Funny how the longest committed relationship I've truly managed is with my current shop. I've spent more time there than I have at home..in fact it has been home for some of it. No wonder I feel a bit strange about closing the door on it all, and scuttling off back to the internet.
But then change is good, and sometimes necessary. And I just have to admit to the fact that the fun part for me is in the hunt.. so given a choice between being stuck standing behind a counter and poking around (with permission, of course) in someone's attic, I'm afraid there's no contest.
When we first moved everything over from the little shop I had before we moved in to No9, I don't think I really knew where it would go. Over the years we've had some wonderful staff, equally wonderful customers, amazing stock, and just generally lots of fun in a giant dressing up box. To be honest the only real drag, as ever, was having to part with the stuff.. like most of us I'm only in this business because eventually I had to find some excuse for my compulsive vintage shopping habits.
And now, No9 is closed, and I'm heading back to where I started from; and with online sales making up most of the revenue it seems only sensible.
So the end of one chapter - but I'm very excited to be beginning the new website, and looking forward to my further adventures in vintage that are After Number Nine.