It’s Here!
Posted on Wednesday, August 12th, 2009, by Janet - Calico Gals store owner, gabby gal, newsletter editor, occasional piecer
Welcome to the brand-spanking-new Calico Gals’ blog, aka Gabby Gals. This is the place where we talk about everything that is going on – in and out of the barn.
We’re moving!
That’s right – this is THE big news that I mentioned in the E-newsletter. It’s really happening, the gals are moving to a new location later this fall. Because we have such a beautiful store now, we had a very specific list of items on our wish list for a new store. And I am pleased to say that the new store covers all!
- First of all: Stairs. No More! Not even a step at the door.
- Next: Parking. Space for everyone!
- Next: Lighting. Beautiful windows and lights on switches. Our new store will NOT be strung together with extension cords.
- Next: Comfort. Can you say “Radiant Floor Heating?” Mmmm. Ohhh. Ahhh.
All this and much more is going to be ours because we are getting a brand new barn! Let’s look at a few photos as I tell you all about it…
Front of the New Barn
This photo shows the front view from the street. The owner/builder/landlord is Bob Pomfrey, owner of Pomco Insurance. He’s building this barn as a storage facility for himself and planned to lease the front half. Enter Calico Gals! Now Bob is all on board for putting a quilt shop in the space. He wants to build the best quilt shop ever!
So where is this new place? 3906 New Court Ave. Technically in the town of Dewitt, just over the Town of Salina line and what most would refer to as the Eastwood section of Syracuse. Not far from the Carrier Circle Thruway exit. Not far from the former Syracuse China.
Along the side of new barn
This photo is taken from what will be part of the parking lot, looking forward towards the street. Our half of the barn starts about in the middle and includes the plywood covered door. Next to it will be an overhead door for deliveries. Yippee! Looking farther towards the front you can see another door which someday will have an awning over it. Use your imagination! Isn’t it cute?
No, the barn will not be green. The outside is planned to be a mix of stone and clapboard, earth colors of beige and browns. Again – use your imagination!
Now lets go inside that door with the cute little awning overhead…
Inside looking toward front
Wow, those windows again, looking out this time.
Rafters New Barn
When you look up in a barn, what do you see? Rafters, of course. The ceiling is high and unfinished at the moment. The plans include finishing the ceiling and suspending lights. I have been looking at catalogs and samples of everything from lights to carpet. There are just so many choices! My goal is to take that “barn feeling” into the new place. Well – we might leave a few things (like cobwebs) behind in the old barn. We are confident that the coziness will come with us.
Speaking of cozy – take a look at this:
Inside the new floor
This is what the floor looked like with all of the heating stuff laid out. Kind of reminds me of cross-hatching on a quilt! I have not experienced radiant floor heating, but everyone tells us that we will love it. The cement has been poured over the top of this grid and now the contractors are working on the walls.
The architect, Bob Abbott, is so talented! And he has so many great ideas. One day he came out and toured the old barn to get a feel for what we have and what we do. One of his first thoughts was that the new barn space would not be big enough for all of our stuff! So he went back to the drawing board and took advantage of that high ceiling by designing a mezzanine for our offices and storage. The main retail and classroom space will all be on the main floor, but a look up will feature a beautiful open loft space. Can’t you just see it?
Here is a sneak peak of the loft.
The beginnings of a loft
There is so much more to tell you. One goal of this blog is to take all of us together on the journey to the new store. I hope to post lots of pictures so you can see it happen.
Janet – Calico Gals store owner, gabby gal, newsletter editor, occasional piecer