Fort Daze...

Every year, the town where the shop is located celebrates an event called, "Fort Ligonier Days".  The locals call it "Fort Days" and the merchants sometimes (lovingly) refer to it as "Fort Daze".  At its largest, over a 100,000 people flood through the streets of Ligonier.  The event commemorates the Fort built during the French and Indian War and the celebration includes craft fairs, a parade through town, fair food, and concerts.  This was our fourth year participating in the event as a shop.  We didn't know what to expect after our move.  Would people know where to find us?  How would our sales compare to previous years?

The weekend is always a blur with days that are long and bustling.  Up until the day the event kicks off (even through the weekend), I'm busy making things to sell or model the beads we carry.  It's a lot of work getting ready.  We move the furniture around, set up tables, and change the displays around.  It almost feels as though we're preparing for battle.  So many people pass through, some that come every year and others that are new.  It's always nice to see familiar faces and meet new friends.

We were very fortunate this year!  We didn't know what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised by the show of support.  We were super happy that many of our customers were able to find us and that they had nice things to say about the new location.  Many thanks  go out to everyone who dropped in to see us!  We had our best Fort Days yet!  We hope that our neighbors and fellow merchants had a successful weekend too!

The success of the event really is due to the help we had throughout the long weekend.  My greatest and sincerest gratitude goes out to William, who made sure that everything moved smoothly and that I didn't get overwhelmed.  He kept me well-stocked with coffee, sweet tea, and fair food.  Without him, I wouldn't have been able to do it.  Thank you!  I also wanted to thank Zack, Laurel, Becki, Ruth, and Alison for lending a hand and a watchful eye.  They made sure that everyone received excellent customer service and that all the little beads were well supervised.  Some of them sat in the cold for hours, hauled tables, and fought through crowds to run errands.  Go team, go!

I also wanted to acknowledge all the people who work behind the scenes to make this a successful event.  It takes a lot of people and a lot of work to pull off something on this scale.  We are fortunate to be part of such a vibrant community and have events that attract so many people.  Thank you!

After such a big event, normally I like to take a little time for myself to recover, but there's no rest for the weary!  I am getting ready for New York and am excited to be back in the City after being away for five years.  It's just another adventure on the horizon!