The Grand Opening

This will be part 1

 of the Opening pictures, because there are so many I want to share!

(shout out to Lahna marie photography) if you don't know- now you know

she is awesome

 

 

 

The opening was overwhelming! We think there was between 300-400 people from about 4:45-9pm! We didn't expect such a huge turn out... God is so good. Isn't it amazing that when you do something in faith, and don't really have a plan God just shows up and exceeds any expectation that I would've had.. so amazing!!!

 

The food was great! thanks to Kim from Yay for cakes and Kim from Saucy Sisters, and my sister for the cupcakes :)

 

 

And here are some pictures so you can get an Idea of how crazy busy it was!! It was SO hot in the building the air conditioner couldn't keep up.. but that's a great thing !!!

 

 

a big thanks to Lindsay who took my crying daughter home!! thank you :) :) :)   I owe you 20 packs of diapers for your new baby. and thank you for always listening and being there for advice!! <3 font="">

 

 

and now a quick shout out to the people i truly couldn't have done this without. seriously it wouldn't have happened without them.

 

Heather,,, she is the kindest woman I have ever met, I'm lucky to be her friend.

 

 

Gena, for being there all the time to talk me off the ledge when i was panicking, for helping me with display and tons of other stuff.

 

Kim for the food, just calling me up and willing to help and make good food, thanks so much!

 

 

 



Heather, for being my everyday friend.. prayer warrior, and telling me how amazing this was going to be.. all the time. and her husband for helping all night! thanks!!

My Sister for organization, programs, all the computer stuff, and my mom for full support :) love you guys

Harlee, for amazing music.. did you hear her? why is she not famous?!  and Jamie for being a good listener and friend and sharing in my excitement.

 my husband!! cuz he is awesome! and cute.

 

and my kiddos. for being excited and supportive :)

 

I couldn't ask for better friends, family or support from the community. 300ish people?! seriously thats amazing.

 

I love you guys!!!

*tear

 

 

Its Happening

Its Happening...right in front of my eyes, everything is coming together...

I keep telling people I dont know how this is all coming together because honestly its surreal.. and the commitment is kindof Majorly freaking me out!
 
I have to give a HUGE shout out to my friends for helping me with this! I have friends that i know I couldnt have done this without them.. including my sister.. who has been a lifesaver with all the boring computer-ey stuff, and spreadsheets and filebox systems ( she has total genious ideas i swear) 

The cool thing is, I'm not nervous about opening.. I'm nervous about messing up the ipad program because I'm not good with computers.. but not nervous about the business..
a few things I am learning..

* make lists because there are a trillion things to do to  open  a store (way more than I thought)

* No matter how much inventory you have.. its not enough

* Anything is Possible if you believe you can do it.. you know how our parents tell us that? .. Its so true.. We can do anything. ANYTHING people!!!! Our dreams, or goals,, are in our Reach.. If I can open a store a hope and prayer/no inventory/no building/no plan --just a few ideas scratched onto a notebook.. than I know anything is possible.

I hope my kids look back on this and see what walking by faith means, see that it doesn't always have to make sense, it doesn't have to work out on paper, No matter how many people tell you its a BAD idea. if you know in your heart its a good idea... We can still make it happen with one step at a time!! isn't that awesome! :)

 

More pictures to come!!

 

 

 

Giveaway!!!!!

My new friend Cheryl from Serendipity Hill and I are doing a giveaway!!




I came across Serendipity Hill on Facebook, I loved it, and I "liked" it!! She then asked if I wanted to do a giveaway!! And who doesnt LOVE a giveaway!!!

Cheryl is amazingly talented. In a way I havent seen before! She is artsy and creative and amazing. You must like her page!
Here is  a LINK to her blog page so you can read about the giveaway: Serendipity Hill 

 

  Here is what she is offering to giveway!!

Today and tomorrow, a FREE 11x14 print on  wood is up for grabs for

*PRETTY IN PAINT fans.

these rules are straight from the Serendipity Hill blog page:

Ready for the 'rules'?

1) Be a fan of Mindy's! (which most of you likely are already, but just to make sure.)

2) Follow Mindy's lead! Celebrate someone today! HeARTbomb a total stranger and share your random act of kindness on HER PAGE(serendipity hill) today and/or tomorrow. ***Make sure you comment under my contest post so your entry is included*** (NO LIMIT TO ENTRIES--bomb away, friends!)

Store Update

First of all, let me just say ... an 1800 sq ft store will eat 4 pallets of home decor.

Luckily we have more coming :)


There is so much to do still, its quite overwhelming really, since first Im a full time mom. and wife. I do most of the running around, calling, ordering, placing, decorating while the kids are at school.  Not to mention this is my husbands busiest time of year in construction. With his schedule filling up for the few months ahead, we work at night and bring the kids with us!  They love tolerate it!!


The Sign should be going up this week. The location is on the corner of 4th and Bartlett. (305 Bartlett is the address) Its a busy location with the commons catty corner from our location and the growers market happening there now, I think we will get a good amount of traffic.

We still have the window papered off, as we (Luke)  continue to do the build out on the store. :) :)



We dont have a solid opening date yet, We are pushing for the end of April, but it could be May ,,, but I promise, its going to be amazing!!!

The store will be set up as a boutique, no walls separating the people that are consigning with me,  furniture,gifts, home decor,lighing, chalk based paints and finishes, paint brushes, lots of DIY things,along with a nice selection of hardware.. (think anthropologie, only way more affordable) Im really excited about all the knobs people!

