Sold!

Garry and I have sold Artiwood. This momentous change comes less than a month after celebrating the eleventh anniversary of its acquisition in June 2015. The deal has been a while in the making. On Tuesday last week, we signed the sale contract after more months of due diligence, negotiations, and transition planning. The news is already online, and the congratulatory messages are pouring in.

We’re now deep into an ownership transition, transferring assets to the new owner and bringing them up to speed on the business and its day-to-day operation. We’ll then continue to be involved on a contract basis in the months ahead. However, we're still on the hook for our showroom office lease until it's eventually re-let by the owner.  We're hoping to clear this final hurdle before Christmas.

As with all business negotiations, the last few months have had their highs and lows. It’s certainly been a stressful time as unforeseen hurdles and unexpected delays have kept us on our toes. Now that the deal is done, it’s hard to believe that our decade-long career in the toy industry is finally drawing to a close. So many memories. So many milestones.

Looking ahead, I have no idea what will come next. As my sixty-first birthday approaches, I’m contemplating a transition to retirement. Although I'm not sure what that really means. For now, Garry and I are working through our contractual commitments for the next few months before finally embarking on life's next chapter. There’s talk of renovations, plenty of travel and spending more time with other recently retired friends.