What a crazy week!
I think I did my October workout 😂 setting up the new store and the new course space so everything would be ready this Monday the 13th for courses and the weekend of October 18-19 for our big opening weekend!
When: Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October from 10am to 6pm
Where: 328 avenue Georges Henri, 1200 Woluwe Saint Lambert
What:
- discover our new range of yarn, embroidery, and fabrics,
- join our coupon fair
- ask your questions about courses and supplies,
- take part in our surprise event for customers during this great weekend
- have a refreshment with us.
I have to tell you about this express setup in 12 days with meticulous logistics that wouldn’t have been possible without a huge thanks to:
- Gaëtan the best partner and co-manager; I couldn’t have wished for better
- the dream team and especially Céline and Marie who expertly managed Ixelles and welcomed the new hires: Ségolène, Noémie, Céline, and Rose
- Noémie who lifted 2 tons of fabric with me to store them in our furniture
- Ségolène who covered quite a few courses in Ixelles to replace Vanessa and jumped right in 😊
- The friends team: Timothy, Lidwine, Patricia, Benjamin, Vincent, Francesca, Gaëtan No. 2 who assembled the furniture all weekend on October 4th and 5th
- My parents and Anne Marie who wallpapered the back of the counter and helped with setting up the merchandise and assembling the furniture
- Didier who assembled the ribbon and elastic furniture all by himself to the beat of lively music
- Jean Luc from Espace Machine à coudre who brought us shiny Janome sewing machines and Juki overlockers to start the workshops
- all our suppliers who respected the delivery timings so everything would be ready for the opening
- Antoine our carpenter with golden hands
- not forgetting the municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert with the building services and the very dynamic commerce team!
I am so grateful to be so well surrounded!
Do you want to see behind the scenes?
This way!
It all starts with receiving the keys and this big empty space... we're just before the first of October and I'm starting to think it's big... very big 😂... very empty...
Week of October 1 to 5
As soon as we get the keys, I "camp" with my parents at the Woluwe store to first receive the furniture... and start assembling the small and larger pieces!
On 10/2 it's Ikea, the ribbon furniture, Antoine the carpenter arrives with his bins...
On 10/3 it's Ikea part two, DMC furniture, wall panels and counters as well as 1.5 tons of fabric... by the way, we created a new unit of measurement: the Eugénie... from now on we talk in one Eugénie pallet or half an Eugénie pallet (the unit being 1.53m high) 🤣
We also start receiving the pattern envelopes including those from Coralie Bijasson 😊
The weekend of the 4th and 5th
From 9 a.m., we get busy with the friends' team to assemble (for Ikea fans) 20 Billy wardrobes, Kallax units, tables, chairs, two counters,... We attach wall panels... What a team!
Gaetan, Patricia, and Benjamin, the moving team, are busy bringing the boxes stored in my apartment that I prepared with love and patience over the past weeks... Meanwhile, Marie and Céline run the shop and workshop in Ixelles, thanks girls!
On Saturday, we will taste goat cheeses made by my little sister from the Chèvrerie des Cerisiers in Quévy le Petit. In the evening, it's pizza with Marie and Céline who joined us because gaining strength and eating well in good company is very important 💪🏻
On Sunday with a smaller team, we will finish the assembly with Tim, Lidwine, and Céline and especially we will clear out 6m3 of boxes at the recycling center 😱.
Week of October 6 to 12
Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th, it's the 50+ team on duty 😂
My dad and mom come to wallpaper the wall behind the checkout counter, Anne-Marie sets up the beautiful Fonty yarn that arrived on Monday, as well as the Rowan yarn... mamamia what softness and what beautiful colors all these skeins have!
On Tuesday the 7th, Didier comes to install the ribbon furniture and Jean Luc brings the sewing machines and overlocker.
We will enjoy Syrian specialties from Damascus, 15 minutes from the haberdashery, highly recommended!
On the evening of the 7th, I leave at 5 p.m. to give my course in Ixelles with my loyal Tuesday evening students.
On the 8th and 9th, Noémie and I installed 2 tons of fabric. We built some muscles!
Between the 1.4m wide fabrics and our Japanese ones, we lifted flowers, stripes, checks, childish prints, chic patterns, sequins, solids... light, soft, warm, fluffy... it was Christmas before time... by the way, Noémie couldn't help but say "this one is for me!" 🤣
We took the opportunity to finish installing the yarn, knitting, crochet, and embroidery books, the tubular ribbed edges...
Wednesday, same routine, I leave at 5 PM to teach my evening course in Ixelles to my dear Wednesday night students.
Thursday, both Gaëtans joined us! Gaetan 2 came to fix the cabinets and secure them together.
Gaetan 1 comes in the evening to take care of the lighting.
Meanwhile, we receive merchandise, appliances... Antoine's skateboard, our carpenter, got a lot of use! I returned it to him with much regret 😂... I think I'll ask Santa for one.
Friday the 10th is the Belgian-Spanish team: Olé! Patricia joins me in the afternoon to finish the big cleanup of boxes, plastics, pallets, and various packaging that need sorting and storing.
Then, we tackle the last rearrangement of the furniture, opening the last boxes, assembling the small furniture: diamant, écovita, cone carousel...
In the evening, Gaetan and Céline join me to work on the wall panels that hold the knitting, crochet, classic embroidery, sashiko, kogin supplies, the metal haberdashery, and of course our famous YKK zipper pulls that we imported from Japan with great designs! We'll finish at 9 PM with some good fries and a kebab... with a half-finished panel, olé!
It's very nice to have company and help for this final stretch.
The weekend of the 11th and 12th
I'm covering for Vanessa for the courses in Ixelles and I'm well supported by Céline and Rose! Yes, it's time to introduce our new recruit whom you'll mostly see at the Woluwe store towards the end of the week. Rose is a weaver, a skill the team was missing, but she has other talents too, so 2026 will bring us some new things but shh... a little teaser!
Since I’m busy all day with my great students, I’m delegating the shopping to Gaetan and yes, we still need pencils, pens, dish towels, cleaning products, tea, coffee... basically all the little essentials to make us feel good in our new space!
He will also do a big and important job configuring the cash registers so that the haberdashery can already welcome you this Monday the 13th during the team’s trial run 😊 yes, you read that right... we’re already waiting for you this week... we just ask for a little patience to give the team time to find their footing.
To finish Saturday, Gaetan and I will, after my courses (and finishing the beautiful jeans of my students... well done again, girls!), make some photocopies for the "I’m discovering sewing" and sweatshirt courses, which are the first to kick things off 😊
Sunday, it’s 6 a.m. when I started this article. I’m happy to put these last two crazy weeks into writing and keep a record, like a little piece of the history of C'est du Joly but also of my life. I never would have believed my childhood dream would take this path, especially thinking back that the adventure started not so long ago... Being persistent and straightforward really has its benefits!
Alright, a bit of lightness, my challenge for next week is... will I find time to go to the hairdresser to get ready for the opening weekend?
Answer on the 18th! 😂 So, are you coming to check?
Sunday isn’t over and neither is the sign, so we’re going back to finish it or at least make some more progress. We’ll also make a quick trip to the hardware store to finalize the last purchases...
A big labeling and data entry job awaits me this week of October 13, but I’m calm because I’m surrounded by wonderful colleagues and friends, great motivated students, and I know everything will go well.
So, we’re waiting for you in Woluwe and Ixelles with a big smile
- Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Get your sewing, knitting, embroidery needles ready... and see you soon
Eugénie
