If you follow me on Twitter then you already know that about 4 or so months ago we made the decision to no longer move to Florida but stay and grow our business here in the Midwest. You probably also know that for weeks now we've been looking for a commercial space that MODKID could call home but nothing was quite right. Too big, too small, too expensive, needs too much work, etc. etc. etc.
Well, about a week ago Jon and I were driving through our downtown district, daydreaming about how awesome it would be if we could find a cool, lofty office space among the trendy cafés, funky boutiques and eclectic eateries. "Drive down that road again!" I would say as he quietly obliged. "Have we gone this way yet?", "How about over there?" All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye I spotted a sign on a window. I quickly jotted down the number on my iPhone notes app and urged Jon to stop the car for a quick peek. It was freezing outside, so my sweet hubby told me to stay in the car while he checked it out. He peeks in the windows for what seemed like an eternity then runs back with a curious smirk on his face. "Patty, you have to come see this! I think we found it." Totally annoyed, because surely he must be pulling my leg, I shake my head and roll my eyes. He walks off and beckons me with a smile. I think, "Oh, what the heck" and tighten up my scarf.
This is what I saw when I looked in the windows.
If I had designed a space from scratch... well, let's just say that I felt violated! Like someone had stepped into my brain, snapped a photo of my dream space and created it for themselves without even asking for permission. The nerve!
The days that followed were utter torture. Again, if you follow me on twitter, you know. Waiting, talking, negotiating, waiting some more, making myself seriously ill over the thought of losing it. Yes, that's what it was like. Saturday night we found ourselves sipping hot tea with the owner of the building at the Chinese restaurant next door. We brought our top negotiator (Sydney)... because, who could say no to that face? We would've brought two negotiators, but Sophie was away at a sleepover.
Well, I won't drag this out any longer... ladies & gents, meet... MODKID HQ!
This is the view of the right wall looking from the front of the building. Original hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, 18' tin ceilings, lots of windows...
A little bit further down the wall... there's even a clothing rack for all of my trunk show samples! This place used to be home to a posh bridal shop.
Further down the wall we see the first of two bay doors... perfect for bringing in large shipments (probably fabric in this door, since we'll use the one in the back for bringing in pallets of patterns)
The rear portion of the building will be Jon's area, which will eventually house his desk, racks of patterns and a fulfillment area.
Here's the 2nd bay door and a cool glass block window that lets in tons of light in this back room.
Now, we've turned back around and are looking towards the front of the building. The door on the left there is for the unisex bathroom.
There are two dressing rooms on the left side, which is perfect for days like today when I have a handful of beautiful models shooting pattern covers. And yes, first order of business: switching out those ugly black curtains with some pretty Patty Young fabric!
You may have spotted these already, but I wanted to give you a closer look at the tin ceiling and the gorgeous brushed nickel chandeliers. There are 12 of these beauties! TWELVE! I die!
To give you an idea of how much character this place has, every now & then you see these...
I thought they were stickers at first, but noooo... they are tin (or some sort of metal) and are bolted right to the wood. I assume they are covering something, but I don't want to find out. They are staying put. Here's another one... cool, eh?
For those history buffs out there, Jon's been doing a little research on the building and he just found out tonight that this used to be the headquarters of State Farm Insurance from 1922 to 1924. WOW! Read more here. There's an old picture of our building from the 20's in the third section down.
Anyway, I think it's safe to say that we are overjoyed with our new venture and are already feeling right at home...
I hope you guys don't mind that I'm gonna be documenting the whole office decor process here on ye olde blog. Thanks for coming along for the ride! :)
