The Great Trinket Hunt

Opening our own retail space has brought us some incredibly fun moments. We've met new friends and shared family fun together. This is one of those stories...

In our store, we have a TV hung high on the wall to show our usual social media videos. This lets any new collectors who wander our way see us in action, making the items we hope they’ll come to love. We also have a vending machine offering cold drinks and fun snacks while you're browsing or doing a workshop with us.

The company we chose to do our vending services is a local, family company called DAB Vending. When they come to service the machine, we're often blessed with the whole family for a visit. There's Mom, Dad, and two delightful kids. The kids come in full of joy and sunshine, often talking to me about what's new in the store, crafting in general or something cool that's happened to them since we last talked. Our interactions never fail to bring a smile and laughter to my day.

This particular day, the TV caught the eye of the younger boy and it sprung forth a new game! He would watch something being made and try to find it on the shelves. Soon, his older sister was doing the same. Make no mistake - it had to be the identical piece or one would call the other one out with laughter saying, "wrong color, that doesn't count" or whichever applied. They ran back and forth across shelves, ducked under the workshop table, pointed out pieces in the windows and inspected the glass case like pros. They laughed and giggled the whole way! I was asked questions about pieces being shown and even told at one point, "I think you sold that - you should make more."

Before long, Dad was curious and playing. Mom jumped in and so did I. This game took over the energy of the whole store and we were all having a blast!

These are the moments that bring an extra special feeling and help to remind us why we love what we do. Owning, running, and growing a business can be trying at times, but there are other times that the joy in your heart lasts for days.