Signing the lease

Wednesday - February 3, 2010

I received the lease agreement today from the landlord, and it looks okay, good enough to sign. I'll be signing it and delivering it to him when I fly up to Portland next week. Good, that is done. I also received a quote for liability insurance and that looks pretty good too. All the boring, mundane things that have to be taken care of. There seem to be many. But, much more exciting to me, was I met today with a friend, a very established professional artist who is going to do my logo for me. He is an incredible painter, artist, and I feel so lucky and blessed to have him doing this for me. It is going to be very simple, very painterly, (since the name of the cafe is Artistry Cafe) and done in a sort of Thiebaud style. I can't wait to see it. I've been checking out outdoor signs and banners, trying to figure out what will work best there - I think this is something I will definitely have to wait until I recheck the building to see what will work and where it will have the most impact as far as positioning. Colors! Who knew that there would be so much thought put into color - being a Feng Shui practitioner, I know the importance of working with all the different elements and the symbolism of each. I need to have a fire color, to attract attention, provide a certain energy, feed appetites and conversations. I also want an earth color to make people feel comfortable, want to stay and relax, feel supported. As much as I love the red and yellows, I want to avoid being the McDonalds, In-N-Outs and Subways of coffee houses. I think I am leaning more to chocolate browns, vivid oranges and a splash of another complimentary color. Still debating. Being that this is Portland, I feel that there should be some yellow to simulate sunshine, but yellow is such a tricky color. Too bright and it can become irritating, making people feel restless. If it is a soft yellow it can promote health and happiness. If it has a green tint to it, the skin will look sickly. Oh so much to think about! I feel as if I've done as much as I can do today - part of this process is learning to pace oneself. Enjoy the process. I will keep reminding myself of that. My astrologer PJ (you are probably thinking, "oh she is so Californian")told me to remember also that if I am trying to create an environment where people feel happy, relaxed and content, then I need to have that same energy during all the steps of this process. She is so right.