Growing into a Storefront

I am so excited to announce a new development in our adoption fundraising! We were recently given the opportunity to rent a space in a wonderful local Dongguan store! It's called Treasures of Hope and they donate a whole lot of money to different charities in the area such as orphanages, the leper colony and others. They have made their second floor available for rent, and are giving some special treatment to charities such as ours! Another HUGE blessing is that my cousin Melissa will be sharing the space with us and therefore making rent a little cheaper every month! We discussed it and ended up choosing space number 1 because of the placement to the stairs.

The space to the right of the camera taking the picture is where our space will be!

We're at space #1.

We're hoping to get a lot of traffic through there once everything gets started since there will be so many new products from different companies. I've already started on a plan to keep the shelve filled with goods to buy, and I'm so thankful for the time this summer to get some practice in AND get lots of goods made! I know I seem a little ADD when it comes to fundraising, but it has a lot to do with feedback. I also have not stopped working on most of the ideas I have listed, but rather planning carefully and thinking of when to start really trying to sell them.
On that note....
I found a new idea I'm going to try! I found some free stuffed animal patterns on Pinterest and I have learned how to sew previously, so I'm going to try my hand at it! Here in China there is a website you can buy goods from and I bought a whole bunch of fleece fabric, a sewing machine, pillow stuffing and some fabric that looks like fur. I'm going to start with simple ones, and try to move towards the more difficult! I don't have much experience with sewing (I have sewn a quilt and a dress and made some mending on clothes) so if you have any experience making stuffed animals and you want to give me some advice, let me know! I would really appreciate it!
I love hearing from you!