The More Things Change...

Planning for our holiday open house at the shop begins almost as soon as the previous year's cocktail napkins are cleaned up and the votive candles are snuffed. Last year, after the guests had gone home, Lindsay and I looked around at what had sold, what had flopped, and how we would redesign the shop all over again with an entirely new Christmas palette.This year, "Sophisticated Whites," next year, "Classic Red"! It's hard as a business owner to just relax and enjoy an evening's success; it's a necessary but annoying evil that we must always be thinking ahead to the next thing. (I'm already getting flyers from wholesalers about booking our roses for Valentine's Day. Can't a girl have a minute?) Last open house eve, we also noted how much our lives had changed. It was our first holiday in the new shop, a long way from our first Valentine's Day in the basement of Lindsay's Avenue's home, and a big difference from our west side studio. 

Old Shop

New Shop!

Lindsay's baby Jameson was 8 months old and was a welcome little visitor to our grown up party. Skipping a caterer, my partner Matt had served some some mean hors d'oeuvres to rave reviews. Things felt right in the world. 

At this year's festivities, we thankfully noted how much had remained the same. Matt designed the menu again and cooked the food. Jameson was now toddling around, still the happiest thing on earth. Our dear friend Emily said that attending the TriFecTa holiday open house had become a tradition, her kick-off party of the season. This meant more to us than she could have imagined; especially in these difficult times, the support of our friends, family and clients is more important than ever. Lindsay's Mom, Robyn was there, as she has been every year, for every event.

But the most important thing that has remained intact is that Lindsay and I are still friends as well as business partners. We can still look around and say, "Nice job on the window display" or laugh and ask, "What were we thinking when we bought those?!" We argue, cry and ignore each other, too, but respect and love remains. The other morning I was driving along and thinking how fortuitous and amazing it was that Lindsay and I actually got along and appreciated each others' design style and aesthetic. It's not easy for two hard-headed "creative" people to make it work. It was that very second that I received a phone call with news that our community had lost a valued member, our mentor and fellow florist, Kathleen Culp, co-owner of Bloomingsales. I immediately mourned for Katy and her family, but my greatest heartache was for Sonnie, her friend and business partner for more than 25 years. As Lindsay and I know, being business partners is as close to being married as you can get. The loss struck home.

When Lindsay and I unpack all the new ornaments and stockings, when we hang all the boughs and trimmings, when we hope and pray our customers will love everything as much as we do, riding the emotional roller coaster of retail, it's calming to recognize that a few things remain constant. And now that the open house is over and we have a few weeks to truly enjoy the shop and the holidays, we can already reflect on the past year and give thanks.  

With Sam and Max on our old front porch.

Holiday 2010 with Sam. Photo by Suzanne Dingley. backonfestiveroad.blogspot.com