More About the Store

I have more photos to share! Love seeing the progress on the new Inky Hot Mess store. I have like no patience and want it all done yesterday and opened last week, but that's totally not realistic and I know it. I'm just so darn excited about the new store!

My husband has been doing a ton of painting. I'm amazed he hasn't poured a can of paint over my head yet. I painted the walls! He's painting all the trim work. He also does all the cut ins.....I pretty much suck at doing the cut ins when it comes to painting walls and ceilings. Oh he also painted about a million square feet of ceiling. Ok so maybe a million is a teeny, tiny exaggeration, but his shoulders felt like he painted the Sistine Chapel.

He's quite the trooper!

Here he is doing some cut ins in the window area. See those big honking light fixtures? Yeah, those things are gone! We replaced them with these little lights from Home Depot. They're so much brighter, energy efficient, and 100 times better looking.

A little before and after. This is the classroom side of the store before priming and painting. It's a panoramic photo from my iPhone so it's kind of wonky looking. The store isn't wonky! ;)

And a the after! Love this paint color. It's called Shoreline and it's from the Valspar collection at Lowe's. A totally perfect color since you can see Seneca Lake from our front door! 

That's all I have to share today! Check back later this week. More is being completed every day!

Furniture Shopping

I have been all over the Finger Lakes shopping around for furniture and fixtures for the new Inky Hot Mess store. I've been to Salvation Army, Goodwill, a number of antique shops, Target, Hobby Lobby, Lowe's, Home Depot, and who knows where else!

I love the idea of buying something and repurposing it....kind of like giving it a second life. We all know Thomasville furniture is not what one would call cheap. Well, I found a gorgeous hutch/buffet from 1965 that was actually made in Thomasville at the Salvation Army! Seriously folks, they don't make furniture like this anymore. Thomasville furniture is not made in Thomasville, NC anymore sadly. It weighs about 50 ton. I was injured loading it up in my Durango from Salvation Army. This beauty will be getting a makeover and will be prominently on display as our display case in the new Inky Hot Mess store.

I have been on the hunt for an old chalkboard.....something like one from a school...yup, I'm old....I used to kick it with TRex on the weekends. :) You'd think this would be an easy find since schools have been removing them and putting in white boards and other fancy gadgets. Not so easy as it turns out! Well, I found a very cool old chalkboard from the Town of Aurora at an antique mall. Why am I mentioning that it's from Aurora? Keep your pants on! I'm getting there.

There's this itty, bitty place in Aurora named MacKenzie-Childs. Some of you may have heard of it. They have amazing pottery, enamelware, furniture, home decor, garden decor. The whole place is just so Oooooh My Gosh! I bought several things for my home during my visit. I also purchased an item for the store. Not giving away what it is just yet.

Seriously, if you ever make it to Cayuga Lake, please visit MacKenzie-Childs and the Town of Aurora. It's adorable. It's quaint. It's on a gorgeous lake. What else do you need to know, right? Oh and Aurora is the home of Wells College. I'm telling you, it's a nice place for a day trip or a few hours. If you make it to MacKenzie-Childs, make sure you make time for the farmhouse tour. It's the showcase home of MacKenzie-Childs. Photos do not do it justice. It's simply fantastic. The attention to every little detail they put in when they restored the home is just wow.

Check back later this week and see what I'm creating or painting or stocking. Who knows what I'll be up to!

PS Signs went up in our door and windows! Now the people of Geneva know we're coming.

PPS A little Sumptuous Purple to tide you over.

Any guesses what these will be used for??

They're from Home Depot if that helps at all.

New Store Updates

We have been extraordinarily busy here at Inky Hot Mess! I haven't even had time to blog or paper craft in weeks. The new Inky Hot Mess store is really coming along. We're almost done with the construction phase and getting ready to load in the furniture and fixtures. Then the fun really begins!

What we've been up to.....

Creating a store layout.....just a rough idea until all the pieces are in place.

