There is a very good reason for my serious lack of blogging...... it has been a huge few months for us here at Jaclyn Roma!! On a nice Saturday afternoon stroll with our energetic pooch Benji, my husband Tom happened to notice a for lease sign in a shop window on the main shopping strip in Ivanhoe, it got us thinking! There had been many previous discussions on how a move to Ivanhoe would affect our business, but nothing was ever acted upon! When we got home from the walk that afternoon we checked out the details of the property and thought it was definitely worth taking a look at. After a few weeks of negotiations we became the successful new tenants of 168 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe!!
Excitedly on August 1st, 2012 I met the agent to pick up the keys. That first moment of excitement was swiftly shattered into feeling of "what the hell have we done?" As I soaked in the grim state of the property and the mountainous renovation mission that lay ahead.
Tom and I are by no means the handiest couple when it comes to renovating, we can change a light bulb and hang a picture on the wall, but that was about it! Four months later and many lessons from my incredibly talented father, I think we are just about qualified "Tradies"!!! The problem for me is I get these great ideas and have to then sell them to my poor dad who is the brains behind the operation, however with our creative differences and a hell of a lot of patience (which on numerous occasions ran out... what can I say renovating is stressful) we made it. I think we all feel a little broken in the aftermath, but we are so proud of what we have achieved. The shop is everything I had dreamed it would be (and a little more).
Here are the before and after photo's!!
The Shop Front....
The Shop...
Our work room...
Benji working really hard...
The bathroom.... (horrendous!)
Benj helping with the painting...
The office...
Our second work room.... yep, we have two!!!!
The Sun Room...
I feel exhausted looking back at these, but I wouldn't change the results for anything! We cannot begin to thank my Dad, Ray for all that he has done for us, it never would have happened without him. And a big thank you to our family and friends who supported us in this adventure!
The final but very important thanks goes to our customers for their loyalty and excitement in sharing this adventure with us.
And for those of you who think we are going to be on 'The Block' next year.....
Not a chance!!!
