So I have bad news. After 4 years of driving between Everett and Seattle every day, Deirdre is leaving Gracious. For her sanity, her family and her gas bill, she has decided to stop being an owner of Gracious and find work a little closer to home. I can’t blame her. She lasted way longer than I thought she would, and way longer than I would have. But I am really, really sad. I don’t know if any of you have had the pleasure of working with one of your best friends in your own business, but it has been the most fun and the most work I’ve ever had. I am totally in denial about the whole leaving thing. She is one of the best people I’ve ever known and deserves all the good in the world. Not getting to see her all the time is going to be hard, and lousy and sad.

Four years ago, two old friends (and I mean long time!) decided to open a store. I’m sure if we had given it a lot more thought, we might have been nervous, considering the failure rate for most small businesses. But we jumped in with both feet and went for it. I will always love her for that. Most small businesses fail because they don’t pay attention to the details. Deirdre is a secret weapon. She set the whole thing up and had us on track from the beginning. We paid off our loan and operate on a totally cash basis. That is Deirdre all the way. I’m sure a little part of her is cringing when she thinks of what the beautiful books she has kept to meticulously for the past four years will look like in 6 months, but I hope we can keep it going. Well, not exactly the same, but I hope we just don’t screw them up too badly.

What does this mean for Gracious? Well, we will still be here, although the hours may change. Things may look a little different, because Deirdre is the one who keeps things from looking ‘too much’. And there will definitely be some strong language coming out of the back as we attempt to keep things on track. And things might be just a little less Gracious, because she is gone. But we look forward to bringing you more beautiful and unique things. Even though one of our favorites is gone.

– Tracy