Wow! December 4th has arrived and we have finally opened! The entire store is looking great! All of the five shops! The transformation from yesterday to today is incredible. Everyone worked really hard just like the dresscode’s other store at Cross Keys, I feel like I am an art gallery. Everything in the store is unique from the décor to the way the merchandise is displayed. The shop is really pulled together in such a wonderful and unique way.

Yesterday was definitely a long day! But we had a great team that worked very hard to bring the pop-up shop to life. We spent the day building the chrismtas tree that I love so much, merchandising the shop, and checking on the little things. he shop.
Natalie’s son made a super cool Chrismtas tree skirt… skirt with dresscode written on in in graffiti, which is perfect for the Christmas tree made of paint cans and ties in the artwork Deepak has displayed. The artwork was unveiled yesterday and it adds such a great touch to the shop.

We had some major computer issues yesterday , of course,. Aren’t computers supposed to make life easier! They are so hectic sometimes. Well anyway, Lightspeed, our inventory system, has not been working properly for days and we were on a mission to get it fixed ASAP or we would be in some serious trouble which would be too much drama. First, I had to find an internet connection. Of course I knew there was a Starucks around the corner, I hate to admit it, but it is one of the things I do look for when I am in a new city…but good thing I drink so much coffee because I knew that they would have a way to connect to the internet. First problem solved. Howerver, the next step was now connecting myself to the internet, which was another mission, I won’t get into the details. Luckily, my new best friend, Michael from London, the Lightspeed customer service guy was so patient and friendly as I tried to connect. Michael, the greatest customer service man ever, kept me very entertained as I was trying to sort all this out.We chatted about the weather, traveling, life, you know…and finally after 2 hours, I connected and got Lightspeed going! What a relief because now we could actually sell some merchandise. Majore issue solved…or so I thought…We opened at 12pm today…and guess what, no internet and major Lightspeed disfunction!!! I didn’t mind though because I would have loved to talk to Michael, who would have sorted everyting out. We were able to sort it out within a few hours though so it was not a problem. so I spent two hours trying to sort them out. Lightspeed, our inventory program, was NOT working…luckiy, Michael, the greatest customer service man, was very patient with me and kept me entertained as I was sorting out the issues. But finally after

We did have our first sale today too within 2 hours of opening! The foot traffic is definitely so much more than at Cross Keys, and everyone has been commentcing on the uniqe concept of the store! They love everything from the satin ribbons that hang the chic men’s shirts on the photography pole to the graffiitti artwork that fills the wallsThe shop is really pulled together in such a unique way – reds, graffiti, hemps. I love being in harbor east, it is such a great area. I am curious to know how the weekend goes, but I will find out when I return Sunday. For now, I am heading back to good ol’ New York to enjoy the weekend after a great week in Baltimore. Need to rest up …its almost party time! 17 hours on a bus in a matter of 5 days – I’ve had to have breakend SOME sort of record!
Of course there is always going to be drama when opening a store, butust just learn to go with the flow and Gita does it so well. There will most likely be problems and stresses along the way but the more stressed you make them, the more intense they become. As my good friend says, life is easy when you go with the flow….and that is exactly what I am going to do…