FIVE Years!
This July, we celebrate our five year anniversary in the Glendora Village. Originally, I wasn’t going to plan anything big, what with keeping busy at knot too shabby MONROVIA, preparing for the Old Town Firework Extravaganza, having just finished packing up and evaluating the knot too shabby BAZAAR the thought of planning yet another big event was daunting, HOWEVER…
…Five years is a big deal! I got thinking to the number of stores I have seen come and go in the last five years. Some have been sold, some have changed names and owners, others have simply closed. Running a small business is HARD WORK! It is not for the feint of heart or those who offend easily. It is demanding. It’s time consuming. It can be hard on one’s family. And five years in business is a big deal, right?!
It’s also great fun. It serves as an amazing outlet for creativity. And, while you might need a thick skin at times to handle “situations,” more often than not, it is an opportunity to feel encouraged, empowered and inspired by the very people that we strive to do the same.
After five years, we are not the same as when we started. I look back at old photos and think at how amateur things looked, from the photography, the the furniture refinishing to the stylizing of the store. Not to say that I have it completely figured it all out, but we have certainly improved over the years.
This girl, who used to accompany to work everyday, had a play room and crib set up for naps is in first grade now!
Five years later, I no longer settle for any piece of inexpensive furniture. I’ve refined my style and craft and have room to be picky about what I select. I have an uncanny ability to say no to even free stuff…something I would’ve never dreamed of when we first opened. Sure, I feel bad about it and want to take everything, but I can’t. It’s finding that fine balance between making smart choices for my business and balancing out the needs of my family (by not making endless runs from one end of town to the other picking up furniture during every free and waking moment).
Going for a more Tuscan vibe with the decor of our first space hence the mustard color walls and faux brick
As I sit here writing this post, it’s taken a direction I hadn’t planned. I’m in the middle of an abnormally quiet shop, surrounded by boxes of old inventory, boxes of new inventory, piles of furniture and a layer of drywall dust about an inch thick. I set out to write about our big changes coming to #knottooshabbyGLENDORA. Yet, to talk about the big changes without reminiscing about the past just didn’t seem right. And, perhaps this is my way of finding a bit of closure to what we have been while simultaneously looking forward to what we will be. Because, if I can tell you one thing about small business, to lay idle over the years is a recipe for failure (or at the very least, stagnation).
After five successful years, it is time for us to reinvent ourselves a bit taking the elements that we love from knot too shabby MONROVIA and bringing them to knot too shabby GLENDORA while expanding some of our existing product lines and offerings.
After five years, we are your one stop shop for furniture refinishing, from the products to the education. We’re EXPANDING our workshop offerings. Which means creating space for more people to attend (we sell out almost every paint class) and the opportunity for lower prices on workshop space. We’re also expanding our line of refinishing supplies to truly be your one stop shop (a wider selection of sanding tools, denatured alcohol, shellac for those specialty jobs, etc.).
Creating large workshop space means streamlining our inventory. You’ll see fewer pieces of refinished furniture to purchase as we will be focusing more heavily on either encouraging you to DIY or placing a custom order.
One of highest attended workshops with 15 people and we were crammed with people in every available space.
We’re also adding a kitchenette area to the shop removed from the workshop space to serve as an area to prep food and drink for private parties and workshops and complete with a full service COFFEE BAR. It’s an element of knot too shabby MONROVIA that we have LOOOOOVED and want to bring to the Glendora shop. Birthday parties, showers and get togethers complete with food and drink for over a dozen people will finally be able to be accommodated.
Our delectable coffee bar at #knottooshabbyMONROVIA
This summer, we’ve shortened our weekday hours to not only accommodate additional workshops and paint lessons, but also to allow for a greater flexibility in our schedule to provide on-site design services (like we did for little miss Mila and her bedroom redo); something I’ve had to turn down in the past. Our enhanced space will provide an even larger area to see one-on-one design come to fruition. I’m giddy just thinking about partnering with people to make their room re-designs a reality without the daunting expense of a “designer.”
In order to make all of this happen, we’re having to be closed for a few weeks. June 15th-June 24th to be exact. Afterall, reinventing yourself doesn’t happen overnight.
In the meantime, knot too shabby MONROVIA is open during expanded business hours (including Sunday, June 19th from 11-3).
As always, I recommend finding us on facebook and instagram, because that’s where the real updates happen. We’ll announce if we open a few days early and will be posting dates for our Five Year Anniversary Party…taking place sometime in the Fall. Like everything I have my hands in, I’m shooting for an epic event!
For those that have been with us since the beginning, THANK-YOU! I so cherish the relationships of the customers that have stuck with us through the years and embrace those we pick up along the way. Afterall, we are not just a store. We are a community of friends and inspired artists; of supporters of small business locally and abroad .
