Catching Up With 2020

Life has been busy. Life has been rough. Life has been fun. And life has been weird. So let's catch up on the year of 2020 up to early May.

My last blog was last year when I rode my bike to Delaware, my longest solo trip yet. Since then, all kinds of shenanigins have happened! It was about October when Bryon and I decided we had had enough of Truck World Mall: ran out of room, no where to grow our business, a stupid gate on one side of the store that made us look closed (the mall reneged on putting a window there), stagnant products and stagnant mall crawlers (the kinder of our "terms of affection"). We made the decision to move out of the mall and make a better place for all of us. We kept it all pretty much a secret, too, even from those closest to us.

I suppose we locked on to our new location in the Jugenheimer Park building across the highway in late October, started paperwork in November, and then and only then told a few people, parents included, that we would vacate Truck World by the end of December. We have many good things to say about the five and a half years we spent there, making something for the biker community to share in, and we believe that had a welcoming place for those who belonged to the life.

It was Saturday, December 28th when we closed the big gate for the last time shortly after 4PM. And shortly before that, Hammer, Goldilocks, Tiny, and Tater showed up ready to start the packing. All that evening, the six of us packed things into boxes and garment bags, and plastic totes that Marcia loaned us. We loaded our vehicles and drove over to the new store in a caravan, unloaded everything, and went back for more. Then we did that again all day Saturday, then Sunday, and by Monday, I was filling in holes from screws and painting the walls to leave it in good condition. By New Years Eve, we were done. It was a lot of work, frenzied at times, but we took good care of everything and everyone, and Bryon and I can't thank our friends enough for their support and help.

We took some cool exit photos, unfortunately having to leave Bryon's hand-painted Betsy Ross flag behind as it was attached to the wall permanently. Just like the colonialists who pushed the British out, we haven't looked back with any regret.

The new store was a mess! We had gotten the keys in December and started moving in all the extra apparel fixtures we had in storage. And we had bought more fixtures, including the glass cases, and started making a plan for the layout. During the move, we just unloaded everything as we bought it in anywhere, except that we immediately hung the leathers to prevent any damage. Then we'd bring over empty fixtures from the old store, and more leathers to hang - back and forth. It worked out really well!

To be sure we had the right location, some things were imperative:
1) Parking for our trucker customers, which is located across the way behind McDonalds. And truckers are using it, so that worked well.
2) A resting place for customers, and what used to be a waiting room is now the Freedom Family Room with comfy chairs. We have a lot of people who come from hours away, and they need a place to rest before hitting the road again.
3) Room to move about. The old location was cramped and had that terrible bottleneck in the middle. Not now!
4) Storage. We needed the room to access more quickly and easily helmets and boots at minimum. Everything is now in reach even for a shorty like me.
5) Production space. We had plans to make our store a one-stop place for bikers, and that included making custom and club t-shirts as well as larger patches. The zone we have set up now if perfect and keeps us busy. And, I am not sewing on patches in a tiny sweatshop cave!
6) Proximity to food. Our new location is within walking distance to Arby's and McDonald's, and Dunkin is just across the street.
7) Room to grow and have more products to choose from. With so many choices in motorcycle leathers and accessories and all, we wanted to do more for our customers, and that meant more choices of quality products.

We closed FTC all of January, taking the first two weeks to tease people about the whereabouts of the new location! It was fun. And we took all of January to get the new store ready. We were there sometimes 10-12 hours a day cleaning, moving things, unpacking, organizing, reorganizing, setting up all the spaces and areas, building displays. You know what? It was a great moment, the two of us, and sometimes the Crew, making the new place take shape. When it came to hanging the slat wall and grid wall onto the walls, Tiny and Hammer were the best team in town! They had the ladders and power tools and strength it took to do the heavy work along with Bryon. Goldilocks and I ate bon bons and sipped on wine. Nah, I wish! We do that alone at home. ;)

With everything together, we opened on Saturday, February 1st. The Crew was there to help all day and it was busy and awesome! A bunch of photos are on our website.

First folks to enter the new store!

February went really well. Everyone loved the new store, who wouldn't! No more black walls like a cave and a receptive and private environment. 2020 was going to be a great year and the season couldn't come soon enough.

Then March happened. See, Bryon and I don't watch television, so we really didn't know there was a hyped-up media convincing humans that they couldn't longer trust each other. Hmmm. Covid-19 became the bane of human existence. Just when we were getting launched, the governments and their health departments overreached and shut America down. And people listened. All of a sudden, nobody was coming to our store, nor to anyone else's, except the grocery stores to hoard toilet paper, frozen foods, flour, and eggs. Oh wait, there were "essential" stores and "essential" workers that kept going, which turned out to be "friends of politicians" stores and "expendable" workers. Well, this is how we saw it, and disagreements may occur. In the end, and now with more information and three month having passed, we had a small business apocalypse and further divisiveness.

Without further ado, we had enough bullshit by the end of April and opened our doors without question on May 1st. The SS in Columbus could shove their orders, nothing ever in writing, mind you. So we moved on and the bikers followed and we have all been okay with riding and getting ready for summer. Now that that is here, can we all just go back to the way we were only a few months ago? Celebrate your freedom this coming Fourth of July with extreme enthusiasm!!! 

One of the coolest things about our new location is that we can do more things outside as well. We recently had The Alternative food truck set up on a Saturday. That was cool. Soon we'll have another or have them back, plus have some product events to learn about what's in the market for bikes and bikers. Stay tuned to what we have coming your way!

I have two more blogs coming about two rides we finally got to take. Today's ride got me inspired to start talking again, my anxieties pushed aside. It's still a beautiful world out there, with good people, and the freedom to roll on, to move on. 

In the wind,

Holly

a.k.a. Stitchblade, Mama Stitch