Tribe

The people who visit make my shop hum.  They are the life blood of the place.  They are some of the most creative, loving, fabulous humans in our community.  It's one thing to start a business to make money.  It's quite another to develop a group, a community, or a tribe.  These folks are a tribe.  They come from vastly different backgrounds and perspectives.  They have vastly different skills and materials preferences.  But they love and support one another through thick and thin.

It's one of the unintended consequences.  Who sets out to form a tribe?

A little more than a year ago, we almost lost a member of the tribe.  She broke into a bazillion little pieces but somehow managed to survive.  This pic is one of her first times back in the shop.  Feel the joy in this pic.  There were a few tears that night and a lot more laughter.  Her best friends pulled off a massive surprise that night and found a way to bring her sister in from California.  A surprise party from the tribe converged at the shop. 

The past year has seen the tribe change and stretch and grow.  Two members moved, a beloved parent died, pipes froze, serious illnesses were endured, children were born, teens rebelled, and lovers left.  The tribe listened to it all and provided support in the most loving of ways. 

May you all have a tribe like this.

Why?

When you visit the post office in our small, small town, you are recognized.  It goes with the territory.  In a town of 5000 people, the postmaster and anyone else knows you, your family, your address, your frequent mailings from businesses and a lot of other details.  The same 2 people have dropped off my mail for the last 30 years.  As I visited the post office earlier this week, the person behind the counter asked about the packages I was mailing and how things were going at the shop and then asked the question that has been asked a thousand times. 

"Why did you start a business?"

I don't know.

Did I want to be a fantastic knitter?  Did my grandma instill a love of knitting?  Do I really love yarn?

Maybe to all of those things, but...  I wanted to do something really different and way out of my comfort zone.  When your reach a milestone birthday, sometimes things shift.  There are flashes of things to look back on and anxiety of how the future will unfold.  There is the realization that many, many people never reach the milestone you are facing and enjoying.  All of those things happened that summer. 

Someone I thought I would know and grow to have other adventures with passed away suddenly.  My oldest kids were leaving the nest.  A career that had been exciting for decades was too easy. It was time to do something else and starting a business was a really logical choice at the time. 

Starting a business is a lot like falling off a cliff or sky diving or downhill racing.  The first two activities I can only imagine.  The third I have done, but not well.  You prepare with skills and equipment.  You talk to others who have done it.  You get your nerves together and then there is start day where it's either "do" or "do not".  The right shop front, the money and the right people came together at the right time and a shop was begun. I didn't know what it took to run a business prior to this.  I learned by reading and doing.   Six and a half years later, I am still learning and doing.  That is my "Why".  I need something really challenging to do and learn about.   If it ever becomes easy I will do something else.

Visit the shop online at juliayarnshoppe. com
Visit our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/julias.shoppe/
Tell me what your thoughts in the comments.