OAKLAND!  

As we close out our 5th year of business, we have some big news-- we’re moving! But not to fear, we’re still and always will be an Oakland business. We’re heading into a new chapter for the business and our retail footprint. You might remember that I shared our big-picture vision for Viscera in a previous blog post that laid out my plan for a new business model (that actually harkens back to the old ways of production). In short, Viscera will be a vertically integrated business-- designing, producing, and selling everything in-house. Slowly and steadily we’ve had a larger portion of our inventory made locally, but with the limitations of our current shop, we wouldn’t be able to fulfill our vision without making some major changes. Moving is the first bold step in forming the business into what we’ve always wanted it to be! We’re on the path to Viscera 2.0. 

We will be closing our 1542 Broadway shop at the end of November while we work on building out our new location, targeted to open in Spring of 2020. For the Holiday season we will be online only, but not to worry, we will still have the same products you know and love. A major strategy for us in being able to sustain our own in-house production has been to diversify the business by leveraging e-commerce and wholesaling to other retailers. We’ve successfully done both grown both of these channels this year, but a break in our brick & mortar operations will give us the bandwidth to focus on growing our online presence so we can continue to support a physical location in 2020. The retail landscape has changed and this is our chance to adapt and grow. To celebrate this new chapter, in typical fashion, we’re having a party! Join us on November 29th for our 5 Year Anniversary/Moving Sale/Small Business Weekend Party. I hope you can join me in celebrating the last five years and sharing some of the excitement for what’s coming next. 

Of course, like all new things, this shift is scary. Thinking back to opening the Broadway shop in 2014, I wasn’t sure if it would work, and I had no idea what I was doing, but I trusted my gut and here we are five years later! In those early days, I was terrified because I didn’t know if things would go wrong, but in that naivety, I also didn’t know how many amazing things would come if things went right. I didn’t know that on the other side of that fear would be our amazing community of makers, creatives, and supporters like you. There was energy, excitement, parties, projects, friendships, and we built a magical space for the convergence of so many good things. As we enter this new chapter, I have some of the same feelings I did in 2014, but this time I have the experience to tell me that there are even more amazing, beautiful, and joyful times on the other side of the unknown.