The Market on Main - phase one gets closer

 A work in progress! The Market on Main continues to take shape and we are really excited that we are almost ready to move into the retail space.

Some of the major pieces have some together rather quickly in these last few days before our tentative "end of October" goal to be in the space.

The front of the building was one of the major pieces that needed to come together - new storefront windows, new double doors, new transom. The storefront windows had to be special ordered and took a little work. The existing frames were a little off square and that might be a kind way to say it. Our contractor worked to use the existing opening and to make the frame more square to accommodate the new windows.

The photo above will give you a pretty good feel of the "in progress" stage.

 Then, we had the transom and doors installed! We found these doors at an architectural salvage place in Wichita. Jeremy spent some time reaching out to Wichita and Kansas City area salvage places to see if we could find some reclaimed doors to fit in the space.

The installed, but unfinished stage. If you look to the left of the door, you can see some evidence of the work needed to make the doors more square.

 Perhaps one of the biggest transformations has been the west facing facade. We had several different things going on on this side of the building and we were able to removed a "door to nowhere," replace a window, replace some siding and remove and put siding over a section of the exterior that was covered with some fiberglass. There are funny stories with some of these aspects of the old building, best told during a tour so you can see for yourself.

Geothermal continues to be installed. We were so happy to see how the duct work was tucked into the beams. The industrial look of the duct work doesn't bother us a bit and we keep thinking about how nice it will be to be warm when we are open for shopping or working in the space during the winter. Yahoo for HVAC! Certainly not sexy, but important in the overall project.

Up next: we have update about windows and the floor and soon we will be moving in inventory!

Kansas Barn Sale

 Our fall includes several favorite traditions, but none are as beloved as attending the Kansas Barn Sale.

A few years ago, we signed up as exhibitors and we have continued to count this show as one of our favorites. The setting is perfect, the people are happy, and the hospitality is unparalleled.

The Emma Creek Barn creates the perfect backdrop. We arrived early to finish the final set up and it was just a little magical with the lights on and the sky showing brilliant colors.

 Sunrises in Kansas are the best! The morning of the show, we had some great color and slow warm up to a beautiful fall day.

 We really enjoyed putting out some of our favorite vintage finds.

 The sign inventory was on point. Jeremy worked really hard in the months leading up to the show to have a great selection.

I loved this little collection - old books, pumpkins, positive vibes, and all things vintage.

We can't wait for next year's show!

An update on The Market on Main

 It has been a busy couple of weeks for the renovation on our building at the corner of Fifth and Main.

Dubbed The Market on Main, we have been anxiously awaiting the day when things started to take shape and we might seriously think about getting our inventory out of our house and every available storage space. We are still shooting for the end of October for phase one to be open. This means that we have a lot of work ahead, but plenty of positive vibes and great people on the project.

The most exciting BIG step forward was adding in the geothermal components, conduit for the electrical and pouring the floor.

 Since installing geothermal in our home, we have become true converts. We really appreciate the efficiency and comfort of this method of heating our home. When we knew we had to replace the concrete floor, we debated about the investment of geothermal, and eventually decided that this was the best option for us.

 As of two weeks ago, we now have a floor! We can't wait for it to be polished and sealed. It is just the simple look that we wanted.

And, we are so thankful for a creative contractor who helped us figure out the change in slope and how to accommodate the door at the back of the space. The ramps will be perfect.

Duct work is being fitted into the ceiling. Take a look at those beams - we are so glad that we left them natural.

The windows are here! We are excited to have the old windows out and to show off how we are honoring the original design of the windows with a wooden inset and the new, more energy efficient window.

The large doors on the west side of the building have been a labor of love! We have desperately wanted to save them, but also know that these beauties were showing their age. Our amazing contractor had a vision of how to retrofit them to the new doorway.

 The solution required moving the doors to the exterior and reducing their size. These doors in the original configuration were one door that hinged in the middle.

The original idea hit a snag, but we are not to be discouraged. A few adjustments to the design and we'll have the original doors in place - perfect for opening the space to the outdoors or an amazing backdrop for photos. Seriously, that arch above the door. We love the details in this building.