Shannen: “Hey babe, the guy from Sight Line Provisions is in town and wants to visit.” .
Bill (head buried in his scope engraving): “Huh?” .
Shannen: “It’s the guy who makes those cool cuffs @captjoeldickey told us about.” .
Bill: “Let him in…see if he is thirsty.” .
This is the story of a community.
By now, most small business owners have either run through the “stages of grief” or are nearing the acceptance stage. Oyster is currently in the “acceptance” stage (having never let go of meaning) knowing full well that the end to the chaos is near and we already feel more empowered.
If you know us…you realize these are not just words.
Back to my point.
COMMUNITY-
Three years ago, I received a message from Sight Line Provisions out of Austin, Texas asking for a visit to meet at our shop in Blue Ridge, Georgia. With deadlines looming down hard on our custom rods and the bottomless stack of paperwork on my desk mocking me, it was one of those stretches of time that our doors were closed to the public.
So, I answered Sight Lines and asked when he would be in town...turns out Edgar (aka Sight Lines) was standing at our front door.
It turns out that Edgar was thirsty (and Bill is always up for a morning beer). Needless to say…we all really liked Edgar. While fly fishing usually governs most conversations around the shop, it is always cathartic to share stories with a fellow craftsman and small business owner. After the visit ended…our impression of him was set…Edgar is talented, fair, hardworking and painstaking thorough. Edgar was clearly COMMUNITY. I am a firm believer that fly fishing brings out the finest person inside of us (well...most of the time). Fly fishers are thoughtful, methodic and romantic individuals. Oyster has watched the fly fishing community align as one entity especially over the past month in such a way that it feels as though we are a subset outside of ourselves acting as ONE fighting the good fight for the benefit of our beloved sport. Edgar at Sight Line Provisions has gone way beyond his obligations as a decent human by supporting his retailers sharing his artistic abilities and marketing skill set. Oyster is fortunate enough to be on Edgar's radar as he generously offers one of his “Retailer Take Overs” for our shop.
As excited as we are to watch this day take shape and sell SLP / Oyster collaborations, we are most grateful to Edgar and Sight Line Provisions for working towards not only their own self-preservation but for our COMMUNITY.
Thank you.
Thank you all.
There are just no other words…
Love, Shannen and the entire Oyster crew