Surreal...

This past Saturday we had an "employee crop" at my LSS.  It was our last employee crop, now that the store is closing.  We brought some snacky foods and cropped while also helping customers and continually reinventing  the store. 

I just have to say, the entire day was just surreal.

Maybe it was because I was hopped up on cold medicine, but it all seemed just fuzzy around the edges.  We kept moving product toward the front of the store, making that area full while also emptying out the back of the store.   Everyone who came in was upset that we are closing, and we all agreed.  It's not fun, it's sad, it's even devastating.  But it was still a necessary decision.  I'll write more on  this later.

For now, I wanted to share with you some pictures of my 2nd home.

Here are some of our gondolas in  the front of the store.  As I said, we kept back filling.  As product emptied out, we'd consolidate and move things forward.

And then there was the back of the store.  This portion of the store held our sale section and cardstock an a few seasonal themes.  Everything has been pushed forward, making this area look sad... very, very sad.

These gondolas were sold and awaiting pick up at the point in time when I took this photo.  Empty and waiting to go to a bike/motorcycle store.  Those acrylic trays stacked on the floor there?  Empty paper trays.  As customers emptied out the trays, we'd  stack them up.  They were for sale too.  We have an entire back room full of them as well!

Once the gondolas were  picked up by their new owners, it was just so empty back here.  And yet, by the time they got picked up, we'd been able to empty additional full and half gondolas.

That was our table of snacks, up there.  We just kind-of munched through the day until the owner bought us dinner.  After we locked up for the night we chatted and scrapbooked for another four hours.  It was a good time... and seriously the ONLY time we have ALL been together like that. 

It will be one of my fondest memories I will have of the store.  And one of the saddest.

It was really just so surreal.