Archive for April, 2021
I was standing in line at Walmart and the customer ahead of me had just paid for his order. Turning around, he looked at me quizzically and smiled. Intrigued, I caught up with him, introduced myself, and asked why the soft smile? He laughed and said he was trying to read the logo on my hat. “But now I see. It’s says the American Shakespeare Center.” I asked if I could call him later and learn a little more about his life. He agreed.
Retired security analyst combines two passions into one Oxford degree
As a kid, Jim Zackrison grew up in various locales in Latin America. As the son of a Seventh Day Adventist minister, his cultural immersion ran so deep his mother eventually homeschooled him. “Mom took me out of the local schools to teach me English,” explained Zachrison.
His bilingual education created a love of history for the many countries where he lived, including Aruba, Curacao, Honduras, and Columbia.
One of the major draws for the adventure-seeking youth was the numerous old Spanish fortifications. They ranged in size from large fortresses to small outposts. When given an opportunity, he loved to crawl through the strongholds and explore their interiors.
By the time young adulthood arrived, he had returned to his birth state of California and began scoring educational degrees. First, a B.A. in history, followed by a master’s in history.
While waiting for his bride, Leila, to graduate from medical school, he earned a master’s in national securities studies. Since he was stuck in California, he opted to pursue a degree that might generate more lucrative employment.
And it did. His wife graduated and got an internship at Georgetown Hospital, and he landed a job as an analyst for Naval Intelligence in D.C. He spent 16 years there, gaining knowledge about modern-day smuggling.
“We lived in Falls Church back then and moved to Fauquier County three years ago.”
But his passion for history was unfilled by his employment. He tried to get the government to help him pursue a Ph.D. but to no avail. So, he retired and got accepted at Oxford University. “I paid for the education myself.”
But before he could graduate, he contracted Lyme disease and lost the better part of a productive decade to the disease. “Often, I was in bed 15 hours a day. I wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for my physician wife,” Zackrison recalls.
When he recovered, he was reinstated at Oxford and began writing his thesis on a fort in Honduras since no English language history existed of it. The history included stories on smuggling throughout the region. He successfully defended the thesis a year ago, and history and adventure coalesced into a doctorate.
Spanish smuggling
Spanish forts in the Americas were originally designed to protect the coastlines from English, Dutch, and French pirates who tried to steal anything of value from the Spaniards.
In the 1500s, the forts assumed the added responsibility of protecting Spain from smugglers who traded in tax-free goods, a benefit to sellers and buyers but not for the King who sought to control all forms of trade.
It was estimated half of the goods headed to the colonies were smuggled. Recent studies, however, show as much as 90 percent of the goods traveling through the formal trade system did not appear on manifests. Smuggling was a hugely lucrative business.
The smuggling cost the Spanish Empire so much money it was unable to meet its national objectives of becoming a superpower. The grand strategy to stop it is what his thesis centers on.
“What I found humorous was the level to which smuggling permeated society.”
Columbia produced a lot of gold, and Mexico a lot of silver. Both places also had chocolate. To support themselves, the missionaries would ship casks back to Spain that contained cocoa beans, making deals with local miners to include bars of gold and silver in the barrels.
The casks would be shipped at the King’s expense back to Spain, where agents opened them, removed the valuable cargo, and delivered it to secret buyers. The King was unknowingly picking up the tab for shipping the goods, and for failing to collect royalties or taxes on the contents.
Other examples abound on how society was regularly subverted to the benefit of the smugglers’ purse. Today, this circumvention of law would be clearly illegal, but it’s useful to recognize that Spain failed in many ways to support its colonies, thus creating the need for alternative systems of trade.
As an example, nuns lived in convents and did not work. Their calling was to pray for humanity. As a result, they would implore the wealthy class to make donations to their cause. One channel of support was from merchants who offered to build a new chapel, but with the caveat, it had to have a warehouse attached to it.
When smuggled goods passed through the merchants’ hands, they would store them in the convent warehouse. At the time, the church had its own legal system of ecclesiastical law making it exempt from civil law.
If the customs police were chasing a smuggler and he took refuge in a convent, they could not pursue him. Instead, they would have to file a petition to have a warrant issued, taking as much as a year. This provided ample time to secret the goods, and the smuggler, out of the convent and on to a ship headed to Spain.
