Saturday 5 November 2011

Update...

It's been two and a half weeks since we had the fire here at Papermaze, and life has been very busy since as we're trying hard to get things up and running again! I thought I'd bring you all up to date with what's happening and share some pictures. These were taken on the day of the fire itself. By the time the fire engines arrived the stock room was well and truly ablaze. You can see the shop in the foreground of this picture. The stock room was a lovely 17th century granary barn next door - all that remains here are a few posts.

We were lucky that the fire didn't really spread to the shop - fortunately there was a gap between the buildings which acted as a firebreak. The roof tiles were taken off by the fireman to check that the insulation wasn't smouldering.

And this is where the stock room stood :( The whole building and its contents destroyed. My husband used a digger to take loads of rubble and rubbish from this site to the field behind where the fireman hosed it down to stop it smouldering.

And here is the stock room plus several thousand scrapbook goodies scattered on the field.

Inside the shop, the plasterboard of the ceiling either fell or was taken down to get to the insulation. The fireman moved everything down to one end of the shop...

And so the next day, the clean up operation began. The farm machinery came in very handy again!

And while the men were working here, I had some willing volunteers (friends, customers & family) who came and helped sort through the rubbish, separating paper and other items from stock room fittings.

We came across pieces we could still recognise which was quite sad. With the charred papers we played 'guess which manufacturer it is'! I think it's Echo Park here...

... and some October Afternoon...

It took a good couple of days to sort through it all, and then the field was back to normal. Remaining papers were burnt completely, metal items pulled out and the rest of the rubble went in a hole in a field! Then it was on to the shop. We moved all the shelves and products out of the shop....

.... and into the one next door, that fortunately my husband hadn't yet occupied!

And you can even see boxes of new products in the picture above, already arriving! We've sorted out everything that was in the shop, and although it's a much smaller space, we're ready to go again! So, everything is now half price!!! Yes, 50% off everything! It has obviously been exposed to smoke, but many items seem fine, even some of the papers and cardstock have survived remarkably well!! So there are plenty of bargains to be had :) The shop is not ready for customers yet, so we are only taking online orders and there is a flat postal rate of £2.75 for UK orders. We hope that most of our stock figures are right, but there may be occasions when we find we don't have items in stock, in which case we will issue refunds rather than send replacements.

We've been very touched by the numerous emails and offers of help that we've received - thank you for all your support :)

31 comments:

Fiona said...

oh Vanessa...that looks so bad but at least nobody was hurt and you are now on road to getting it all sorted!!

Good luck.

Fi
x

GlitteryKatie said...

Goodness Ness it's amazing that the shop wasn't damaged more! So sad about all that stock, but at least stash can be replaced, people can't!!
All the best for the future- you're a star!!

Gems said...

Gosh :( So awful, but I am so glad that nobody was hurt. Hope Papermaze manages to recover. Lots of love and luck xxx

Jimjams said...

What an absolute nightmare! Can't help smiling that you were taking photos half the time - true scrapbookers through and through. I hope you get yourselves sorted out really quickly - best of luck :D

Anita said...

Oh Ness :(, how awful, so sad to see the pics, but SOOOO very pleased you are all ok. I know with your strong spirit and lovely helpers you will soon back on top of it all and ready to go again. Take care

Warmest wishes Anita..xx

Michelle S said...

how awful! I hope u get sorted soon, thank goodness ur all ok

Katherine said...

Gosh how awful, I'm glad you are starting to get back up on your feet again.

Carol Ann said...

Oh my goodness hadn't known about the fire how devastating for you. I hope you manage to get you're business up and running again soon. the upside is no lives lost and out of the ashes will come no doubt a stronger and even better business.

naomi said...

The photos are so shocking and sad. I am so sorry this has happened to you, hope you can get everything sorted quickly and as back to normal as possible.

Love and luck,

Naomi xx

Kathy said...

poor you, you must be devastated, well done for getting set up again so quickly

Sue Jones said...

:( :( So glad you are all ok and so sorry about your shop!

An Occasional Genius said...

