bluehouse Weblog

It’s not easy to say goodbye. I, for one, have never enjoyed the sensation. I remember once on my last day of junior high, I stopped in to a favorite teacher’s classroom for what both of us knew would be the last time, and the tears flowed freely.

Today, I suppose, I could look her up on Facebook. But there was a time when saying goodbye meant something. It meant the world was changing permanently.

bluehouse on Fleet Street, in Baltimore’s Harbor East neighborhood, was my baby. I conceived of it, named it, worked like a slave to keep it up and running. And it was successful, and people loved it, and life was good.

But then one day, it dawned on us that life was not so good. Our upward trajectory, after record high months of sales, suddenly plummeted.

I didn’t take it personally. Things were bad all over. Dare I delve into the political realm here and note that the economy generated by our former president had already taken its toll on our neighborhood. Our friends at Gaines McHale had closed their doors a month sooner. During the weeks we found out that we would have to close, Fells Point Futon and Eclectic Elements announced similar intentions.

Wanting to avoid a fire sale mentality, I kept things under wraps. After all, our new store at the Shops at Kenilworth would survive and was going strong. But as I said, Fleet Street was my baby. On Friday the Thirteenth, the last day our flagship store was open, I decided to announce what was happening to the world. People poured in, some in tears, to bid us goodbye. At five o’clock exactly, the minute we closed for good, a woman called on the phone and said she couldn’t believe it, we were her favorite store, we couldn’t possibly fail. She was crying.

Fail.

I never considered it a failure. For over three years, bluehouse on Fleet Street enjoyed success in the press and in our profits. We won five “Best of Baltimores.” My original goal, that we would be a model for green business nationwide, seemed to be within our grasp. But then . . . the George W. Bush economy. People stopped buying. Despite our best efforts, our profits were off by 50% or more.

There is a time and a place for everything, I suppose. Two thousand five to 2009 was the time for bluehouse on Fleet Street. Two thousand eight until some unknown date in the future is the time for bluehouse at the Shops at Kenilworth.

We don’t know what life will bring. I thank the universe for the opportunities we’ve had to touch lives in Harbor East, and I know that magic will live on. As I type this, we are integrating our downtown products into the Towson store. As I type this, my (former) employees and I are planning a new café venture in the downtown area.

Life goes on. Energy flows. Things that are beloved transmogrify.

I think I speak for all of bluehouse when we wish our very best to our former customers and friends on Fleet Street. We thank you all for your support, your love, and your presence in our lives.

Please don’t be strangers. Visit us at Kenilworth. Sign up for our local mailing list and be the first to learn if our new café comes to fruition. And most importantly of all, whether it’s at bluehouse Kenilworth or elsewhere, remember that it’s very important that you shop wisely and locally.

Baltimore is a special place. Let’s keep it that way.

Warm regards from David Buscher, proprietor.