many, many one word, one syllable stores these days, and i want to be a little mysterious. so!

we are scouring pottery barn for suitable floating shelving and such. the IKEA type seem pretty flimsy...but i will be getting greeting card ledges and things like that from them. also, p-barn has great shadowbox picture frames, they are hinged in the front and are lined in a linen fabric and will look really slick with jewelry pinned inside. i have seen some folks use these at shows, and they look great.

i have got a bunch of minor repairs to do here. the nice thing about having some tools at the shop is that i can customize lengths etc for people. i am still debating how much jewelry work i want to bring there (since when the shop closes for the night, i want to go HOME and not stay and do more work).

what else...got an insurance quote, it was not bad at all. of course that's cuz my shop is so tiny. so far the expenses seem reasonable...i mean paying 3 months rent upfront hurts a LOT but the landlord is a very "no problem!" kind of guy. i hope i don't have to test that at any time. i just have to pay electricity on the shop, they take care of water and heat and trash, which is great. if i leave early there is no fee. all in all quite reasonable for NY.

time to get the DBA, and then the bank account. the rates for business accounts seem really high, i swear my fee in California was about 7.50 a month, and out here it's 16.

thanks to everyone writing in with their ideas!