Ace General Store

I have been thinking about you, about the shop. About what it meant to be part of a community we love so much.

I recognize the irony of social media and how it has played a role in the division and hate we are seeing spread like wildfire. I acknowledge that the content you consume is the content you will see and truth lives somewhere in the middle of it all.

Ace was a shop build around community. About being a conduit for connection.

What does it look like to be steward of your community? I’m working on that. It’s paralyzing and overwhelming, all that is happening in our beloved state. No matter what you think about this administration, I pray we can collectively call a wrong, a wrong. What is happening in our streets, on our sidewalks, in our schools, churches, homes, businesses. None of it is okay.

Since we have joined corporate America, my kids are still getting used to not seeing us as often. My youngest wakes up every morning and immediately asks where every member of our family is. She checks them off, one by one. Today I’m thinking of Liam. I see his face in the face of my son.

I’m not sure what it all means, but I have hope. I know people are good. I pray you speak up and speak out, on or offline. Have hard conversations. Hold the line. Remember your humanity and want for others, what you want for your own family. Defend the Constitution. Love your neighbor and find any way you can to use your resources to help so many who are in need.

Hate is easy online. It’s cheap. Judgment is a click away. Don’t take the bait. Don’t look away either. If someone walked up to your table hungry, would you feed them?

Loving you and missing you, always.

Hi! It’s been a minute. We are coming up to what would be our tenth birthday and Small Business Saturday. One of my favorite days of the year. I will be honest with you, this month has felt like I have a phantom limb. I’m not driving around town, hauling Christmas trees and garland, ordering the firewood, packing the shop to the gills with our favorite things. I’m already nostalgic.

This will be my first year in a decade as just a consumer and I can’t help but think about how important it is. This year, not unlike years past, the state of our world will create uncertainty and the small businesses in your community will still need you.

What if we worked to build roots, not platforms? What if we did more with less? What if this holiday season was built upon intention and experience? I want to live in a world like that and if you’re still here, I know you do too.

Always missing you and wishing you every good thing. Shop small!

I’ve been practicing in my mind, trying to find some words, but they’ve all been taken, all used for ordinary considerations that mean nothing in comparison to what you have meant. We say “Thank you very much” and “I appreciate you” to people who fill our grocery bags or hold open the door. What are the words to say to all of you who brought this shop to life, answered every call, all of you who love this shop right alongside us? There should be a different language for this. New words all together.

Instead of trying to find the right words, I want to invite you to our final Gathering of Friends. Please join us on Saturday, May 31st from 5-9pm for a community dinner and night of music. This is a pot luck! Bring a dish or a bottle of wine or honestly, just bring yourselves. The tickets are free, but it is ticketed, just because we have limited space available. Please snag one so we can plan for you!

, , + a few others will be joining us and I’m including a ticket donation option because if we can pool some money to support these musicians, I would be incredibly grateful.

There is no other way we could end this chapter of our story. Ace has been here for you and because of you for eight years and that is reason to celebrate! We love you all so much.

Original artwork from our grand opening by