Dear Creative Community,
Dear Creative Community,
We're compelled to tell you something you may not know. But it is vital that we tell you. We love you. But do you know why?
Do you think it's because we like your stuff? We do, but that's not why we love you.
Do you think it's because of your prices? Again, that's something we think about but it's not driving our love for you.
We know you may not even realize what it feels like for us to show up to a post-industrial parking lot, with it's cracked sidewalks and crumbling brick, scouring the streets of a forgotten neighborhood for a spot to put our cars.
We know you may not know what it feels like when we emerge through those gates, to a scene that can only be described as surreal. A train is passing above us. And in this parking lot, we find you. Our creative community.
When we see you, we're not thinking about how your products and pricing will work for us. We're thankful that you are there. Thankful and inspired and filled with civic pride that this collection of dreamer/doers has picked US.
Do you even know why we truly love you? I bet you don't. Because you run a business, you might get caught up in pricing and production, but it goes so far beyond that.
You give us life.
It's that simple. You are doing something spectacular for us. You are making your dreams a reality, which in turn makes us think we can do that, too. That we live in a place where dreams can become reality.
We are happy to support you because to have you in our lives, in our city makes us know that our world can be a place we can change in a way that supports our hearts' desires. We want to be a part of that energy and movement.
You obviously make things that are extremely valuable and your work on your craft is apparent to us.
But that only adds to the main reason why we love you.
We love you because you are following your heart. We see it. And we support it. So, continue to evolve. Continue to grow and expand and invest in yourself. We will be there to help you keep the fire of that creative courage going. It will feel scary, we know. Just watching you gives us a thrill. We will not let you down. If and when you dare greatly, it might feel like a risk to you. But believe us that that is exactly what keeps us coming (obviously the cocktails don't hurt).
We are proud to support you. We are honored that we are able to own and display and taste things made right here that are a direct result of your love for yourself, your city and for us. Thank you.
Keep up the work. Keep aiming high. You are a constant inspiration.
See you on April 22nd.
Love always,
Cleveland
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