Since the King was also making donations to convents, he was unwittingly supporting both the smuggling trade while losing tax revenues. Zackrison linked many of these tales into a historical fiction novel and would love to have it published.
“I cannot find anyone who can help me publish it. I am doing some academic writing, and getting that punished is pretty much a yes or no proposition. Fiction, not so much. It’s much harder.”
Let’s hope he prevails. A novel centered on a fascinating era and laced with improbable but true adventure stories could well be a best seller.
Vita Nova Creatives & Coffee will be family-run embodying its name
A “New Life” may be what most of the world is seeking as the pandemic, hopefully, lifts its lock on humanity and fades to a bad memory.
But there is a tight-knit family in southern Fauquier County that is not waiting to create a new life for themselves and their village that will help speed, in a small way, the transition back to normal.
Tom Millar, 55, and Paula Millar, 53, are the force behind the new business along with some of their children. Paula Millar homeschooled her four children. As adults, their closeness with their parents will be a gift to customers who will enjoy a home-like atmosphere in a shop with unique gifts, art, and all manner of espressos.
The store will be run by Paula Millar and her two daughters, Danielle Millar and Rebecca Ferguson, and her daughter-in-law, Jessica Millar, who is married to their oldest son Alex. Their son Jerrod is in his early twenties.
Many people had expressed interest in a local coffee shop that helped drive their dream forward. There are no comparable businesses in the area.
The shop is expected to launch with a soft opening in June after the interior build-out is completed and the procurement of coffee-making equipment, gifts, and art is done.
The 1,500 square foot shop will be located at 13059 Fitzwater Drive at the Route 28 intersection in Nokesville.
The Millar family has lived in Nokesville for 18 years. Daughters Rebecca and Danielle have worked in coffee shops bringing experience to the family’s first business venture.
“I’ve always enjoyed art and painting,” said Paula Millar. “Tom is one of the pastors at our church, Evergreen Community in Manassas, and a full-time real estate agent. I also ran a children’s church for about 20 years.”
“We considered running a coffee shop back in 2005 as I was getting close to retirement as an Air Force major,” said Tom Millar.” Today, those earlier musings are becoming a reality.
The entire family is all coffee lovers, so envisioning the next chapter of their lives as a business centered on java and art made sense.
Paula Millar had spent years tracking quaint coffee shops and checking out the atmosphere while enjoying a cuppa brew. “I loved how each one had a different vibe, a different feel.”
Rebecca Millar echoes her mother’s feelings. “I worked in a coffee shop full-time for almost a year. It was an experience I will not forget. The relationships I built with the customers are ongoing today. The friendships, getting to know people’s names, and their daily orders was fun. I had many wonderful conversations with customers at the coffee bar.
“Relationships are important to our family. We know people are made in God’s image, and He loves them and us. To have a place where people are drawn to the coffee while enjoying a warm and welcoming atmosphere will be great.”
She underscores that, unlike major coffee chains, people visit the smaller shops to sit and talk with others while getting their coffee fix.
Paula Millar has a broad number of connections within the art community and will draw on them for many of the art items for sale.
Additionally, a line of paints will be available for restoring furniture and recycling home décor items. Transfers, molds, stamps, and related materials for embellishing crafts, cabinets, and other furniture projects will be for sale.
The Millar’s will also be offering local artisans the opportunity to have their products in the store. Items will include pottery, painted signs, water bottles, towels, and more. “It’s an eclectic mix that works well together,” said Paula Millar.
The coffee shop area will seat up to 25 people, including a children’s play corner. There are plans to offer art painting, furniture painting, macrame, jewelry making, and more in the fall. The classes will be held after hours in the evening.
Coffee selections will also include a selection of pastries, including gluten-free and vegan choices.
The coffees will be produced using a professional espresso machine and include cappuccinos, frozen coffee beverages, and various teas.
Fundraising
The Millar’s volunteered the costs of starting a small venture offering a peek to others who might be considering doing something similar.
The startup costs will be about $110,000. A coffee shop consultant cost $5,000 but included the equipment; $9,000 was for the architect and about $40,000 for the interior design build-out.
The Millar’s have put $25,000 of personal funds into the shop. They also secured a $50,000 loan but are hoping not to use it all.
