Oh no she didn't!

There are times when people say or do things that stop you dead in your tracks and make you question humans as a species.

An older, very well dressed woman came into our shop last week and was interested in something to hang outside in her shore home. 

She was checking out the different suns that we have hanging around.

 

 

This sun is made from recycled steel oil drums in Haiti. They are created from using very simple hand tools and are a labor of love.  Haiti is an extremely poor country, and they use whatever resources they can to make/sell things to support themselves. 

 

The woman carefully looked at this sun and others made in a similar fashion and she was bothered by it.

 

"Oh no....look at the nose!  No, this won't do at all."  She said as she shook her head slowly. 

 

"I don't know", I thought to myself, "I think the nose is kinda cute, but then I'm partial." and moved the woman onto some other suns that are terra cotta and made in Mexico similar to this:

 

 

"No, these suns are grumpy, I don't want a grumpy sun." remarked the woman.

 

She went back to the Haitian steel drum suns again and said that she liked these better, but asked me if there were any that had different noses?

 

"What do you mean by different?" I asked her.

 

"Well, you know, ones that don't look like a black person's nose." she replied. "I want to hang this up in my shore home and I don't want to confuse the grandchildren with black people artifacts."

 

My jaw dropped to the floor. 

 

"You know" she added, "I come from "Main Line Philadelphia" and the shops around there cater to what white people want to buy."

 

At this point I am looking to see if there is a hidden camera set up somewhere or if I am being punk'd.

 

It was very obvious that this woman was serious and what I managed to say to her was:  "We feature a lot of different items from all over the world and they represent each culture that they are made in."

 

The woman walked out and it took me a while to recover from her remarks.  I wish I was quick witted and clever enough to say any number of things I thought of AFTER she left, but I am not and I was really just so in shock that people still have this mind set. 

 

 

To see how the steel drum art from Haiti is made, please watch this video:

 

 

 

 

 





Amorous Alcove

The front door of my shop is set back about 8 feet from the sidewalk and there is a nice little alcove where I can put out various items during the nice weather. 

Occasionally people will stop and have conversations on their cell phones or with other people.  Men who accompany their wives while shopping will usually hang out, smoke a cigarette. 

When it rains it's the first place people run to because it's covered so they can dry off a little before dashing back out into the rain again.

Yesterday, a young lady came up and was looking at some of the summer wear I have on a rack outside.  She was there for a few minutes when her boyfriend came up behind her and startled her. 

She gave out a shriek which got my attention.

Next thing I know boy and girl are playing tonsil hockey in my alcove.

I am not a prude and I think a small amount of PDA is fine, but these two were really getting into it.

It was not a romantic little kiss...this was full on snogging. 

Bow chicka Bow wow.

People were walking by, staring.

I think he grabbed her ass and she shrieked again and they walked away.

Nuthin' butt class. 

Dare to be different

I have a special place in my heart for kids who don't fit into the mold of  "normal". 

Whatever that means anyway.

Having been a bit of an odd kid myself I think I have a little more empathy to what they are going through. 

A young girl came into the shop today...skinny little thing. She reminded me a Arya from Game of Thrones.  Her hair was buzzed all around except for a long patch on the left side of her head that swooped down over her eyes.  A little tomboyish.  She wore a patterned orange and red sleeveless top that was way too big for her, and a green shirt under that.  Her black jeans were all frayed at the ends.  The tongues of her lime green and orange sneakers were pulled all the way forward, no laces.  Her backpack looked like it weighed more than she did.  In one hand she held a can of soda and in the other she perched a blue umbrella over her shoulder and had a fistful of change. 

She walked in and said a little "Hi!".

I said "Hi!" back.

Normally when I get kids in the shop I watch them very closely.  I've had a few mini-shoplifters over the years...so I just like to let them know that I am watching them in case they get tempted.

"School will be out for summer soon.  Are you excited?"  I asked her.

"Yeah...next week.  I am kinda excited."  She replied.

I asked her what she will be doing during the summer time and she told me that she loves to read books, and she's obsessed with You Tube video's on how to make things with clay.  She loves art and likes to do all kinds of different art things but right now she is mostly working on making lots of little things out of clay.

Her name is Lucy and she is quite talkative!

Lucy told me that she was in my store before..."Like a couple of years ago when we first moved here" she said.  "I remember because I liked the art you have in here.  Actually I like everything you have in here."

"Well thank you very much Lucy, I appreciate that!" 

I think it's fair to say at this point that Lucy is a really cool kid!

I asked her what grade was she going into next year.  She said she hoped it would be sixth, but her grades weren't that good so she may get held back. 

Trying to be positive I told her that being held back may not be too bad because next year you'll know everything you did this year so it should be easier for you.

"Do you like school?"  I asked her.

"I like some parts of it" she told me, "at least I don't get made fun of as bad in this school as I did in my other school before I moved here." 

"Well don't let them get to you Lucy because in the long run it doesn't matter what other kids say to you or if they tease you."

"Yeah, I know that's what my Mom says, but sometimes it does." 

Ugh...of course it does.

I wish at that moment I had some great moment of adult words of wisdom to tell Lucy, but what can you say?   "It's just words, ignore them."  "Don't worry this won't last forever."  "Sorry you have to go through this, kids can be cruel."  As an adult we can look back at childhood and realize what a short period of time it really was, but when you are a kid going through it...it seems like an eternity.