 Once I have the confirmed list of friends that will be coming along, I will post their links and websites, so you can see their fabulous items!!

as you can see, I have lots of filling up to do, and storage units of furniture to start loading in the shop,, but we will be open SOON!!!

Mindy~

Baby steps

Baby steps people!!


So I left off with the signing of the lease... Im gonna let you in on a secret here... You would've thought I would've just jumped in there and started scrubbing the floors right???
 
NOPE...

I didn't even go there for an entire week. ( i know.. odd)


I think I was scared to....  people would ask "hows it going down there?? Have you been working on it?"

ummmm yeah..
 I drove by..
but I never unlocked the door..( i know.. odd)

I truly was scared you guys!! I swear to you I thought I was having an emotional breakdown every 6 or so hours...

 I sketched out ideas on paper at home.. I called around for sign prices.. ordered my bags and lighting .. but never went there!!   

Then My husband said... come on, lets go see what we need to do to start this thing.

We went there and started scraping the floor.. which took forever!

I had my photog friend Lahna come snap a before shot of the place...
remember when i said it was the dirty gross unit with disgusting bathrooms... bet you thought i was exaggerating ...

take a little looksie for yourself----

I'm not afraid anymore!

I'm excited! Everything is coming together..


you ready for the After????

 all the paint for the store was given to us! no charge... one of my husbands painter friends called right before we bought the paint at Lowe's.. and he just happened to have 30 gallons of the right color paint... for free people!!

Things like that just keep happening! I'm amazed at the community support we have been getting and how excited people are.. I know its going to be amazing!!

Now for the fun part!!

Decorating!!!

We are Opening a Store

Holy Cow... I dont know where to even start with this story of how this happened.. because you probably wouldnt believe it.

When I try to put it into words, I cant find the words to describe how it unfolded..

I didn't really have any intention to open my own store.. because if we are going to get honest.. I like love my freedom.. I like taking a nap when my kids are at school if I want (I know!! l-a-z-y )


About 6 months ago.. I got this stirring.. you know the ones.. the ones that you sort of push out of your head... but this wouldn't go away... It was like sneaking up on me everywhere I went. people would say "I wish you had your own store" "why don't you have your own store" "when are you opening a store".. and I couldn't get away from it. So I asked my husband and he was over the top excited and he said  "Its about time you faced the fact that you are ready... WE are ready.. I am ready"  

 ---he really is the best man ever----

So we began looking... this is where I told God.. Slam the door in my face if the building isn't right. I want to know right away.. and He did. the first building the doors were not big enough, the second no parking, the third no bathroom (yeah.. no bathroom!!!)  then the other 20 that didn't work out...  Then . while hunting on Craigslist I found a listing.
It looked PERFECT. .. so we went to look at it. It was glorious and beautiful and everything i ever wanted even though i dont know what i want... and it smelled like vanilla cupcakes !! I might have heard angels singing in that building---  and it was way out of my price range.
But I was ready to negotiate! .... The Landlord however was not. LOL
so he showed us the building down the way..
 the ugly one.
The one with gross floor and stained wall and WOOD paneling on the back room---gross wood paneling. and ugly blue carpet that we shouldnt even talk about. and the bathrooms look like homeless animals lived in there and then died.
 so gross..
but it felt right.
And Luke looked at me and said this... THIS is the one. "This is Pretty In Paint".
. I said... ummm no.
 no thank you.
and we left.
As I am describing it to my friend she says.. that sounds perfect Mindy, because you are in the business of making ugly things beautiful..
 (insert revelation here)
so here is where it gets weird...
I was trying to ruin the deal because of being terrified.
I thought I might be pregnant going through this.. i was emotional and lame--because I have it good where Im at. Im comfortable.
Low overhead, not working... just stocking it and picking up a pay check.. but.... sometimes taking a calculated  risk means giving up something GOOD  so we can experience something GREAT. Right??

I said to Luke :

If they lower the rent by $400 I will do it..
they lowered it

If they give us 5 months free rent to fix it up I will do it:
They agreed!!!

If they lower the lease to only 2 years I will do it:
They agreed

If we get back money on taxes to pay for the remodel I will do it (we never get a good amount back)
We got back exactly the dollar amount we had written down on the bid to fix the building

Luke looked at me and said.. Has God opened every single door or what?? We are doing this No more stipulations. we are all in.. Guns blazing.

and there you go.

My friend recommended a book (In a pit with a lion on a snowy day by mark batterson) and in it.. a few things have stuck out.

- One courageous choice may be the only thing between you and your dream becoming a reality

-willingness to fail is a prerequisite to success.

-Faith is embracing uncertainty..because we cant make sense of Gods plans because we cant see it.. but we can have the faith to take the leap..

I have a really great support system of friends that told me they would be in line to beat me up if I backed out.. ( you know who you are ) :)
My friend sent me a message that said JUMP..

So I did.
so welcome to my journey on opening a store on a dime. really.. a dime.. maybe 3 or 4 dimes.. but definitely dimes.
and I am beyond excited! this is going to be Good!

Mindy~

I got Interviewed!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Redoux Interiors Interview:

 

 

I have been lucky enough to have met Karen from Redoux for a few years now, but I feel truly lucky to have her interview me, It was so much fun chatting with her on the phone and sharing stories, you can read the interview here: http://www.redouxinteriors.com/2012/11/blogueur-dinvite-mindy-jones-from-pretty-in-paint/