Stores, Markets, and More! Oh My!!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog! Here on The Hollow we have been busy!

Let's start with our stores. We are now officially in 3, YES THREE, stores in Shreveport. You can find us at Timeline Antiques on Line Ave, Artspace on Texas St, and Shreve Towne Studio 512 on Crockett St. With Artspace, we work on a 70/30 commission basis. Unfortunately, our product has been sitting there since the first of March due to COVID-19. With downtown reopening, we are hoping to see sales from there soon. Timeline Antiques was our first store (booth) and has gone through 3 different transformations. We started with a small space and a simple shelf from Hobby Lobby to a larger floor space with 2 shelves. This past week, we moved into a much larger area and have incorporated a hutch, table, and crates for optimal space and appeal. I love watching as we outgrow space! Actually, I love buying and decorating, but that's a whole different story. Our most recent space is at Shreve Towne Studio 512 in downtown Shreveport. This is a new artsy spot that has local artists and their specialties. There is clothing, coffees, salsas, pickles, jewelry, beeswax products, and upstairs is the famous book nook. Excited to see how things go there!

Who would have thought markets would be so much fun?!! Shreveport Farmers Market is open and we are having so much fun introducing our products to new people and listening to repeat customers talk about how much they love their previous purchases. Not knowing what to expect at a market, we prepared for what we thought would happen, discussed what we would consider a successful day, and was blown out of the water with the results. Our products flew off the table! This was a wonderful surprise! I highly recommend doing markets!! After the first market, we spent the week replacing sold out product and adding new products. Gary and I spent the week making hundreds of candles, soaps, and body creams. We thought we had covered all the basis, but to our surprise, we had request for new fragrances and more of trial fragrances. The feedback customers give is amazing! We had request for fragrances we hadn't considered and realized we need to have more of certain other types of scents. After the second market, we are restocking what was sold and again adding new product and fragrances. This is a wonderful problem to have. We are only a few days away from our next market. This market is at a different location and will have a different type of vibe. I'm curious to see what the outcome will be. Regardless, there will be good food, live music, and faces we have gotten to know at the Shreveport Market. The excitement continues!

Upcoming plans for Gnome Hollow will be looking at possibly working with a couple of businesses in town, expanding to areas outside of Shreveport like Canton, Jefferson, Gladewater, and Natchitoches, and trying to figure out how to make the most of our website. With school being out, we have more time for expanding our business and making the most of the resources we have. Continue checking in and sharing our journey with us!