the workroom Sprucedale
A couple months ago, we announced we'd be leaving 1267 Queen Street and changing how we do business in order to keep the workroom alive. A big part of the equation of our new structure is moving the retail/online shop out of Toronto to reduce the exorbitant brick & mortar costs that we can no longer sustain. The question on everyone's minds has been 'how far out of the city will you be?' I'm delighted to finally share with you that we just got the keys to the workroom's new permanent home and it's about two and a half hours north of the city. Welcome to your first sneak peek of the workroom Sprucedale.
Why Sprucedale?! Over the past four years I've been spending part of my time up in Sprucedale surrounded by nature. It's where I go to recharge and I don't think I would have made it through this challenging time without this getaway space. When I was considering where we could move the shop, I remembered that the old General Store in town was up for sale. The idea of finding a big space close to my other home made a lot of sense to me. When I did the math, I realized that I could easily redirect a fraction of what we currently pay for rent into a mortgage and begin to actually invest in the workroom's future. (Why didn't I do this sooner?!) When I had my first visit to the General Store, I immediately knew this space was meant to be our permanent home. All of the original fixtures and accessories are still here and it feels like you're stepping back in time. I'm beyond excited to restore and fix up this space and add in all our incredible antique furniture to create the ultimate version of what I always wanted the workroom to be. For more in depth sneak peeks of the General Store going forward, watch my personal instagram @make_something or join us in the workroom studio community.
Taking the retail space so far out of Toronto may not make sense from the outside, but this radical change will allow us to get back on track, start to pay off our debts and allow us to do things we've been hoping to do for years like overnight retreats. For the first while we'll be operating just as an online shop out of this space while we get it set up. Local pick ups will still be available from our Parkdale Studio on a weekly basis. We'll keep sharing the process and updates with you week to week.
To sum up, we officially now have two new homes - the workroom Parkdale & the workroom Sprucedale
Now that we have both our new locations locked in, we’ll be moving forward with planning our relocation x 2 and our Fall Workshop Schedule. There is a lot to do in the next six weeks! We'll be keeping you updated on all important dates and details here each week.
The very last day the shop at 1267 Queen West will be open is going to be our *Anniversary Party/Sale day* on Saturday August 19th, 11-5pm. Please save the date & join us for this fun day! Deliveries and prizes are already rolling in for it.
We have some workshops on the schedule for the week of August 21st, but we’ll be starting to disassemble and pack up the shop during the week, so the shop will be closed. We will make curb side pickups available during this week for any orders you'd like to pick up before we move to Cowan Avenue.
Sixteen years ago, I had a wild dream of bringing creative folks together in person to make, learn and connect in a fabric shop and sewing studio. I had no idea if anyone would show up, but I knew I had to try. Once again, I'm listening to my heart and chasing after my dream of something bigger and better for the workroom. It feels like a second chance to start all over again but this time with all of you in our corner cheering us on.
Never Stop Dreaming,
Karyn