Tuesday, April 26, 2016

You might want to sit down for this...

So... I have a secret to tell you.  3 weeks ago, Ang I made the decision to move to Austin, TX.  Well, if  I am being honest, I finally made the decision.  Most of Ang's family is down there so she has wanted to move down there for years.  But for me...it was never the right time.

Ummm...explain yourself please...
We made the decision long before we had kids that we didn't want someone else raising our kids and that 1 of us was going to stay home.  We knew that that wasn't going to happen working for someone else so we started coming up with a business plan.  2 weeks after we found out we were pregnant with our first, we opened Silentium Finishing... a wood finishing shop were we specialize in pre-finishing cabinetry, windows, doors, trim, and furniture.  Shortly after we had our second mini-me we opened {3:17}.  It was literally the first time that we had ever been to Afton when we happened to drive by what was then know simply as "The Little Red House".  We had never talked about opening a storefront, and we knew nothing about Afton but we called the number on the sign that night and signed the lease on our new store the next day.  The point is...I've never been afraid to take chances.  I've always been the type to just jump in head first and figure it out once I'm in.  The problem with being the sole provider for our family though is that, as much as I knew Ang wanted to move, I was never willing to take the risk.  That is until 3 weeks ago.

What we knew...
All of a sudden, all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.  We had a job opportunity down there which meant steady income right away.  We bought a foreclosure home when the market was bad, pumped a little money into it, and are now sitting on a good chunk of equity in a sellers market so... that means we would have some cushion when we moved. 

Now the variables...
There were a couple things that need to happen for sure to make a quick move even possible.
1.  We needed to sell both businesses...quick.  And 2....  We needed to sell our house...even quicker.
The house was actually surprisingly easy.  The house officially listed at 11:15 last Friday and sold Sunday night for full asking price.  The businesses were the tricky part.  

{3:17}...
Here's the deal... We've worked hard the last few years to grow our little shop in Afton.  We've grown a pretty amazing and loyal customer base, we have put together an amazing group of vendors, and developed a ton of amazing friendships and relationships in the industry.  We've always had a clear vision of what we wanted our shop to be and we've always stuck to our guns.  When choosing who we wanted to take over our shop it was important to us that we kept it in the family so to speak.  Ideally...we wanted one of our vendors to take over.  Also, we wanted to choose someone that we were confident would continue on with our vision.  Sure we could of just sold it to another shop...that was always on the table if push came to shove but, ultimately, it is not what we wanted.  In doing that, everything we have worked for would simply go away as they would just come in as "their" shop.  Also...it didn't guarantee that any of our vendors would stay.  These are people that we have fought for, built relationships with, grown with as individuals and businesses...we are a family. 

Do you think she'll do it?
The decision process was pretty simple.  This is how it went down...
Ang:  Heather?
Me:  Yep!
We didn't need to talk about it, we didn't need some spreadsheet listing all the pro's and con's of multiple people...we just knew...it had to be Heather.  Many of you know Heather.  Heather is Elk Heart Design...she's the one with the sweet vintage camper that you always see at all our events!


She is also responsible for some of the coolest looks we've seen in the shop lately...




She is also the one who has always supported all of our crazy decisions in the shop (and there have been a lot of them) no questions asked.  She shares our vision of what we want our shop to be and truth be told...I truly think that she will be able to do it better than we did!  Though she tried hard to talk us out of moving to TX she did ultimately accept the offer!  We are grateful and honored to have her take over our shop and we know you will love her! 

So what now?
We have put a lot of thought into when/ how we wanted to announce this as well as how we want to make the transition.  Ultimately...we don't want to disrupt things too much.  We have decided to slowly transition out over the next month.  We will still officially be running "The Market" in May but you will see a new name.  Yes...we are keeping our name (we will be opening up shop in TX).  We want it to essentially just look like a re-branding.  Allow me to introduce...


See...same logo, different name.  Just a subtle change.  We will also be officially changing the FB page over to dwell. for  "The Market".   Again...we wanted there to be as little change as possible as far as you, the customer, is concerned.  We want to be able to introduce Heather and the new name while we are still here.  We don't want it to seem like we are closing...we aren't.  It's just a changing of the guard.

So come say goodbye, and say hello to Heather.  Please join us for our last weekend...  "The Market" in May.



-Mike & Ang


7 comments:

  1. You Know How Happy I am for you and Ang and those boys! You will be missed tremendously, but I can't wait to hear all about the adventure ahead!

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  2. Congrats you guys! I've been following you on facebook, sharing your posts with friends, watching you on the news. It's sad to see you guys go, enjoy your travels and journeys together. What ever you two put your minds to with turn to hold I'm 100% sure of! Good luck in all your new memories!

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  3. Wow!! So glad we were finally able to meet and work with you before yo left!! You will be missed...but I know you will be blessed in your new adventure. Best wishes to Heather and the rest of the crew in the "switch". I know it will continue to be awesome. Thanks for everything!! Laurel

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  4. Sorry to see you go and happy for you at the same time. Thanks for letting me sell my lamps at 3:17. Best wishes for the future.

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  5. You and Angie have gone above and beyond. Can't wait to see what you do in Texas - you'll be missed.

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  6. So I’m standing in line at the HyVee today and I glance over into the next lane while waiting my turn to pay, and I think to myself ‘gosh that guy looks familiar’. I couldn’t quite place him at first, but after a few seconds I thought for sure it was 'that guy from 3:17 Vintage'. But you know how it goes when you’re pretty sure you recognize someone, but you’re not really 100% sure and you think about just how awkward it’s going to be when you say “gee, aren’t you that guy from 3:17 Vintage” and the guy just gives you a blank stare and says “3:17 what?” So instead of taking a risk, I just went about my business, paid for my stuff and went on my way. And now I’m pretty sure it was you (based on your Selentium Finishing t-shirt) and realize I missed my chance to wish you and your family the best of luck in Texas in person. Crap. Another reminder that taking risks is generally a good idea. So now a comment on your blog will have to suffice. Best of luck to you and Ang in all that you do!

    Linda at q is for quandie

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