New haberdashery cabinet has arrived.

It's here!!! and it's so cute!! with its little drawers and custom built side console.

It looked so old and fragile with all the little drawers taken out, leaving just a glass shell and wooden skeleton. Then it didn't quite fit into my van, so Mc drove the 6 miles from Glastonbury to Ilchester, because he has far more nerve than me. We were told to bring more help than we thought we would need, but managed with three of us: Mc, me and Yusuf. Plus a helpful shove from a lady who saw it being removed and thought were moving in to the shop we were taking it from (I would always ask if I saw someone removing a haberdashery cabinet just incase they were dumping it!)

Moving an aged glass cabinet is nerve wracking stuff. Once it was in situ I had to rush off to meet the school bus and arrived back to find Mc had moved it into position and put the drawers back in. The rearranging to make space for it to fit through the door and to the back of the shop had taken all week. Next I can work out a new layout. It looks more like a shop now I have a counter.

Some of the drawers went missing during the many years and I have 20 of the 24 left.

The cabinet and console aren't the only items I bought.

I used to admire the copper display poles that the Hardware shop in Glastonbuy had in their window and now I have one of them in my shop. Millers the hardware shop closed in the last few years and the premises is now called Hunab Ku. I've supplied Hunab Ku with my glittery badges.

This copper piller is very very heavy, and the glass sheets stay in place as if by magic. It will be very usefull in the odd shaped window area at the front of the shop. I wonder where the other pillers have ended up.

Make way for the new

I'm excited about securing a new (1950's) counter which should arrive at the end of next week. It should compliment the set of drawers I already have. Some rearranging will have to be done to make room for it. The shop is going to look a little different.

Some of these settings will stay and some will go. They have already changed as things got sold and replaced with more treasures.

The dark afternoons have made an impact on the shopping habits of my customers. None of the rush hour commuters seem stop to visit me anymore. I was closing at 6, but I close at a more sociable 5 now. The year is marching on. I didn't grow any pumpkins this year, so I had to buy them in! The shop was open for Trick or treaters and facepainting on halloween and I remember thinking it wasn't getting dark quickly enough to make our pumpkin lanterns look their best.

I remembered to plant some forced bulbs and made a note to myself in chalk on the stairs that they in in the cupboard below. The paper whites are nearly over now. I love their scent and took one pot to the shop and kept one at home. The hyacinths under the stairs will need to come out into the light soon and should be ready for christmas to give as gifts or keep. They are great as last minute gifts to unexpected visitors. I've put some in water in hyacinth jars. I found some vintage jars at a boot sale and they have coloured frosted bottom halves so the roots shouldn't look too freeky. Actually I think I'll go and check on them now........