To further help with expenses, they created a crowdfunding page at Indiegogo.com. People interested in supporting their efforts can make contributions at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vita-nova-creatives-coffee#/.
Their goal is to generate $30,000, $8,000 of which has already been raised.
The shop will be opened six days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
A soft opening is targeted for June and a grand opening in July. For more information on the shop, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=Vita%20Nova%20Creatives%20%26%20Coffee%20.
Tom Millar said, “We love the community aspect of our new business and are looking forward to providing something the local community has been clamoring for for a long time.”
Published in a March 2021 edition of the Fauquier Times.
Home in The Plains antique shop is one of a kind
A typical antique shop sells items the owner has recently purchased. Quick turnaround is the goal. Sell it and replace it with another recent buy. Capitalism in action.
But it’s hard to give away a life of passion and even harder to assure those rare finds from history’s vault will go to good homes, continuing to provide pleasure to others well into the 21st Century and beyond.
There’s a passionate antique collector in The Plains that turns the conventional model on its head. Having amassed hundreds of rare collectibles over forty years, today, she is slowly bringing numerous rare pieces out of storage and making them available to the general public. Her work is your reward.
Lillian Waters, 64, is an antiquarian searching for fellow antiquarians who will move history forward, one rare piece of Americana at a time.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she is half Irish and half Navajo-Spanish. As a youth, she saw much of the country serving duty as an Air Force brat. At age 16, the family settled in Virginia.
Today she lives in Middleburg. Before that, she had a farm in Fauquier County called Last Resort which housed her first antique shop. Two years ago, she was widowed. Last year she sold the farm.
“I went from 6,000 square feet of space down to about 1,200 square feet,” said Waters, describing her new shop.
Antiques have always been her enthusiasm, but working for Loudown County schools for 18 years helped pay the bills; among her accomplishments was creating the county’s student field trip program. Later she turned to real estate and today is an active realtor for Washington Fine Properties.
The lady, however, has never rested on her laurels. She also owns Middleburg Wagyu, a purveyor of high-end beef originally raised in Japan. It’s known for its marbled appearance and exceptional tenderness.
She owns both the herd and a large farm in southern West Virginia, where the cattle are raised. The beef is wholesaled to regional restaurants, including Magnolias in Purcellville. The cattle are processed by Gentle Harvest Custom Processing, the only humane beef processor in Virginia.
The shop
As customers enter Home in The Plains, located at 6482 Main Street, they will be greeted by Waters and a host of rare and historical antiques. “Your first reaction in coming into the shop is to likely ask, ‘Is this a museum’? There are no price tags on anything. Is everything for sale?’” Indeed.
The collection showcases Waters’ interest in primitive, homemade style antiques, often dating from pre-Colonial America to the mid-1800s. “I do not go to auctions just buy anything they drag across the stage. I only buy what I like. Often, it’s a one-of-a-kind item.”
Such as? For starters, there is a pre-Civil War broom-making machine invented by an enslaved person. It was found on a plantation near The Plains. The origin of the invention was based on the reality that slaves could not legally marry. They formed bonds and raised families.
One of the traditions in their culture was “to jump the broom.” The ceremony was a sign that the couple had formed a relationship and started housekeeping together. The invention provided a source of brooms for both practical and ceremonial uses.
Two handmade fabric tables date to the mid-1800s and were used in the Morrisonville General Store near Lovettsville. There is an inlaid desk with impressive brass fittings made in Paris, France, that is over 160 years old.
One of the larger pieces is a six-by-six mirror originating from Russia. It came out of a D.C. mansion, possibly a diplomat’s home. A mid-1800s British campaign desk that can be disassembled for travel and used by officers during combat is also for sale.
There is a three-by-one-foot military telescope lens case with brass corners and an oilcloth wrap dating to World War II. The lens itself is on display at the Marine Museum in Quantico. There is the main horse tack trunk used by Colonel Harriman, who owned the original Salamander Farm in Middleburg in the early 1900s. The trunk held boots, bridles, blankets, and more.
Most of the items are rare and expensive. Pieces range from a few hundred dollars apiece to over $10,000. But what’s in play here are serious antiques representing extended searches and travel acquired over four decades.
She owns a farm in southern West Virginia and stores much of her collection in a barn on the property and in a home in Marshall she owns.
