It Is Finished.

After 15 years of playing Dress Up I have discerned that it's time to call it quits.

Our first season in downtown Hastings in 1996 was a whirlwind of hauling laundry from town to Vermillion Township and back. I didn't have a clue how more than half of the accessories matched up with the proper costumes, and my youngest was riding the bus back and forth to kindergarten from our corner store.

Our second season brought a flurry of Halloween activity to a tired old granary on our new residential acreage in Marshan Townshp, not to mention costuming Hastings Community Theatre productions and Meeting of the Minds school projects.

By our third season we had the hang of it and our troupe of volunteer Costumers and loyal Customers grew and grew. Big Tig the Tabby cat moved in to mind the mouse patrol. We had our best seasons around the turn of the century, before Target came to town and long before the internet provided in home shopping for anything the heart desired.

In 2004 my job changed and I had to rely more heavily than ever on my girlfriends for volunteer support and was no longer able to deal with off-season appointments due to my travel schedule. Then Mary was deployed to Iraq and we considered closing down. But the faithful crew of Costumers wouldn't hear of it.

We're still going strong but the rental market for homemade and tired old clothing just isn't there anymore. The building has progressed from cute, to quaint, to downright decrepit. A part-time business like this can't afford the overhead to repair the building. And Tig hasn't caught a mouse all season. He's a loving, tired, scrawny old cat.

It is clearly time for the collective creative talent and energy of this group to do something else. I can't wait to see what it is.

My deepest gratitude to all of our faithful customers, and to my amazing volunteer Costumers: Miss Kimberly, Princess Kathy, Mary, Danika, Barb, Peggy, Beth, Linda, Katie, Phyllis, Janet, Norma, Danielle, Summer, and Greta. Each of you, no matter how long or brief your tenure working in the shop, have brought joy and friendship into my life for which I am eternally grateful.

Lest I forget the men in the life of this business, many thanks to Bob the Builder, John the Electrician, and Captain Steve the Handyman. Arthur and Joren know the collection better than most and are the richer for being boys who played dress up as children. Dale, my husband and my love, thank you for indulging this dream. Can I have a new boat now?

Many pieces of our collection will eventually be for sale. Stay tuned to the blog and the website for details.

Now, before I am completely finished, I need to chase down five costumes and two bounced checks. Any bets on whether or not I get Helen's costume back before my birthday?