Tuesday, November 15, 2011
There and Back Again
The Metaphysical Moose began as the offspring of The Chocolate Moose of Chatham and was one of the parts that I missed the most when we closed our doors in January 2009. The quirky little gift shop, located just down stairs, was a place where people could escape the mundane, have a good laugh and be a bit naughty. Although the original shop is gone, The Metaphysical Moose has a new home on Etsy's artist market place. A menagerie of art and gifts, The Metaphysical Moose shop on Etsy is a place for buyers to believe in magic again and add alittle imagination back to into their lives.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
When One Door Closes, Another One Opens
When one door closes, another one opens....yeah but at the time it REALLY sucks! If you ask my friends they'll tell you I'm a Jack(ie) of all trades, a go with the flow kinda gal which has placed me in several different kinds of jobs, but when I opened The Chocolate Moose Jan 2003, I thought I found my niche in the world. No more wondering what I'm gonna be when I grow up!..notice I didn't say mature. A place where I could be creative and put a smile on someones face (even the burliest of them).
I had just gone through a debilitating illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome that left me bedridden for months. One minute I was teaching kickboxing....yes I taught kickboxing...and the next I couldn't even make it through the warm-up and within a week I couldn't walk. Just another of the many hurdles the Universe likes to put in my path....."Now what was I gonna do?"
Turn lemons into lemon candies of course!! I had been making chocolates for family and friends for years, constantly being told "You should sell these!" ....what the hell, right? why not? So in January 2003 I opened my new chocolate shop in a tiny space my parents had attached to their house. I could use their kitchen which was already certified, no rent and the fact my kids could take the bus after school to my parents house...."Hello! No-brainer!!" We out grew it in three months! I then gained a sort of partner (who later left), found an new location in the town of Chatham, NY and by 2005 was featured on Food Network's Al Roker on the Road. Pretty cool since I had no formal training. In 2006 we moved again this time to a huge location that we shared with a flower shop. What a great combo, flowers and chocolate! We even added a website thanks to my new mutlit talented manager Carol. Sadly in 2007 the flower shop left us (closed) and we were now stuck with a huge space and all the huge bills that went with it. Panicking, I tried to make every square foot of the shop count and opened a gift shop (The Metaphysical Moose) and a cafe. Myself not being the greatest business woman, was putting myself in more and more debt to keep it afloat. I always hated the business end of things. All I wanted to do was create really good chocolates and in my off time....which wasn't often...I wanted to make scarves, paintings, candles and such to sell in the gift shop. Word was spreading of my chocolates and we were now in several magazine/ newspaper articles, as well as featured in The History of Chocolate at the Smithsonian, and two other museums. My husband Larry finally jumped on board, along with our corporate attorney friend Michael and by 2008 the fates cut me some slack and "voila" I had me a wonderful Chocolate Moose support group! YAY! What was that? don't get cocky?
Ya know how just when you think your getting ahead.....yeah....thats when the rug gets pulled out from under you. My quaint little town has to tear up the main street to fix some water issues. We're talkin sidewalks, the whole street, lamp posts, the works. My business sales plummeted 75%. I even had a "No Sidewalk Sale" hahaha.....no such luck. Time to pump in more money. CRAP!!! If only we could make it thru to the holidays where are sales were always great..... Thats when the economy tanked...FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!!
The stress of it all was really getting to me and anyone who tells you that once you've had Guillain-Barre syndrome that there is no real side effects from it.....you tell them to come see me. All these years I have been suffering from neuropathy numbness and pain, as well as chronic fatigue, all triggered by stress.....I know what your thinking..."Who could run a business and not be stressed?" Well yeah... I got such joy at seeing and hearing people enjoying the fruits of my labor that it all seemed so worth it. This new development though pushed me right to the edge and my body began shutting down. We reached out to everyone for help and ideas, including our local congress woman (who by the way completely ignored us, not even a response). It was then we had to make the difficlt decision to close the business.
January 2009 we closed our doors. It was like going through a wake. The loss of a good friend who I stuck through good times and bad. Telling the customers was the worst. The Moose had such a great vibe and energy that the customers felt the lose as much as we did. People were crying and hugging eachother, huging me and making me cry again and again. Carol began steering them away from me to keep me from falling apart. My hard work was no more. Good bye to The Chocolate Moose of Chatham, NY.
