Hey now, hey now...
Don't dream it's over...

All good things come to an end! Doesn't mean I can't be a little sad, though. I worked my final shifts at my local candy store this week. I've been helping run this shop for over a year and I've had so much fun at this place, it's really bumming me out that we're closing down! We're going to be merging our shop and downsizing to a department, and I'll be returning to my last job after that happens (starting again next week! woohoo! I'm looking forward to seeing my old crew again).

I totally get why we're closing, it's really hard to keep specialty brick-and-mortar shops in my area. They just can't last. I really loved what we did in the community though. We partnered often with the schools and town events and would drop big donations of sweets and snacks to our local unhoused shelter! They were fun to pack and put little nice messages in. I really loved doing good like that (and other little ways, like finding excuses to give out free candy to our guests), I got to meet so many different people and families and I love making people smile. Plus, I learned a lot here! This was my first formal movement into managing ordering products, working directly with distributors, and cataloguing our inventory online. I was surprised by how fun it is, though I'm sure it helps that the majority of my debilitating ordering decisions were over which global treats to bring in this month. I even took photos for our socials and wrote content for that and our web end! It was a lot of fun, I got to wear many hats haha

I really loved taking product photography, here's some fun favorites I took for my shop!

I think some of the most fun I had at this job was getting into a joyous headspace for the kids I would look after (half the time the shops next door would get some free babysitting for their kiddos out of the fact that I'm a motherhen if they're playing out in the parking lot lol. I worry! we're near some busy traffic!).
It would be so fun to brainstorm what kind of things to bring in and seeing them light up at Sonic and Freddy Fazbear and whatever other kooky liscensed soda or snack I could order. The best thing, though, would be when a parent would recognize something their kid loved and tell me how excited they were to give it to them, lol. The same would go for finding some vintage oddities, there would always be one of our senior shoppers excited like a kid again to see their favorite treats after so many years. I loved bonding with people my age over the candy and sodas I remembered growing up too, everyone just would light up talking about what they liked best. It was so sweet! I had so many sweet interactions in this place, I won't forget getting to know my community this way. It gave me a much warmer appreciation for the folks in my town, and getting recognized when clocked out as the nice candy lady at the most random places still makes me chuckle. I'm glad I was able to be a memorable, happy part of people's day!

One of my favorite things to order would be from the MASSIVE variety my distributors offered for salt water taffy. There were so many outrageous flavors! We'd have all the staples, but some of the crazier stuff included:
strawberry cheesecake, shaved ice, huckleberry, bombsicle, fruit loops, pina colada, apple pie, chili mango, blueberry muffins, pickles, buttered popcorn, raspberry lemonade, cinnamon rolls, peanut butter and jelly, passionfruit cocktail, cherry cola, and maple honey bacon

(sona art by lazarelic! It's like im really still there, haha)

I loved how COLORFUL our shop was!! I swear you could see it a street away, we were oozing rainbows out the door. It was so fun! I had to start expanding my wardrobe to match better, I felt a little too goth in my usual fits, haha
We carried so much specialty stuff (gift packages, global treats, freeze-dried candy, vintage candy, novelty sodas, giant gummies, you name it!) that it was all bursting off the walls after every order! We almost always ran out of space, but that was a good problem to have.

Something else I loved about this job was the nostalgia trip of tracks we'd play on our shop radio. If the candy wasn't taking me back, hearing 2000s Disney Channel and a bunch of 50s/60s/70s/80s music would always put me in a great mood. If I wasn't having my own elementary and middle school flashbacks from them lol, they made me think often about people who really used to love that music in my life. I would especially love our 70s/80s mix since I grew up on a lot of that, but the doowop shifts or y2k throwbacks were just as fun! I'd be rocking out solo during our downtime, I'm sure the shops beside us could hear me belting out Stevie Nicks or Hillary Duff or Crowded House, but I was in my own little world. I think there's something to be said about feeling good enough in a space to sing or whistle while you work. I liked feeling so relaxed. Boredom can be a bit of a blessing, you know?

But even blessings end...

As much as I want love to save the day, profits are a much bigger issue. Our side of town isn't really flooded with disposable income, and that's only been a harsher reality following COVID-19 around here. I've seen so many family-oriented places shut down, us included now, and I can't help but really feel bad for these kids! I want them to have memorable spaces! I want them to have spots for their friends and families to belong to! Which... ends up actually being a difficult thing to be as a retail store. Still, we really tried. I'm glad it's not going away 100%, but these changes do move me away from what will remain, and I think it's fine to feel a way about that.

I've had similar jobs entertaining kids and parents and especially in general with working with the public, but I love the hospitality work that came with this! If time permits at some point, it's really made me want to volunteer locally to keep at bringing joy to people. I think this job had the least barriers when it came to making connections with my clients, and I appreciate that it let me be both myself with the people around me AND to own this space as a happy place to celebrate in. I'll miss you, candy shop.

That said, I'll be looking back with joy and looking ahead with hope! It'll be nice to land safely back into a comfortable groove, and getting the muscle memory back for my previous job will be fun. Who knows what's next after that? We'll have to see!

You're sweet for reading this... but it's done! I'll see you next time :)