Feeling Nostalgic while I miss our team.

At least for the moment, more of my time is being spent tying knots and enjoying the hobby again. There is the underlying tension we all feel as I do have to come up with payroll for all the folks not able to help out right now, but the experience is a surreal step back in time.

We're working on a plan to bring back our business to support the local economy without putting anyone at risk and exceeding the social distancing protocols.  If you follow us on Facebook, you've seen a couple posts like this...

For fun, I'm going to share a few ugly old pictures from back when we ran the shop out of the house and break the mystique of our little shop.  The cool public space didn't exist from 1996-2014...

A little bit of history that I don't usually disclose

In 1993, my grandfather started slowing down Beaudoin's Rope Locker so he could focus on the fun part of tying fancy.  By 1996, it was just me and he 'threw me the keys.'

From 1996-2009, this little shop was me just tying white bracelets for the 5 shops my grandfather served.  I had another business then a corporate job afterwards.  The business was all but invisible.

In 2009, after 10 years of trying to source the cord I wanted, we were ready, with white line only.  It was later that year my wife, Jill, wanted to dye the cord to create a rainbow of options.

2009-2012, we rebranded to Mystic Knotwork and brought the shop online.  In 2012, the business was still just Jill, me, and our daughter Christa when we needed her to lend a hand.

2012 Martha Stewart discovered us and everything took off, but before that, this was a tiny family business.  It feels like that again, and ironically, it feels comfortable.

 This post shows you a bit of where the Matt Beaudoin version of Beaudoin's Rope Locker started and how Mystic Knotwork started to emerge.  It's possible to build a business through a passion and hobby.  We only look polished because of all the weird stuff and mistakes we've made.

During this time, I realize just how much we are the collective talent of a strong team of artisans. I can't wait to have them all back so we can get back to making great things.