New lighting!! I don't like fluorescent lights. Many of them give me headaches and affect my vision. So they were all removed and halogen and LED fixtures replaced them. These new lights stylish and modern. And they will give us a ton of light in the classroom area!

We have a pretty, seeded glass pendent hanging over where the register will be.

We even replaced the lights in the storefront window. These are tiny compared to what was there. You'll see the old lights in a bit.

In the store, there are 2 different light fixtures. One is a round track light and the other is a long track light. These are pretty cool since the lights can all be moved and positioned wherever we want. All of the lights are from Home Depot.

My husband has taken some vacation time from work to help out with the construction. He has done so much and I truly can never thank him for helping make my dream become a reality. He has done all of the lighting, painted ceilings, painted trim, moved furniture, helped me shop (and we know how guys looooove shopping!), cleaned tons of things, and put up with me and all of my craziness. Oh and his job is not in construction! He works in healthcare IT so I'm very fortunate that he has learned a few other trades over the years.

Out with those icky florescent light fixtures!

And in with the pretty!

The light installed where the register will be soon. I just love seeded glass and this fixture is so simple and elegant all at the same time.

The whole store has new lights!

The landlord put in new flooring for me! The store used to be a dance studio so there were gym mats for the floors. We now have vinyl floors that look like hardwood floors, but they don't scratch and are super easy to clean up!

Beginning the install....

The flooring is almost done.....just the edges and trim pieces are left!

That's all I have to share today! Lots more to share next week. I'll also have a much better idea when our opening day will be. Our Grand Opening celebration will be July 10th and 11th. We are working with various agencies in the City of Geneva, too, so there will be lots to share soon!

Construction Photos

Today I have a few photos of the construction of the new Inky Hot Mess shop! I love watching the progress being made.

The divider wall is gone!!!! Power is on. You can see the ice cream shop windows leaning on the wall on the right. They were saved to be used later by the landlord. The massive mirrors are still waiting to be removed. The workers have to get some special tools to lug them across the street to another building the landlord owns. I don't envy them at all!

It looks so good! So wide and open now without that divider wall.

The wall in my office being repaired. Amazing how much damage adhesive does to sheetrock.

I approved my wall paint! That's my next project....painting the ceiling, walls, and trim....wish me luck! The wall color is from the Valspar's collection and it's called Shoreline. It's a pale, warm yellow.

That's all I have to share today. Progress is being made and we are moving full steam ahead! So exciting!!

Demolition Photos

Construction on our new store has begun!!! Demolition days are here....

The wood braces from the dance bar has been removed! Oh and the rubber mat was removed.

The mirrors are down! Those babies are huge!!!!!

The mirrors in my office are gone!

The wall in the front of the store. The bulletin board and mirror is gone! The divider wall is still there....but it's leaving soon!!

More photos next week!

Pre-Construction Phase

Today we have a whole bunch of photos to share with you! They are all from the new Inky Hot Mess shop. This is what the store looked like after the previous tenant. She had just moved out when I went to view the place.

A shot from the inside of the store in the front. Check out all that window space!!

Have I mentioned how much I looooooove those windows? I seriously can't wait to decorate them! I've already started shopping and crafting ideas. I even have a white Christmas tree that will fit in the window!

A divider wall.....it has been removed. This space was a dance studio last. I love the little ice cream stand windows. Sadly, there's no one passing ice cream cones through those windows.

The wall to the left of the front door. All of those items have been removed. Big plans for that wall!

The shop behind that divider wall! The wall is gone. Those mirrors are 6 feet by 10 feet. There were 3 of them. Two of them were removed intact and salvaged. The last one broke on the guys removing it. Those things are heavy!

See that little cubby? I just think it's the cutest little thing...I have a plan for it!

The right side of the store behind the divider wall. Those pieces of wood were the supports for the dance bar. They're gone.

Inside the store!

The view from the back of the store. There weren't any lights on....power was turned off. That divider wall shrunk the place and blocked the light.

