Big Move Today

Starting out early today. Showered and dressed and relatively awake. Going to move the big cases today, and lots of other stuff. Should have some more pictures to post by tonight.

We rented a UHaul van yesterday. I was having a little trouble figuring out how close or how far I was from things, but I should do okay for the next few days. It is pretty hot here today, so that should make things interesting, but all in all it is a good day for moving.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Started Painting Today

We started painting today, and actually got quite far, more than I expected. We had to remove hundreds of screw anchors from the wall, patch, and repair spots before we could really paint. Even with that to do, we managed to almost completely paint one entire wall and start on the rest. One wall is going to be teal, and the rest are a very light yellow. The blue looks great and hopefully the rest will look just as good tomorrow.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Rainy Day

It is raining pretty hard here in Cleveland today. I just dropped my daughter, Tamar, off to school at Heights High, and on my way back it started to come down in big drops. Today will be a good catch up day, and get organized day. I am going to work on the computer most of the morning, then later in the day go to the new gallery and put some of the things away that we have brought over, get an office space started, and work on patching up the walls some. The previous tenant left a bunch of anchors in the wall for screws and I need to take them out and patch the walls for painting later this week.

Both my girls are back in school, so I finally have some time to myself to get things done. Amazing how distracting kids can be from work.

Follow the progress of our move to Shaker Square as we make changes Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Before Pictures

I am keeping a week by week transformation lens on Squidoo that will track the progress as we make changes in the new space. We spent this morning at the Farmers Market and afterward, took before pictures.

Follow the progress as we prepare the new store for opening Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Transformation to a Fresh New Look at Shaker Square.

Picking Paint Colors

Stopped at the Sherwin-Williams store this morning to pick out paint colors for the new store. I love going there because their staff always knows what they are doing. At first I was going to paint typical gallery colors, off white, white, or cream on the walls and the woodwork. But I have changed my mind, and now I want to paint my logo colors in lighter shades. This will make the store a happy place to visit.

So today I picked up some teal paint samples, and mustard. I think we will paint one wall in a medium teal shade, and the rest a very light mustard, almost a white with some mustard in it. Then have the beautiful woodwork just off white. The woodwork in the new space is really gorgeous, left over from the original purpose of the space.

I am also working on getting the exterior signage taken care of. Not sure yet what I will be allowed to put up because Shaker Square is a historic site, so there are some special rules for the type of signage. Hopefully, I can get that worked out by the end of next week.

So we can all "thank Sherwin-Williams" this week for the new look in the store.

Moving Progress

Stopped by our new space today on my way downtown. Every time I stop by, I am thrilled all over again.

Friday, I am going to spend some time in the new space putting some things in the windows, and starting to work on the walls. My daughter, Bryn, is off school this week, so she can help me.

I have a massive checklist for the move.

Each time I accomplish something, I feel a little happier.
Hired a mover, check.
Moved another car load, check.
Set up another class, check.

Today I need to call about getting a new sign for the front. Because Shaker Square is a historic site, there are lots of rules about what we can use for signage.

Getting Things Moved

Things are moving forward step by step. Today I hired a mover to move our large jewelry cases and furniture. That stuff is getting moved on Monday April 27 in the morning. That is a sigh of relief for me.

I got a quote to paint the new space, and it was way out of budget for me, so my husband and I are going to do all the repair and painting ourselves. We are going to get that done next week, so that it is done by the time the furniture arrives. I am going to pick out a color in the next few days. I am starting to lean toward a pale yellow to give the store a happy feel to it.

Even though we are leaving a lot of fixtures behind because they belong to the mall, we still are packing and moving a lot as well. Right now, I am trying to get rid of the leftover things that we don't want, and recycle the extra cardboard that we have been saving for shipping. We are selling off some inventory at reduced prices before the move just to have less to pack. One more payment to Tower City and then that obligation will be fulfilled.

Just have to keep going forward one step at a time.

Got the Keys Today

Got the keys today to our new space at Shaker Square today, and did a quick walk through.

It is even better than I thought it would be. I am very excited to get it all together. First things first, though. Meeting with a painter tomorrow to paint the space. Then we will clean it. I am going to start moving all the office stuff over there and get it set up. Then the phone can be transferred. I am meeting a mover next week to get things moved in.

The next few weeks will be strenuous and tiring but it will all be worth it.

The First Sign of Spring

We usually think of the first sign of spring as the song of birds or the first crocus we see, but this year it is the sign I took down yesterday at the Tower City store to put in the window of the Shaker Square store tomorrow when I get the keys.

It is just a sign on foam core but it has our logo and that is a good start. People will walk by and wonder what is coming in. Do you see me smiling?

More on the Move to Shaker Square

I have been thinking over our move to Shaker Square today and last night, and I think that I am going to move up the timetable a bit. I was originally going to wait until the end of April to actively get the new store in shape, but now I think as soon as I get it cleaned and painted to my requirements, I will start moving more than I thought I would. I am going to try to get the big cases moved earlier in April, so that I can open before Mother's Day. So that would only have us closed for two weeks.

Unfortunately, Tower City has not been a mecca of shoppers lately, so getting in and started at Shaker Square makes more sense. And that way we can invite people to shop for Mother's Day at the new store.

Keep tuned for progress. Today I am taking down some of the track lighting I installed in Tower City and emptying out one room. Also taking home some smaller fixtures.

Funny Thing Happened Today

Today I stopped into The Coral Company's office to drop off my rent check for the new space at Shaker Square and I met Peter Rubin, the CEO. He was telling me that he always posted a google alert on any new company that was going to start a store in one of his spaces and on the owner. Then he complained that I was filling up his inbox with all of the alerts he was getting.

I had to laugh and tell him that I had cancelled the alerts on my own company and myself because I was getting too much email.

I am hopefully going to get the keys sometime on Monday and do a walkthough of the space to see what needs doing before we starting moving in.

Taking the Plunge

I am finally ready to publish the new website. Yay! We had to test a few things, including making sure the credit card system worked, and now all that is left is transferring over the domain. Hopefully, that will happen today. I have been daily adding merchandise onto the site, so you should see changes every day.

I am really excited and a bit crazed by all of the changes happening with Lake Erie Artists Gallery right now, but we are making strides toward all of them and they will be great for everyone.

It is almost like coming out of a cocoon. With the new website coming along nicely, and the Shaker Square Farmer's Market starting next week, I am planning to turn in the lease for the new space today, and should get the keys by early next week.

We will paint the new space then start unpacking and putting everything away. Stay tuned to learn of the progress in that direction.

Lots of Items on Sale

Lots of items are on sale this month at Lake Erie Artists Gallery because we are moving and would like to lighten our load. Here is the list:
Selected items are 50% off including all Creativity for Kids merchandise
Waggoner Buckeyes (yum!) are 50% off
Books are 20% off
Framed artwork is 15% off
Jewelry except for Trollbeads is 10% off
Clothing is 15% off including T shirts
All St. Aubyn's Pride sauces are 5.95 each, if you buy a mixed case of flavors, we will take them down to $5.00 per jar. (12 per case)

This is only true in our Tower City location.

We will also be starting at the Shaker Square Farmer's market on Saturday April 11, so come to see us there.