What an awful thing to happen. So glad that no one was hurt though. It sounds like you have lots of support & I'm sure you will emerge just as strong as ever. I was chatting to the lovely Fiona at the top of the comments there & she mentioned you. I realise you are close enough for me to visit so I hope when you are back up & running I will be able to to do just that! Good luck for the future xx

Patrice said...

Good to see you're bouncing back - best of luck!

Olivia said...

The photos make the devastating reality of a fire even more real. So sorry to hear that this happened but glad nobody was hurt & that you are beginning to get up and running again. Best of wishes with everything xx

Kim Sonksen said...

I am still so shocked and so sorry for you and your faimly but incredibly pleased that there eas no loss of life or injury to you and yours.

The pictures just bring it home what a devastating blow this was for you.

Glad to see that you have not lost your humour and I am glad you are already bouncing back!

Sue aka Greyhound Lover said...

Oh Vanessa how awful and sad! seeing the photo's somehow makes it worse!
So pleased progress is being made! Love to you all xxx

Katrina said...

OMG how heartbreaking! Such a relief no-one was hurt.

Good luck with the rebuilding.
I love Papermaze!

Dotty Jo said...

Thank goodness you are all safe. All the best for the future, I love Papermaze and know you'll be up and running again asap. Hugs, Jo x

Weasel said...

Lordy what a mess! but echoing other comments that so glad nobody was hurt. Best of luck with the new premises xx

Lynn said...

So very sad, but I'm sure it won't stop you and you will very soon be back to normal. Hard work, but looks like you are making great progress. All he best with it all.

Susie.A said...

It's always such a shock to see the devastation a fire can cause and then there's usually water damage on top of that. Relieved to hear you are all okay and doing such an amazing job of picking up the pieces. Wishing you lots of luck for the future.
Sue. x

TiaraHelen said...

So sorry to see the devastation caused by the fire, how upsetting for you all and such hard work.
I hope you are getting back to normal slowly and that the insurance people are dealing with the whole thing promptly and fairly.
My heart also bleeds for all that ruined stash! I have bought some of your bargain items and am most impressed with your blog.

best wishes
helen

Alison said...

Those photos really bring home not only the devastation, but the mess and destruction left behind ...

So sorry to hear that a lot of hard work is still ahead of you, but best wishes for the rebuilding of the premises and your business. So pleased that you have lots of support behind you to help!

Unknown said...

Wow!!! Such sad photos but in true scrapper style the camera keeps clicking.
I wish you a speedy recovery from this and hope to see you up and running asap, after all, you were my very first ever scrapbooking shop i ordered from when i took up the hobby -x-

Lizzie King said...

So so sorry to see the destruction and devastation. Heartbreak for you all. You all sound positive and seem enthusiastic about re-building. I've bagged some bargains but will be back to support you 'full-price'!! Best wishes and good luck.
Lizzie King. East Sussex.

Lizzie said...

Oh how very awful for you! So glad no-one was injured - somebody posted on FB yesterday,that the owner of a shop in their village was killed in a fire - so it's good that nobody was hurt.
So sorry about all the lost stock and the loss of the barn must be devastating. A real pity...
I am filled with admiration that you have picked yourselves up and got going again. Amazing! I wish you luck for your renewed business.
I do hope your insurance will pay you for the loss of your storage barn and all the stock. Hope they sent an assessor straight away.
Best of luck with your efforts to get going again and glad it was no worse - ie. no people were damaged, only things.
X

Claire said...

Good grief how shocking for you - good luck with the clean up operation .... think you may have to re-name your shop Phoenix scrapping ! Wishing you every success for the future - you deserve it.

Alix said...

oh my...sending big hugs and lots of energy for getting up and running again!
{{{thank goodness you weren't hurt}}}

Ali said...

so so sorry - you guys are amazing. All the best with the re-fashion.

Linda said...

How devastating :(
Do you know the cause yet?
Hope things go well, sending best wishes x

DEBS said...

what a shock to you all. Hope all gets sorted and your up and running again really soon. Wish i lived nearer and could come and help. Take care and keep smiling xx