Good News

Who's the most powerful man in town?
Mayor - No, he's elected and can be ousted.
Mafia - a Hollywood farce. Please.
Okay, that was sort of a trick question, since it isn't a single person in Lviv ... more like a single entity. And the answer is (drum roll please) - Lviv Gas. Nothing here gets done without the blessing of the gas department (especially if you have industrial dryers that run on gas).
Today Lviv gas came, dug a trench from the main gas-line in the road to our building, laid the gas pip-line, and covered their marks. This is good news for Bubbles, great news for us. Now we just need them to flip the switch and send that clean-burning energy our way.

Covered & Completed Gas Line for Bubbles

To grasp the full-nature of this situation, we have to give a little back story. Before we quit the day job in San Francisco to start this venture, we hired two Ukrainians who are long-time, trustworthy friends to get the business process started. A main task entrusted to their care was to find a location for Bubbles - said location was to have specific capability for the water, gas, and electric needs (all clearly outlined in writing). The location we're in, they said, met all the needs we sent ...

and to be sure, they even sent pictures of the gas pipe-line connected to our building (painted yellow).
So we gave the green-light, and they began the time consuming paper-work process to lease the building.
You can imagine our horror when, in July, we learned that the building does not have gas at all. How can this be?! You even sent pictures of the gas-line to the building before we gave the final okay? "Oh, sorry ... those pictures must have been to a different building," was the only response and explanation we received. While an honest mistake, this 'mix-up' has cost us dearly. Lesson learned - you are only as successful as those who represent you ... and if you want something done correctly, you have to do it yourself.
We then began the arduous process of securing gas for our store. Many, many hours (late nights, early mornings, and full-days of work) were spent meeting people, getting signatures, project approval, and such ... yes, even at times meetings in back seats of cars, because 'offices' are not where such business is conducted.
White gloves were used as many players seemed to emerge with vested interest in how, when, if, and at what cost we were to receive our necessary gas-line - our construction company, and landlord, for example. In truth, the whole scenario has not yet fully been played out. The good news, however, is that we hold the ace - the gas-line - and it is sure to be a meeting of gentlemen that even Georgette Heyer would be proud of.
In addition to the gas-line, yesterday we also received final documentation from the water and sewer department, allowing Abilit (the construction company) to connect our sewer line to the already existing line - rather than building a whole new line, costing more money, and time (which Abilit previously insisted was the only way).
All and all, we'd say it was one of our most productive days since we've been in Ukraine - and that is the good news!

1,500 glass bubbles

Very soon, this lighting feature will be graced with over a thousand hand-blown glass bubbles.
Allyson conceptualized this dramatic chandelier and drew-up the plans to create it. Check out more of her inspiration and creative whiz here.
We call it our "Bubble Chandelier," and it's going to be stunning.
The glass bubbles were blown custom made in various sizes, and some with a different color hue of glass ... the more silver balls will be at the top of the netting.  To attach the glass balls we have hooks and fishing line.  The line is cut to various lengths, then special knots are tied at each end.  Sounds like a laborious process, right? We think so too - and wondered who would want to tie 3,000 special knots. 

Well, it just so happens that over the last couple months we have hired some wonderful employees. One of the ladies who will work in the laundromat once we are up and running volunteered for the task. That's right, volunteered! Refused payment. She said she was so excited to be able to work at Bubbles, and doesn't have a lot going on until it opens, that she is happy to help in any way. That is exactly the type of employee we want to see - Thank you!

Attaching some of the lower-hanging glass-bubbles ... we've always said this is a family business.

The glass-bubbles were delivered in these boxes. Apparently no one thought we would actually take inventory, but it turns out we were shorted a few. The glacier was a bit embarrassed, and is blowing more glass ball for us to complete the order.  So many little details to oversea. 

Devil's in the Details

While it's true, 'the devil's in the details,' detail work can be fun (and a bit more easy than government approvals and documents).  The glass reception area and decor are nearly complete ... Our blue and grey couches arrived ... The wall heaters are installed ... And the custom door to the industrial iron-room was put in place - now we just need to drywall the edges.

We had a brief issue with the piping connection from the washing-machines to the water-line. 

The threads on the American machines did not match any of the connections in Ukraine. We knew this ahead of time, of course, and sent Abilit (the construction people) all the specifics regarding thread-count, sizes, and every possible dimension imaginable. Plus, we sent the crew to Poland to take scrupulous notes on how everything was installed at a similar laundromat that uses Dexter products. 

Needless to say, Abilit forgot this detail, and said it would take THREE weeks and hundreds of dollars to special order parts from America. Oh, the grey-hairs this construction team has caused. We, of course, did what any resourceful, forward-thinking person would do ... found a reputable welder in Lviv to custom make the parts. Done in a day - cost $12 American dollars, and the problem is solved.

20,000 Fliers

Here they are - 20,000 fliers. Front back. Color. For some reason I'm having trouble rotating the image for the blog ... but if you tilt your head, you get the idea.

People love fliers here - putting them on car windshields, handing them out in Center, at King Cross ... fliers are what the people want and expect, we're told.
On a side note, the original fliers had very Mickey Mouse looking bubbles of information, which we mentioned to the marketing team, and asked them to change. The marketing team almost died laughing! They agreed, but said they would have never thought of that - that no one would have made the connection, and that it was 'very American' of us to point it out. Funny.

Water Water Everywhere

Water was turned on at Bubbles last week. 

You may have assumed we had water - 

probably because you've never tried to open a laundromat in Ukraine.

Assume nothing, and take nothing for granted - even water.

 The construction group Abilit insisted that we had to get permission to and then lay our own water pipe - that the building's water wouldn't work for our store (more work and money for them).

After 50+ trips back and forth to the Lviv Water Department - we were right - and there is no need for extra digging, governmental permissions, and wasted time.

And, though water was turned on last week, it wasn't until today that we received the stamped, signed, stitched, and notarized certificate from the Lviv Water Department that we can show to random governmental inspectors and say, "back off!" 

Counter Cover

Question: How do you make piping like this look neat and tidy - like it belongs in an upscale place- and still have access to it for maintenance?

Solution: Custom counters with a removable front.

Don't forget a utility sink at one end - after all, we're trying to get stains out!

And plenty of  cupboard and storage space.

The removable front lets us fix any problems that may come up, add more machines as demand increases, gives more counter space for folding clean clothes, and keeps the store looking great.  

Parking

Good news is Bubbles is located on one of the most trafficked streets in Lviv - Volodymrya Velykogo.  

The not so good news is that parking is in the back, making it less convenient to access our store from the main street.  

So, we are currently in the process of negotiating this cement slab as a parking lot for Bubbles.  

The other good news is the Bubbles parking sign will be another billboard marker for us once the parking lot becomes a reality.