Probably a week and I will reopen for appointments!

For those following along: We have finished repairing the flood damage and are in the repainting phase of the bathroom repair saga. A couple of coats of paint on the new materials on the ceiling, walls and adjacent areas and following that we will reassemble the bathroom storage shelves, the sink, mirror, wall hooks, move things back into their proper places and I will be back on business after a good cleaning of the shop itself. Probably the week of January 3rd. 

Sadly I had to turn away quite a few customers this past couple of weeks. It was unfortunate but couldn't be helped with half or more of my shop floor filled with bath and storage area parts and construction materials. I'm grateful that none of the stock was damaged. 

It's been a somewhat lost year so I suppose that it's entirely fitting that it was also the lost Christmas. Holding out hope for a better 2021.

Thanks for checking in.

Shop Update

After my early December report on the broken ceiling pipe flood that wrecked part of my shop bath over Thanksgiving week, there was a second smaller flood a week later wetting the partially repaired ceiling area. Ceiling structure had to be torn away again and insulation removed to dry the area which took the better part of a week because it involved the subfloor of the above apartment which was also wet over a 3-5' area. The subfloor material could not be removed so it had to dry in the open. Hopefully we are done with water incursions and can finish repairs so I can clear my shop of bathroom and storage area contents to eventually reopen. 

Clearly the holiday season is completely lost. It is possible to do a curbside sort of pick-up for items in the window or things that don't require trying on as my dressing room is full of items bailed from the back and bathroom area. However I can't reopen for appointments until the bathroom work is complete, the shop floor cleared of displaced items and cleaned up. I will keep you posted here and on my Google maps page.

Hopefully 2021 will turn things around for all of us. Frankly I could use a break.

Temporary Closure

The day after Thanksgiving I came to the shop to meet a customer and when I went into the back area to hang up my jacket I noticed that my sink mirror was on the floor in the doorway to the bathroom. What???  I turned on the light and saw water running from the ceiling in the corner. The ceiling had started to collapse with water, gray gunk (wet cellulose insulation) and bits of wallboard all over the sink and floor. 

Making the story really short, there was a major leak in the plumbing from the above apartments and we had to remove the sink and tear out the wet wallboard/insulation completely on one wall, part of another and half of the bath ceiling to dry the area. A plumber was called but couldn't get in to repair the leak until this past Monday. Meanwhile most of the bathroom and storage area's contents are out in the main shop area to provide access for workers and to prevent further damage. 

It will take at least 2-3 weeks, possibly longer in a resurgent pandemic, not to mention holiday season to get the repairs done to restore that bathroom back to functionality and clear my shop floor. I suppose it could have been worse and been a sewage pipe instead of gray water and in my main shop area damaging clothes instead of my bathroom.

I have gotten real about the necessity of closing instead of putting off appointments indefinitely into the future. I will post signs today. So sorry for the inconvenience.

Winter Stock is in the House!

Last week I moved summer stock back to storage and winter clothing is here, just in time for our recent transition to cooler weather. Coats, sweaters, jackets, wool skirts, warm winter dresses are in stock now.

We are also cleaning windows and doing a fall shop freshening this week.

I will be open for appointments only for the foreseeable future due to the continuing pandemic and the very small size of the shop does not allow for drop in traffic. 

Please call 907-242-9062 for an appointment.

Thank you for stopping by.

Shop Improvements

Important update:

Since I am no longer open with regular hours I have less need for in-shop two way traffic flow and I also need less of a back room area to support being at the shop 6-8 hours at a time.

As a result of the change in circumstances I have been tinkering with the shop layout to support more aggressive ventilation, assisting the shop's cooling and to allow for more clothing display while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the space. I think people will be appreciative of the changes.

To make your shopping experience as safe and as healthy as possible I have also installed true HEPA air filtration that allows for multiple air exchanges an hour to bolster shop ventilation.

Inventory news: I am bringing my antique linens and textiles as well as a few antique collectibles and art to the shop and putting them out for sale this summer/fall.

I'm sad to say that I've lost my shop neighbors and this may happen more as time goes by. This is a difficult time and I'll hang in here as long as I can. I hope a some point that I can resume normal days/hours.

Thanks for checking in.

Ready to Roll on June 13, by Appointment

I found non-bleach coronavirus cleaning products and the shop is clean, fluffed and turned to the summer season.

Starting this Saturday, June 13 I will be accepting appointments to open the shop to solo shoppers or a maximum of 2 shoppers from the same household to maintain social distancing. Pretty much any day in the week will work with advance notice. 

To set a date/time call Cathy at 90087-242-9062

Like pretty much everywhere else, shoppers will need to be properly masked, hands sanitized upon entry. Appointments will be set at a minimum of 48 hours apart to comply with the tried clothing and handled merchandise quarantine rules.

The shop has a sightly different look. More hanging space has been added to the center aisle since there will be no need for traffic flow, there is a face shield at the front desk and I will be bringing in linens in the next few weeks.

A few photos:

Shop News

Starting in June Nostalgie will be open on a "By Appointment" basis until further notice. Shoppers will need to be properly masked, without fever or symptoms, hand sanitized at the door, one individual or maximum of two persons from the SAME household. Appointments will necessarily need to be 48 hours at a minimum apart due to the lack of ventilation in the shop space and the need to quarantine/steam/launder items tried on or handled.

I am still working to source non-bleach coronavirus cleaners that comply with the mandates of the State of Connecticut's cleaning protocols and hand sanitizers without stripping my household supplies bare and we will need to modify checkout procedures/area to no/minimum touch to minimize cross contamination.

I have recently opened an Etsy shop: NostalgieCT. I will be stocking it in the coming weeks with summer fashions.

