A Day of Grace

[please note: this post is addressed to the community here at Circles. They are the "you" to whom I refer.]

I'm sure I've mentioned that I don't like to have sales.

The theory behind the "sale" mechanism is that you either move along products that love your shelves too much, or you generate a burst of cash.

In my experience, sales with these motivations simply feel bad. To achieve these ends I really have to promote the sale to the widest possible audience. People wait for the sale. When sale day arrives that anticipation leads to a ferocious feeding frenzy. People come who never shop here at any other time. They don't care about the shop, the staff or the other customers. They just want a deal. In a yarn store, where the purchases can require a lot of technical assistance, it can be downright ugly. It drains my soul and whether the customers realize it, it drains theirs, as well.

Financially, its not worth it. A lot of inventory goes out of the store without generating enough cash to replenish it and pay the bills. It can feel like a lot of money in the moment, but it only lasts a moment. Then sales for the next few weeks are slow and cash flow anxiety is even angstier than before. It feels a bit like an addictive cycle. I no longer do sales.

Well, not for those reasons. I believe the best reason to have a sale is to celebrate and/or appreciate. I hadn't tested how a sale with that motivation would feel until this weekend:

I was prompted to have a sale for two reasons. First, I am overwhelmingly warmed by the support I am receiving from you during our big tranformation to community ownership.

But honestly, I didn't feel that I had done a good enough job promoting the Farmhouse Yarns Trunk Show. It felt important to generate a great turnout to maximize exposure to Carol Martin's meaningful work. The only way I could think to ensure this was to have a surprise sale. Since that also felt like a good way to show you my appreciation, I went for it. On Thursday we announced a sale for Saturday via our email list. We sent a reminder early Saturday morn.

Friday evening, I sat in the store doing a little preparation, wondering if anybody would come. The feeling that all I can do is wait and see is the daily experience of this shop owner. Will they come? While I was wondering, Judy arrived with vibrantly colored flowers for the shop. It felt like a good omen.

Saturday morning, we got a message that Carol had a lambing emergency and would be late. Uh-oh. This is not good. But Jennifer had gotten there early and was already welcoming people. That's a good sign, right? Next a few customers arrived at opening time and left disappointed that they couldn't wait for Farmhouse Yarns. Gulp. Then Judy put out the flowers.

Before we realized it people were streaming in. People who were pleasantly surprised at the the announcement of a sale. The shop was bustling all day and it never felt frenzied. The sitting room was bathed in sunlight. Or maybe it was the glow of the people relaxing there all afternoon. Carol arrived around 1 and set up in the classroom. She put out big baskets of her lovely yarns and lots of knitted samples. Then she set up her spinning wheel. She was warm and open and told wonderful stories while you dug through the baskets and admired her work.

It was beautiful to me because it all felt symbiotic. Carol had a good sales day, but more importantly was inspired by your reception of her. It can be isolating creating products and having little contact with customers. She didn't know that part of our mission is to support farmers and artisans. You all did a good thing with your enthusiasm for what she's doing. Its a challenge in today's market to sell yarns with American grown fibers.

Circles had an excellent day of sales without the nasty frenzy part. Jennifer, Judy and I thank you for making it a relatively smooth day for us. It seemed like there were a lot of very happy people going home with beautiful yarns to be entertained and stimulated by for many, many hours.

The sale was very successful. Circles did a good bit of business, but what really made the day wonderful was the presence of Carol Martin spinning yarn and sharing her stories, people appreciating her mission, people sharing with each other in the sitting room and a general feeling of joy throughout the day. I felt the balance that makes Circles what I had hoped - a myriad of connections leading to a little bit of grace. It made my heart sing.

So, thank you all for participating and supporting this little experiment - both the one on Saturday and the ongoing one that is Circles. Especially as we move ahead into completely uncharted waters. I can't do it without you.

And a special big thank you to the staff at Circles who are hanging in there, too. They continue to give a lot of energy to Circles - both me and you - for that little retail pay check that is sometimes late. Where would we be without them? Judy, Jennifer, Bridgid, Alexis, Liz, Martha - I am blessed to have you all in my life.

May we continue to experience a little grace now and then.