Happy Anniversary!

If you follow us on Facebook then you have already been reminded of this. Today, Brickhouse Craft Shop celebrated it's fourth anniversary. That may not seem like a lot of years but Patti and I had no idea what to expect when we opened our little shop 4 years ago. In 4 short years though, we have truly been blessed to be able to do something we absolutely love - and share it with the best crafters and customers we know.

We realize that we have what some may consider some unfair advantages in the world of small business: we own the business, including the building (which is on our property) and most of the crafts - we do have some crafts on consignment - but from the day we opened we committed to not carrying any debt. We have no employees other than Patti and I. We don't pay rent or have a payroll to manage. Yes, our shop is very small but it is a legitimate business that the state of Pennsylvania recognizes and awaits our Sales Tax filing every 3 months. So while I will admit that our situation may be a bit unusual for these reasons, any good business person should be able to develop a business plan that positions them to succeed.

So why then do so many small businesses fail within the first few years? There are a number of reasons but I can tell you one very important reason a business won't succeed or survive is that they lose focus of the heart of the business. It doesn't matter if you offer a product or a service - if you focus on making money rather than making customers - you have lost focus of the single most important piece of your business.

Over the past 4 years and to this day, we continue to grow. We still have new customers visiting us. We still have customers who have been with us from the start. We never stop listening to our customers. Patti and I had a clear vision for what our shop would be about - what it would look like, what we would and would not sell. But we are not afraid to change if we feel it is right for the Brickhouse - and our customers have helped us along the way.

Obviously we know that our crafters are critical to our success as well but we believe they also realize how important the customer is. So today Patti and I want to especially thank all of our customers for making our Fourth Anniversary possible. We know that each day we succeed - it's because of you!      

In the Morning Light

We wanted to share some pictures of the Brickhouse Craft Shop porch in the morning light. The pictures in the previous post were taken last night after we finished decorating. We really like how it looks but at night it looks so cozy. You all should stop by and see it in person and do a little porch sitting.

 



So cozy!





Yard Sale Find~Glass terrarium that I scored for $10!
We filled it with greens and lights.

 

stack of old suitcases






old chicken crate with an old rusty trough sitting on top



Christmas Porch

After we had our Thanksgiving meal, my mom and my two sisters came back to my house. They wanted to help me decorate the porch of the Brickhouse Craft Shop. It was a beautiful day and it was SO MUCH fun having a GIRLS ONLY afternoon. The guys and all the kiddos stayed back at my mom's while we spent the day together. By the time we finished it was dark outside. I took a few pictures tonight and I plan on taking more tomorrow during the day light.....anyhow I am so happy how the porch looks. Now you all have to stop by the Brickhouse Craft Shop and see it for yourself.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

                            From the Brickhouse

Happy Thanksgiving from our House to Yours



May the blessings of this Thanksgiving fill your hearts and home

Bittersweet



Bittersweet in a rusty metal wall pocket





Close up of the rusty metal pocket



I absolutely LOVE Bittersweet. We have a local lady that is making some wreaths for the Shop. She just delivered these beauties! When you drive up to the Shop and you see the one wreath that is hanging on the Shop...well that one is mine! 

This one is mine! I couldn't resist, I had to buy it!

 Yep I bought it...it looks right at home here at the Shop....BUT the other beauties are looking for a home. Stop by the Brickhouse and see these bittersweet wreaths in person.

Back In The Saddle again....

I am back in the Blogging Saddle again! This weekend I realized just how much I missed Blogland and all the nice people Tim and I have met. I have a confession....I feel that I may have become a boring blogger...yes me, boring...it has been known to happen. So instead of boring all of you, I took a break from blogging, but I am back and I will try really hard to not bore you to tears.

 The Brickhouse Craft Shop is NOT a boring place these days! I don't think that Tim and I realized, when we opened our Shop back in '07, that we would still be going strong and having so much fun. The reason we are having so much fun is all our customers that stop by...they make what we do so much fun!

And the reason we are still going strong is because of our wonderful Crafters/Artists that fill our little Shop with the BEST Handmades ever! Yep I said "ever"! They are the BEST and we love them and their wonderful goodies.
 If you are in our neck of the woods we would love to have you stop by and visit us. I promise not to bore you like I just did with this blog post.

Fall vs Winter

Fall is in the air for this upcoming weekend!

Winter was in the air last weekend.



Part of a tree that fell in our driveway during the snowstorm.

 We had a rare October snowstorm and our Craft Show at the Harvest Festival at  ARMSTRONG VALLEY WINERY was rescheduled for this upcoming weekend, Nov 5~6. The Weathemen are promising a fabulous Fall weekend...SO we would love if you stop by there this weekend and visit with us and the other vendors that will be selling their wares.



After this weekend, we will be Decking the Brickhouse out in Christmas splendor....make that Prim Christmas splendor!  



Wait till you see the perfectly prim Christmas goodies that we will have for you!





 Shop Local for your Christmas gifts....and support Made in AMERICA crafts!  And starting next week, we will be Open 7 days a week until Christmas Eve!