Some of the greatest transformations come from friends, a box of donuts, and a couple of gallons of paint. One such transformation took place Saturday at our new store set to open in less than two weeks. While the great state fair parade marched down the main street, we gathered with friends and began painting.
When I first stepped into the space I saw through the looming clutter, the holes in the walls, the bedding in the back. I saw past the white drywall and the forty year old linoleum that destroyed the wood floors that are over a century old. I could see it.
My daughter, Emily, and I are on a great adventure opening a homesteading supply shop two miles from my house in Pueblo, Colorado. We are taking our beloved farm name, Pumpkin Hollow Farm, as its moniker. My first thought was to paint the walls a light orange but that was quickly vetoed. We brainstormed old fashioned colors, ones that might have been seen in an old hotel. Grey/blue fit the bill and a broody, crisp grey became the trim.
We began to paint the trim around the huge picture windows grey and found that it was quickly diffusing the light. The whole front end of the shop became cream colored. We brightened cobwebs and grease stains and a hundred years of paint.
The doors needed a little showcasing. We agreed on a lovely adobe orange.
Emily went to work creating a pumpkin patch along the front of the building. You can see it from blocks away and it adds whimsy and character to our store front.
Oh, there is much to do still, but we were able to hug friends, step back and look at the change, the honoring of an old store, and envision a lively shop with memories to be made.
Farmgirl School 
I know I have said this a few too many times, but it is so gratifying to see that such ventures are still possible in some regions. I wish people could still do that sort of thing here.
We actually have the same ridiculous building codes that you have! In fact it was only last year that we were finally allowed to save water. But the lesson here is that we do the best we can and live as simply and as gratifying as we can with community and pride in our work. I know you join me in that sentiment!
Oh, I forgot that I mentioned that too. I should be more careful with my rants. I meant that it is gratifying to see your sort of business progressing. There is one such business in Ben Lomond; but there is certainly no such business in Los Gatos. The stores there must sell ridiculously expensive and trendy merchandise that is so contrary to simplicity. They are in buildings that were once feed stores, hardware stores, mechanic shops, canneries, and all the sorts of businesses that a small town should be outfitted with.
I know what you mean. I hope we will see a resurgence in arts of a bygone era!
It will not happen in Los Gatos! Yet, in some regions, there is no need for a resurgence, since it never really went away. Businesses such as yours are important for the in-between cultures, where there are those who still want to learn about or rediscover such technology.
Oh good luck hope it all goes well !
Opening day was great!