... AND WE'RE OFF.

There aren't quite words to describe the feeling of seeing School House go on sale at the Duke Store yesterday. I can only say that it was a little like seeing my heart and soul explode on 80 square feet of retail space...

Now for our feature presentation, Day One In Pictures! (apologies for the quality, I'm on the hunt for a new point-and-shoot...)

The truck I drove with our store fixtures and some last-minute deliveries:

One of many things they didn't teach me in my Women's Studies classes: truck driving. Sorry for the scratch on your bumper, Ms. Olson...

Tom Craig at Duke Stores is one of my favorite people. Not only does he love Elvis, he is full of great ideas like this one: floor decals with the SH logo!


Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of all the helpful gentlemen at Duke Stores, who helped us get our 8 foot tall peg board display up the steps. A very big thank you to Willie and his guys!

Our vintage locker! Can't beat 80 bucks at A&B Store Fixtures...

I decorated with images of our amazing team in Sri Lanka, and some funny postcards:


The team!



The clothes!


Paul, my friend since way-back-when, was super helpful! All day moral support + light-to-moderate manual labor. Thanks, buddy. :)


While I'm waiting anxiously for Tom to get back from D.C. and tell me how much we sold in Day 1, let me just say that we witnessed at least 14 sales in a couple of hours!

However, sometimes people came into our nook, picked up clothes, and decided against them for some unknown, unacceptable reason. So I had to start making sure they didn't wander away before I explained just how much they needed School House in their lives.

Freaking people out...in a friendly saleswoman kind of way:


Our day ended with a final delivery to the Duke Stores Warehouse, where an employee asked, "Hey, are you Donna Karan, the new designer? We love your clothes, it's like the NEW MILLENNIUM!" I told him I didn't think Donna Karan delivered her own clothes to warehouses, to which he replied, "A step at a time, girl." I couldn't agree more. :) Besides, our Donna Karan is the one and only Colleen McCann, one of the sweetest and most talented people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. You'll meet her soon!

Can you tell that I want to give the world a hug this weekend? I think I'll do just that.

SHOP SCHOOL HOUSE!

Rachel

Boston, Here We Come!

We're headed to the northeast this fall in a big, beautiful way. I feel like I could burst right now. This kind of news always comes on the days when I start to think the garment biz is gonna give me ulcers before the age of 25. I just don't want to die like Elvis, a rockstar with the insides of an 85 year-old woman...

Time to celebrate! And develop some fab northeast prep gear!

xo Rachel

The Home Stretch... Sort of?

I heard someone describe the experience of starting a company as "sprinting through a marathon." This is a little how I've been feeling lately, as though I'm going to be lucky if I'm standing by the time we host our trunk show event at Duke on the 18th...and that this event is also only the beginning of the brand! If I do fall over, please revive me with a glass of champagne and maybe hand-feed me some of the gold, black and white School House M&M's we're having made (awesome idea alert, Mars company!). I never forget how sweet my life really is for more than a passing moment.