Hi all,
Well big changes are coming to Treasured Memories this year and I wanted to let you all in on what those changes are and why I have decided to make them. In June we will be celebrating our 21st anniversary which is very exciting and still hard for me to believe! My current lease expires this August 31st and I have decided not to renew it for many reasons. First, don't freak out, we are going to move which I will discuss in detail further down, but there will be changes. For the last year and a half I have worked outside the store three days a week as a Dietitian. Likely to no one's surprise, the store unfortunately doesn't provide me any income and has not for many, many years. With this second job and running TM, I am often working six days a week and then if we have weekend events, I do not have a day off for two weeks. Needless to say, I am tired and my family does not get enough of my time! In addition, a critical aspect of my decision that has been weighing on me for the past year is that my parents are now 92 and 88 and I have really missed spending time with them due to working more. We are a very close family and I am blessed beyond words to have the parents (and siblings) I do, but I really want & need to spend more time with my parents.
Now to the details: I hope you understand why I have decided with this direction. At first, I was going to close the store permanently. As time got closer to the final decision, and the reality of ending TM truly hit me, I just couldn't imagine not seeing my amazing customers, employees & teachers anymore. The brutal truth is, the everyday business for most retail scrapbook stores is just not enough to survive on anymore. The classes, crops and events for TM are what has saved us these last five years, as well as so many of our extremely loyal TM customers who are determined to keep us open! I know that you could all get 100% of your supplies on the internet and have them show up on your front door step, so we appreciate all of your support. It means soooo much to us. We cannot get everything, so we totally understand the need to order online.
The Move: We are moving the second week of July to a "retail industrial" space in Westlake Village close to the store. The other big change is that we will only be open Thursday through Sunday. This will allow me a couple of days off per week to spend with family and still run the store and work my dietitian job. We will continue our monthly 3-day crops as well as classes and all of our away crops & events! This move is a major change in store strategy for us, and one I hope you join us on as we are super excited about the move now that the decision has been made to carry TM on into it's 22nd year!! Kelly-Anne already has the new space planned out in her head! (of course!) The space will be smaller, but we will still have 24 spots for croppers/classes and will of course still carry the latest and greatest new product!
In closing, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for the past 21 years! As I have said many times, we are only still here because of you all. I had always told my employees I am not moving the store for a 4th time, but here we are! I love this store to my core and am proud to still be open in this tough environment. Again, I hope you understand the need for these big changes and follow us on this next step in TM's crazy journey!!
Christine
NEW Address - Mid July 2018
31368 Via Colinas Unit #107
Westlake Villlage, CA 91362
**Note- we will be in the very front (on left side) of the industrial park so you
will not get lost! It is easy to find!! Stay tuned for a Face Book video that
Kelly-Anne and I will be doing where we take a drive from the current TM, to the
new spot to show you how close and easy it will be to find. There is also a cafe in
the industrial park that is close by called Justine's that is great and is open
Monday-Friday.