10/15/2026
The Boutique Black Hole | My version of Hide-and-Seek
It happens at least a couple of times a day. A customer is excited to be one of our beautiful models and I reach into my pocket to take out the phone, and—nothing. Or I reach into my pocket to check a tracking number or post a quick video to our social media pages and my hand meets empty air.
Panic sets in. Did I leave my phone in the display case again? Is it buried under a pile of freshly folded blankets? Did it fall into the sock bin? The scramble that follows is practically an Olympic sport. I trace and retrace my steps, wandering through the store like a woman possessed. Of course, my ringer is always set to silent. Because why make it easy?
My phone is integral to the business. The short list ... It’s my inventory tracker, my calculator, and my social media camera. Yet, somehow, the shop floor is the Bermuda Triangle for my beloved mobile device.
Multitasking at a chaotic pace is a daily occurrence. I am not just sitting at a desk; I am constantly moving, which creates the perfect storm for misplacing the darn phone.
One particularly harrowing hide-and-seek episode took me over an hour to locate it. After using the store’s landline to call it several times, I finally caught the faint, muffled vibration coming from inside one of the Western boots!
I’m tired of doing the frantic “pat-down dance”, I plan to implement a few rules and tools to keep my phone attached to me. Please don’t judge if you see me sporting a stylish, durable crossbody phone strap. It’s going to keep the phone on my hip like a holster so I can’t physically set it down. And to be clear, this is not a reflection of aging forgetfulness; it’s the sign of a brain that is beautifully, entirely invested in the creative chaos of the shop! 📱
