I found out on a Tuesday morning. 

I was in my studio with my team, packing products when my phone buzzed with the news that Fog City Flea Trading post—my storefront in the San Francisco Ferry Building and my main source of income—was closing for construction. It was my landlord's decision in order to move forward with building renovations.

Three months of my income dissolved in a single email, and I had two weeks to figure out how I was going to make up for it. 

I had to step out of the room. I was speechless. I couldn’t fathom what By Aleisha would look like without my storefront in the Ferry Building, and I didn’t want to either. 

The store accounts for 65% of my income. It’s the reason I was able to quit my corporate job. The reason I can afford an art studio. The reason I can pay my rent and my employees’ wages. And it’s funded almost every creative risk I’ve taken since 2022. 

This store has been my pride and joy for four years. And now, it’s going away. 

So What Now? 

I’ll admit—if this happened a few years ago, I probably wouldn’t have handled this well. But I’ve been running By Aleisha for almost ten years now. Ups and downs are inevitable when running a small business. 

It’s how you handle those shifts that define your business. It’s why you search for silver linings. 

So here are mine. 

Two weeks after the announcement, I found out we could stay open for an additional two weeks—a major help because we had just purchased new wholesale inventory in January. 

During the construction period, we’ll also be popping up right at the main entrance of the Ferry Building with a smaller, temporary display featuring our best sellers. 

And I’ve been invited back once the reimagined version of Fog City Flea Trading Post opens. The store will look different. The terms will be less in my favor. I’ll need to approach it differently. But I’ll still have a presence (which matters more than I can explain).

What This Means for the Business

With 65% of my income disrupted, diversification isn’t optional—it’s essential. That’s why, over the next few months, I’ll be investing more time into new things that excite me. That means doubling down on wholesale, showing up to more craft fairs, and finally making the products I've had sitting in my sketchbook for months—new designs, new formats, mugs, hats, stationery, and some greeting card ideas I'm genuinely obsessed with.

It turns out, this editing process has been a lot more clarifying than I initially realized. Having a smaller footprint has forced me to be honest. Now, if something doesn’t earn its space—financially or creatively—it can’t come with me. 

I don’t have everything figured out. 

I do know this: the Ferry Building helped me build something real. That doesn’t disappear just because the layout changes.

This is just the part of entrepreneurship that people don’t glamorize.

You regroup. You adjust. You focus on what you can control. You move forward.

And you keep making the work.

More soon, 
Aleisha