“Anybody that knows me knows that I want everyone to succeed and be happy. Everyone. I will give you my last dollar and last pairs of socks,” said Waters. That said, do not look for her gifting her precious antiques, but she will sell them and she will negotiate.
As the shop depletes its current inventory, she will pull additional prized pieces out of storage.
Other items for sale are provided by two good friends and include a collection of beautiful mineral rocks and art from an exceptionally talented artist.
The shop is open each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit its Facebook page for photos and more information on its inventory. https://www.facebook.com/homeintheplains/
Published in a March 2021 edition of the Fauquier Times.
Fauquier Excellence in Education Foundation focused on county’s future
Officially incorporated in 1987 as the Committee for Excellence in Education, the organization was originally created to support teachers in Fauquier County public schools. It provided instructors funds to take classes, seminars, and attend conferences supporting their professional growth.
In 2013, the committee’s name was changed to its current title while considerably broadening its agenda. Today, both teachers and children are reaping the benefits of the nonprofit’s expanded agenda. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $275,000 in grants to teachers, administrators, aides, and support staff.
The change was triggered by parents, the school board, and county supervisors, all who agreed new ways were needed to help fund educational programs that could directly benefit public school education.
Today, those programs include multi-sensory literacy, My first Book Club, A-R Topography Sand Box, educator grants, summer camps, new teacher dinners, and teacher of the year awards, among other initiatives.
The Foundation is headed by a ten-member board led by Executive Director Stacie Griffin.
Coming from a background in radio and television management on the West Coast, the birth of Griffin’s son, Hazen, 17 years ago dictated a move east. “My husband and I did not want to raise him in the Hollywood scene. We wanted him to learn the lessons of life in his own backyard,” said Griffin.
She was born in Maryland, and her husband always liked the region, so the move to Virginia was a good fit. Today, the family resides in The Plains. Griffin, 54, works full-time for the Library of Congress in Culpeper.
She is the only paid Foundation employee working some 25 hours a month. “Our hard-working board is the heart of the Foundation. I help coordinate their efforts,” emphasized Griffin.
Programs
Griffin’s passionate take on education best characterizes the Foundation’s programs. “I never want any child’s experience or education dependent on money or the size of their parent’s wallet. I want every child to have a great experience in life.”
She further underscores that some of the wealthiest people in the world live in the county but it also has two schools on free and reduced lunch programs.
For these reasons, the original committee felt, “We’ve been doing this for some twenty years. We need to grow our vision beyond just teacher grants,” recalls Griffin. The Foundation’s direction was expanded, with Griffin contributing her skills to help realize the new goals.
Educator Grants
An essential focus of the Foundation is helping teachers get professional development which they would otherwise have to pay for themselves. The purpose to better their skills and return to the classrooms, directly impacting student advancement.
STEM and Environmental Studies
The Foundation supports STEM and Environmental Studies. STEM is an approach to learning and development that integrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Through STEM, students develop critical skills including problem-solving, creativity, critical analysis, teamwork, independent thinking, digital literacy, and more.
My First Book Club
The program focuses on literacy at the pre-K level. Research has shown the importance of early literacy in the long-term educational development of youth. Each child receives a free book each month to keep. Often, it is the first book the child has ever owned.
The teacher works with each child and then gathers the class together to discuss the book, just like a traditional book club. The students talk about the book’s story, sharing their thoughts and feelings, and creating peer interaction in the process. The children are also encouraged to take the books home and begin building a little library.
Special Education
The program supports life transitions for students with special needs who can attend high school through the age of 22. The effort is to create employment opportunities by teaching real-life-skills since many students will not go onto college.
Goals would include working in jobs like local grocery stores, learning how to do their laundry, and fundamentally taking care of themselves as functioning adults.
Multi-Sensory Learning
The program centers on literacy and dyslexia. It trains instructors that students learn in different ways. “We want to give our teachers the tools they need to help students with individual needs,” Griffin said.
A-R Topography Sandboxes
The curriculum explores the importance of water, watersheds, hydrology, topography, land forms, geology, the effects of weather, earth science, and more. It’s been made available through a grant from Dominion Energy and uses Augmented Reality 3-D Topography Sandbox Tables to learn.
The Foundation’s website enumerates these programs and more. Each one has a “Donate” button as part of the program description.
