PROCESS OF REOPENING & RELOCATING
to our new home at
15150 Municipal Dr.
Madeira Beach FL
33708
(next to Dollar Tree at the Winn Dixie Plaza)
Day one of relocating: November 24th
Opened the door to Colette's New Home and went inside to start the cleaning process; started by sweeping the floors and mopping them. I don't need to do any aggressive remodeling to open up although once open, I will periodically work on improvements.
Below are pictures of the space.
I think I will enjoy decorating it.
I don't have Electric yet. Long story.
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I have to get up early tomorrow morning to wait for electric to be turned on and my electrician to come in and make sure everything is working well. Many of the outlets are lose and old so they need to be replaced.
Day Two: Nov. 25th, 2024
Was at the shop by 8:00 waiting to have power turned on.
Brought in a rack for sorting hangers and built it.
Brought in cleaning supplies and storage baskets.
Cleaned the door window and the mirrors; there are a lot of mirrors!
Partially cleaned the bathroom. (couldn't see too well without light.
I waited and waited for power. They were supposed to come at 12:00. Finally, around 1:00 the power was turned on.
Then I walked around trying to figure out which switch went with what light. I couldn't figure out how to turn off fluorescent lights in ceiling so I called my electrician (who is the best by the way) and he will be over tomorrow morning to figure it all out for and with me.
Ordered "EXIT" lights which will also be installed tomorrow.
Went to Home Depot and picked up ceiling tiles. Store had many missing from Hurrican Milton. It will make the new store look so much better!
Definitely getting closer to moving in...
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Days from the 26th to December 2nd....
The last week has been busy. Electric has been sorted. I had a plumber come in to take out all the remnants of a what used to be a salon. I used the best AC Guy in all of Florida to restore the unit and fix some minor electrical issues and install my EXIT signs and some spotlights in the window.
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Made a Post on Facebook about how helpful this company has been
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Slowly every day I am bringing in more stuff and sorting.
I had a great day shopping for used furniture. I needed storage and found an old TV stand to put under counter. Found two lamps, a display table and a cabinet for the sink in the back.
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I Designed my first window!
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On December 2nd I had a great group of ladies come in to help. The ladies who came in the morning helped me clean displays, take out trash and demolition debris, go to old shop to pick up racks and other items.
Later that day, I had another volunteer stop by and we started working on ceiling tiles; that went a bit wrong on my end. Long story.
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Later in the afternoon some of the clothing was delivered from my house and at the same time my last volunteer of the day came by. (Who says the early bird catches the worm) She had the fun job of helping me unpack boxes. The first box we opened contained the "Storm Top" I had featured on Facebook. I had a lot of ladies interested in it but unfortunately it was packed away and I couldn't sell it. I called one of my favorite customer a couple of minutes later to see if she was still interested in the top. Of course she was. The top is so her. So, today I made my first sale out of my new shop.
It was a very good day!
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Days from December 3rd to December 8th...
has been busy. Wonderful volunteers have come in to help and we are coming farther along.
Had a lot of people stopping in to ask what is happening and I was very happy to tell them. I've seen so many of my regular customers and several have come in to take a preview tour.
Also exciting, a few items were sold. Not that there isn't a lot of remodeling still in progress, but it is starting to feel like a real store again.
It has been a week of cleaning, unpacking, sorting and reprising but also a bit of decorative shopping.
I have acquired some new lamps, dressers, decorations and new display fixtures. Hoping to get storage area done in the next couple of days and the slatwall and gridwall hung. Then I can bring in the rest of the inventory from my home and set an official "Grand Opening Date" of course that will be a CELEBRATION!
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Days from December 9th and December 10th...
One of the walls had a lot of flaws and holes. I want to open soon and don't have time to patch it up perfectly, sand it, match up the texture and the paint so I came up with the idea to paint faux brick. It warms up the place. (My son thought the colors were a bit cold).
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A friend of mine found a great handy man, working from 11:00 until 5:30 straight through we hung shelves and racks in storage room, fixed some ceiling problems, but best of all hung the slat wall which was delivered the day before (12/09) by some wonderful friends. This made a very big difference in the appearance of the store. Super exciting day. Oh, and made a few sales despite the mess.
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Days from December 11th to December 20th...
Kept busy every day from 8:00 in the morning until at least 6:00.
My goal was to announce being open for December 18th because Madeira Way was happening an early Pop-up Wednesday Market.
With help from volunteers the goal was reached. My wonderful helper, Lori even had the very smart idea to paint the plywood of old store to announce the new location.
Following pictures are the before and after images of getting ready:
First part is getting the gridwalls ready and the second part is bringing in the racks and adding the clothes:
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December 18th: Success. Finished enough to make some sales! Thanks to our helpful sign.
