our spanish speaking customers now have a blog

Being multicultural, Born in Chicago, living in Puerto Rico, and then back to Chicago, has given me insight into the wonderful melting pot of the USA!

In Morton Grove, When customers come in the store, most of them know of my Hispanic heritage, the others think I might be Indian from India or from Pakistan and are so inquisitive, the dominate nationality is really heavily focused on their own in any community. It's uncomfortable and why do we care? Some celebrate Christmas, passover, kwanza, or rhamada. I sell beads, jewelry and that's about it.

Those who really know, know I'm from Puerto Rico, and a decendant of the Taino. Native of the island of Puerto Rico.

So, not that ethnic cultures matter, I've decided to create a blog for the store in spanish, not because I am hispanic, but, since I only speak one other language, I'm trying to capture a wider customer base. Jay is only english based and therefore limited in his cultural base. Sorry, dear, but....

Keep up to date with me on my blog,
http://www.adeliasbeadcloset.blogspot.com

Well, it's been a week!

Decided to take some night time pictures of the store. It's called Physiognomy. How things look from all angles and perspectives. The neat thing is when we do a window, we should always stand on the outside, unless of course you are very skilled then you have a vision which isn't naturally destiined, but a learned talent. It will take us time, accept advise and eventually we'll get there!

If you have suggestions, feel free to offer them. Anyway, see you tomorrow night.
Jay and Lucy

DONE!

Just a few things for Jay to do tomorrow, but we are open for business!

We'll sleep well tonight!

TADAH !!!!!!!!

Well, we're 99.9% done with the store. The end of 12 hour days, sore muscles and aching backs. Got a few things to do tomorrow, but were open for business. In the morning, Jay will wash the front windows and paint the new back door, plus a few other small things. Lucy is still wracking her noodle to figure out where to put stuff. The store is smaller, but it's cute, WARM, great boiler system, Thanks Josephine (landlord) and fresh!

If you are available tomorrow, stop by and say "HI"!

March 4, 2010

Well, nothing too major happening today. Just hanging beads, tools, and setting up the cases with the Swarovski's, pendants and other stuff. Today was Jay's big accomplishment. The door closure had to be replaced. Had to drill new holes, tap them for the right threads (1/4 20) and get it to work. He paced for two days and said ok, today is the day! It works!

Tomorrow is still hang and empty all these buckets and boxes and tubs! We didn't think we had this much, but the hard part is where to put it or display it, Smaller store and we aren't able to use the 2x2 slat wall square or the grid triangle which had the stringing wire and bead cord!

Stay tuned, still planning on open for business 3/8/10.

OMG, Lucy list keep growing!!!

I'm on vacation, is there any rest? Not as a business owner!!

Today, Lucy hung beads, set up the bins, hung up tools. I set up 2/3 of the glass display cases. Wired them for electrical. Found out I didn't know how to change a door closure, hung a 1/4 slat wall. Scrapped the tape off the front window, hooked up the speakers and stereo. ATT came by to get the phone lines working.

This store is a different configuration than Morton Grove, more like Gunnison Ave. We have to remember to economize space and make it fit!

Adelia's Bead Closet will be alive and well very soon. No cats today. Luv them but they are worse than a toddler always under foot and the stuff they can get into! Bead strands and cats don't mix, let alone the loose ones that roll so cool!!!

Starting to feel like a bead store now!

99% of the painting is done. At lunch we went home, so close it's really cool. Picked up a cat and went back to work. George, the needy cat wouldn't leave Lucy alone, she so took him back to the store.

Tomorrow is connect the lights in the cases, hang pictures and start hanging beads. Body is starting to recover, yeah right!

Day one! Unpacking..............

Wow, we have a lot of stuff to do. Today we moved around the boxes about four times, Luz's son, Maelo (one with Gotee), and his friend Eric came by to hang up the slat walls. Jay will do the last slat wall. There is an electrical box on the wall which he has to cut and box out. The previous tenant was a printer. This place is wired everywhere for the presses. Got home around 7pm. What a short commute, I LOVE IT!

Moving Day! Yeah??

Our bodies are stiff, tired and exhausted. Who ever thought we couldn't pack our store in two days and be completely out of Waukegan Ave, hasn't met two stubborn people. We've done other crazy things like this before, but the years are gaining on us. Maelo our son, says to me while lugging a display case, "It's time you guys decide to stay for a LONG time". A man of few words and gets to the point.