The public can select to support one or more of the initiatives with a simple click. “We are a 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit, so donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. We invite everyone to look at the website and find a program that speaks to them.
“Every penny received is coded and goes directly to the program selected. That’s how the public can best help our educators and students,” said Griffin.
Another traditional fundraising source is its annual golf tournament. For 21 years, the tournament has been an important source of funding for the Foundation. This year the event will be held at the Stonewall Golf Club in Gainesville on June 21. The fee is $150 per person. It’s anticipated it will generate over $15,000. The money will go primarily to teacher grants. Golfers can sign up on its website.
Give Local, sponsored by the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation, is another vital source of funding.
“I am proud of the Foundation. I’m proud of our board of directors, who donate their personal time and expertise. It’s a group of volunteers who really support our public schools,” Griffin said.
For a complete description of the programs of the Fauquier Excellence in Education Foundation, visit its website at https://www.fauquiereie.org/.
Published in an April 2021 edition of the Fauquier Times
Legislation will stop online sales of vaping products shipped through the U.S. Postal Service
Some might view it as a win-win situation. In early April, Federal law will prevent the sale of nicotine vaping devices and e-liquids unless the buyer’s age can be verified.
The law will apply only to residential addresses. It is formally referred to as the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act.
The impact is not likely to increase or decrease vaping product sales but rather shift them from one buying channel to another. Early on, it appears to benefit vape shops while curtailing sales to youths.
While legally applicable to only shipping via the U.S. Postal Service, major carriers such as UPS and FedEx will voluntarily comply with the law. DHL already prohibits the shipping of vaping and nicotine products in the U.S.
It is expected to take effect in early April after the comment period set by the Postal Service closes toward the end of March.
The law intends to stop sales to minors who purchase the products online and cannot have their age verified as over 18. The law would mandate online age verification for the sale of all e-cigarettes products, and require in-person confirmation upon physical delivery.
As a result, it will significantly reduce such sales by online retailers and likely drive their former adult customers to brick and mortar vape shops. The kids will be out of luck, which is the intent.
There are almost 10,000 vape shops in the U.S. and an estimated 8 million users.
Most vape shops are small businesses with just a few employees. Moreover, while the industry is viewed negatively by some, many customers are either reducing their dependence on nicotine or attempting to eliminate it altogether. A vape shop can offer a transition path to tobacco independence.
Wikivapes
One Warrenton shop has already seen an impact of the change in law even before it’s taken effect. “The new law has saved my business. I now will be able to survive,” said Jeff Giocondo, owner of Wikivapes, located at 579 Frost Ave. in the Warrenton Towne Center.
Giocondo, 52, purchased his business just before Covid-19 hit and saw his early sales crash after the lockdown was implemented.
During the later months of Covid-19, when his shop was able to reopen, sales were still sluggish. “People were sitting at home on their computers and thinking, ‘I need some juice. I’ll just order it online instead of going to the shop,’” said Giocondo. That buying option will soon go away.
He is grateful his landlord reduced his rental costs for a few months in mid-2020 to help him get by.
“Recently, I’ve seen a 100 percent increase in my business. I’m getting up to 20 customers a day,” said Giocondo.” Many of those sales were digitally fulfilled in the past by online retailers. The early surge is due in part to some businesses shutting down in advance of the law’s enforcement.
His customers range in age from 21 years old to seniors. Older buyers comprise as much as half of his customers. “I would also say 50 percent of the people who come in here are trying to stop smoking or trying to cut down,” Giocondo said. “We fit those people with the right device and right product for what they need.”
He underscores the benefit of vaping is that no tar is inhaled into the lungs, the main cause of lung cancer, emphysema, COPD, and heart disease, among many other illnesses.
Jenna Causin is the retail face of the business. “There is a perception that users are blowing out these really big clouds and alarming others, saying, ‘What is that doing to my lungs?’
“It’s just the opposite. It’s a lot safer because there is no second-hand smoke you are exposed to. It’s just water vapor people are seeing. It’s environmentally safe,” said Causin.
She added, “And you can also dial back your use slowly if you are trying to stop altogether. You can go down to zero nicotine and only taste the flavoring.”
Tobacco smoke contains at least 70 cancer-causing chemicals, which can lead to all manner of health issues. Tar is the culprit left behind in the lungs from the incomplete burning of tobacco. The only thing ingested with vaping is nicotine and flavoring.
