BLOOMS of BRISTOL
By Tracy Camille Lane

This is the first newsletter for my new shop that is about to open………

This particular letter is not going to impart any information about flowers, trends, products that we carry or services that we offer. This is a letter of thanks to the many people who made this dream into a reality. It is hard to know where to begin but here goes……

We found a house. A beautiful old house .She was tired and worn out. Really tired and reeeally worn out. All I can say is that we saw her come back to life before our eyes. As a co-owner of rental properties I have been involved in the renovation process before. It is costly and time consuming but there is still that rewarding feeling at the end. In this case there was no comparison to my previous experiences…I fell completely and totally in love with her from the beginning. She is not just a place of business to me, she owns a piece of
my heart.

And now I must give credit and thanks where it is most assuredly due….

***Hank & Cheryl Mannia, They said “We believe in you.” Without their faith and total support, we would have never gotten started …
*Brian and Velma Rodgers for giving us a chance to start on the project before the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed.

*Cindy Mannia for braving the bureaucracy to start the dream and for not getting squeamish when the original cost analysis went over budget by two and a half times! Ouch! Her vision for the landscaping was impeccable as usual!

*The Town Board of Bristol for giving a thumbs up from the beginning.

*The Elkhart Zoning Commission who first said “There is no way you will get the zoning for business at this address” and then passed it unanimously at the Feb 11th zoning hearing. (a BIG thanks to you!)

***And now I must give a paragraph to our contractor and friend, Bo Bowyer. When no one else would touch this job because of the sheer age and physical condition of this 190 year old house, he took it on. To this day I am still not sure if he would have done it if he had realized what he was getting into……

He started December 31st and worked 12 and 14 hour days until April 7th with only ONE day off. (His choice!) He only stopped then because he had already planned to move to Arizona on April 9th and had also planned a vacation with friends. He took the vacation and let us fly him back to do the final touches. Words escape me. His vision of what she could and should be far surpassed my expectations. To this day I am still in awe of the details he attended to in her restoration. Oh, and did I mention that he had just severed the index finger of his right hand and had it sewn back on? It came out of the cast a day or two before he started on my shop! I cannot even begin to express what his friendship means to me. I will miss him when he is gone but I will pester him to come back once a year just to keep her looking stylish! I love ya Bo!

*Jon Baker, who worked diligently alongside Bo for six hours every morning and then went on to his full-time job! An incredible man as well!

*Kathy Ackerson, my right hand and often my left too. . She worked long hours, seven days a week for over a month, doing whatever was asked of her and lots that wasn’t. (She never wants to see wallpaper and a steamer again!) She came in every morning with a smile and kept it no matter how tired we became. As long as I kept her fed, she was happy!

*Jim and Deb Copeland, These are friends who just showed up and worked because they wanted to help. Day in and day in Jim came and lent a hand, doing whatever needed to be done! Deb made magical window and table treatments for me and filled the yellow room with her vintage delights.

*The Ted Buchanan Family, our neighbors, came in full force for a day of shoveling soil! Fun, fun, fun! Not!  And Joan Buchanan, NOT an avid painter J, would drop in and we would invariably stick a paint brush in her hand. Bless her heart, she came back again and again for the abuse!

*John Kurtze, my website and marketing guru. A very tenacious man! Some days I am sure he would want to chain me down as he tried to wring details out of me for my website. It is still a work in progress and that is on my shoulders, it is certainly not for lack of trying on his part! Great things are still to come. I will never be a techy but he is bringing me kicking and screaming into this computer age! Keep up the good work John!

*My niece Camille and her daughter Cailin drove 8 hours to help with the final preparations (and to add the exquisite faux paint to The Fireplace Room! What a difference that made!)

Now I know I am beginning to sound like an Oscar speech but it has to be said, it took a village to do this…..
· Lu Downs, you are my everything….. I need say no more.

· Lisa Cox, you came, you saw, you conquered,,,,,,Everything!!

· Amy Presswood, our resident clean freak!

· Tom at D & M Glass for replacing what seemed like a thousand broken window panes. (45 or so to be exact!)

· John Campbell, Torre McClain, Kim Moe, Lisa Wynn, & Michelle White all took time out of their lives to come and keep the project on schedule. Thank you, thank you!

Our sub-contractors also played a part!

AJ’s Tree Farm, Landscape plants & their layout….Luscious!

Steve Bontrager, fantastic sidewalk cement work

Kyle Schrock and Brian Rodgers, Daredevils of the Bobcat

CJ’s Tree Service, Not happy about those trees coming down but it had to be……

Steve and Chris, who made the front steps look fabulous!

And last but NOT least there is one entity that we have to give special thanks to…………..
THE RESIDENTS OF BRISTOL, WHO HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE THROUGHOUT
THIS PROCESS.

YOUR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT OFTEN GAVE US A BOOST WHEN WE BADLY NEEDED IT. MANY THANKS TO YOU ALL, WE PLAN TO DO OUR TOWN PROUD!!