mixed

well it was quite a weekend. i had my two best days so far, which was great. derek and i celebrated with some really quite good sushi.

and then i got home while he went off to Pratt to photocopy something. one of our two guinea pigs has been sick for some time. last night she really was looking awful, and she passed away a couple hours after i got home. oh, the crying. today i woke up and forgot that anything good had happened at all. the sun is shining and it's my day off and halloween and i don't feel like doing anything at all.

anyway. i am developing some odd shopkeeper's guilt from not being everywhere at all times, instead being cooped up in the store all week. i am still getting used to "going to work" as it has seriously been about 4 years since i've had to do so. i need to learn patience, and pacing, and to hold onto the optimism. i need to thoroughly enjoy being where i'm at, and then i will be okay.

short stack

i have waaaaaaaaaay too many bags at the shop, but these make me really happy:
http://www.pettprojects.com/bags.html

well it's been slow so i have reorganized a lot at the shop. and i am trying to strategize how to sell select things online with a minimum of fuss. i have hooked up SimpleViewer for gallery-style display but have to work out the linking, paypal etc. my site is quite ugly, i haven't made such a boring one in a while, but i just can't take the time to make it purdy.

if you are in san francisco, some of derek's crazy friends from software-land made a movie! about san francisco! starring god! or, that is, our friends rob and nolan and a bunch of other wackies. it is playing a "matinee" at the roxie sometime soon.

more things

i run out of 5 dollar bills a lot. and dimes. i wonder if statistically you can predict what to keep in the cash drawer. actually, a super book i got last month, Retail in Detail, does tell you how much to stock. doh! i should write it down.

also - the credit card terminal used to be on the counter, in view, and now it's hidden. it could be coincidence but 80% of buyers are paying cash now. do they think i can't take credit cards? there are stickers on the door. credit card buyers *do* spend more usually. i am going to put the little tent sign on the counter, i guess.

music - i am listening to sweet and crazy Joanna Newsom singing 'milk-eyed mender'. so good. there is a lovely, tiny record store down the block. i haven't really found anything like it elsewhere in brooklyn.

visitors

i get lots of non-customer visitors. so far i have had:

"gypsies" who wanted to repaint the front of my store (very high pressure guys)
the poland spring water dispenser guy
yellow pages salesman
two different companies who want to do my awning
a palmist. yes he wanted to read my future!

getting there

i used to work with a lovely lady named elise at gap inc. there was a mostly all-girl crew who ran the day-to-day of the websites, and we were young and it was quite jolly...socially i mean, i quit that job less than a year and a half into it. it was the late 90s and we all dyed our hair different colors, mine was crayola box red and elise was usually blue and i think cindy was green. anyway elise runs a GREAT internet radio station called Indie Pop Rocks (http://www.somafm.com/) and i stream it all day long...in my "studio" over the powerbook speakers, so as not to violate any ascap fee music playing rules. so that's good.

the other good thing is that my replacement credit card terminal arrived and i set it up today and lo and behold, it works!!! i will ship the dud back tomorrow. i am pretty happy. the last irksome issue is the telephone. right now, if you call the shop number, Vonage will forward it to my cell phone. i was hopeful i'd be able to tap the broadband connection, or even split the credit card line, but i'm so afraid of messing up the terminal that i think that's out of the question. now, i have a handset with nothing to plug into, and a phone number with nowhere to go. great.

what else. i need to buy twine to tie up recycling. i am buying stuff for this store all the time. i also signed up for a store credit card. BAD, DANGEROUS PATH TO GO DOWN i know, i know, but i will try and keep it under control.

my darling pet cockroach, Pippi Jr, is still hanging out in the bathroom. why won't he get hungry and go away? i don't get it. it is humorous and gross, both.

Pippi the mannequin is out of the window and near the door now. i think that a girly outfit in the window automatically makes guys not look at the shop, and it has really nice things for guys i think, so i need to get them in the door.

the weather is nice so i am happy. it doesn't take much for a california girl. today was the quickest yet - i didn't notice i was there for 7+ hours at all.

first week

well everyone, my very exciting first week is over! i am now enjoying my monday and tuesday "weekend"...by doing work. bleh. but i think i'll sneak out for a matinee tomorrow, or maybe shoe shopping. i now know that none of my shoes are adequate for standing in all day long! squishy clarks or danskos are in order.

just wanted to tell everyone to check out http://www.cribcandy.com/, it is a cool compendium of neat design things that are collectively contributed. it runs on Wists (http://www.wists.com) which is a free, awesome visual bookmark system. so, when you see something great as you are surfing around, you can add it to your bookmarks, which is actually a web page with a thumbnail of the item. it is so handy. i used it a lot while gathering products for my store, it is a good way to see everything at once so you can merchandise effectively.

