ALCHEMY & ASHES HAS MOVED TO:
Lake Francisco Plaza
1900 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Suite 117
Lutz, Florida 33549
Yes, I just opened in May. And yes, I just moved in July. Curiouser and curiouser...
I should begin at the beginning, as that is usually the best place to begin ~
When I signed my lease, I was told that the plaza was being sold, but it probably wouldn't happen for a while and that my lease would have to be approved by the prospective buyers. It was approved for one year with the possibility for month-to-month terms (or renewal) after the first year. I weighed my options and thought that a year was a good time period to see what direction my business would go and whether it was viable as a brick-and-mortar store. Good idea, eh?
Well...
Circle K Corporation is who bought my plaza, about 3 weeks after I moved in. And it's slated to be demolished and redeveloped as a gas station. Growth-and-progress-for-Pasco-county-yadda-yadda-suchandsuch.
I was bamboozled - nay, scammed! - by the original owner/landlord of the plaza (the one I signed my original lease with), but I learned a few very valuable business (and life) lessons in a short time.
The Spirits Are Ruthless With The Paths They Choose - a mantra of sorts (thank you Stevie Nicks) that proves truer as I grow older (and is inked on my left inner forearm as a reminder, lest I forget).
The Circle K Corp decided that they didn't need month-to-month tenants and evicted the remaining tenants, except for me and a liquor store - my lease was newest and in good standing, and the liquor store holds a lease until 2017 (which is what the original owner sold his scam with - that Circle K couldn't do anything until 2017). Only 2 tenants left in a plaza of 14 units.
You can read the story HERE
Oh, and Circle K also decided they would not be doing any maintenance on the building or property (a kind of "force out", if you ask me) - and of course on Memorial Day weekend, my air conditioner stopped working, and my back room (my soap workshop) would leak when it rained. Not to mention the awning of the secondary building on the property was torn off during a windy thunderstorm, and they didn't bother to clean it up or repair it. Yeah, that happened.
Was that a ghostly "Get Out!" I heard? (Remember Amityville Horror?)
A representative of Circle K told me that I could cancel my lease without penalty, and after a mini-heart attack, vicious pondering, and marathon commercial property searching, I decided that was what I needed to do. Let me tell you, moving a business (even a new one) is stressful. I've moved quite a few times in my life (so what if they were all within 30 miles of each other), and that pales in comparison. But I'm a lucky girl and I have family and friends that have helped me through a crazy, crazy time and I've come out the other side for the better. Or crazier. I'm not sure which just yet...
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| A lovely gift from artist Michele Palenik of Purple Cloud Studio. We declare my shop is for "upscale weirdos"! |
Tomorrow is the first day of my reopening at the new shop. I feel like I'm forgetting something...or like those dreams where you're late, or that you can't get where you're going. I'm an overthinker (a.k.a. worry wart) - it's one of the (many) things I need to work on. I'm sitting here at my desk in the new shop, listening to a documentary on the Salem Witch Trials on YouTube and the Krav Maga students next door pummeling their punching bags (or each other, who knows?), writing a To-Do list, and trying to wittingly write a blog post that I have no idea if anyone even reads (did I mention I'm a multi-tasker too?). I'm anxious, but when I look out the back window at my new view, I know I made the right choice. It's all good.
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| My view from my back windows - Lake Francisco |
And now, for your viewing pleasure...I present to you
ALCHEMY & ASHES - A VINTAGE EMPORIUM 2.0!
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| Come and sit for a spell... |
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| Main showroom |
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| Main showroom |
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| Main showroom |
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| Main showroom |
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| Main showroom |
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| Main showroom |
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| Main showroom |
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| The Gypsy Fortune Teller's Reading Room |
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| The Gypsy Fortune Teller's Reading Room |
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| The Gypsy Fortune Teller's Reading Table (minus the twine around the legs and plus chairs) |
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| Crystals and stones...Runes and bones... |
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| The Gypsy Fortune Teller's Reading Room |
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| My purple guest restroom |
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| My purple guest restroom, and the fabulous Stevie Nicks |
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| My purple guest restroom |
