This past spring, just after its twelfth anniversary, Bill relocated Hosko Gallery to a new downtown location near the corner of Fifth and Wabasha Streets just off Ecolab Plaza. The extensive renovation of the Endicott Arcade on Fifth building where his gallery had been for three years was completed in early 2005. In May of that year Bill opened a second small business just across the refurbished grand hall from Hosko Gallery.

Sweet William & Tea was a Scottish-themed tea shop he designed and built. Scotland, you say? Bill has always had a fascination for that faraway country. He sees great beauty in the lonely and rugged landscapes. The centuries old castles are of great interest, but more so are the more humble dwellings; farms and cottages scattered across the most remote terrains.

He installed the business to compliment his nearby gallery certainly and to bring even more life to the refurbished arcade, but also he wanted to help a small group of deserving individuals become self-employed with no out of pocket expense. With a smile, Bill acknowledges that within a few days for some and two months for the rest, all five had departed. The responsibilities of self-employment were not their cup of tea. He could write a small volume about the experiences with the tea shop while running the gallery business simultaneously, but he has no regrets. The tea shop will reopen again… stay tuned.

By the spring of 2006 Bill had invested hundreds of hours in the Endicott Arcade renovation. The formerly forlorn and depressingly unattractive property had become a place of beauty and life once again. It was time to move on.

People asked how could he leave after investing some much of himself in the building. Bill understood the property was now safe from demolition and that new tenants would someday take his place. Maintaining a life in Saint Paul and another out on the Great Plains since 1994 has been natural for him, though very unplanned. It has been because of his frugal nature that he has been able to lead both lives.