It’s been four years since I last wrote something here. I’d say that must be a record, but I’m pretty sure that’d be a lie. July 2020. We were still in the early throes of Covid. So much was still happening and there was still so much to happen. oak., our little sister store had been open only 4 months. We hadn’t even had the second wave yet. Wow. So much has changed.

Bloomington Handmade Market is just around the corner (June 8) and will actually be just across the street this year, also on the Courthouse Lawn. As I said earlier, our downtown landscape is quickly changing and many business mainstays have left us and unfortunately there are huge gaps in their wake. I won’t dwell here on the negative, but that does remind me I have a task list item on my to-do list to write the Mayor about certain issues happening that I hope she can help us with in our downtown corridor, certain issues that I’ve been harping on for 10+ years it seems, but they’re quite getting out of hand these days. Oh, I know, I’m being cryptic. It’s what I’m good at these days, I haven’t written in too long and I basically only see two adults on a daily basis.

That being said – yes, I had a baby if you follow along on social or in my life at all, so I’ve been a little busy with that. Forest is now 17 months of pure unadulterated adorable rotten toddler. He’s been walking since he was basically 9 months old. He screams and bites but he also hugs and waves and says ‘uh oh’ and ‘kitty’ and makes you melt with his precocious little eyeballs so you can’t help but laugh when he also tries to bite your finger (or kneecap) off. He keeps me busy/young and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

These days you can find me at Gather every other Saturday trying to find my bearings again. Trying out new things at the store – moving things around like a madwoman. We’ve launched our Refillery – where our focus is to cut down on the use of single-use plastics and focus on organic, local, natural home and personal cleaning products. After that we launched our DIY Bar, hoping to entice those that wanted more workshops with these self led workshops in a bag that you can do in and on your own time in our space. We provide the supplies, the instructions, and most of the thought – you provide whatever amount of creative juices you have to give at the moment and some socialization you’re willing to share with your friends. It’s a win-win really.

I’ve also been trying to revamp the website – but WordPress man — why the eff do I have a WordPress site in 2024 when I have 5 kids at home, 3 cats, a dog, a home addition, a greenhouse to both heat and cool because it’s Indiana, and don’t know how to write CSS? Like…wha??? So…yeah, it’s not going very well. lol. That’s about all I have man. Running a shop is hard. Keeping your cool and not taking shit personally is even harder. But, I’m learning more every day, and I drink a little more coffee, I meet another new artist, and I see cool shit and it makes it worth it. Right? Right. Thanks for being here folks. Here’s to another four years? Ten years? Who knows. Here’s to another week of keeping it together!