Stay-at-Home - Day 33 - Clinging On the Edge

So, we're clinging on the edge. On the edge of what, you might ask? On the edge of chaos, on the edge of decisions, on the edge of working or not, and nothing can be resolved, because we haven't had any ropes or ladders pushed to us for a while now. I'm still holding out hope that we'll get one of the City grants, but that won't even come through until next week, earliest. The PPP loan we got will cover our payroll through May, but it would be really nice to pull some sales through too. 

Walking through our front door, immediately to your left are the
five four-sided pegboard displays of Czech seed beads, divided by
size and type. This is only the smallest beginning of the beads
we offer, and I think you can start to see my problem. 

We're looking at the store and trying to figure out how to make it sanitary - an almost impossible task. We're going to recommend gloves for everyone (I have 200 pairs on order, due sometime this month - exact date unknown). We are also going to recommend gloves, and despite my partner's objections, I'm going to limit the number of people in the store to no more than 6 at any time, and also recommend that people leave their children at home. 

Our Japanese seed beads are displayed in small two-inch
hanging tubes which contain a small sample of the bead
for color, and is tagged with the computer number and the
actual price for a full-sized tube (usually 6" tall and fairly
thick). Again, I think you're seeing my problem. 

My store consists of samples of 1000's of beads and other products. Each customer chooses what they want to purchase by removing the samples and collecting them in a basket. We then pull what they want from the "back" shelving, where everything is already packaged in full quantities and priced with the appropriate computer codes. This has allowed us to have a HUGE inventory in a very small space of approximately 750 sq ft of open store area, and it keeps our "walks" (stolen merchandise) to a ridiculously small amount. It's great...except now. 

When checking out, this is where the customers would
stand. There are books and sparkly beads everywhere, and
ideas for other projects, like the belt blanks, behind the
counter, easily pulled down for the customer. Again, though,
I think you can see the problems I'm facing. 

With COVID-19, there's really no way to sanitize every bead on every board. They are touched by people who are looking, and people who are buying, and we don't dog the steps of each customer to see which, of 50 colors of a bead, they actually touch versus actually choose to purchase. I think the gloves will be absolutely necessary, and I have lots of hand sanitizer on hand for people to use. We'll clean the counters frequently, and I'll make sure the check-out stand is thoroughly cleaned after each sale, but there are limits to what we can effectively do. The fact is, we'll have to have some faith in our own masks and gloves. It really all comes down to doing the best we can and having some faith that we'll all pull through this. 

We also sell a lot of hides - deer, elk, cow and
buffalo, pig and lamb. These are used for
clothing or things like knife sheaths, moccasins,
or even desk tops. No way to sanitize a hide
that I'm aware of. 

So, as I go over to the shop to run the month-end reports and pull more mail orders for Monday, I hope everyone is being smart - stay home, stay safe, and stay well. I'll be back tomorrow.