It isn't Sunday.
But you're invited to the Grand Opening event of the year. According to me.
It isn’t Sunday.
I know.
By now we’ve settled into a rhythm, you and I. Every Sunday I send you a story, we catch up over coffee, and then I disappear again until next week.
So if you’re hearing from me on a Wednesday, it’s because I couldn’t keep this one to myself.
The Workshoppe finally has a date.
Which feels impossible to type, because for the longest time this place only existed in our heads.
First it was a sketch. Then a floor plan. Then an empty storefront with concrete floors and a hundred decisions to make. Then a construction site. Then a place buried in boxes.
And now we’re counting inventory instead of studs, and arguing about where the coffee mugs should live instead of where the outlets should go.
It’s amazing how quickly a construction project starts looking like a business.
Not without a little drama, of course.
Three days before our sneak preview during the Winnetka Music Festival, a water tank burst in one of the units above us.
Water came through the ceiling, through our speakers, onto our floors.
The floors dried. The ceiling held. People still came.
But here’s the thing I didn’t expect. Now that people know we’re opening, the question I get most isn’t when. It’s what is this place, exactly?
And that’s fair. I’ve been living inside this thing for a year. You haven’t.
So let me actually tell you what The Workshoppe is, by telling you what it’s for.
Say you’ve been in your house a few years. You know you want to do something. A kitchen that stops fighting you. A primary bath that isn’t stuck in 2006. Maybe more than that.
But you don’t know what to do first, or what it costs, or whether the thing you want is the thing you actually need.
And most people you could ask have a reason to point you in a particular direction.
That’s the moment The Workshoppe is built for.
You’d start by booking a consultation. Depending on what you need, that’s either with me or with one of our designers.
If you sit down with me, we talk strategy.
What to tackle, in what order, and when. What adds value and what just adds cost. How to sequence a project so you’re not redoing work later or spending money in the wrong room first. You leave with a plan and a clear sense of what’s actually worth doing. These are virtual or in-person.
If you sit down with one of our designers, we get into the design itself.
Sourcing materials. Cabinetry configurations. Space planning. The balance of a room, and why it feels off before you can name why. This is the part most people are missing when they say they know what they want but can’t get it to come together.
From there, it forks.
If you mostly just need materials, this is where we act as your store. We help you select what you want, we order it for you, and we help get it on site. You don’t chase vendors or decode lead times or wonder whether you bought enough tile. That’s our job. You just get to make the fun decisions.
When it comes to cabinetry, hardware, fixtures, wallpaper, flooring, tile and paint, we’re a really pretty store where you can get the curated materials we use daily in your own projects.
But if you need actual work done, we write you a proposal, and that becomes a design + build project with us. From permits to construction. One team. The whole project.
But here’s the part I love most. Those early consultations can easily spin off into whatever your project actually needs. Drawing sets. Construction documentation. Item lists. Templates. The kind of professional plans that let you quarterback your own project with something real in hand, instead of guessing.
Basically, we work together until you’re home has never looked better. And you use us as much, or as little, as you need.
So here’s the simple version.
If you’re doing a big renovation or building from the ground up, you come straight to us for full-service design + build. We take it start to finish.
But for everything else:
The… “I just need the right hardware.”
The… “Which Farrow & Ball white actually works in my north-facing kitchen?”
The… “I’m not sure where to start.”
The… “I only need a bucket of hours.”
The… “I just want to walk-in and talk to someone who can help.”
That is exactly what The Workshoppe is for. That is the whole reason it exists.
But here’s the part that still makes me laugh.
The Workshoppe shares a wall with our Compass real estate team.
Not down the street.
Not around the corner.
The same literal wall.
So if you’re trying to buy a fixer-upper and want to know what it will actually take to fix it up…
…or you’re hunting for a lot to build on, or you’re listing a home and want to sell for top dollar, you can walk from one side to the other and work with our agents, our designers or both. All in the same afternoon.
Real estate on one side.
Design and materials on the other.
The whole enchilada, sharing one wall.
The Workshoppe was built for homeowners. But if you’re a realtor, a builder, or a designer yourself, there’s a version of all this for you.
We built a trade program. For you.
We’re spinning off a trade-only event to walk you through exactly how that works, and how you can put everything we’ve built to work for your own business. If that’s you, come find me at the Grand Opening (or respond to this email) and I’ll make sure you’re on the Trade Program list.
So this isn’t really an announcement. It’s more of an invitation. 🎉
The Workshoppe’s Grand Opening is July 16.
There will be premium open bar. There will be gorgeous materials. There will be good taste.
If you’re local, I would love to see you there. Come open the drawers, compare the stones, ask the questions you’ve been afraid to ask, and see what we’ve been building.
And if you’re not local, you’re not left out.
We just launched a new website, and phase two of everything we’ve been building is online sales.
The materials we actually specify and use, shipped to you from anywhere.
So you don’t have to be in Winnetka to get your hands on the good stuff.
Once these doors open, I have a feeling the stories are just getting started.
RSVP HERE.
Until Sunday (scout’s honor this time),
Grace