And just like that it's 2016. I know a lot of people always say they can't believe another year has already gone by, but I feel like about four years have gone during the span of 2015. It was a LONG year with so many thing happening for us. I'm on the edge of really looking forward to a new year and also really scared of a blank slate.
As much as Soren and I love working for ourselves and the creativity and the flexibility that affords, it's also a real struggle. We are constantly forced to choose between faith and fear and often can't see very far into the future for our business or our family. People ask me what my five year goals and plans are and honestly I have no idea. I've been blessed to have a vision of about 3-6 months at a time and after that I don't know. I know we can survive and continue to thrive for a least six more months and that by the time we get through that I'll be able to see another 3-6 months into the future. Soren is better at seeing the long term game plan than I am, but neither of us can tell the future. We joke about how smart our friends who went to medical school were when they chose the job that would grant them such nice job security and a clear cut path to follow. But in all honesty neither of us was cut out for that job path. I guess we're just too free spirited...?
That being said we do have some really exciting news for this year! In August we were approached by a contractor who is remodeling a vacant building on our city's historic square with plans to lease the space. It just so happened to be the exact building that Soren and I had often discussed as a possible option for moving our business out of our home. *Chills!* Soren and I knew it couldn't be a coincidence and met with him the next day to see the space. Everything lined up so perfectly that we basically agreed to lease the space on the spot. Over the last few months we have been meeting with architects and a design firm to finalize plans and the construction has started! In late March or early April we will be opening up a Nickel & Suede retail store on Liberty Square, as well as a moving into space for manufacturing, shipping and offices! It's such a crazy dream come true that I honestly don't even have my mind wrapped around it yet. The retail store won't be huge, it is just an accessory to the space we needed to expand our manufacturing and shipping, but it will allow locals to come shop anytime! Designing it all has been so much fun and I can not wait to see it physically come to life. I'll be sharing before photos of the building in the near future and of course after photos when it is all finished.
AND the last thing I'm really exciting about is getting my personal life back a little bit. The rapid growth of N&S has kind of taken over our house and every waking hour- which is awesome and also not ideal. Once our store is open and the business is out of our house I will finally have my house back and a little bit of sanity. I'm planning to refocus on the blog and the parts of the business that I really enjoy and am best at.
So that is our big news! We will be opening up a whole new part of our business and working like crazy to expand and be able to offer more products, custom leathers and more in-person shopping experiences.
I hope your new year has gotten off to a great start and you are busy making big plans for yourself this year! This month is the time to dream big and get hustling!
