Eight days ago around 3:30pm, I hopped in the car and went across the river to my new favorite hardware store, W.C. Wink’s. I was there to buy a sliding door track. For months, we’ve had an antique door leaned up against the wall. The goal was always to hang it. Slide it. Put mail through the mail slot in it. That was the goal.
But the goal had aged. Settled. If it were an email, it would be the one at the bottom of the inbox you read, thought “YES! I will definitely respond to this! How clever!,” marked as unread, and then did nothing about for 3 months. 5 months. 8 months. Until finally it comes time to squint your eyes and delete it or proffer apologies for such a ridiculous delay and do what you should have done 8 months ago.
It being exponentially harder to delete a door than an email, we opted for the latter.
You see, our goal now had a real, looming deadline: our Studio Opening Party. We knew that in seven days, our shop would fill with people and they’d see our door and sense our shame or pride at having not hung or hung it. So I drove to Wink’s and got a track.
That was the first of no less than 12 trips to various hardware stores around town (note to self, always buy more cable stops than you think you could possibly use). For 7 days, we put the finishing touches on the space: hung the door, created a light fixture from scratch, chopped the display case in half, added shelves to the window sills, and fabricated and installed custom window display fixtures. We completely destroyed the shop and the put it all back together again. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men were busy.
And guess what, we finished. And it looks amazing. And we showed it to Portland friends and fans last night at our HUGELY successful Studio Grand Opening and Pre-Holiday Sale party. It. Flat. Rocked.
Here’s what I learned: you can do it. I can do it. We can do it. Get an idea, believe in it (or don’t believe; belief will develop through execution), and then begin. Just begin and don’t stop. Betsy started the business this way and it’s the advice I’ve heard her give a hundred times. If you want to do something, JUMP.
My hands are calloused. It’s been a good week. You know how good a clean inbox feels? Times that by a million.
***Song of the Moment: December 4th, by Jay-Z***