multiple super things have happened already, PR-wise. first, designsponge wrote a great great piece about the store. then, Variety.com Stylephile did a blurb on the store opening the next day. and now, i think the store opening will be listed on the Lucky website later this month, and finally, someone from Daily Candy visited and i just did a little phone interview with her. yay!

locally, i bought a bit of advertising which should help sales. the Park Slope Reader quarterly is coming out this week and i have a quarter-page ad. the rates are surprisingly reasonable so i think it's worthwhile. and, there is a brooklyn shopping guide (brochure and website) called brooklynnow.com that i am on as well, which is fun.

i think i have picked a date for the opening party - nov 17. the week before i have to sell jewelry at Gen Art and then it's veteran's day, so i think the week after is a good time. i hope everyone who is local can come!

friday observations

this has been the slowest day so far. a bit depressing! at this point of the rain cycle, people are just unhappy and trying to be at home. i am quick sick of it myself. it is reminding me of being in california for the last nasty el nino winter (1997-98) when it rained for 6 months straight.

a retail rule, i'm finding: if it's not for sale, someone wants to buy it. i don't have many 'props' at the shop but people ask about them anyway.

gross out - the cockroach in the bathroom is STILL THERE. it's just hanging out behind a sponge, for days now. every so often he waggles his antennae at me to let me know he's just going to stay there for the winter. don't they eat or anything?

what else. i'm learning that i need to buy in bigger quantities. it's hard to predict a hot seller but if you have an inkling, buy buy buy!

the ebay guy is sending me another credit card terminal. i never could get this one to work. sigh. it's all going on propay for now. good thing i have that set up.

i need to buy a big ol' bottle of Aleve for the shop.

evdo

hello! not sure if anyone is reading this but i'll post anyway.

things -

EVDO is working! at home at least. i got my wireless PC card and am now happily sitting on the couch, surfing the web etc. this should work pretty much anywhere, which is very cool. the weird part is figuring out how the outgoing mail works, since i won't be using earthlink like i do at home.

also i have a phone line for my credit card terminal. that's the good news. the bad news is that when i start to install the software for the terminal, the screen blanks out and loses data. it is a refurbed machine but this is ridiculous. time to email the guy i bought it from. hope it wasn't a mistake.

rain = sucky. also damp hardwood floors swell up so my front door doesn't close all the way. ugh.

whew

the first full day at the shop went well, considering the rain that fell ALL DAY, the winds, etc. it was a nasty day.

but people came in, looked around, shopped. it was cool. and someone (English teacher, natch) recognized where the name of my shop came from :)

FYI i have started the "official" store blog at raredevice.blogspot.com - it's gonna have news and new product info. this site will continue sporadically for the nitty gritty news...

so cross your fingers that on Wednesday, i'll have both a phone line and broadband wireless service!

updated list

1. got a much nicer (though used) $20 phone from craiglist to replace the stolen one, so all is well in the world.
2. if the broadband wireless works (called EVDO, check it out on google), i can theoretically do one of those techie acronym things - VoIP over EVDO. doesn't that sound good?
3. dog is HOWLING at the fire engine that just went by. she sounds so sad.
4. boy are my teeth clean!
5. going to take a car service to the store w/ my parcels. the subway security checks are just going to be too painful w/ all my boxes.
6. i need music at the shop!
7. haven't made a sale yet. c'mon people where are you???
8. everyone has been fondling the kristen aronsson and margaret nicole bags. it's all about bags.
9. last night's ramadan meal was pasta w/ meat sauce, and honeycake for dessert.
10. happy weekend everyone!

things

oh how i love lists.

1. happy ramadan - i knew there was a reason that hundreds of boxes of dates were flying out of the shop downstairs...
2. someone stole my cell phone today, while i was at the shop. it makes me so sad at humanity sometimes. a cheapo $20 phone.
3. dentist tomorrow. yuck.
4. my newest adventure is trying for broadband wireless. if it works, then i can cart my laptop pretty much anywhere in NY and get a signal. take that, starbucks!
5. derek is not home yet, boo.
6. i have WAY too many cards and journals at the shop. oops.
7. i don't have enough jewelry yet.
8. the place is looking really good!

i can't take it any longer

well folks. i'm just gonna have to open the doors this week. !!!!

i can't wait any more. the store will never be "done", i should remember that from the ol' web design days. so, i might not have the proper matching hooks in the store, i don't have a sign in the window, and i don't even run credit cards on my brand new merchant account, but i am going to take down the paper from the window anyway, and see who shows up.

yay!

for locals, please stop by and say hi! i am nervous as heck about this and need to be patted on the head. i will probably have limited hours on thursday and friday, and i'm not sure about the weekend yet, but all will be normal starting next wednesday.

i am not entirely sure what to do about this weblog either...i think i will keep it as the store blog and post alerts about new items, but i will send out periodic emails as well, maybe every 6 weeks or so.

and the party...time to think about the party. i think i want to be good and established (sign in the window and credit card terminal chugging away) so it looks like early november.