Here I Am From the Outside

Easy to read from across the street, and I even put up address numbers.

Exciting news for store owners and customers - the old Melbourne City Hall is on the verge of being completely torn down to make way for a new parking garage. Right now only the front wall (south facade) and one exterior side wall (north facade) are still standing. I suspect those will come down tomorrow or Monday, after most of the rubble is removed from behind them. I'll try to be on hand with my camera.

New Door (Finally!), and Window Sign

After weeks of negotiation and coordination, the new door finally arrived. The old door had to come out...what a mess!...and the new one went in. Whoops, the gap between the new sill and the existing floor wasn't part of the deal - I'm going to have to figure out how to take care of it.

Once the door was in, I could contact a sign company with the dimensions and get my sinage installed. All looked good from the inside. The next day I looked at it from the outside and discovered they had misspelled my domain name. To their credit, they had someone out in a few hours to fix it. (ALWAYS proofread text before and after it goes to the printshop!)

There I am on the ground finalizing the freeform mosaic that mom and I laid in yesterday.

Crown Molding In Place

Earlier this week my mother and a friend put up the crown molding in the front section of the shop. Wow! It makes a world of difference!

The new door comes tomorrow; stay tuned...

Finally an address and phone number

I'm in the phonebook, and the DSL equipment arrived today. Look for me online at http://www.dragonwerx.com. If you come to the Space Coast (Brevard County) of Florida, you can find me at:

DragonWerx Jewelry
821 E. Strawbridge Ave.
Melbourne, FL 32901
321-837-0900

I think I'm going to open around the 23rd of June; Tues-Sat, 10am to 6pm.

It's always been frustrating to me to need a service and have to take time off of work to get something done. This is for working folks: come to me after work and I'll repair your jewelry, or replace your watch battery! Got scrap gold to sell? I can help you out.

DragonWerx Jewelry, from inception to almost open...

I never thought I would want to work for myself. Until the day I asked for a raise, got a weak promise of "yes, but later," and decided I could do better. That was back in February.

Once the idea was set, I couldn't get rid of it. So I started looking for a retail location. After a few false starts, I found one in Melbourne, FL, that was a great fit.

After weeks of waiting and negotiating (with one of the few landlords who does not financially need tenants!) I signed the lease. As soon as I got the key, my mom and I started tearing the place apart and putting it back together.

The posted photos show the 'before', 'during' and 'almost done' phases. I expect to be open by the 23rd of June. No doubt there are many more surprises along the way before that happens...