Well, we’ve done it again… thrown caution (and brain cells) to the wind and opened another store.  And third time’s the charm (let’s hope).

Our 'rebirth" captured in frosting

First time, in 1996, we opened The Grove Homescapes with high hopes and a handshake.  Note to you optimists: never open a store on a handshake.

Our second store, Homescapes Carmel opened in 1999 and this one had everything going for it but a lease.  Still, we’ve made it 10 years and counting and still haven’t seen the promised wrecking ball.

And now for number three: Homescapes Home & Garden came about so fast that there was barely time to do anything but jump in and get to work making it happen.  (EXCEPT there was enough time to have contracts AND leases fully vetted, that’s a lesson Beau and I have finally learned.)

Part of the third team to open a variation of Homescapes with us, May 15, 2009

So the fact that I’m so tired and look it is my own damn fault.   We agreed to sign the lease for the new Homescapes Home & Garden on February 25th after being approached by Robin Stockwell who was moving his business, Succulent Gardens, to Castroville…he didn’t want to leave his merchant neighbors at the Barnyard in Carmel in the lurch.  He packed up at the end of April and by May 1st we had the keys.

In my opinion, ya gotta open a garden store in Spring, so I set a target date of May 15th to open.  And now that we’ve survived the turmoil, I can see proof in the old adage “ya gotta have friends.”

For the third store in a row, the Miller brother’s dropped everything to pour concrete for us AND make it purdy.  Roger Stang literally worked through the night to put a deck where a deck should have always been.  And John Chappell said he’d lay us a cobblestone patio if we wanted…which we finally said yes to when we realized he wasn’t kidding.

Our little brother Damian (he’s the young blond guy in the photo above that everyone keeps thinking is either my son or Beau’s - dammit) took the bullying of his big brothers with good humor and was a jack of all trades on the project.  And our Mom, Lynn, came with her guy, Vince, and a bunch of friends from the Elks Lodge and knocked out almost all of the painting in the garden in one day.  (She also mopped the floor…on Mother’s Day…which was kinda above and beyond, but necessary.)

And dang if we didn’t make it…barely (this is ALSO the third time Beau and I had to scoot out the back door to change our clothes even as the hourdes descended through the front. And hourdes there were.  My friends Joe and Debbie played bartender and they report we went through 88 bottles of wine, so I’m guessing we had hundreds of guests arrive and partake of the merriment. Either that or we’ve got some heavy drinkers in these parts.

Still, a good time seems to have been had by all…especially us.  But man, are we tired.  That Thompson is a slave driver.  A new “worst boss” candidate, I fear.

More Homescapers...cleaner clothes. May 15th, 2009

BEFORE               DURING                AFTER