Anyone notice what an incredibly hard 11 months we've had? Honestly, this has been exhausting in so many ways. Between lockdowns, masks, hand washing and all those other incredibly necessary things, it's hard to think that this time last year we were all drinking coffee in coffee shops, going out to dinner at restaurants, having social lives ...
So, given that there is a general amount of stress in everyday life, I personally, and Square Lemon, corporately, decided to up the ante to Super Mega Stress level 11
How and why would you do such a thing? I can hear you all, and I understand your incredulity. I'm with you, but, as with so many things in life, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
As many of you know, The Ottawa Tool Library were made homeless, through no fault of their own, on very short notice.
We started Square Lemon in the space right next to them back in 2019. And they are a powerful force for good in the community. When I heard about their enforced eviction, I reached out to offer some of the unused space we had at our premises at Boyd Avenue for workshops.
After a meeting with Bettina - a whirlwind of a person - and a few chats with the other Lemons and my darling better half, we decided to offer a sublease on our premises. That then grew. That idea fermented and matured into offering OTL the chance to take over our lease.
Some of the reasoning behind this was altruistic. OTL's January newsletter said they were looking for a home, and, apart from Boyd being bigger than they needed, all of the other criteria matched what we had at Square Lemon. We had a large premises, with no real way to use it. (Markets are so far in the future, given the pandemic, that you need the Hubble Telescope to see them!)
So we made the offer, had meetings, made the arrangements, and now we are busy moving all of the glitter mountains, glue lakes and bead fountains into storage.
Don't worry. The online store will be continuing as normal, and I am in the process of finding a commercial property to buy which will home Square Lemon in the future! Square Lemon is here for you, in an appropriately socially distant form.
Regrets? None at all with regard to signing the lease over to OTL. Some small ones in that we are leaving our first real home.
And, in the evenings, when there's been snow all day and there has been a large amount of hefting boxes in and out of vans, a huge amount!
But nothing a good cup of tea and a few cookies from The Midnight Baker can't remedy!