Art 'n Soul is Closing

I have been the owner or at least the part owner of Art 'n Soul since 2003 and yes, it is now almost 2018.  I have loved the store like it has been one of my children but at some point even our children fly the nest and it is now time for Art 'n Soul to fly the nest.  Our wonderful store will be closing October 31. I say this with incredibly deep regret.

For all of these years our customers have sustained us financially and psychologically and there is no way to tell you how much my staff, earlier and current, are appreciative of your loyalty and your encouragement and your friendship. It has been a darned good run and we could not have done it without each of you.

I am faced with a number of things. In my mind, top of the list is the Internet.  We can no longer compete with Internet stores in terms of the variety of merchandise available or their ability to fill orders rapidly. I know that so many of you have come to us first, rather than the Internet stores, when looking for new merchandise and we are incredibly grateful for your support over the years.

You may also know that our little mall has been taken over by a bank and a property management company and I have absolutely no guarantee that my rent will not be increased at any point and I simply cannot sustain any rent increase.

And then there is the basic change in the craft industry. I survived the move to scrapbooking without moving in that direction and I have tried to adapt to the interest in mixed media and have been modestly successful at that. I used to joke that we should become a die-cut store instead of a stamp store but I'm not sure that was such a good joke. Dies are the thing and I have been doing my best to provide them to you but they don't replace stamps. (I so love stamps!)

Here is a rough outline of the plan between now and October 31:

To begin with, I want to reassure you that all pink sheet orders will be honored either with product or with store credit.

For those who have store credit, in the interest of helping you be able to use as much of your store credit as possible, I will be changing our Recycled Rubber date to September 30 - October 1. My guess is that should be an enormous Recycled Rubber event. I will try to post your earnings no later than October 3.

I will be unable to accept any additional items for Recycled Rubber after September 18.

I have chosen four catalogs from which you may use pink sheets to order stamps and dies. The four catalogs I have chosen are Magenta, Rubbermoon, Memory Box, and Rosie’s Roadshow. I do reserve the right to not order certain items if we have to order doubles and feel the second one might not sell quickly.

I will send those orders by October 6, so you should receive them no later than our closing date. As with any store closing, our store credit and gift certificates cannot be honored after October 31.

Effective immediately, I will no longer be able to accept returns. Also, I will be unable to cancel or change any pink sheet order. If something that is ordered on a pink sheet is unavailable and back ordered by the company, the money will be credited to your store credit only, and must be spent no later than October 31st.

I plan to also leave the Recycled Rubber items on the tables until the evening of October 8th. Anything sold from October 2nd through the 8th will not go on your cards until October 9^that the earliest. Those credits can be used for anything for sale in the store. If you wish to pick up any items you have placed for sale in Recycled Rubber, you must do so no later than October 8^th by 5:00. Anything not reclaimed by you will be donated.

I am immediately placing our in stock wood stamps (with the exception of Rosie’s Roadshow) on sale at the price of the same stamp in cling. If the company does not make cling stamps, or I can't determine the cling price of an item, I will reduce the wood stamp by 25%.

I am not going to do a graduated discount of current merchandise. I will announce one date on which all merchandise (not including furniture and fixtures) left in the store will be discounted. Don't hold off for future big discounts because they will not occur. I will announce this discount date soon.

I have lots of shelving, fixtures, cards and other accessories that I will be selling. Everything from my cash register to the front desk cabinet, to the kitchen appliances, to all other furnishings will be on sale. Cards will probably be about a dollar apiece with no envelopes and all of the furniture and accessories will be individually marked. I will sell furniture and fixtures on a first-come, first-served basis. Furniture, furnishings, fixtures and cards will not be further discounted. To reserve an item of furniture that you want, you will have to pay for it up front. We can mark them with your name and a sold sign. If I still need the items for displaying merchandise, I will ask that you pick those items up on a day close to our closing date, during working hours.

Loyalty cards can only be marked and used for regular, full priced merchandise, and not for any of the furniture fixtures, or accessories.

As an enormous Thank You to all of you, our loyal customers, I plan to hold a Thank You Party and celebration of Art 'n Soul before we close. At my invitation, a very special guest and long-time friend will come from California to demo for you one last time. Kevin Nakagawa of Stampscapes has agreed to come show you some of his very special techniques. There will be an opportunity for all of you to order his stamps (wood or unmounted rubber) at that time. I will also plan to demo my color pencil techniques, along with using alcohol inks on wood. I will have a limited number of wood frames to sell at that time. The date of this celebration will be formally announced soon, so please stay tuned to this newsletter and FaceBook for all future announcements.

It has truly been an honor and a joy to be a part of this community and to get to know all of you. Please come in to see my incredible staff as much as possible before they depart, and please help make our closing a celebration of the unique and special bond we have all enjoyed.

Sincerely,

Susie Tracy

Owner, Art 'n Soul