Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Late Winter/Very Early Spring 2016

As winter winds down, we find ourselves looking forward to warmer weather and spending more time outside. The seed companies have been sending out their catalogs.  The pictures therein are so tantalizing...big, luscious vegetables and bright, vibrant flowers.  We'll take one of everything please. But all in good time. The ground hasn't even thawed out yet and there is snow in the forecast for Friday morning.  Sigh.

On the business front, we have survived our first winter (almost-see above) and are looking forward to our first anniversary. A couple weeks ago we attended the ACRE show in Philadelphia in search of new things to offer. ACRE is a wholesale craft show with hundreds of artists exhibiting their wares. We had a great time seeing what everyone had to offer. The only trouble being there were so many incredible things to choose from and only a finite amount of budget to spend.

The first of our purchases are starting to arrive. We think it is worth a special trip to Emmaus just to see what new things are in stock. If that isn't enough incentive, right now all of the things I have made are on sale for 30% off. This is a pretty significant savings and a excellent opportunity to acquire an original piece from Windy Ridge Woodworks at a great price.   Hope to see you soon.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

In the Beginning

This past month has flown by.  It started with the signing of the lease on our premises at 23 South 4th Street.  That came after about a month of back and forth between us and the landlord trying to sort out the lease terms and come to an agreement we each could live with. I hope he realizes we intend to be good tenants and stewards of his property.


Once we could move in, there were fixtures to be made, permits to acquire, and stock to unpack and display. Busy, busy, busy.  We managed to get ready for our opening on April 18th, though there is still quite a bit to do.  But I think that is the beauty of having a business--it doesn't all have to get done at once. 

As the month wore on, each day was a little like Christmas morning as the boxes arrived from across the country.  As we started putting things out of display, we would notice holes in our offerings. Mugs, we really ought to have some mugs.  The internet is an amazing thing.  Mugs found, mugs ordered.  I wonder if, twenty-some years ago, the internet had been as big, whether my foray into being a full-time craft artist might have gained more traction.  I am a little envious looking at our vendors and the businesses they have created.  Mugs arrived. 

On the other hand, as I sit here at the keyboard with my elbow strap doing battle with my tennis elbow, I'm not so sure my joints would have held up as well as they have. 

Today's task is to start pulling information together for our website--this blog a part of that. 

More later.  Please stop back and check in, either in person or on-line. Either way, we'd love to hear from you.

Ken