Ever think about how a shop makes you feel?

Yesterday turned out to be a really great day! I met with some wonderful dealers about the possibility of taking some space in my shop and spent the rest of the morning displaying, playing and helping people in my shop... I'm really enjoying being there again and I think that people can sense that. With the kids in school again, I think spending time there has been "guilt free" again and that makes it so much more enjoyable for me. Over the last 18 years the shop has really become an extension of who I am. It has evolved and it has had its share of ups and downs, just like I have. I never know what to say when a customer comes in who hasn't been there for a while and asks... "did the shop change hands?" Most of the time that is a good thing, because it means things have changed and everything in new to discover again, but once in a while its not such a great thing as they will tell me that it used to be nicer or different in some other way that they liked better. My shop tends to reflect the personality and mood of its owner and dealers. On any given day, a customer's experience at Polly Ann's will be different just based on the energy they feel when they walk through the door. Having my candles burning again feels soooooo good. I think that really helps people feel calm and relaxed when they walk through the door. There is so much more to a store than the merchandise they carry, don't you think? There are places I go just because I like being there... it feels good to be surrounded by someone elses joy. Sometimes it even feels good to be surrounded by someone elses mess (then I can feel better about my own)! I hope that everyone enjoys their visit to my store. I wish I could control a little more than the aesthetics of the shop... I wish I could make each and every dealer put off a positive energy when someone walks through the door. I guess that is the trade off I have for having someone to watch my store while I am away. It's a good trade off, but sometimes I think it makes people feel a little less satisfied when there isn't such a friendly face and positive energy greeting them. Oh, well! I do the best I can.
Anyway... enough of my rambling. My day was wonderful as I got to spend time with my honey when we went to deliver a desk and a fun daybed to a pair of beautiful sisters who recently "discovered" our little place. We went to go look at a new toy for Bob (a conveyer belt thing that should really take some work off his back moving wood this fall and winter). We just happened upon some town-wide garage sales in Central City and I found a few new treasures for the store and a fun new pair of capri pants for myself. Then it was back to the shop to deliver a secretary/china cabinet and then I had to fill in all the holes. The picture is of a sweet little English wardrobe that replaced one of the pieces. I have to run to my upholsterers this morning to pick up two chairs that I just had done. That should fill in the hole where the daybed was. Hopefully todays customers will be excited and happy about being there and I can make some more deliveries next week!