Beadstores and Zentangle...

Hey everyone, I realize it's been 40+ days since my last post. In the past month, Daved and I have made a decision to open a bead store in Dayton. It’s a long and wonderful story of how we ended up as stewards of a new place, but that’s for another day. The store is basically in existence for one reason: to give the Dayton bead/jewelry making/playing community a place to gather, learn, teach, party, relax, hang out, and yep, buy beads. We like our beads!

What does all this have to do with Zentangle? 

I know without a doubt, that if not for having been involved with Zentangle, it might have seemed impossible for us to take this on. Each day I am aware that no matter what decision needs to be made, it’s possible for it to come from an allowing and open space rather than a constricted “should”. The whole place is being designed one wall at a time, one piece of furniture at a time, one logo at a time (we tried so many!). The space is also being added to by lots of participants who are committed to helping it become something inspirational and meaningful for all who use it. Whether it's new chair covers, or bathroom decorations, or where a table might sit, each of these elements are cared for with an intuitive heart and eye by lots of people, so that each piece and placement connects to what has come before it. I can't tell you how many "visions" I've had for this space. They have all changed, and it looks nothing like I pictured it before we began. This is the thrilling part! Letting it all go so that it can become what it is meant to be. There is a plan somewhere that is not mine. It feels like we are all paying attention to what that might be, without knowing exactly what it is.

    We don’t know when the shop will open. Of course we have a date in mind, but we’ve had other dates in mind that didn’t happen. We are working diligently to move forward, one step at a time, feeling our way to what the next step is.

   So even though it's a bead store, it's so much more than just that. I am grateful for the experience, wherever it came from, and for me, Zentangle has been the cherry on top of that experience. 

   If you want to peek at the process, we are documenting our progress on our new blog. And I promise, that even though I may not have time to do tangly posts here at this time, I am living Zentangle every minute!

Thanks to everyone.

Carole