Cheryl Greer walked into a surplus office equipment auction two months ago looking for an office chair, but walked out with the lease to a building.
This weekend, the Alyssums and Balloons owner, her five part-time staff, friends and even some customers are moving thousands of items of stock about 100 metres along Queen St into the former Century 21 Blenheim building.
The store, which has been at 41 Queen St for about 14 years, will be closed from noon tomorrow and reopen on Wednesday.
Since she signed the lease, Mrs Greer and her staff have been working nights and weekends to repaint and recarpet the new premises and her husband has built a storeroom. They have moved a lot of stock into the new storeroom to make moving day as easy as possible, as well as fitting in a pre-planned three-week holiday.
It will still be a big weekend moving everything from the existing shop, much of it delicate and breakable. They will load everything in to boxes and have borrowed trolleys from Trents Wholesale in Stuart St. Not everything will be wrapped.
"We're going to take the risk. There are a few things which will be bubble-wrapped, like glassware, so they don't chip."
She hoped the stock would be moved by Sunday night ready to start displaying it around the new store, ready for reopening on Wednesday.
The new store front would be more open and light, she said.
It was also slightly bigger and had a better layout.
A kitchen had been installed, so the store could continue to give cooking demonstrations.
"Not a lot of people know we do those," she said.
The business will also have a shorter name. "We're dropping the Balloons. It was an ideal opportunity to do that. People know we sell balloons and they just know us as Alyssums anyway."
Customers and staff have been excited about the move and some regulars have even offered to help on the big day, she said.
As for the chair that Mrs Greer wanted at the auction – she never got it.
- The Marlborough Express
SIMON WONG
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