My sense is that Lucy is that kind of kid that likes being different and unique and I think that will carry her through the tough years.

We talked about art in school and she really likes it.  I asked her if there was an art club in her school and she said Yes, but she didn't like it.  Apparently they were making a paper mural to be hung in the school and she painted a little bunny because she is "obsessed with bunnies and all kinds of animals but mostly bunnies right now" and the next time art club met, the bunny she painted was painted over with a tree because it didn't fit the theme of the mural.  

"So I hate art club now." 

My adult brain was busy trying to process what kind of art club would paint over something a child made. 

Lucy meanwhile moved on to the next subject:  elephants

"You have a lot of elephants in your store."

"Yes, I do!  Elephants are good luck and a lot of people seem to like them."

Lucy nodded and seemed to contemplate this.  She told me she tried to make one out of clay one time but her brother squished it.

"Brother's happen" I told her.

"Mine happen a lot", she said.

I like Lucy. 

We chatted a bit more and then she said to me:  "Thank you.  I really like your shop."

"Thank you Lucy, I've enjoyed talking to you today and I hope you come back and visit me again soon!"

Lucy smiled and said she would.

I really hope she does.

Kids and shopping

 

Shopping with children is not always a fun thing.

Unless you are buying them something, they really don't want to be dragged around from shop to shop.

It's kind of like Russian Roulette when you think about it. 

How many stores can you fit in before your kid blows a gasket and has a melt-down?

With babies and infants you shop in between feedings and hope that they will nap while you browse.

Toddlers are little ticking time bombs...you can only say:  "Don't touch that."  "I said NO!"  "Just one more shop honey and then we'll go home I promise,"  or "Just one more shop and we'll get that ice cream/toy I promised you two hours ago.."

I am usually sympathetic to parents who shop with kids and generally speaking most kids are fairly well behaved. 

Then there are the parents who are so self absorbed that they don't pay attention to this loaded gun that they are dragging around with them. 

One slip and BAM! 

I had one Mom come in with her daughter who was about 6-7 years old.  Mom loved jewelry and she was looking for something new. 

Daughter scuffed behind Mom as they walked in.  She looked up and leered at me.  I looked down and gave her my best:  "I'm watching you kid"  looks.

She was not phased by my look. 

I actually think she took it as a challenge.

Oh shit.

Mom got busy right away checking out different necklaces that caught her eye.  Completely ignoring her daughter who would fall back about 3 or 4 feet away from Mom.

This is generally NOT a good sign - to me this says:  "I'm done with this and I will soon make it be known I will not do this anymore."

Luckily for me though, something in one of my display cases caught her eye and she kind of parked herself in front of it staring.

Still...I kept her in my sights.

Mom called me over to ask a question.  I went over to assist her and when I looked back over at her daughter she was smooshing her little face on the glass of the display case.

Ugh...thanks kid.  I just cleaned that glass. 

Mom wanted to see more jewelry and was trying to decide between two necklaces...a minute or two passed by and I checked on the kid again.

Now she is licking my glass display cases.

But she's not just licking...she is full out French kissing my display counter and creating a two foot long slobbery spit dripping mess all over the glass!!!

I took a breath and said as politely as I could:  "Sweetie, please don't do that." 

Mom finally snapped out of her jewelry induced haze, looked over at her daughter...dropped the necklace she was holding and in three big steps reached out and grabbed her daughter by the arm and started screaming at her:  "I told you NOT to do that...what is wrong with you?"

Meltdown to begin in 5...4...3...2...1

Daughter threw herself on the floor screaming.

Mother standing over daughter screaming.

Me wishing I was anywhere else by in my own shop at this point.

As the mother struggled to pick up the screaming kicking child off the floor, her pocketbook swung off her shoulder and smacked her in the face and her designer sunglasses went flying across the floor which made her even angrier. 

Daughter was reaching critical mass and started to sob uncontrollably making sounds like..."eee...aaaa...eeee...aaaa...ohhh...eeee...aaaa...eeee.....eeee."

Mother finally managed to pick the daughter up off the floor while I went over and got her sunglasses for her. 

"I just wanted to do a little shopping for myself...is that too much to ask for?"  She half screamed at the ceiling.

They left my shop and I grabbed the windex and cleaned off my display case thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't her.

People...people who need people...

We LOVE our customers!

We really do.

Without you we wouldn't be here - simple as that.

90% of the time people come and shop and it's a nice smooth transaction.  No hassles, no worries.

Most people are fairly polite, friendly, respectful.

They come in, look around - sometimes they buy, sometimes they don't. 

Business as usual.

Occasionally we get some real humdingers though!

Like the woman who came in today and bought a $1.00 friendship bracelet and wanted me to wrap it for her. 

"It's a gift for someone," she tells me in her New Yawker accent.

Here, let me get out my handmade wrapping paper and my satin ribbon and make that real pretty for you ma'am.

Welcome to the world of a small business owner!

Hello and welcome!

I have created this blog to chronicle the life of a small town retail business owner.

This blog will be part humor, part sarcasm, part real-life, part "WTF" and part therapy.

I opened up a small retail shop in the heart of a beach town.  I am my own boss, I love what I do and I have fun doing it...

BUT...

There are days!

So here you will read about my good days, my bad days, my "what the hell was I thinking days" too.

Thanks for reading!

~S

p.s. I love to hear stories from other small business owners too, so please feel free to share!