Reconnecting with friends in far away places

This past month I had the great fortune to reconnect with a few gals
that I hadn't seen in a while. The first two, Kara and Darcy are a fair
distance away and I only know them through a few brief encounters
but I know if they were close we would be tight. Even with the distance
between us we plan to meet up in Atlanta at the gift show in July. They
are the owners of a shop in Greenville, OH called McMaster and Storm
(www.mcmasterandstorm.blogspot.com).
About three years ago Kara made a visit to Savannah and came into
my store we hit it off and promised to stay in touch. Within a few
months my sister and I went to the Springfield Antique Fair in Ohio
and I caught up with the pair in their booth at the show. I quickly
understood why she loved my shop so much. We had very similar
taste and as a result I purchased a group of items from the two of them.

Over the years we lost contact but I kept hearing from people visiting
Savannah from Ohio that my store reminded them of a shop in Ohio
called McMaster and Storm. I finally asked the last visitor Sally
if she knew the owners and she did. Sure enough it was Kara and
Darcy. She gave Kara a ring while standing in my shop . So after
all this time we are back in touch and I hope we keep it that way.

Then there is Katie, an artist with unimaginable talent and
co-creator of shopSCAD, a brilliant shop here in Savannah that
represents all things good produced from the students, staff and
alumni of the Savannah College of Art and Design. After leaving
her position with the college she relocated to Columbia to be near
her fiance and work on her art. She has rented an old storefront
where she creates fantastic assemblages and paintings sold both
at shopSCAD and on her etsy theconstantgather.etsy.com.

I met Katie and her mom Bonnie when they happened upon my
shop 7 years ago when we were in our first location. I knew I liked
her from the very begining. We had a lot in common and while
she was attending SCAD she helped me out in the shop once and a
while. Katie had a running tab at my shop and we would settle
up by trading her artwork and pottery for materials from my store.
When Katie graduated we held her thesis show in my shop.
Her pieces fit my aesthetic so well I remember one of her professors
saying "I can't tell when the art stops and the store start." She had
so many fans athe college she was approached by the president of
SCAD to open a retail store for them and shopSCAD was born. I know
I sound like a proud mom but I can't help it. I had the great fortune
to witness her bloom into a business women and an accomplished
artist.