Build it and they will fill it

My husband likes to build stuff.  Give him a Home Depot credit card, a free Saturday and a bottle of Williams Selyem Pinot Noir (to drink AFTER the project is complete of course) and he’s a happy camper.  Turns out that the success of my business is due, in part, to this very important fact.

We stock upwards of 150,000 stones and tokens at one time.  No, that is not a typo.  Therefore, efficient, safe and plentiful storage is a major proponent to our business model.  Over the years it has not been easy finding the appropriate storage vessels.  I started out using plastic shoe boxes which led to slightly larger stacking bins which led to full size storage bins.  When I finally outgrew the storage bins, I knew some major action needed to be taken.

Enter my dear, sweet husband.  One day after dinner I announced that I needed a storage unit for the stones.  Out came the ruler, pencil and pad of paper.   He had a lot of questions.  ‘How many stones?’; ‘What do they weigh?’; ‘What are the dimensions of the warehouse space?’; ‘How many bottles of wine are you going to buy me?’

Once we negotiated the wine bottle exchange and I assured him that this project would open the path for many, many free Ravens Football Sundays, the constructing began.

Thankfully the Home Depot is only 1/2 mile from the warehouse, since every project requires at least 12 trips.  This one was no exception.  We’re on a first name basis with everyone there.  Joe in lumber is particularly helpful.

After 2 solid days of flying sawdust, high pitched saw noise and lots and lots and lots of screws (my husband = caution) the stone bin assemblage was born.

Now, you can imagine that calling it the ‘stone bin assemblage’ really didn’t roll off the tongue easily, so we were eager to Christen it with a proper, albeit appropriate, name.  Our friend coined the phrase ‘Rockominium’ after I pointed out that it looked a bit like a chicken coop.  It stuck.  We love it.

From the Rockominium, we made our way to the Glass House.  Not quite as clever a name, but appropriate nonetheless.  I’m sure there are lots of jokes in there about stones and throwing and people that live in glass houses, but I can’t currently come up with any.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the Bubble Wrap Dispenser.  His very first warehouse project…built in less then 2 hours…on wheels and everything!  Keeps our bubble wrap flowin’…

I’m sure there are more projects to come.  That’s definitely one thing I’ve learned about owning my own business…there is always something just ahead on the horizon.  And I am fully confident that my better half will step up to the challenge.  He always does.