Tomorrow morning it's back to the new location. Maelo took vacation days to help Jay hang the slat walls. He's a guy, but knows Jay likes to push himself. Turning 50 this year, Maelo is sweet and looks after him, from a distance but it's sweet he cares for us old out of shape people. Thank you Maelo, you are appreciated, loved and respected. What a great kid! And thank you to our other helpers Eric and Christine, you are loved and appreciated as well. Great people are hard to find.

I'll take pics of the store with all the boxed in the morning, mid day and at the end of the day. Stay tuned!
Lucy and Jay

Saturday, 1/2 done~ou

Today, Luz's son Maelo and I did the Belmont Ave location while Lucy was doing the packing at the Morton Grove Location. I took pics of the new location. It's sort of sad to be saying good by to the old. There are friends we won't see, kids who came to us because of our location and we know we won't see them again. Are they "shallow", no, life is about convience. I learned early in life living in a condo. The friends we had wouldn't visit us when we moved a few miles north. That is life, friends of convienience! Sort of like work friends, how many of you still keep in touch with friends you worked five or ten years ago.

It's scary to move, new challenges await, new friends to meet and because of location, new customers to great. Friends are the ones who follow you through thick and thin. Know your problems and respect you for who you are. We have several, Tuesday nights are a close knit group of people. Think of it as a "parade of personalities". If not for beading, these people would not ever have had the purpose to meet. Each with a different background, historical geniality and yet the age of each of us doesn't matter. We appreciate each other and respect each other. It's sort of like a family. Jay's at least, there is "no reason" why each get along, all with different mother/fathers, all from different backgrounds and yet they all know and love each other. That's what friends are. (Ny family is truely a "cabbage batch" group who were raised by great people, never saw color, religion or challenges, only respect and love for onanother. My dad called "loverian"

I don't often have the oppurtunity to contribute to the blog. (Lucy is sleeping) but I have to tell you, the Tuesday night open beading evenings is such a warm feeling of people, sharing thoughts, stories and ideas that makes me glad we started a store. Who knew that there were that many great people out there!

The funny thing is that not every night is about beading! Some talk about family, life, historical events and goals/plans for the short range and long range. We are there to laugh, encourage and learn from each other. I had no idea that you guys were serious about the herrinbone earrings! It's unique and pretty neat.

Thank you for being you. I know, i'm not sentimental, emotional and often ignore you. But I appreciate you. Thank you.

Luz had grown, once shy, still shy, but looks forward to seeing each and everyone of you, she set's the tables up by 11 am, just planning on you arriving. It's not about sales, you don't have to buy anything. It's about you!

Thank you for being you, I was going to list you. Then I thought, if I said Jean first, your feeling might be hurt because I didn't mention you first. So instead, i'll mention my buddy, my story teller, my friend who I cherish, BOB. The most patient person I know. Loving and caring, to give his time and wait paitence, for the women he loves, to wait and encourage their hobby. Thank you for being you.

So, today I worked at the new store. Maelo, lucy's kid, and I, Guess he's my stepson? Worked at finishing the new walls, painting the duct work and painting the ceiling. i needed to build a wall for the 4x8 slat walls. Just wait till you see it~~~~ We did a great job! (LOL)

Ok Jean, I know there are typos, past/present tenses and I probably have more phonetics than you would care for, Criminy, I ready it three times, but Thank you for caring enough to read this.

Jay
Shhh, Lucy is sleeping, don't tell her I posted)

Well the main wall color is done, 99.9% at least.

We found this really cool paint at Home Depot. It's a speckle paint that is good for metal. So we bought some of this liquid gold, ($9.00) a can and gave it a shot. Took four cans to see what we've done. We figure about 6 more cans should do it. It's like mud coming out of the sprayer and really looks good to decorate the ducts instead of building a box around it to hide it. We just have to get higher on the ladder to paint further.

We've been noodling how and when we're going to pack up Morton Grove and truck it to Chicago. The current plan is to pack on Saturday and Sunday and get a Uhaul on Sunday to move it all. Still haven't started parking the store yet. Maybe our ideas are idealistic and won't work? Maybe we've done this before and know it takes longer to set up than it does to pack. What do you think?

Tomorrow night is to finish the wall, (Jay) and paint white paint on where it belongs (Lucy). We thought about working late and sleeping there on Sunday night so we can get an early start on Monday a.m.. Jay pointed out that one of our camping sleeping bags is keeping the stray cats next door warm. Jay is such a sap, when the weather dipped below 10%, he went out and got a sleeping bag, (rated @ 15 below) and spread it out over the "village" next door. It's still there, he won't take it because "the cats need it". Oh well, the store is only 2 miles from home, so we'll just sleep in our bed.

