Over the last few years, I feel like the world is moving at a faster and faster pace. We are being asked to jump into the unknown and stretch beyond what our minds think we are capable of. When these new possibilities come to us, we have the chance to seize what we are offered or to resist and stay in a more contracted place. Two years ago, I was making the decision to purchase Songbird’s current home. And now, we are preparing to open a new gift store on October 1.
Last month I wrote about Empty Nesting. I thought I would now be spending more time relaxing and focusing on building Songbird. The second one is true, but not in the way I had expected.
When I got back from San Diego, I saw that Gravenstone’s Smoke Shop was going out of business after 33 years. With its location across the street from Songbird, nestled between Redwood Café and the new I Scream Café, it seemed the perfect place for a gift shop. I could buy all their furnishings and be up and running in time for the holidays. The new shop would fill a much-needed for a store focused on local gifts for the body, mind, and spirit. It would complement and cross-promote Songbird.
However, by the time I decided I was ready to make an offer, the landlord was already negotiating with someone else. I was told the deal might fall through so I continued to explore the possibility. A week before Gravenstone’s closed, I knew I would not be leasing the space, but a whole new opportunity arose.
I had been resisting looking at the space behind I Scream, the former Sweet Pea Clothing store. A year ago, when I had looked at it with a former Songbird practitioner, the energy had felt wrong. Now, between new floors, new paint, and especially the new energy of I Scream Cafe, it feels completely different. The larger space offers more opportunities to group our products and provide artist talks and demonstrations. It has more street frontage to provide visibility for all of the cars cutting through from Old Redwood Highway and East Cotati. We are still visible from Songbird, and we are still preserving the memory of Gravenstone’s by using two of their display cabinets, four of their card racks, and two of their shelves. We are also preserving the memory of Lydia’s Organics Sunflower Center by using two of their tables.
Our new store, Stones Throw, will offer crystals, health products, candles, jewelry, original art, crafts, prints, cards, photos, rattles, glass, pottery, books, CD’s, and much more. We will also have a section of recycled and reused products. Come check us out!