I hope you can all make it this Saturday for the “official” grand opening party in the new location at 3 Mill Hill Road in Woodstock (MAP HERE).
From 4-8pm this Saturday 4/4 there will be cupcakes by local baking company Tess Cake and champagne will be flowing AND there will be 10% off storewide (and keep in mind, there are still some clothing styles on sale that have moved up from the 40 Mill Hill Road location, those will be an ADDITIONAL 10% off!).
For anyone familiar with Woodstock, its the former Tails location and just at the top of the hill near the village green. Parking is in the municipal lot off of Rock City Road.
Bring your friends, and spread the word! I’m looking forward to a fun evening to show off the new digs and meet and mingle with all of you amazingly awesome people!!!
And please email me at stilllifemercantile@gmail.com with any questions or for directions!
Oh, and the store will be open at 11am on Saturday, but the cupcakes and champagne won’t arrive until 4pm, so plan accordingly 
That’s right folks, the new location is open for business. I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves right now. We’re still in soft opening mode, but the official grand opening is planned for April 4th, with details to come…
via Chronogram, via Nervous System
Still Life Mercantile has received its first tag in a magazine! Now this might not sound like much, but being in this retail circus for quite some time, this is a very big deal to me!
HERE is the article online, the print version is by far more beautiful, but nevertheless, any way you read it, its an awesome feature of an awesome line by two awesome people in an awesome magazine and I’m incredibly grateful to have the store mentioned.
So I know I’ve been silent for some time now about the big store news. The process has taken a bit longer than planned (what doesn’t?) but we’re getting close now and there’s actually something to show for the work, so here it is…
Still Life Mercantile is MOVING!! I’m moving up the street to 3 Mill Hill Road which if you are familiar with Woodstock is the Longyear Building and one of, if not THE best, retail locations in town. I am extremely excited and eternally grateful to the people that helped me to secure the lease on the location. The goal for the business has always been for it to be a long-term venture in the heart of the town that my family and I have adopted as our home and this move is a huge step toward seeing that goal become a reality.
Before going any further, here are a few before and after photos of the space so far:
Before
After
Its hard to fully express from photos how much work has gone into making this space into even the beginnings of what I envision for it in the future. The rest of the photos of the before and after (note, the before photos are post my construction additions of the new fitting rooms and taking down the mirrors that sat above the now turquoise wall and the spackling of the walls) can be seen in the store’s flickr set HERE (they’re at the end of the set). I was blessed with some beautiful built-in fixtures that just needed a few coats of paint to bring them back to their original beauty and for that I am grateful. But there is at least 40-50 hours of painting time put into the space in addition to my amazing contractor’s work to integrate the fitting rooms and add the beautiful crown molding to the back wall to tie it in with the fixtures.
The grand opening is imminent. I can’t give an exact date at this moment, but I will be back to posting regularly here and on my personal facebook with updates and I absolutely hope and encourage anyone local to please do come to the opening party. I think a little celebration of good things to come is in order in this bleak (but with a glimmer of hope) economic climate.
In more ways than one. Of course I’m completely excited about Tuesday’s inaugeral events and pretty much plan to stay glued to the tv with a bottle of Proseco on hand and hopefully some friends stopping by throughout the day to celebrate as well.
On a store related note, Still Life Mercantile has been nothing if not an exercise in change and adaptation. That being said, stay tuned for some very exciting news about the store. Unlike most of the news coming from independent retailers these days, the store is NOT closing, NOT going online only and NOT drastically reducing the assortment of merchandise. What it IS doing is moving up to a level that was always the long term plan for the store, but one that I hadn’t thought possible for at least a few years.
More news to come, I don’t want to reveal too much or make any major announcements until a few more things are set, but I just wanted to share some positive news in the current environment of carnage that seems to exist in the retail world.
And once again, a whole boatload of work is ahead of me in the coming weeks, wish me luck!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
SUPER EXCITING UPDATE: The votes have been tallied and the issue of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act has made the top 10 issues that will presented to Obama in the coming weeks. To view the full list of winning issues to be discussed, go HERE. I have to say, I’m quite impressed by the list of issues and pretty much can get behind all of them. So hooray to everyone who votes and here’s to hoping some change is coming!
You may have noticed a little banner over to the right there with an adorable little bear on it. Congress has passed a law called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act which, to put it bluntly, will put hundreds, if not thousands of small business owners out of business. It requires all products intended for children to undergo testing that would cost in the area of $4000 per product. This would mean that all those cute screen printed t-shirts you’ve bought from your kids at Renegade Craft Fair or that amazing handmade stuffed owl that I bought for Lily at Craftacular would essentially be illegal to sell. And not only will it put the makers out of business, but the retailers who sell them will lose untold sales revenue.
The law is set to go into effect in February but there is a movement to stop it or at least to amend it. And honestly, in this economy, is it smart to put what is essentially part of the last bastion of the US manufacturing base out of business??? Are we going to be relegated to buying clothing and toys for our kids only from large retailers and large manufacturers that can afford the testing?
Please, please go to THIS SITE and vote to have this issue presented to President-elect Obama after he’s sworn in. I can’t stress enough the damage that this law will do to stores like mine and the scores of wonderful people I have met in the craft scene who make beautiful well-made kids items with the utmost love and care.
UPDATE: the link to vote to have the issue presented to Obama seems to be down at the moment, in the meantime, click on the cute little bear up there at the top of the post to go to a site that has a wealth of information about the law and what you can do.
SUPER SPECIAL NEW IMPORTANT UPDATE: The link to change.org seems to be working now (that’s the one that says THIS SITE above and I just found out that 5pm EST today, Jan 15th is the deadline to vote on the issue. So please please, go, vote, right now.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
I’m out of town for a much needed vacation week. My sister is holding down the fort at the store, be nice to her! I’ll be back on the 10th, but in the meantime, the store will be open 11-6 Sat, Sun, Mon, Thurs, Fri, while I’m away so give a call to 845-679-5172 for any pressing issues and she’ll take care of things. Otherwise, enjoy the New Year!
xo, Sarah
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Ok folks, I wholeheartedly apologize if you have tried to comment here in the past and were asked to register. I JUST finally realized that it was doing that and turned off the requirement. SO…comment away!!! I’d love to hear from the 1.2 people that have actually read this thing.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Due to MORE snow, it looks like the store is going to be closed today. I mean really, who ever ordered the white Christmas could really stand to dial it back a touch, no?
If it slows down/stops and if the Town of Hurley decides to actually bring plows down our street, I’ll try to make it out and open up today.
As far as the next 3 days, I’m planning to open Monday 11-5, Tuesday 11-6 and Wednesday 11-3. If you would like to come in at a different time, please just email me at stilllifemercantile at gmail dot com or call at 845-389-7331 and I am happy to open up for you.
AND one last thing, the 25% off sale will be extended until Wednesday!!! WOOHOO!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Just a quick note to let everyone know that depending on what happens with the weather and school closings tomorrow, I may only be open for a few hours or not at all. BUT, don’t forget that Saturday and Sunday is 25% off storewide, so really, don’t you just want to wait till this weekend to come by???
