Fire Blessed Art - Fine Handcrafted Dichroic Glass, Silver Jewelry and Gifts

Well, Christmas is quickly approaching - have you noticed how many commercials there are on TV and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet?

I guess because of the economy the major advertisers feel they need to start early to get our kids primed for wanting specific toys!  Remember, they often understock the season’s most popular toys - it’s a way for parents to feel guilty when they can’t get the specific one their child wants.  So the parent buys something else, and then in February or so when the shelves are suddenly bulging with that most desireable toy, the parents feel obligated to purchase it.  This is a tactic they have been using for years. In this tight economy, I encourage you to try not to fall for it this time!

Which kind of brings me back to Thanksgiving and jewelry updates. Several weeks ago my husband informed me that he wanted to go to Medford, Oregon over the Thanksgiving Day holiday to visit his family and meet the Seattle niece’s fiance. 

Well, that shifted my plans!  I had been scheduled to be in the Trinidad Thanksgiving Holiday Artisan’s Market on the Saturday after the holiday, so now I needed to cancel.  Given the dismal economy, I was okay with that anyway since although I love meeting my customers, there is a lot of work to setting up a booth for a one day event, and my experience at the last fair I did in Eureka had shown me that people are holding on to their money anyway.

Now, 2 weeks away from the holiday, it looks like the niece and fiance are not going to make it after all.  And of course it’s too late to schedule for the fair as I’m certain my booth space has been given to someone else (there are always so many jewelers who want in to a show).

However, the good news is that I will still be at the Arcata Holiday Craft Market on December 6 and 7, being held at the Arcata Community Center.

You can find me in the far left hand corner.  And, due to the economy, I will be having a 25% off sale on everything except the fine silver.

People on my list will receive an additional discount, which will be mailed about a week before the event.

I will also soon be posting pieces that will only be available through the website and through etsy.com. It was just too hard trying to get an inventory online that kept being depleted at the shows, so now I will be keeping my online offers separate.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving - hubby and I are so very grateful for the family and friends in our lives, and I am grateful to my wonderful customers and readers!  Remember, if you are at the Arcata Show, stop by and say Hello!

Warmly,

Katie

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A couple of days ago I went into the River Lodge to replace the dichroic necklaces that had been sold over the past couple of months, and to swap out the remaining pieces with new ones.

The holidays are coming up, and it’s always a good idea when you have things on consignment to notice what seems to be selling and give your customers more of what they appear to prefer.  A couple of pieces had been in there for several months, so I decided to rearrange things and bring in some fresh designs.

When I’ve gone there in the past they have always seemed friendly and happy to have me checking in.  This day, however, was different. 

After explaining why I was there and making sure it was okay to take care of my business at that time, I went across the lobby to their gift shop.  While I was cleaning the pieces and setting up the new display, I mentioned to the woman who was there that it appeared one of my necklaces was missing and unaccounted for, and could she verify that I had actually been paid for it since although they showed I had, I did not have a record of having received a check for this particular piece.

This caused her to say (not verbatim, but pretty darn close) that she would check, but maybe it would be better for me not to have my things there since I had such a small number of items and looking these things up was too much trouble (!) for her.

Well, it’s true, I did only have 6 necklaces there, because that’s the number they told me they would take. 

When I said I could understand she would consider it a small issue, but that this was my time, effort and materials we were talking about, she proceeded with a litany of complaints to me about things that were not included in the agreement, and that no one over the past year and a half had ever even mentioned.
  

Well, it certainly took me by surprise!  When she repeated again what a bother it was, I decided she was right - it was too much bother for me to deal with someone with this kind of attitude.  So I pulled my items out of there.

It’s always smart to remember who your customers are and to think about how you treat them.  As a vendor I am also a customer of the business.  At least I used to be.  I can’t imagine ragging on one of my suppliers, especially one who is making me money.  I would certainly never intentionially imply anyone who was providing me with passive income was a pain in the a$$.

The funny thing is that as I walked out, it really felt like the right thing to do. And it felt very freeing for some reason.  Maybe that’s because if they thought it was alright to stiff me for the $25 for my necklace, then obviously they weren’t trustworthy enough for me to do business with.

P.S. (Additional note on 11/14/08) I was recounting this experience to my husband over the Veteran’s Day Weekend, and he asked me if I thought she was being defensive because she was wrong.  I hadn’t thought about the woman purposely trying to deceive me, but her behavior was certainly strange - as though she was trying to divert me from my original request.  Anyway a day after my discussion with him I received a check in the mail for the necklace I had noticed was missing.  Coincidence? Perhaps.  I am prepared to believe that their accounting had not yet caught up with their check-writing.

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….well, it seems we have a family obligation coming up this Thanksgiving and hubby and I will be traveling up to Oregon instead of being home in lovely Trinidad.  Since I’m not sure exactly which days I will be traveling, it seems I will probably cancel my booth at the Trinidad Artisan’s Thanksgiving show this year.

It’s a fun little show, and you should definitely go if you get the chance, but with the state of the world economy - and more importantly, the perception people have about it - it’s probably just as good that I do cancel.

The past 3 shows have been less than stellar.   But that’s what happens when people believe that money is scarce, they want to hoard what little they have, and discretionary income goes out the window.  It’s a sad fact that at this last show - the October Halloween Harvest Festival - most of the vendors weren’t even in their booths - they were standing in the aisles talking to other vendors!

So I’m rethinking how much time I want to spend in the booth next year, how many shows I want to commit to doing.  And in the meantime, I’ll keep expanding my line by trying out my new creative ideas, and looking to place more items into retail outlets, or find other ways of exposing people to my designs. 

There are two stores in nearby towns that have expressed interest in carrying my jewelry, and I do have to replenish the pendants that have sold at the River Lodge.  I visited with a third store owner this week who had previously expressed interest.  But now she is moving into a new direction herself due to the way the economy is affecting sales.  I don’t know if her new idea will be any better than her current one, but at least it’s something she is more familiar with.

I’m still scheduled for the Arcata Christmas Show, and I have some new things I’ll be bringing out there.  It’s a very lively show with a great turnout, as well as lovely items.

I sincerely hope you are not feeling the squeeze too much!

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Well, in the swing of things again - almost midway through for the Trinidad Artists Market. 

This weekend is the 48th Annual Westhaven Blackberry Festival in, of course, Westhaven.  We’ve gone for years to get the homemade blackberry jelly & a couple of pies for the freezer.

Last year I participated as a vendor, and it was very fun!  They’ll have crafters, food & music again this year, with all the proceeds going to support the local volunteer fire fighters.

If you’re local and you have an hour or two, come on by & see what cool things the festival has to offer.  Just take the 6th St exit into Westhaven.

See you there!

Katie

Oh, and the pies always sell out so get there early!!

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I used to call my business Magical Design Studios.  It worked well because I am primarily a designer, and I have so many media that I love - painting, drawing, textiles (dyeing, quilting, sewing, silk painting), embroidery, beading, jewelry fabrication, etc.

What I discovered over the past 4-5 years, though, is that I am drawn to fire-based arts, like a (gypsy) moth to the flame!!

I still love my painting and dyeing, but there is something about using the alchemical aspects of fire to create beautiful works of personal adornment that is truly, truly magical! 

So of course I had to add this Fire-Based branch to my Studio.  It covers all the things that require the flame or the kiln.

Don't expect a lot of posts in the blog - I am very busy still working for someone else in a totally unrelated career.  And I have several websites that I am working to maintain.  Including completing this one.

But I am still the creative catalyst, and as I get the odd moment, I'll be back!!

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