Gather

Thus begins the start of a hopeful & long (renewed) courtship with writing and my life. Here I hope to lay forth the weekly tales of what it means to own a little boutique in Bloomington, IN and the experiences that come with it. Each week I yearn to share with you the stories that I get to learn just by being present, and the ones I get to tell because  . . . well, because I can. I hope you enjoy the ride . . .

3/2/2016 – 3/6/2016

This blog post (and many more to come) are thanks to some new young blood we have in the store, by the name of Allyson. Allyson is an Arts Admin graduate student finishing up her degree here at IU. She comes highly recommended and with enthusiasm for days. Her bright smile and excitement for nearly everything I throw at her (even if it’s just straightening the t-shirt wall!) make me sad that she’s only with us through her graduation in May:( But, alas, she will be trekking through Europe and taking one of Bearmojo monsters on the road with her, so she’ll be sharing a bit of that story with us when the time comes. In the meantime, be sure to stop in some Wednesday afternoon (after 3) when she’ll be working the shoppe, or on a Gallery Walk evening! She’s also responsible for most of our social media at this point, which is quite simply, a godsend.

Let’s see, what else has happened this week!? Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the very sweet and beautiful and stylish and . . . well, just plain awesome wedding that Mr. Gather and I had the pleasure of being a part of this past weekend – of the sweet sweet gals behind Bea’s Soda Bar – our best friends in business and life. Funny to think that it was only a few short years ago I met Jackie and E outside of The Green Nursery during The Great Cloth Diaper Change. To think that that meeting might change the course of the rest of our lives; and it has. Whether YOU know it or not;) A Big Thanks to McKenzie Goodrich of Shine Insurance for that introduction and the many years of friendship and business partnerships that are sure to follow.

Now now, onto less emotional things like . . . oh wait – this owning a small business thing is ALL about emotion, now isn’t it!? Yes, it is. If there’s one thing you’ll learn from these long drawn out blog posts I plan to write on a weekly basis – it’s that!

Ok, ok – let’s talk about some highlights from the week! Fun fact – our Teachers Want to Teach t-shirt from Bad Knees Tees is quickly turning into our best-seller (right behind his John Prine tee of course!) and this weekend we had a couple come in and buy not one, but two (which isn’t so out of the ordinary), but what was is that when I asked this young man if he was himself a teacher he answered quite proudly, “No, I’m not. I work for Glenda Ritz.” And there it is folks – our shirts in the office of Glenda Ritz!!

It’s so much fun getting to know the people that come into Gather on a daily basis. I appreciate each and every one of you and the constancy that you bring into our lives. This week I was fortunate to get to visit with J & M, a couple who visits nearly weekly, just to say hello! The owners of The Owlery came by and we talked about getting R’s paintings up on our gallery wall in the near future. Maggie the Pug came to visit for her usual Gallery Walk outing, and the ladies from Lotus stopped in to say hello and see what was new on our shelves. There are so many more stories to tell, but I know my blog limit has been reached for the evening. Until next week folks, when I write again about the fun times it is to own a little shop in our wonderful town.

with Love & hugs,