The Making of the Bluebird Shed (Part II)

It had taken nearly three months in total to complete all of the fixtures, which was about a month longer than expected. I was probably being overly particular with the craftsmanship, but I wanted to be sure every piece was something I could be proud of. With some help from a couple of (younger and stronger) friends, we finally moved everything from my garage to the store.

Once the fixtures were in place, it was time to turn our attention to products. As the boxes started pouring in I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Wood working I knew. Birds I knew. Merchandising? Not a chance. That was my wife's purview, and just like she had no idea I could build things, I had no idea she could make a store look sharp. It was all her magic that made the displays pop. All I did was use a screw gun and attach the hangers to where she pointed. But, one by one, everything went up.

After many trips to the Bella Vista Recycling Center to drop off packing paper and cardboard, the place started to look like it would actually become a store rather than a storage room.

Here are some shots of the final look. Pretty nice, eh?

So that's what was happing inside for all of those months that the store sign was up while you all were wondering, "Are they really going to open?" and "I wonder what that place is going to be?"

We opened on August 1st, and the store opening has been well received. We look forward to helping everyone enjoy the beauty of nature, especially birds, in our own back yards. I think we're all going to have fun with this: you, us, the birds (even the squirrels).

We'd really like to thank everyone who helped us along the way and everyone who has been kind enough to stop in this first week and help us spread the word. The birds thank you, too.

Butch and Sarah