After much feeling sorry for myself, I eventually found another job....one that actually paid (who knew?)....and moved on like I always seem to do when the chips are down. I tried to get The Metaphysical Moose part sort of going again and if you look at the date at which my Etsy shop was opened, it will say November 2009, but I just coudln't get myself to do it. Now the Universe has slapped me yet again..."Hello? What the hell?" and with the job market being in the toilet, it jostled me enough to get my ass creating again. Thank God/Goddess!!
So when you enter my little Etsy shop remember that The Metaphysical Moose was once part of a place where sights a smells took them back to their youth. Where people could go to have a good laugh and feel welcome. A place where I could create and now am creating again.
I had just gone through a debilitating illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome that left me bedridden for months. One minute I was teaching kickboxing....yes I taught kickboxing...and the next I couldn't even make it through the warm-up and within a week I couldn't walk. Just another of the many hurdles the Universe likes to put in my path....."Now what was I gonna do?"
Turn lemons into lemon candies of course!! I had been making chocolates for family and friends for years, constantly being told "You should sell these!" ....what the hell, right? why not? So in January 2003 I opened my new chocolate shop in a tiny space my parents had attached to their house. I could use their kitchen which was already certified, no rent and the fact my kids could take the bus after school to my parents house...."Hello! No-brainer!!" We out grew it in three months! I then gained a sort of partner (who later left), found an new location in the town of Chatham, NY and by 2005 was featured on Food Network's Al Roker on the Road. Pretty cool since I had no formal training. In 2006 we moved again this time to a huge location that we shared with a flower shop. What a great combo, flowers and chocolate! We even added a website thanks to my new mutlit talented manager Carol. Sadly in 2007 the flower shop left us (closed) and we were now stuck with a huge space and all the huge bills that went with it. Panicking, I tried to make every square foot of the shop count and opened a gift shop (The Metaphysical Moose) and a cafe. Myself not being the greatest business woman, was putting myself in more and more debt to keep it afloat. I always hated the business end of things. All I wanted to do was create really good chocolates and in my off time....which wasn't often...I wanted to make scarves, paintings, candles and such to sell in the gift shop. Word was spreading of my chocolates and we were now in several magazine/ newspaper articles, as well as featured in The History of Chocolate at the Smithsonian, and two other museums. My husband Larry finally jumped on board, along with our corporate attorney friend Michael and by 2008 the fates cut me some slack and "voila" I had me a wonderful Chocolate Moose support group! YAY! What was that? don't get cocky?
Ya know how just when you think your getting ahead.....yeah....thats when the rug gets pulled out from under you. My quaint little town has to tear up the main street to fix some water issues. We're talkin sidewalks, the whole street, lamp posts, the works. My business sales plummeted 75%. I even had a "No Sidewalk Sale" hahaha.....no such luck. Time to pump in more money. CRAP!!! If only we could make it thru to the holidays where are sales were always great..... Thats when the economy tanked...FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!!
The stress of it all was really getting to me and anyone who tells you that once you've had Guillain-Barre syndrome that there is no real side effects from it.....you tell them to come see me. All these years I have been suffering from neuropathy numbness and pain, as well as chronic fatigue, all triggered by stress.....I know what your thinking..."Who could run a business and not be stressed?" Well yeah... I got such joy at seeing and hearing people enjoying the fruits of my labor that it all seemed so worth it. This new development though pushed me right to the edge and my body began shutting down. We reached out to everyone for help and ideas, including our local congress woman (who by the way completely ignored us, not even a response). It was then we had to make the difficlt decision to close the business.
January 2009 we closed our doors. It was like going through a wake. The loss of a good friend who I stuck through good times and bad. Telling the customers was the worst. The Moose had such a great vibe and energy that the customers felt the lose as much as we did. People were crying and hugging eachother, huging me and making me cry again and again. Carol began steering them away from me to keep me from falling apart. My hard work was no more. Good bye to The Chocolate Moose of Chatham, NY.
After much feeling sorry for myself, I eventually found another job....one that actually paid (who knew?)....and moved on like I always seem to do when the chips are down. I tried to get The Metaphysical Moose part sort of going again and if you look at the date at which my Etsy shop was opened, it will say November 2009, but I just coudln't get myself to do it. Now the Universe has slapped me yet again..."Hello? What the hell?" and with the job market being in the toilet, it jostled me enough to get my ass creating again. Thank God/Goddess!!
So when you enter my little Etsy shop remember that The Metaphysical Moose was once part of a place where sights a smells took them back to their youth. Where people could go to have a good laugh and feel welcome. A place where I could create and now am creating again.
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