Hard to see since there aren't any lights. This is my office area. More mirrors on the wall on the left. Those are gone. Gone. Gone.

Windows!!! This is outside.

I tried to get more of the front of the building. I need to get a better photo! Apparently, I need to go across the street and wait for a break in the traffic.

Ok so I'm a little excited about this adventure. Why? Well, this crazy girl has wanted her own scrapbooking/art store for about 10 YEARS. I've been looking for a location since last autumn. I thought I had a gorgeous place all picked out. The place was historic and had historic built in furniture. The landlord even started construction......then he gave me the lease weeks and weeks later. And wow there were a ton of issues so sadly I had to walk away.

I was really devastated. I gave myself one day to grieve. Then I made myself contact a few local landlords and realtors to see what else I could find. During that process, this space became available from a landlord who has been working on helping rebuild Geneva and has a great deal of knowledge on the local area.

Geneva dates back to the 1700's. During the 1940's and 1950's, this place was booming courtesy of 2 nearby military bases. They both closed decades ago. Since I moved here, I learned that one of my grandfather's went to basic training at Sampson Air Force Base which is now Sampson State Park. There's a museum there as well. It's a wonderful place to visit for the day or the week. You can camp there!

I will be sharing more photos this week1 Stay tuned!

Grand Announcement!

Inky Hot Mess is ecstatic to announce that we are opening a physical scrapbook/art shop in the heart of the Finger Lakes. We have been searching for just the right location for months and finally found a stunning place to call home. Inky Hot Mess will be located at 93 Castle Street in Geneva, New York. You can't miss it! If you're coming down Castle Street, you'll see a massive mural that takes up the entire side of our building. The mural is of Seneca Lake. When you are standing on the sidewalk in front of our shop if you look to the right, you can see Seneca Lake! Have we mentioned how much we love the Finger Lakes?

Construction has been going on over the last couple weeks. Paint colors have been selected and are going up next week! Then we're getting a brand new floor. After that, we should be at the stage where we can put in our fixtures. So exciting! We are hoping to open by mid June. A Grand Opening party will be scheduled for early July. The plan right now is to hold the Grand Opening celebration with the July Geneva Night Out.

What does this mean for Inky Hot Mess? Amazing, amazing, amazing things! We have a dedicated classroom! We will be offering tons of classes and crops as well as Ladies Night and birthday parties for ages 8 and up.

Our shop will feature a full line of scrapbooking, stamping, card making, altered art, mixed media, paper art, and art products as well as finished pieces such as cards, canvases, scrapbook for hire, etc. Inky Hot Mess will continue to design and craft our own monthly kits. We will be expanding our offerings in the upcoming months. There will be many new additions to our exclusive products.

The details.....

Address:
93 Castle Street
Geneva, New York 14456

Phone Number:
Coming Soon

Website:
http://www.inkyhotmess.com

Summer Hours (potentially June 15 thru Columbus Day): Monday - Wednesday & Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Thursday 10 am - 8 pm, Saturday 10 am - 4 pm

We will be closed select Saturdays due to family commitments. Our schedule will be announced at least one month in advance. Our class and crop schedule will also be announced at least a month in advance.  Hours are subject to change.

Working on the store layout

Every Thursday is Crop Day. Crop Day is $10 for 12 hours of cropping. Crop Day begins at 10 am ends at 10 pm. Want to crop for $5? Simply bring in a donation for our monthly local charity collection. Want to crop for free? All you have to do is spend $35 throughout the day. We'll even run a tab for you! We will be letting you know when Crop Day will officially begin.

There will be monthly crop weekends! That's right 3 days of cropping. Your own crop space. leave your items in the shop for 3 solid days. Meals are included. For out of towners, we will provide a list of lovely accommodations.

Classes. Classes. Classes. Want to learn about something specific? Come tell us! We will are happy to take suggestions and teach what you are looking for. There will be numerous classes that cover a wide variety of arts: card making, scrapbooking, stamping, embossing, mixed media, altered art, Project Life, pocket scrapbooking, watercoloring, and more! Classes will be offered days, evenings, and weekends.

