Busy, busy, busy!

It has been a wild, wild time! Right after a brief post holiday respite, we did a rush inventory count, and slammed into the big move project! First we had to pack up and make room for The Paint Escape fixtures and inventory which then allowed me and my wonderful staff and volunteers to ready our new space. First came repainting! The Paint Escape had cheery yellow walls, which while perfect for a paint studio were a bit too bold for a tea shop. Several of the walls have beadboard type paneling, so below you see my dear father, cutting in edges and painting in grooves with our base paint of pale wheat.

….and more painting of the grooves by Ms. Ruth….and there in the background is Steph, with her trusty extension roller. She’d been rolling the walls in the back room with Kilz, readying it for the first coat of red.

After a good base coat of the pale wheat color, DeAnn and I started sponging the walls with a rich gold.

Look, Mom! No windows! We are now blessed with brand new double-paned windows, but below you can see the temporary open air look! Thank goodness we had a break in the weather, because down on the floor is our brand new carpet! The installers did a fabulous job and were so kind. We were beginning to move small fixtures and some inventory in while they were working. Never once did those two guys even frown at us! And, just as they finished up, it began to rain!

Here is my son, Jamie, hamming it up! He’s kind of doing the “Ta Da!” thing. By this point the walls are nearly done and the first tea shelves have been put up. Behind Jamie, you can see the rich red on the walls of the office/store room/kitchenette. My dad had a reeeeeeeally hard time with this paint! As he was rolling the second base coat on the walls he stopped and informed me that he felt we needed to do a third coat. When I assured him that once we sponged over with the deep raspberry all would be well. He looked at me for a moment and asked “Then why did you ‘hire’ a painter who seeks perfection?” I replied “Because he works cheap!” He laughed. Yup! I’ll pay him, and my mom, in dinner and a nice red wine. :)

The plywood in the backdoor has now been replaced with glass, and everything that we could fit in is in. There are more photos to come! But…. let me tell you, it is so good to have the shop back in it’s old home! It is very good indeed!