Crowing Ram

As I brace myself for the final day of our 2008 Fall/Winter buying trip cum mini-vacation, I’m struck with two things:  how incredibly fortunate I am to be in an industry so full of fun, funny, sincere, and sincerely talented people that I get to spend so much intensive time with just a few times over the course of the year and how incredibly good it will be to get home, hug my dogs, sleep in my own bed, and wake up to a bright new day in my own business that is itself so full of fun, funny, sincere, and sincerely talented people that I get to spend so much intensive time with every day of the week.

Of course, I’ll have lots of fun things to share as time permits over the next several days, but more than anything, the TNNA NeedleArts Market in Columbus, Ohio has again offered me a huge burst of creative energy that I’m dying to share.  Thanks so much to everyone that I’ve spent time with.  Thanks to all of our wonderful dinner companions, it’s so good to sit and relax with so many inciteful and talented people.  Thanks to our friends on the Hyatt terrace… those we saw and those we missed; again, I’m genuinely grateful for those brief moments that we had to interact.  Thanks to all of the vendors who have put their very best out for our consideration; your work is both obvious and tremendous, and it is deeply appreciated whether we placed an order this weekend or not.  Please, know that all of my fall ordering is not finished.  I know that we will certainly be returning to the shop to plan further and more completely with our store manager Sabrina (who I’m so glad so many of you got to meet) and several others of our staff, customers, and friends.  There simply isn’t enough time in the world to do and see all that I’d like to, and three short days is only a small fraction of that.

We’re off to pack up and get downstairs for some breaky before the madness churns up again.  Bracing… bracing…