Brands you will see in our shop the day we open:

Inky Hot Mess
American Crafts
Bazzill
We R Memory Keepers
Teresa Collins
Tim Holtz
Ranger
Viva Decor
My Mind's Eye
October Afternoon
Pink Paislee
Heidi Swapp
Simple Stories
KaiserCraft
Echo Park
Carta Bella
Maya Road
Studio Calico
Project Life
World Win
Inkadinkado
My Favorite Things
Lawn Fawn
Avery Elle
Zig Zag
Stampendous
ColorBox
Memento
Hero Arts
Judikins
Queen & Co
May Arts
Tombow
ATG
Dress It Up
Thermoweb
Kool Tak
Tsukineko
Prima Marketing
Sizzix
Bo Bunny
Marvy
Doodlebug Design
Authentique
SEI
Paper House Productions
Jillibean Soup
Lily Bee Designs
Darice
Chickaniddy Crafts
Little B
Me & My Big Ideas
Elizabeth Craft Designs
Webster's Pages
Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

Who knows who else we will be adding in the up coming weeks! You'll have to stop by the new shop and see!

There will be a major change to our webstore. We will not be adding every item we sell in our Geneva store to our webstore. Only exclusive Inky Hot Mess products such as our Living Life and Short Stack collections, Paper Crafting Kits, Flair, Wood Chips, Acrylic Chips, Cork Chips, Vellums, and Die Cuts will be available on the webstore. We will continue to update our blog with new arrivals when they are available for purchase.

Inky Hot Mess will be joining Geneva Night Out and Love Geneva very soon! More details will be announced as they are available.

Well, that's all for now! We will be sharing photos with you as we go through this journey. Be sure to check out our Instagram page for lots of photos! More details and info will be announced as we get closer to opening. We are so happy to be opening in Geneva!

Flair Additions: Cazenovia

Today Inky Hot Mess is happy to make a new flair introduction. We love living in the Finger Lakes. People frequently ask how we ended up here. Our family is originally from the Capital Region in New York (Albany, NY - the State Capital - Nope, New York City is not the state capital). We used to vacation out here frequently. Between the day trips and weekend trips, we were there almost every weekend during the summer and early autumn.

Sailboats on Cazenovia Lake

Somehow we lost our minds and ended up building our dream house in South Carolina. Inky was homesick within 6 months and wanted to move back home. Inky's husband had a company approach him with a new job and it was in New York. We jumped on it and moved back to New York, but this time we went to the Finger Lakes. The rest is history! 

Cazenovia Lake

One of the towns on the way from Albany to the Finger Lakes has a gorgeous lake....shocking I know. There's a ton of lakes in this area. There are 11 Finger Lakes and numerous other lakes. The 11 Finger Lakes were created at the same time from the same glacier 10,000 years ago. That glacier took all of our dinosaur fossils, but left some amazing soil behind which produces fabulous fruits (think wine) and vegetables (think tons of farms and farm stands) and lakes all over the region.

Kayakers on Cazenovia Lake

The first lake you come across on US Route 20 is Cazenovia Lake. It's just gorgeous! There's a quaint town - Cazenovia - on the lake. Cazenovia is the home to Cazenovia College - a small, private, liberal arts college. Lots of historic houses are in the area. There's lots of history as well, not to mention the historic sites. 

New York State Historical Sign

Inky absolutely loves Cazenovia. It's a small town and it's pretty calm and quiet even with the college there. Not much traffic except during the summer when lots of people come to the lake. Apple picking isn't far away! 

Inky has brought Cazenovia and flair together. There are 2 new pieces to this collection. The first is Cazenovia Flair.

The second is Cazenovia Lake Flair.

And we have the Cazenovia Flair Collection where you receive both pieces of flair.

Check back soon! You never know what will appear in Inky's Travels next!