opening: 18 days and counting...

Major updates for this week at the WWC.


We finally determined and picked up all the paint this week.  Many thanks to Dana @ Factory Paint for helping us!  My personal favorite is Birds Egg (Benjamin Moore) for the larger yoga studio.  The majority of the center is going to be Shaker Beige (also Benjamin Moore), its a great color and really compliments our dark brown furniture.   The primer is going on tomorrow, and then we finally get to see the colors on the walls early next week!  

We picked up all our appliances this week too - I've never imagined going to Lowes so many times in my life, it was very overwhelming.  Picking up a freezer and refrigerator was quite the adventure.  Thankfully my cousin Alex came to help us, otherwise nothing would have got back safe!  We had a lot of people help in the Lowes parking lot, it was quite the sight!  Our display case was delivered today and it really completes the place.  Thanks to Jim @ East Coast for all his help in finding our perfect refrigerated display case.  The cabinets are also going in this week, and our custom counter top and bar area are being built.  Check out some photos!  

Alex's full truck @ Lowes!

loving our appliances

wellness cafe!

where the crepe making happens until the cafe opens...

Since the center is being built in the old Commonwealth Shoe Factory that was built in 1900, the floors are beautiful hardwood, but have seen a lot of wear and tear!  We love the feel of the original floors so we're having them buffed up, but you will still be able to see the imperfections of the wood.  Here's a photo of the old shoe factory and the floors being redone.

UPS is having a real hard time delivering to us since our sign isn't complete yet.  After I was told all our packages had "exceptions" I called them and was told they couldn't find the center to deliver without a sign (they refuse to change the delivery address on the package to the realty office), so we made our unofficial / official sign for them.  Dear UPS - please deliver our mail.  

unofficial sign for UPS

We determined our opening date...Saturday, October 9th!  Here's the invite for the open house - spread the word and come by to enjoy all the WWC has to offer.  Check back in for updates on all the opening party details.

And just to make this the longest post EVER...I'll leave you with a photo of Arlet and I from this weekend.  We took some time off from the WWC and I played tour guide - taking Arlet to Boston on Saturday and Plymouth on Sunday.  We took a lovely walking guided tour of Plymouth and it was a beautiful day! 

Thanks for reading such a long post!


-Antonia

Massachusetts is getting colder, but the WWC is HOT HOT HOT!

It was quite an interesting week last week with our PM’s gone (PM = Project Managers, aka Antonia and Arlet). The girls were on vacation leaving Cara and I to hold down the center....Wow! What we learned during this time is how truly grateful we are and so fortunate to have them both here working with us to build the Whitman Wellness Center.

While our Project Managers were gone, Cara and I managed to complete most of our to-do lists. The biggest item on my list was the yoga class and workshop schedules. This was a huge undertaking that I have been working on for weeks!

The schedule has been made for our 42 yoga classes; both heated and unheated, along with Zumba classes.

The workshops have been scheduled for almost every week through December. Therapy Rooms are filling with massage, Reiki and Acupuncture.

The walls are up, paint is ready to go on the walls, appliances are bought, seating bought, crepes still being made and taste-tested every morning!

Cara, Antonia and Arlet went on their first (of many I’m sure) big shopping trips to New York City earlier this week, which resulted in wonderful retail for our Wellness Shop.

Antonia has discovered and is obsessed with a computer program that allows you to map out spaces to scale and in 3-D (see picture below).

Wellness Cafe!

Arlet is obsessed with lists, inventorying and taking care of the details.

Cara is energized with seeing the Café come to life.

As for me… well, I am just glad everyone is back in their places and working on the details… because I’m exhausted!

Simply,

LeeAnn

Check out the new walls! It totally changes the space:

walking in...

reception area

Wellness Cafe

retail area

relaxation room

yoga room 1

yoga room 2

Lights!

Last week was a big week!  We found an amazing refrigerated display case and we're having it delivered this week!  Thanks to Jim @ East Coast Restaurant Supplies (in Whitman!)  for showing us all around his shop and helping us find "the one".  After a little paint job (Thanks to the Cappellinis!) it will fit in perfectly in the Wellness Cafe.  We also got our stove / oven  and sink.  The cafe is finally coming together. 


While the yoga rooms require a lot less space planning, we made some progress and got our lights delivered last week (thanks Sonya!)  Arlet and I had seen them in an NYC studio and tracked them down at Ikea.  They fit our lofty look perfectly!

Arlet and I are on "vacation"  this week (Arlet in MD, me in Mexico) and we've left Cara and Mom/LeeAnn in charge of all the WWC responsibilities.  The top priorities of their list include: making sure the insulation goes in, getting website copy together, and placing the yoga supplies order.  Next Monday we're all reuniting in NYC for our long awaited shopping day.  Stay tuned for a recap of our trip!

Cara and Mom have a lot to accomplish this week but I'm confident they will get everything done!  I promise to keep check in calls / texts from Mexico to a minimum.

-Antonia

Logo'd!

Week Three at the Whitman Wellness Center.  Things are coming along so well, thanks to the entire group working on getting the center up and running.  LeeAnn, Antonia, Arlet and I are a great group all bringing our own talents to the process.

The most exciting part of the week is the Whitman Wellness Center now has a logo!

Erin Alexander created this for us and we are all so happy with it. They say that your sign is the first impression of your business.  It truly is a great representation of the Whitman Wellness Center. 

Official Logo of the Whitman Wellness Center!

This week we also became an official business of the United States. We got our federal tax ID number. So exciting!!!  We're planning a big trip to NYC to put our tax id number to good use at all the amazing wholesale only shops. (be sure to visit the retail area for our NYC goods).

Other big news is that our website is being created as we speak.  Check out www.whitmanwellnesscenter.com for links to our facebook page and feel free to email me at cara@whitmanwellnesscenter.com with any questions about the WWC.

Construction is moving along on time and all the first phase of the electric work has been complete.  Next week is the sheetrock and insulation.  Many thanks to Keith for keeping everything on schedule!

We will be finishing up our menu for the Wellness Cafe. We are still practicing with our crepes but they look beautiful - Antonia and Arlet make a crepe daily, they are working really hard perfecting our recipes!

banana, organic pb, local honey, cinnamon

it didn't last too long!

filled with blueberry jam and topped with locally grown blueberries

Be sure to check back in for more updates!

-Cara