But where there are winners, there may also be losers. Online retailers will see their customer base evaporating since they will not be able to comply with the age verification mandate on orders, a complex problem not easily overcome.
However, many of them are also wholesalers who will be able to retain that business channel since those sales will not go to residential addresses but rather businesses, mostly shops like Wikivapes.
“This is a case that some might see as government overreach, but it’s benefiting my business while protecting young people,” said Giocondo.
The Tobacco Hut Vape shop at 294 Lee Highway did not respond to a request for comment on the subject.
Published in the March 2021 edition of the Fauquier Times.
Main Street anchor unable to replace experienced floral arranger
The power of the individual is often overlooked in today’s corporate world. The company rules. But what if the company is centered on one talented person? And she decides to retire.
So goes the story of a flower and gift business that has served Fauquier County for 35 years. Designs By Teresa has been a ubiquitous part of Warrenton’s life. Countless birthdays, holidays, weddings, graduations, and deaths, have seen the company’s flower arrangements grace the occasion.
The owners of both the building and the business are David and Virginia Gerrish. They are not selling the building. In fact, except for the impending retirement of Tina Colver, the daughter of the original shop owner, Teresa Bowles, the Gerrish’s would have continued to stay in the flower trade. Colver has been the principal floral arranger for almost 30 years.
The building, located at 7 Main St., was built in 1882. It was the town’s post office until 1910. It went on to serve as a restaurant, tack shop, and antique business.
In addition to the flowers and plants, the full-service shop has offered a unique line of fountains and garden ware, as well as home accents such as lamps, custom silk flower arrangements, statues, and gift baskets.
All non-flower items are now on sale, and its expected inventory will be exhausted by late March.
“The reason we are closing is we have been unable to find a high-quality floral arranger,” said David Gerrish.
Virginia Gerrish has been managing the shop since 2019 when the Gerrish’s purchased the business. “Virginia is very good at running the business. She will order the flowers, manage the books, take customer orders, help process flowers before they are arranged, and make some floral arrangements. But it’s not like she has 30 years of experience arranging flowers.”
The beautiful arrangements produced over the decades have been the shop’s hallmark of success. “We would love to find a replacement for Tina. We’ve tried hard to do so. There are a lot of people who like to arrange flowers. There are not a lot of people who are both creative and willing to own a retail floral business.”
Gerrish points out that the business is demanding since it’s essentially a manufacturing enterprise dealing with perishable products. “You have to work at it daily to make it sustainable.
“We’ve reached out to businesses in Northern Virginia and the D.C. area that teach floral arranging to see if they knew of somebody who would be interested. And we’ve exhausted all our contacts in the surrounding counties. We’ve not found anyone who is willing and able to come forward and own and run the shop.
Given the fading hopes of keeping the shop open, the Gerrish’s are concurrently looking at ways to repurpose the building into other types of businesses.
David Gerrish considers the building a prime business location on Main St. “Hopefully, it will be a retail business that goes into the building rather than office space.”
There is no intent to sell the building since they purchased it a year and a half ago from Teresa Bowles.
The Gerrish’s moved to Fauquier County in 1975 and moved to High Street in 1994. David Gerrish is the branch manager at Wells Fargo Advisors at 70 Main St. “I’m very familiar with Main St.”
The Gerrish’s have no plans to relocate. He has worked for 40 years in town, and they have lived there for 27 years. “We love Warrenton. We have loved Warrenton from the day we’ve moved here.
“Over the years, we’ve done everything we can to promote Old Town for both businesses and residents. We’re not going anywhere. I have no plans to move to Florida!”
As a testament to his love of Warrenton, David Gerrish chaired Experience Old Town Warrenton for several years and embodies the welcoming banner line on the organization’s website that reads in part:
“…love as you mean it, to break down the barriers that divide us, and to connect with someone in your life–a family member, a friend, even a stranger. Watch walls disappear when you love out loud.”
Until a specific closing date is set, the shop will continue to be open during March, Tuesday through Saturday.
In the interim, if there is a skilled floral arranger interested in purchasing a business with a stellar reputation, drop by the shop and start a conversation. The Gerrish’s are waiting to talk.
Published in a March 2021 edition of the Fauquier Times.
