“That might be a stretch, but it’s a nice thought,” Kat said. Ugh, a thought that brought her around to Nick’s comments about reaching too high, expecting too much too soon. In all this time, she couldn’t seem to shake Nick’s words. Determined not to fall down that rabbit hole again, she filled her plate. “Thanks for picking up. This smells delicious.”
“So the Denver Museum has the original that goes with all these in their Modern Art exhibit?”
“No. They have the original, but it’s not on display. It was a gift to the guy who was my boss when I was an intern there. As far as I know, it’s hanging in his office.”
“Maybe they’ll put it on display now. I bet people will want to see it. Speaking of Denver, when do your mountains go up for auction?”
“Couple more weeks. June first.”
“And you’re not going?”
“No. It’d be awkward. Nana will be there, probably with my parents. If the painting only gets a couple hundred bucks, I don’t want to see it.” Nick would be there as well. Of course,shewas supposed to be there. Supposed to be Nick’s date. Supposed to meet his family. But that was before the break-up. Before Nana had asked Kat to donate a painting. Thankfully, she’d never gotten around to booking flights.
“Okay, I just don’t want to see you avoid kudos and fun times on the chance you might run intothat guy.”
“It’s not a chance. It’s a definite. The man’s being auctioned off as a date. That I can do without. Anyway, I’ll go in a few weeks to spend some time with Nana.Sheis my only reason for going to Denver.”
Kat hadn’t heard from her parents since the weekend her dad visited. Her mother was probably still fanning herself from all the accolades of the Symphony Homes Tour.
Kat gave herself a mental slap. Not wasting a millisecond thinking about that. But she did wonder how Nick’s wall and fireplace were received. Had he printed new information that included his big win with HBTV? Was he already getting new business?
“Boy, I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that ballroom,” Mia said, pulling Kat back to the topic at hand.
“Me too. But don’t worry. I’ll get the scoop from Nana.”
Thinking of the museum brought Kat’s thoughts back to the products she’d received. They reminded her of her early attempt at giftwrap…consumables. An idea began to form. What if she launched her own business? She had no clue how much it would cost to source and produce, to put together a business plan, but maybe worth exploring…
“Hello?” Mia waved a hand. “You here?”
“Just thinking,” Kat murmured.
“And?”
“You have your jewelry in a few retail shops, right?”
“A very few.” Mia pulled a wry face.
“I’m thinking about your Lily Pulitzer idea.” She spread her hands. “How would I do it? How do I source the stuff or find the buyers? How do I get into the right shops?”
Mia shook her head. “I don’t know, Kat. Maybe the people at the Denver Museum who had all this made can point you in the right direction. All I can say is get ready to be exhausted and frustrated. It’s a lot of work—that may or may not ever pay off.”
“So just like getting into galleries.” Like a bolt of lightning, her list flashed in her mind. The top galleries. That’s what she’d focused on.High-end shops. Nick was right—she automatically sought the best. When she’d targeted The Loft and other New York galleries, she’d concentrated her efforts on the top dozen, not the bottom. Had she assumed her credentials would launch her to the top?
“Would probably be like starting over. But, hey, nothing ventured; nothing gained, right?” Mia nudged her.
Kat swallowed hard. “Right.”Starting over. She’d told Nana she needed a reset. Maybe that was coming into focus. Maybe that meant a new approach and some new goals. Small gift shops might be the place to start. As thoughts tumbled through her brain, she turned to Mia. “I’ll need samples. I can’t paint a hundred original scarves. Do you know anyone who does screen printing?”
“What about Gemma? She used to do some.”
Kat hadn’t talked to Gemma, a former member of the studio space, in ages. But that was a good place to start.
“Kat,” Mia said softly. “It’ll cost money. And take a lot of time.”
She heaved a deep sigh, but she couldn’t ignore the energy surging through her. She knew better than to try and suppress it.Build on momentum. “I know.”
“Hey, what about contacting some universities? Don’t they have business types who work on start-up business plans for people as part of their thesis or graduate program?”
“Now that’s a fabulous idea.” She held up a hand for a high-five. “And that’s something I can start researching immediately.”
