Life on the Leash

We did it!

We opened our door with little fanfare on Saturday morning, and made two sales within the first 10 minutes. (Our very first customers were cat people!) It was a lovely start to the weekend.

Wanna see the brick and mortar Life on the Leash? Please come in …

We still have some tweaks to do, but I’m really happy with how … happy … the space feels.

I managed to whip out my camera a few times over the weekend to take pics of some of the canine shoppers. Look at this gorgeous fella:

His person owns a salon two doors down … no wonder his coat looks so shiny!

And how about little Roxy, who didn’t want to be photographed …

… but tolerated it like a champ:

This handsome gaggle of friends greeted us at 12:00 this morning …

… and they turned out to be posing fiends, I tell you!

(Yes, that’s Ted and Blue, all grown up!)

The first two days were great. I’m still overwhelmed that the store is open open … but I’m loving it.

Thanks, Doylestown.

My 6-year old niece spent the day in the store with me today. I thought she’d only be able to tolerate it for a few hours before she got bored, but the girl can hang. And work! She was hauling 15-pound bags of dog food like a Russian powerlifter.

Of course, the day wasn’t all work and no play.

She snagged some freebies from me:

Worked on her shopping arm:

And tested the new dog beds:

I really enjoyed the extra set of hands, little as they were. She had some great ideas, and an eye for merchandising. The kid’s got a future in retail!

P.S. Shhh … soft opening this Saturday. Yikes!

My Mom rocks.

That big order I kept mentioning? Not only was it big, it was confusing. (Those distributor packing lists are written in another language. “CAN ALS 35#”? Huh?) My dear Mom swooped in to help me make sense of the overwhelming shipment, keeping me on track when all I wanted to do was walk in circles and say things like, “The store looks good, right? People are going to like it, right?”

She helped me price:

And get crafty:

And clean up:

The woman was tireless.

Mom – thanks for being a cleaning lady, a stockist, a merchandiser, a marketer and a cheerleader!

We bought our counter (the “cash wrap”, as they say in the biz) from a cute little store across the street, O Bambino, when they upgraded to a new one. After a coat of white paint (Tom’s idea), it fit in with the rest of the fixtures perfectly.

The vast expanse of white called out for embellishment, and once again, Tom came up with a winner.

“The logo,” he said. “Put the LOTL logo there.”

Genius!

Our neighbors at Bob Shaw Signs came to the rescue …

… and made the counter look really, really fancy:

Me likey!

Look what showed up today:

Hooray! I also got chocolate donuts, two different kinds of cupcakes and vanilla ice cream cones. Adorable, yes, but also addictive. I’ve been using that same strawberry donut with all of my canine clients for the past 4 months, and though it’s getting tatty (thanks, Seamus), they all still adore it.

How’s the rest of the store coming along? You tell me:

Food! I’m really happy with the lines I’m bringing in … it’s confusing (Should I carry 30 pound bags? How many different formulations of each brand do I need?) but I’m slowly figuring it out.

I hope.

It’s chick season at the Schade Homestead:

Everyone loves the chicks, particularly Sumner. We introduced him to one up close and personal …

… but he walked away. No interest at all.

Then he saw a cluster of them on the ground:

That changed things. The peeping, the moving, the fuzziness.

Suddenly, he was all about the chicks:

He doesn’t act too crazy near the pen, he just stares intently, hoping that a tasty yellow peep will walk through the fencing and into his hopeful mouf.