Thanks for reading.

Cathy
907-242-9062

COVID-19 Update

Hello everyone.

I hope you all are healthy and safe. This is a trying time, most particularly difficult for those of us who are ill, have family they are worried about or who's livelihoods or businesses are gone or forever altered by the SARS-COV-2 virus or COVID-19.

Because I am among the "vulnerable" population I have taken a hard and painful look at the realistic probability of remaining open as a brick and mortar shop. Given the overhead involved and the time that it will take for me to be relatively safe operating in the public sphere, the answer is, I will not reopen barring an unforeseen miracle.

So it becomes: Adapt as a business or die. I have a lease that I am obligated to honor through January 2021 and in that time I will transition my shop to online sales only despite my misgivings about selling vintage clothing online given the narrow fit confines of vintage pieces. I will be selling in a "close-out" mode with items priced at 50-75% of their retail value with discounted or free shipping within the USA. Because my space has been closed to the public since mid-February for my ill timed buying trip to California, it remains a "clean space" and I will initially operate from there until my lease runs out.

Look to this blog for more news as I form my online presence. I will also renew the fliers outside of my door to include my online information as it develops. I will continue to offer only the finest vintage items in peak condition to my online customers as you have come to expect from your visits to Nostalgie this past year.

I will sincerely miss my customers and the small community that I have come to know. If I'm at the shop (the lights on but door locked) feel free to knock on the door. I will mask up and say "Hello" at a distance. Thank you for your patronage.

Cathy
Nostalgie

Third Update

Today it was announce that non-essential businesses will remain closed in CT until May 20th. I had suspected as much and had written most of May off of the books already. It remains to be seen what will happen in the future.

This is a hard time for our communities here in Connecticut and our tiny slice of it here in the Deep River, Chester, river towns and shoreline area. If you can support local merchants by ordering online or getting take-out food, that will help lessen some of the stress.

Stay safe. We are all in this together.

2nd Update

Howdy folks,

I hope you are all well and aren't suffering too badly from cabin fever.

So it's looking like an April reopening is too optimistic and May might be consumed by this as well. On the pessimistic end it's possible that the COVID-19 wave won't pass until mid-summer. There are too many unknowns right now to make definitive statements much less solid decisions. In that framework I put a sign on the door closing Nostalgie until further notice.

I recognize that this closure will severely impact Nostalgie and may even kill my business, but lives are more important. Unless told to remain home, I'll come and go to do some work as it's still a clean zone. Hopefully to get ready to reopen sometime in the future.

We're all in this together. Stay safe.

Cathy
Nostalgie

Update

I'm on my last day of the 14 days self isolation since the Sacramento trip and without apparent symptoms which is good news especially given that plane load of coughing folks on the way home. I'm keeping tabs on the developments to the west of us in New York and am very glad that I made the decision to close given that what I do is essentially "non-essential".

Frankly it's not looking so great for April given what countries that are ahead of us on the curve are dealing with in terms of percentages of sickness and medical facility overload. As soon as it's reasonably safe and socially responsible, I'll open again.

So in the meantime, making hay while the sun shines, I'll be completely rotating my inventory to spring/summer during the down time and introducing vintage linens to my stock.

Keep an eye on this space for further updates. Thanks for reading.

Closed in March

As luck would have it, I closed the shop in the last week of February to take a trip to California to visit my sister, a cousin and to do a little vintage shopping. As it turns out, I spent the week at ground zero for community acquired COVID-19 in Sacramento before we knew there might be a problem. Sigh.

So I'm voluntarily isolating for two weeks to be sure that I haven't brought something nasty home to Connecticut. I had already planned to be closed in the last two weeks of March for a trip (now postponed) that my husband and I were taking to Savannah.

Out of an abundance caution and a sense of responsibility to my family and community I will be closed during the month of March to see how this public health issue shakes out. Unfortunately I'm unable to modify my Google hours to show that I'm closed at this time. As soon as I figure out how to do this, I will.

I will be in the shop as long as my temperature remains normal and I have no symptoms, adding new stock and changing seasons for the time of reopening.

I'll keep you all posted. In the meanwhile thanks goes out to the E-List for a very nice shop mention with some great photos.

https://the-e-list.com/2020/02/nostalgie-a-vintage-clothing-shop-in-deep-river/

Shop in Transition

A few changes are happening at Nostalgie.

Seasonal changes: Last call for winter coats next weekend February 15 & 16. They will be put into storage for next year as we are in the home stretch of the cold part of winter. Same is true of wintery party dresses and heavier winter pieces.

A new "As Is" rack: After the coats are gone I will be opening an "As Is" area for things that don't quite make the cut, have minor damage that isn't structural and costume quality pieces that will be sold at a very steep discount. I've got a fair amount of things with minor flaws that I haven't the time or simply can't fix (like color fade) that are still pretty cool and might be just the thing that you are looking for.

Progressive Sale Rack: In addition to the As Is Area I will have an area that I'll have discounted pieces. I've got a lot of really great inventory waiting in the wings that I went through this week looking for a specially requested item and it will take a while to sell through it all, so the price will be seriously right on the sale rack.

Hours: I will be open next weekend February 15-16, noon-4pm. Then I'll be closed until the first full weekend in March 7-8, noon-4pm after which I will be closed until April with regular weekend hours Sat. & Sun. 11-5pm and as always by appointment. The hours will always be posted on the door.

When I'm here working (which I will be quite a lot in the coming month as I'm changing seasonal inventory) the main lights will be on. Unless totes are strewn across the floor prohibiting safe walking I welcome shoppers on my work days.

Thanks for stopping by.