Big Announcement & A Long Post

I'm going to apologize in advance for the length of this post...it's going to be a long one. I was going to post Part II of the honeymoon (but who wants to read about that anyways????) : ) I can't wait any longer to announce the big news. Bear with me - this may seem a little random....

I have been collecting these pictures for a while. I've always been intrigued by storefronts.

In design we always talk about first impressions and small details. A front porch, a walkway, or a small entry can set the mood for the rest of the house.

For a store, it's the first thing you see when you walk by, and usually (if you're like me) I make up my mind from the sidewalk, whether I'm going to like the inside or not.

Most of these are stores I have never been to - but would love to visit. And a few are one's I've been to.

That last picture is particularly near and dear because......it's my storefront! Or I should say OUR storefront. I have had the extreme luck, fortune, blessing of meeting my business partner, Betsy. We have both had the idea of having a retail space, stored in the back of our brains for a long time now. For me, I thought the reality of my dream coming true was pretty far into the future.

Over a glass of wine with Betsy, Bixby & Ball was born. However, it still felt like something that was going to take quite some time to actually happen.

Later that week, Betsy discovered that a little historic cottage located in the design district of Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach, was available. Unbeknownst to either of us, this was a spot that both of us had always loved and eyed for a retail space.

{A peek inside Bixby & Ball....}

We called the owner of the cottage and she told us that she already had two people interested in the space and was just deciding between the two of them. We pleaded with her to just sit and meet with us, and hear us out.

{You can see the top of our fireplace!}

We got the space a few days later. : )

We moved in August 1st. Worked our tails off everyday. I got married August 28th. Left Betsy alone for two whole weeks to honeymoon (it was planned before we started this venture - I promise!) I came home, and hit the ground running again, to open last week. Which explains the lack in blog posts!

I would have blogged about this sooner but we were waiting for our own blog to be up and running. It's still in the process of being designed and I couldn't wait any longer! We celebrated our opening with a little cocktail party with our friends and family that you can read about here.

There are so many people that have given so much support to me throughout my career and this process that I could not have done any of this without. There are too many to list - but you know who you are and I am beyond grateful.

As soon as we launch the Bixby & Ball blog, we will post all about the moving in and setting up process. Plus, as a bonus, we have our first design project up and running, and I can't WAIT to share pictures.

Well, there's the big announcement! I'm hoping now that we're open, and we have set some-what of a schedule for ourselves, I can give this little blog a little more love than it has been receiving for the last couple of months. Have a great week!