change is in the air again my friends.
you can always count on change.
i wanted to let you all know that
Smashing Rubbish Studio & Vintage General Store
is going to stay in business!
my lease is up at the end of june so i have been negotiating with my landlady to see if we can come to an agreement about the space i lease from her.
i have asked her for less space.
yes, it is true. i want to downsize and simplify.
i cannot currently run a sustainable "brick and mortar" business with the amount of square footage i rent, for the amount of time i am willing to be there, or rather, that it makes sense for me to be there, according to when i actually have customers.
i do like having my studio and sewing/project workshop space in the back of the shop...that definitely works for me. so with all this in mind i have been considering how to shift once again, "grow" a bit smaller, lower my monthly rent, and stay in business in this sweet and generous small town i love.
the answer has come in the opportunity to diversify.
i was offered a vendor space, once more, at the new and improved M&M Antiques in monroe. I started vending at M&M over 4 years ago and stopped when i opened my own shop down the valley in duvall. M&M has moved locations and is now located in the old
St. Vincent De Paul building: 123 N Lewis St. Monroe, WA.
the "new" building is huge, bright, clean, has more vendors, and is getting filled with tons of awesome treasure!
M&M has the customer base to be open 7 days a week 11-6pm so it made sense for me to take space there again so i'd have a place to rotate/cycle my treasures thru and be able to really sell/move it.
also, taking space at m&m allows me to downsize my store to a more reasonable (for me), manageable, smaller level that suits me better for now. although i have my current space leased thru july 1, i have started to move into the smaller, tiled floor, lower, studio/shop side already.
from 1000 square feet down to 300!
it made sense for me to start rearranging now since all my displays and vignettes were being taken apart anyhow while moving selected items to m&m.
(that said, the large side of my shop, the carpeted side where the front entry has always been, is going to be available by june 1 at the latest. if you know of anyone/business that could use 700 sq feet of main street store frontage, let me know and i can put you/them in touch with the building owners.)
(that said, the large side of my shop, the carpeted side where the front entry has always been, is going to be available by june 1 at the latest. if you know of anyone/business that could use 700 sq feet of main street store frontage, let me know and i can put you/them in touch with the building owners.)
and so.... what i am leaning into for summer shop open hours is the possibility of only being open fridays and saturdays. i have already started closing on sundays and i will stay open on thursdays until my kids are out of school near the end of june. but after that, i need to have hours i can manage and time to be with my children, soak in summer, and be outside!
i am hugely considering asking you readers here, my awesome customers, my friends who stop in, my family who supports me, and my small town, to help me by coming here to shop, specifically when i am open, to see what is new, purchase a gift, or buy a treasure for yourself! i greatly encourage you to get on my mailing list, as well as subscribe here, so that you will know when my seasonal shifts in open hours occur. you can send me an email with your name and email address at smashingrubbish@gmail.com and i will add you to my mailing list (which is only ever used to inform you of big changes like these, mainly shop hours and sales!).
smashing rubbish also has a facebook page which will always state info about open hours, sales, photos of new items, etc. so if you do fb, go over there and like my sr page.
you are more than welcome to contact me for viewing hours by appointment, and like i said i am still
open noon-6, thurs-sat,
until the end of june.
the bonus to having these limited hours is that you will most likely always be seeing new items in the shop each time you come in. i will bring new items here first and cycle older items over to m&m to make room for the new vintage loot at smashing rubbish. i will still have my handmade items in both locations and am considering having a certain "look" (genre or era) at m&m that i don't have room for at smashing rubbish....we will see.
three cheers for change!
change is in the air....
and you can always count on change
ever yours,
xox
jennette