Rewards
After months of preparation, the Darn Good Yarn Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Schenectady, NY arrived!!! It was always part of the plan, once Nicole decided that she had to get the yarn out of her house, that she would make opening a retail store part of that move. So, when she found a space in Schenectady, NY that had enough room to store the yarn for the online site and have a retail store, it was just the icing on the cake that it was tucked away in Schenectady’s Historic Stockade District.
So, in June, Mike and Nicole packed up their house and all the yarn and moved it to New York! All that Darn Good Yarn goodness got stashed in a U-Haul and traveled the road between Sebec, ME and Schenectady, NY. Maggie flew to meet them in NY and lend a hand with the set-up of the yarn storage. The first order of business - tear down the cubicles that were in the former small office building! No one could believe how long it took! Then set up the shelves that would house the boxes that would house the yarn and other delicious DGY goodies. It had already been a week since the moving had begun and shipping had stopped…it was time for things to get going again! Maggie left NY and Nicole with shipping ready to start, but the space for the retail site was still full of boxes.
Late in the summer, Darn Good Yarn got an invitation to come to Stitches East, and this turned out to be the perfect prelude to opening the retail site. Nicole purchased shelving, baskets, and other items that she needed to set up the display at Stitches East. She then knew she would turn around and use them all to set up the retail site. The timing was spot on and the chance to multi-task was right up Nicole’s alley!
In mid-October, when we got back from Stitches, Amanda and Nicole started the task of setting up, putting every shelf in exactly the right place and carefully arranging baskets and bowls and filling them with delicious Darn Good Yarn products! Yarns, ribbons, threads, bags, scarves, purses, and skirts…everything needed just the right place. Time flew by and before they knew it, it was time to open the doors at 22 N. College Street for the first retail customers!
Last minute tasks and re-arranging happened right up until that 11 am cut-off on December 4, 2014. Amanda says that everything got rearranged four or five times right before they finally settled. Scott Oswald, the Chamber Leader, showed up the afternoon before opening to check in on things. He was a little nervous as he saw Nicole and Amanda still busily rearranging, but everything was in place for the excitement of the ribbon cutting!!! Schenectady City Councilwoman Leesa Perazzo, Assemblyman Jim Tedesco and Chamber Ambassadors James Dick and Maya McNulty were all in attendance for the celebration. Assemblyman Tedesco had a good laugh with Nicole over being fired at his first job, just like Nicole was. Apparently, it is no indicator of success! After the ceremony, there were more laughs, food and drink, and oohing and awing over all the gorgeous yarn and ready-made items.
Now that the ceremony is over and the store is open for business, please come by and see us if you are in the area! Hours are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12-5 pm and also by appointment. Just call the shop at 518-377-1177 or e-mail nicole@darngoodyarn.com to set up a time that will work for you!