Wednesday night

Well, after work today we spent a couple hours and did just painting. Got one half of the store done and half of the other wall. Gets tiring after a full day of work, but pride of ownership kicks in and we keep going. We're deciding on decorating as we go along, thinking of plants and what the heck goes with the color violet besides white? Blue?

Found this cool spray paint at Home Depot. We have exposed duct work and didn't like the aluminum look, so we test painted a section. It's a speckled paint. What do you think?

Jay and Luz

OMG, "getting old sucks!" So said my jay's Mom. This morning we bought the 2x4's, dry wall and door, needed two, way to heavy. Stopped off the store by 10am and started painting and building. The main reason for painting is to create character and theme. The main reason to build a storeroom is to keep the fridge/microwave and as well as backup stock in the back. Plus this is where Jay does the graphic design work for the website, coupons, birthday party rack cards, etc.

We are pooped! Body parts sore, hands hurt, back is stiff and when did painting a ceiling and walls become stressful? Jay hates to bend so his knees are stiff, back hurts, hands swollen, when did we become old?

Anyway, we snapped a few pics of the progress. The walls true color didn't come out true, it's violet. But we'll be back tomorrow night after work to do some more.
Jay and Luz

Planning stages........

OH let the stress begin! Who am I kidding, most of the stress was already here, now that we found a location, it's the planning, marketing, building and decorating the new store as well as how to move all this stuff!

Much like when you move your personal residence, it's calling the utilities, insurance companies, getting a business license, mapping out the layout of the new store and in what order makes sense!

And to think, after the store opens, how to let everyone know we are there? Adjusting to a new commute, changing of daily routines and settling into a new life. Our vacation? It's lugging, painting and not to restfull at all.

Our plan is to move everything in the first week of March and be open for business on March 8th. For those of you following this blog, thank you for your interest, we appreciate you.

Lucy and Jay

We are moving our store

Owning a business is as stressful as it rewarding, physically and mentally challenging. Over the past year, and final year of our lease, my husband and I have been thinking and rethinking, much like the larger companies have, on ways to cut overhead, not diminish service, and stay in business.

I won't lie to you, this economy has been on a downhill slide since 2008, trying to compete with our local competition is like a game of friendly checkers, they are all great people, we're just trying to get more pieces. The biggest spoiler is the online etailers with their low, low prices and poor quality beads and findings. We understand price points, convenience, staying warm while you don't have to go outside. But, nothing can replace the human nature of touching, seeing, comparing and talking to others to inspire new ideas and new ways of doing something.

With all that is going on in business, we have decided to relocate our store to Chicago. The cross streets are Harlem and Belmont, we are a couple blocks west on Belmont. Items we considered were location, cost persquare foot, parking, and if we thought our beads would be happy in a new place.

There are many customers we will miss, and we also know we will have many who will follow and many more customer to meet and welcome to Adelia's Bead Closet.

Come on, follow me and let's have fun,

Lucy
Adelia's Bead Closet

Keeping up with the Jones'

Instead of an official "sale", we've decided to offer instore discounts on items up to 75% off in some cases. Stop by today to see what's on sale this week!

2010 Classes

Well, I finished it, almost. The way I write them out is in Word, then I send the file to Jay who uses a few software applications to make a .gif file out of them and post them to the website. Next step is to update the pictures.

Take some time to check them out. THERE ARE ALOT OF THEM!!

Up and coming events

Well, it's time to wrap up another year. Not only the end of the year, but the end of the quarter and time for another class schedule. Scheduling is a tricky process. What do you want to learn? What interests you? When are the teachers available and you are available?

Well, i've talked to the teachers and I am busy making new class samples. Over the long weekend, Jay will take some pictures and create the class list, update the website and we'll be ready for 2010! (How do you spend your holidays? LOL)

For Christmas and New Years weekend, we'll be taking extended time off. The store will be closed Christmas eve thru Sunday and the same for New Years Eve thru the following Sunday.

Have a good celebration, eat well, drink enough and enjoy the end of 2009!

Lucy and Jay

Pick up your Swarovski holiday tree kits

Ready for the holidays? We have the Margarita crystals available in kits for you to make these really cute earrings.

Happy Black Friday

Well, it's over. The day has come and gone and we are left with memories. Memories of loyal customers and friends we have encountered, shared with and look forward to seeing again. The day was a great steady flow of traffic from 8 am when we opened to 6 pm when we closed. It felt like 2006 all over again. My heartfelt and a sincere THANK YOU to all who showed up and took time from their busy schedules to stop by.

For the month of December, we've put a coupon on the sales and discounts page for you to print out the page, bring it in and save 25% off you purchases any day we're open during the Month of December. Take your time, plan your execution and attack! 123, come on in.