A Brick & Mortar

I am taking a leap of faith and taking a big risk on embarking on this new venture for Atèlette, a flagship brick & mortar shared with our sister shop, Adored Vintage! The opportunity fell into my lap when I wasn't really looking for it and so far everything has happened without too much effort and has felt very organic, so my heart and spirit feel really good about it all.

Of course there's always a small tinge of fear, but this isn't my first brick & mortar rodeo, so I'm not as riddled with anxiety as I have been in my previous retail shop ventures.

I think the main reason I am so excited about this new venture is the look and feel of the shop feels the most aligned with the things I love now. Initially the design of the shop leaned more towards our sister shop, with a lot of white, cream, linen, straw baskets, dried flowers...a bit more country cottage. But I realized, I've been much more drawn to darker wood tones and other shapes and textures I want to explore. 

In all honesty, the economy has definitely affected business for us online, though we have noticed a big uptick in our in-person sales. Perhaps we're still crawling out of the post-Covid era. I certainly find myself wanting to shop more in-person than online. I miss the interaction, the connections, the experience of being in a beautiful setting, filled with beautiful things, a lovely scent gently mingles in the air, and music that brings back warm nostalgic memories.

Because I'm on such a tight budget for opening up the shop (in mid June hopefully!), most of the fixtures in the new shop are pieces I already have that I've been using in our office. I did buy a few new things. This STUNNING Victorian era hutch with pull out desk surface and the original arched glass doors! Isn't it gorgeous?? I got it for a steal of a deal too! The antique Gods were definitely smiling down on me on this day. 

A friend of mine, who recently quit her corporate fabrication job, is doing the main build out as she's starting her own company, so I am really fortunate to be getting a pretty amazing deal on custom garment racks, shelving, and a cash wrap. 

I'm repurposing fitting rooms from my husband's old brick & mortar shop and using curtains I already own. Nearly all the decor and small fixtures are things I already own.

Still, despite being as thrifty and resourceful as I can be, there are a few things I still need for the shop that I don't quite have the funds for. I already have a plan in place for Phase II of the shop build out, but that probably won't be for a while. And that's ok, I like having things to look forward to and new projects and I know that when Phase I is complete for our soft opening this summer, it's going to already look so beautiful and I am so excited to host and welcome you!