It has been a wonderful 9 month adventure since I opened the doors of A Fine Line and a lot has changed in that time... and we are still evolving.
I am a goal setter. I've tried to set goals that are realistic and obtainable, but also challenging so I end up with a long "to do" list that I'm driven to accomplish (I can't even write all of the items down because it would cause me a meltdown if I actually saw on paper all that I needed to do, so some of it is part of a mental list). I am happy to report that 9 months into this project I have checked off a lot of those items and have actually exceeded performance goals that I had set for the 12 month mark. I sincerely want to thank all of you that have helped me obtain that!
But there are still things that that I just haven't been able to fit in (there really should be more than 24 hours in a day or we should be able to exist on less than 8 hours of sleep, in my opinion). My friends and co-workers tell me to pat myself on the back for what I have done instead of focusing on what I haven't done. That has been great advise and so I've extended myself some grace - after all, it's not like I've been sitting back and just eating bon bons (well, I have eaten quite a few of those amazing JULIA BAKER TRUFFLES). Still, I want to get those other things accomplished (and I shall)!
Two things that have been nagging at me is my unfinished new website (which my son, Brendan Dekker, has stood ready and willing to do as soon as I make up my mind what I want it to look like) and my inability to consistently post blog entries. So I've decided that summer is the time to tackle those items!
Brendan will be working with me to impliment my ideas and I should be able to reveal my new website by our 1 year store anniversary on October 1st.
As far as consistent entries on the blog, I have decided to delegate.
I am surrounded by amazingly talented employees that are able to express themselves in far less words than me (have you noticed that I ramble???). And they have wonderful ideas to share. So this blog will no longer be about me and the things that I am doing. From this point on it will be all about US, OUR IDEAS, OUR THOUGHTS, OUR EVENTS, OUR MERCHANDISE, and general things that WE want to share with you!
Michelle Hinckley will be our new Blog Editor. She will be posting entries on things of interest from A Fine Line and keeping us up to date. Michelle has a beautiful blog of her own that I envy and rather than trying to follow in her footsteps I decided to have her do ours as well. You are going to enjoy her beautiful photos (a big notch above mine) and her more brief comments!
Our employees and I will also be doing some additional postings. This will give a lot of different perspectives and you will experience a vast amount of talent poured out on the pages of this blog. We share so many ideas with our customers in our store - from great gift giving ideas, to decorating ideas, to yummy recipes restaurants we've discovered, to practical tips, to sweet stories and inspiration. We want to use this avenue to share those same things with a larger audience that might not be able to come by the store and have time to linger over a cup of tea with us.
We also hear many wonderful ideas from our customers and we want to share things that we learn from them as well. We will also use this venue to share photos of their celebrations, decorating projects, etc. as well.
One component of that will be posting wedding and event photos that our brides and other hostesses have graciously given us permission to share. We develope cherished relationships with these customers as we work with them from Save-the-Dates to bridal invitations to placecards. It is a treat when they keep in touch and share their event photos with us. I think that you will really enjoy seeing the photos of their celebrations.
Once again this "message" has become a "novel". So without further ado I would like to have Michelle Hinckley, our new blog manager, introduce herself to you. Stay tuned for her introductory blog message....
XOXO
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