Heavy hearts and closing the shop

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this blogpost. We have decided to close The Crafty Alley Shop in Killarney. This has been one of the hardest decisions I have have had to make and has come about for many different reasons. We opened the shop four years ago not long after moving to Kerry. My passion was always creativity and when I moved to Kerry I decided I wanted a job that would allow me the flexibility to be a Mum, earn a living and pursue my own creativity. Our family has grown since with two more arrivals the youngest being just weeks old. It has been hard, too hard trying to balance the shop with family life and my own personal goals. It's a very very (and once more Very) tough time to be a retailer. The costs of running the shop are immense and a huge pressure and at the minute it just does not seem viable. Without a doubt the best part of the last four years in the shop have been the people, the customers, staff and colleagues and friends I have met a long the way. Communities and friendships have been created through the shop be it in one of our classes, groups or in the wide online artistic community. The part I always enjoyed most was being in the shop serving the customers. But as our family has grown in the last four years that's been the part which has been hardest to achieve. Even though I have been working mostly behind the scenes day and night on the shop I have missed being in the shop behind the counter. I have been lucky to have dedicated and amazingly creative staff to help me but it has come to a time where I have to concede to the fact that it is no longer financially or personally viable for us to continue on for now in the shop in Killarney. Instead I am going to enjoy every second of watching my three babies grow and try and create a working life nearer home. We will be putting our hearts, souls, brains and creativity into our online shop and community and I will continue to teach arts and crafts on a more adhoc basis as well as continue with my own art practice. So our last day of trading in Killarney will be Saturday the 18th February. Our shop closure sale will commence next Saturday the 4th February. We urge you to take the opportunity of our biggest ever sale to stock up on your paints, canvasses, needles, threads and craft materials. I will continue to keep the blog to journal the experience of closing the shop and create a new existence for the business. I have written this post very fast as I wanted you to read for yourselves why we are closing. I'll end it for now by asking for your support through the next few tough weeks and by saying thank you so much for your friendship, support and custom through the last few years. I still pinch myself when I think of how lucky I am to work with the most creative people in Kerry and beyond. Cathy