After being in our lovely 13,000 square foot warehouse for over five years, we were faced this summer with the prospect of moving or trying to build onto our warehouse. After working with the City of Bellingham to get a waiver for the 22 extra parking spaces they initially told us we needed to add (apparently they were treating our warehouse storage space like retail), we started planning for our very-needed addition in earnest. It was important to us to be able to stay in Bellingham and not add to the problem of sprawl in our county by being forced to move out there so we were thrilled to be able to add on to our building and stay in Bellingham city limits.
There’s a lot that goes on with a building project of this magnitude, not the least of which is that the City of Bellingham wanted us to put a sprinkler system into our entire 13,000 square foot warehouse and not just the 2,500 square foot addition. That added an extra month or so of delay and a significant additional cost. But in the end, we are happy to sprinkler the entire building to help keep firemen safer should a fire ever break out in our building (knock on wood). The middle photo up above is Norman, our COO and defacto General on the building project, wearing my pink soaping goggles to protect his eyes as the gravel gets poured.
After all of the i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed, we had the permits in hand but alas, it was October – much later than when we had originally anticipated starting and the start of the rainy season. We had our very first cost overrun the first day but luckily, one week later, nothing new or major has cropped up that wasn’t planned for.
This is the difference between 1 week to the next. Check it out! Trusses! Yay. Soon, by next week, it won’t even matter if it rains because the roof will be on. Yay!
We are so thrilled to be adding on to our space because it means more room for new products and more room to better serve you. We’ll keep you posted on how the building project goes. Right now, we’re just all thankful it’s not raining yet…
congrats on the expansion Anne-Marie!
Congratulations on the addition! And also, thank you for thinking of the firefighters’ lives and not just the money wasted in putting in the sprinklers. My significant other is a firefighter and being the spouse of a firefighter is stressful! Even if it cost you more I think it’s worth it in the chance it could save someone’s life.
Thank you! We are absolutely beside ourselves with joy now that the building project is up and running.
Thank you! Our warehouse team will be so happy when we get the extra space for them to move around in =)
So far, so good … no rain today. And a full crew out there working. Let’s just pray it holds.
I know! We’re absolutely thrilled and every day, are so excited to see what the job site looks like.
Thank you! Dealing with the banks and the city on this was definitely a learning experience. The entire process took us about 6 months longer than we were anticipating so when you get there, start earlier than you think you’ll need to =)
Aw, thanks! It will happen for you too. You have such incredible soap that you’ll need to expand in no time!
Yay re: your beer soap! =) The building will be a nice dull brown to match our existing building and the character of the neighborhood. The inside, we’re not sure about yet. We’re so slammed for the holiday ordering season that we haven’t had a moment to even talk about that kind of stuff yet. =)
Thank you. It is quite exciting for us and a little bit scary too. =)
You never know. BB moved 5 times in our first 6 years. That first step out of the home was a big one but once we did it, we never looked back.
It’s as energy efficient as a warehouse can be (which is not nearly as good as a residential home). Bramble Berry is an energy neutral company however so we do pay extra for all of our energy so that we can replenish the grid with wind or solar energy. Our current warehouse is fully insulated(an add-on we did after purchasing the building) so that definitely helps with energy efficiencies.
Congrats on your expansion. Very exciting news!
wow! you are the best! so glad to see you expanding further.
x
How fun to be able to expand! I hope it all goes smoothly!
Wow! Great news! Congratulations! Rain, rain go away… 🙂
Great pics Anne-Marie! How exciting to be expanding 🙂
That is so great….I aspire to be where you are soon. Congrats!
Oohhh Congrats! im happy for you!
I dream of the day when i say the same: “Im expanding” wuuaa tears come to my eyes 😛 …
Oh boy! Room to do more fun things with! I loved the beer soap you made, mine is coming along. What color are you painting the walls?
Michelle in NV
Congrats on the expansion! 🙂
Very exciting! Congratulations on your new space and expansion! I’m happy for you, and also inspired. Though I doubt I’ll be adding any warehouse space anytime soon. Who knows what the future holds though??!
How energy efficient is it?