It's Our Online Shop!

Look for our Post Script Mirror in our Decorate : Wall Decor department.

"Happy Birthday, Leap Year Baby!!!" [cue sounds of plastic horns and noisemakers, people whooping, and much clinking of glasses and general merrymaking]

Look for our VIN Glasses in our Entertain : Glassware department.

As promised, our long-awaited online boutique is open for business! We hope you'll visit and spend some time wandering through.

New finds and furnishings will be added on the regular, so stop by daily to see what's just arrived. We plan to highlight new arrivals on our blog whenever possible so that you can stop here first, then skip on over to the boutique for a first peek.

Now for the personal stuff. What can I say upon the launch of our online store? Not to get all choked-up and Toastmaster-ish on you, but I really have been thinking about how to put this e-commerce launch into perspective, how to frame it for myself. Have you ever gotten so lost in a big new project that when you come up for air you fail to behold the true scope of your accomplishment? I think that's where I'm at right now.

Customers often ask me if I've considered expanding The Blissful, either in terms of physical space or even franchising. The fact is, at this point I am quite content with the brick-and-mortar store in its current size. This is as much store as I want for right now! And I can't even begin to imagine a new shop in a new city. However, the online launch is an expansion of no small proportions. It's a bigger investment in every regard: time spent behind the computer, hours spent at the shop, training new staff, getting my office into shape as a shipping center (and yes, it's come a looong way from the last time you saw it), not to mention the additional financial investment of stocking inventory for not one but two shops (that's one way of thinking of it; the other way of thinking about it is that our customer base just multiplied by several thousandfold; either way, that means more inventory). It's a leap, and how appropriate that we're launching on the eve of February 29th, 2008...Leap Day.

Look for our Tiny Garden Tee in our Dress : Apparel department.

And so we commence this next phase of our journey at The Blissful. We are launching with what I see as a fairly modest representation of all that is to come. Our product mix online will grow by leaps and bounds over the next few weeks, months, and years. We look forward to the great pleasure and privilege of doing business with you and thank you so much for your friendship and support. Merci! Merci! Merci!

Oh, and as always, thank you to Matt and Becki and to Linds, three of the best friends I could ever have. Without the three of you, this online boutique just might have leapt right into March!

Let the wonderment begin!
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