05/30/2023
3 years ago today, we opened our doors in Sackets Harbor.
The amount of love we received over the short period of time we were there was phenomenal. We were SO loved, that we needed a way bigger space which we eventually found at the mall.
Where again we were SO loved that we were able to open another business, grow my handmade stuff into it's own awesome brand, and put a few other things into the works that we can't quite announce yet. 😉
But the point is... we were loved. And we thank you. 3 years ago today, I sobbed as I locked my door to my little shop because of all the love I received.
And tomorrow.... when we close the doors to our huge store exactly 3 years and 1 day later, I will sob. A little bit of happy and a little bit of sad. While we are going in a new and better direction for us and our family, I will be sad to see my baby close.
We built that store from the ground up. No loans. No investors. Just us and our dream. And although our dream has shifted, we put an enormous amount of ourselves into this store.
Some advice for the people I love that want to start businesses... There are a lot of things no one tells you about being a business owner. No one tells you how hard it is to build and build, and no one tells you that other small businesses will attack your business and your character. The rumors, the gossip, the fact that owning a small business is like being in high school all over again with the immaturity and the cliques... No one tells you how hard it is to manage books... for the love of everything GET A BOOKKEEPER. 😂 No one tells you how vulturous the tv media is about getting you to advertise with them, but they won't tell you that they will NEVER run any kind of story about you if you don't. No one tells you that when 1 thing sells out in a week, just because you re order, doesn't mean you'll ever sell 1 of those things again. 😄 Oh, and people don't like to read signs. Converse with every human that walks in your door. Signs are literally always useless.
But another thing I never heard was how much pride there is to building yourself into something amazing all alone. No start ups or vendors or anyone else's money but your own. No one else's ideas but your own. And this isn't to say using other money to start up is bad, but I just feel like there is a different struggle when you don't, so it equates to a different level of pride.
I am sad. But I am proud. I am proud at what we created. What we nurtured and what we grew.
I am excited to put my focus on the cafe and some other secrets we're currently keeping close.
I am sad to say goodbye to some of the customers we have grown to be so close to and also to the customers that may not know us by name.
I'm stoked to be able to now spend my summer at shows and events soaking up some sun that I feel like I haven't seen in too long on a continuous basis.
I'm blessed to have an amazing staff. Outside of Hunter & Joe, we have several AMAZING ladies that have stuck by our side through all of this from the day we made the announcement to the day we close the doors.
My emotions are whirling. Over the past month I have gone back and forth between changing my mind, to breathing relief to changing my mind again... over and over.
Tomorrow a piece of me will evolve, and I will be able to do more of what I love and enjoy about being a business owner.
Tomorrow my load will be a little lighter. My sleep will be a little deeper. And my path will be a little wider.
Thank you to every single one of you who loved our store. Loved us. We'll see you at the cafe. 🥰
Goodbye 🫶
- Kendra, Joe, Hunter, Robin & Sadie
